By STEPHEN BRICKLER
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Tournament MVP Jackson Green scored 20 points, while Jake McCarthy chipped in 19 to help top-seeded Penfield win a second consecutive AA1 title with a 70-50 win over No. 3 Victor at Blue Cross Arena at the Rochester War Memorial, Saturday.
The Patriots ranked number 1 in the NYSSWA rankings, won their 22nd game of the season, 20 of those wins by double digits. When asked to compare the difference between last year’s title run to this year, Coach Jason Ellis said, “I’ll tell you the pressure was a lot more. My hair is a little grayer, I’ve probably lost a little weight.”
The Patriots wasted little time getting to a comfortable working margin, taking an 11-point lead by the end of the first quarter. Penfield’s defense was the story as Victor found it difficult to find open looks. The Blue Devils, who typically find success from beyond the arc, were held without a triple in the first half. Guard Aaron Hardaway provided lockdown defense on the perimeter. When Victor drove to the basket, the length of Green, McCarthy, Ryan Savino and CJ Johnson made the going difficult as well.
By halftime, the Patriots had extended their lead to 17, holding the typically high scoring Blue Devils to 11 points in the first half on three 2-point field goals and 5 free throws.
“We charted every shot they have taken all season and prepared for that,” Ellis said. “Our emphasis was taking away their shooters.”
“Defense was a big emphasis going into this game. Victor has seven guys averaging 10 points a game, that’s 70 points. (Assistant) Coach Bendlin, he really got on us in practice, and we were playing the best defense we have all year. Holding a team to 11 points is really good for us,” said Green.
Victor was limited to one shot on virtually every possession as Penfield swallowed up nearly every rebound.
Said McCarthy, “We have worked on defense for at least a month now. It has just been non-stop defensive work in practice. And lately, we have been working on boxing out especially, and that’s why they didn’t get any rebounds. Every time we didn’t box out in practice, we had to run, so it’s just ingrained in us.”
In the second half, Victor was able to find a little more rhythm on the offensive end with six different players hitting triples, but Penfield was able to trade baskets for the most part, never letting the Blue Devils get any closer than 14 points.
Victor guard Randy Johnson led the Blue Devils with 13 points.
McCarthy and Green were able to find success at the rim in the second half, scoring 13 and 12 points respectively, while Savino added six in the last two quarters.
For Penfield, the Class AA state qualifier comes next as they will square off with Pittsford Mendon, a 1-point victor in the AA2 final over Athena.
“We have to prepare for a great team,” said Ellis.
Last year’s Patriot team won the first sectional title for Penfield in 70 plus years but were bounced in the state qualifier round by Athena. This year, they hope to take things a few steps further.
“Every game is important to us. We keep the next game in mind. We’re going to get back to practice tomorrow and then we’re back at it,” said Green.
“Last year, we were obviously too happy about the win (sectional title) and got kind of complacent going into the next round. This year, we get to celebrate, but it’s back to work tomorrow, we’ve got a game on Tuesday,” added McCarthy.
For Victor, sectional champions in ’23 and ’24, the future looks bright. All five starters return as well as some key bench players. As they had the majority of the season, the Blue Devils had balanced scoring. Aside from Johnson’s 13 points, Ben Fell added 9, Timmy McAuliffe and Ravi Chitre added 7 apiece, JJ Mastin contributed 5 while Gage Hay, Gus Pappajohn and Sean Loyal scored 3 apiece. They finish the season with a 15-8 record.
Penfield will also be a force to be reckoned with next season as only Savino graduates from the starting lineup. The Patriots (22-1) had scoring contributions from Johnson 8, Hardaway 7, Savino 6, Ethan McEntire 5, Liam Dunne 3 and Dallas Crawford 2 to supplement the 39 points scored by Green and McCarthy.
Joining Green on the All-Tournament team were teammates McCarthy and Johnson. RJ Johnson and McCauliffe were selected from Victor. Roman Maldonado from Irondequoit and Brayden Stedman from Churchville-Chili rounded out the All-Tournament team.
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