By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Tournament MVP Stephen LeBrecht poured in 20 of his game-high 30 in the first half as top-seeded Lyons (22-2) opened a double-digit advantage and went on to defeat No. 2 Geneseo (21-3), 87-59 in the Section V Class C1 championship on Les Harrison Court Saturday evening at Blue Cross Arena at the Rochester War Memorial.
LeBrecht provided all of the offense in a 9-4 run to close the the second quarter as the Lions took a double-digit lead into the locker room.
“Stephen’s first half, he was all over the place,” said Lyons head coach Zac Young. “When he’s on and things are going well for him, he’s got more energy than any kid I’ve ever coached… Some kids shy away from the moment. He was excited about the moment, and that makes it easier on me as a coach. He was not nervous at all.”
Leading 26-17, LeBrecht hit a corner 3-pointer. The senior guard then slipped ahead of the defense on a pair of occasions for back-to-back buckets and and added two points before the end of the half.
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“It’s about moving the ball,” the senior guard said. “We know we have some good shooters. We got to pass the ball and work for our points.”
Lyons had a 35-23 advantage and did not allow the lead to slip into single digits for the remainder of the contest.
The sectional title was the 23rd in program history and third in the past four years with the Lions taking the C1 championship in 2024 and C3 in in 2023. LeBrecht has been a part of the three recent titles.
“It feels great, man,” he said. “It feels great. Hard work, dedication and getting in the gym. This is what I dream about. I’ve been playing with these guys since second grade. This is my team right here. This is the team I love. This is Lyons Lions, right here.”
LeBrecht capped a 9-4 run to open the third quarter with a steal and layup. His brother, Stavell, followed with a triple of his own, and Jah Jah Smith scored two of his 16 points to push the lead to 21 at 50-29.
LeBrecht led four in double figures which included, Smith, JJ Johnson with 17 and Contrell Parker Jr. with14.
“I don’t know if we played a perfect game, but we played a very, very good game on offense for us,” Young said. “We don’t want to get into a 3-point contest with people because if the other team is in man or in zone, we like to get to the basket. We made just enough, just enough threes.”
Geneseo came into the game winners of 13 straight with 10 of those decisions coming by 10 or more points. The Blue Devils were holding opponents under 46 points per game.
“We ran into a buzzsaw,” said Geneseo head coach Gregg Hepler. “That’s arguably the most storied program in Section V Boys’ Basketball history.
“It’s hard to game plan for them and not give up something. You have to give up something and live with it. I did not expect them to hit as many shots as they did. They played great. They got out, and their athleticism really killed us in transition.”
Geneseo had not allowed more than 65 points in any of their previous contests this season.
“Our game plan was to stop JJ first, and they made us pay for it,” Hepler said. “Kudos to them.”
Oren Ray led Geneseo with 15 points. Avery Hepler and Cam Caroccio added eight apiece for the Blue Devils who were looking for their first title since 2017.
“This was such a fun year,” Hepler said. “We will not define ourselves based on this last game.
“We had an opportunity. I thank God for that. I thank God for the opportunity to coach these kids. I’m grateful. We’re going to keep working. This team elevated our program. We raised the bar, and the bar can’t come down.”
Johnson gabbed 17 rebounds in the win. Parker handed out nine assists. LeBrecht finished with seven rebounds and seven assists.
With the win, Lyons advanced to the NYS Class C qualifier where the Lions will face C2 champion, Honeoye. Lyons took a 63-55 decision when the two teams met in early January.
A 7:00 p.m. tip-off is scheduled Wednesday at Finger Lakes Community College.
Johnson, Parker and Smith joined LeBrecht on the All-Tournament team. Geneseo’s Ray, Avery Hepler and Shay Hepler earned All-Tourney honors.
GENESEO (21-3) 59
Noah Rice 2 2-2 7, Oren Ray 6 3-5 15, Evan Sorge 1 1-2 3, Shay Hepler 2 1-2 6, Avery Hepler 3 0-2 8, Cam Caroccio 3 2-3 8, Eric Hammond 0 2-2 2, Josh DiFranco 2 0-0 4, Nicholas Connor 2 0-0 4, Ethan Huynh 0 1-2 1 TOTALS 19 12-20 — 59
LYONS (22-2) 87
Stephen LeBrecht 12 5-6 30, Stavell LeBrecht 1 0-0 3, Kaywon Butler 0 0-0 0, Contrell Parker Jr. 6 0-0 14, Ben Bookmiller 0 2-2 2, Javion Samuels 0 0-0 0, Austin Rice 0 0-0 0, Jah Jah Smith 5 5-7 16, Loirmus Desius Jr. 1 0-0 2, Evan Peeso 1 0-0 3, Bryce McDonald 0 0-0 0, JJ Johnson 5 7-12 17 TOTALS 31 17-25 — 87
GENESEO 10 13 20 16 — 59
LYONS 19 16 24 18 — 87
3-point goals: GENESEO 4 (Rice 1, Shay Hepler 1, Avery Hepler 2); LYONS 5 (Stephen LeBrecht 1, Stavell LeBrecht 1, Parker 2, Smith 1).
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