By PAUL GOTHAM
BLOOMFIELD, N.Y. — Bishop Kearney/Chesterton (21-3) closed the second quarter on a 14-3 run to take a double-digit lead it did not surrender on the way to a 76-61 victory over Le Roy (16-8) in New York State Class B qualifier action, Monday night at Bloomfield High School.
With the win, Kearney advances to face Section VI champion Olmsted High in the state sub-regionals on Wednesday.
Trailing 25-24, Dalton Hamer Jr. sparked the run with a 3-pointer from the wing. Maddox Volpe converted a rebound and putback. Jayden Capers then finished out of the post to force a timeout from the Le Roy.
In three possessions, the Kings had turned the smallest of deficits into a lead it did not give up.
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“In the first eight minutes, we were missing easy shots,” said first-year Kearney coach Willie Mason. “We were missing some threes that normally our guys hit. It was them. They started seeing shots fall. Next thing I knew, we were up by 11.”
Volpe drew contact on a rebound and putback for a traditional 3-point play then finished off from a pass from Hamer.
Owen Gorham converted a pair of free throws for a 38-28 advantage heading into the locker room.
“It was them not wanting tonight to be their last night together as a group,” Mason said. “My seniors, Capers and Volpe, spoke to the team and said ‘Hey, we are not going to finish tonight, and our young guys stepped up tonight.”
Jacob Rybczynski opened the third-quarter scoring with a 3-pointer. Jaiden Pascoe ended the frame scoring six in an 8-0 run to take a 60-41 lead into the final eight minutes of action.
A defensive adjustment at halftime paid dividends for Kearney.
“I’ll switch it up every now and then depending upon how and opponent’s offense is flowing,” Mason said. “They were beating us a little in our man-to-man a little, so I said let’s switch it up. It surprised them and that’s when the turnovers came.”
Le Roy was coming off its first sectional title since 2003, and the Oatkan Knights’ boys’ basketball program was looking to make its first appearance in the state tournament.
“This was the second team in school history to make it to this game for the boys,” Le Roy head coach Mike Battaglia said. “They did everything I wanted tonight. The effort was off the charts. Sometimes, you just hit a team that’s better than you on that night. I give Kearney credit. They played great.”
Aidan Weaver, who took Tournament MVP honors in the run to the sectional championship, scored seven of his 16 points to help Le Roy grab a brief lead. The senior forward hit a 3-pointer then followed with a reverse layup off a baseline drive for a 21-18 Le Roy advantage.
Weaver’s rebound and putback made it a 25-24 game in favor of the Oatkan Knights as the teams exchanged the lead six times in the second quarter.
“I thought we missed a lot of close shots,” Battaglia said. “That lead could have been bigger. They had that run at the back of the second quarter. That just got us. I was hoping to get into the locker room tied or up a couple.
“Our guys didn’t have any quit in them. They were a little too much and we just couldn’t stay with them.”
Grady Gilligan led Le Roy with 17 along with five rebounds. Weaver finished with seven rebounds and three assists. Matthew Hockey had 11 points, three rebounds and three assists. Jagger Smith (7), Cole Tonzi (3), Seth Draper (3), Evan Rose (3) and Brady McClurg (1) also scored for Le Roy.
With the win, Kearney advances to the state tournament for the first time since the Kings won the NYS Class AA title in 2013 under former head coach Jon Boon.
“We are fortunate and blessed to have a group of guys that want to work hard, that want to keep it going. It’s always easy to give up once you have that sectional brick, but these guys keep showing up and they keep working hard.”
Pascoe and Capers scored 20 apiece. Volpe had 18. Gorham (6), Hamer (5), Rybczynski (3), Marcus Chatman (2) and Colby Speight (2) also scored.
A 7:45 p.m. tipoff is scheduled for Kearney’s game against Olmsted.
KEARNEY/CHESTERTON (21-3) 76
Marcus Chatman 1 0-0 2, Dalton Hamer Jr. 1 2-3 5, Colby Speight 1 0-0 2, Jayden Capers 10 0-0 20, Jacob Rybczynski 1 0-0 3, Owen Gorham 2 2-2 6, Angel Diaz 0 0-0 0, Rasean Stevens 0 0-0 0, Maddox Volpe 7 4-5 18, Jaiden Pascoe 9 2-2 20, RJ Sconfetti 0 0-0 0 TOTALS 32 10-12 — 76
LE ROY (16-8) 61
Jagger Smith 3 1-2 7, Cole Tonzi 1 0-0 3, Brady McClurg 0 1-2 1, Matthew Hockey 4 0-0 11, Grady Gilligan 5 6-7 17, Brayden Chase 0 0-0 0, Tommy Clifford 0 0-0 0, Seth Draper 1 1-3 3, Evan Rose 1 1-2 3, Aidan Weaver 7 0-0 16 TOTALS 22 10-16 — 61
KEARNEY 18 20 22 16 — 76
LE ROY 14 14 13 20 — 61
3-point goals: KEARNEY/CHESTERTON 2 (Hamer 1, Rybczynski 1); LE ROY 7 (Hockey 3, Tonzi 1, Gilligan 1, Weaver 2).
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