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Turkey Tail, by Vanaprastha Sciorra

Hornell boys basketball captures Olean Tournament; Pavilion girls down Hornell 50-45 in Hall of Fame Showcase

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The Hornell Red Raiders traveled to Olean this weekend ready to play. Coming off a tough loss to Pal-Mac at home, the raiders were hungry for a win.

That intensity didn’t disappoint on Friday night as they rolled past Royalton Hartland 84-47, giving them their first win of the season. Hornell started out strong with a full-court press that rattled Roy-Hart from the start.

Finishing the first quarter with a 16-4 run, Hornell went into halftime with a 38-17 lead. Roy-Hart wasn’t able to recover from the deficit, and Hornell’s lead continued to grow in the second half. All of the Hornell players saw a significant amount of playing time, and everyone made the box score. Gennaro Picco had a team high 21 points, while Gates Miller & Wyatt Argentieri chipped in 12 and 10 respectively.

The Red Raiders played an excellent defensive game, as well. Shawn Rose led the team with 5 steals, and Wyatt Argentieri had an impressive 10 deflections. Roy-Hart’s Jamel Johnson, Jr. led his team with 21 points on the night.

After losing to Olean in last year’s tournament play, the Raiders were ready to prove they had what it takes to beat the tough Olean Huskies. Hornell was up by 7 after a quarter of play.

The Raiders kept up the intensity throughout the first half and went to the locker room with a comfortable 33-14 lead. Knowing the game was far from over, the Red Raiders continued the defensive pressure in the second half while increasing their lead offensively.

Gennaro Picco led all players with 22 points on the night. Hornell downed Olean 72-49 to take the Championship title. Olean’s Thomas Bates led his team with 14 points, and Jack DeRose added another 12.

“The kids played so unselfishly all weekend,” said head coach, Kirk Scholes. “We are making the extra pass. We are playing with great energy and turning our defense into offense. The energy is contagious, and they are feeding off each other.”

Gennaro and Shawn Rose each had 5 assists on the night, and Shawn came away with 10 points of his own. Hornell was a force on the boards with 44 total rebounds while holding Olean to just 24. PJ Picco grabbed 10 rebounds on the night and rounded out a double-double with 17 points, earning himself a spot on the All Tournament Team.

Gennaro Picco was named the tournament MVP.

“I thought Gennaroplayed a great floor game,” said Scholes. “He made the right read all game long. He had several kickouts early on, and then got downhill and lived at the rim.”

Scholes continued, “The kids are figuring out their role.  They are understanding how we need to play.  I hope we can build off this weekend and let it roll into next week with two games at home.” 

In JV news, the Raiders soared past Roy-Hart 46-16 to secure their own spot in the championship game. Marco Picco led the team with 16 points.

Saturday’s championship game proved to be a bit tougher for the JV Raiders. They found themselves behind for most of the game, but fought back from a 22-point deficit to tie it in the 4th quarter. It was a hard-fought battle down to the final seconds, but Olean’s JV Huskies held on to take the title with a 70-66 win over the Raiders.

Hornell’s Marco Picco had the game high 23 points. Demayne Dixon and Austyn Gollnitz chipped in 18 and 16 respectively. Mykel Rivera led the JV Huskies with 21 points, and Chase Vogtli added 15.

The Hornell Red Raiders host the York Golden Knights Tuesday night. JV plays at 5:30 with Varsity to follow at 7pm. York stopped defending state champion Avoca/Prattsburgh’s 39-game win streak.

Dr. Picco and staff support local sports

Girls Basketball

Pavilion 50, Hornell 45

By CHRIS METCALF, special to the Hornell Sun

WAYLAND – Lauren Kingsley scored a game-high 24 points to go along with 13 rebounds and four blocked shots as Pavilion (1-0) held off Hornell in LCAA crossover action Saturday at the Wayland Hall of Fame Showcase.

Karlee Zinkievich added 10 points and four assists while Kylie Conway scored seven points with seven rebounds and four assists.

Hornell (1-1) was led byLillian Hoyt and Jordyn Dyring with 12 points apiece. The freshman Dyring also added five rebounds.

Payton Bentlyalso played well for HHS as she scored 10 points with five rebounds.

HHS coach Brian Dyring was happy with the effort his girls played with and he knows it will be games like these that will help his young team down the road.

“The girls played hard tonight but I felt like we lost our identity when shots weren’t falling,”Dyring said. “We stopped attacking gaps in the zone and the ball started to stick instead of moving quickly.  Pavilion is a good team and this is a good early game to learn from and grow and get better.”

Hornell will play at York Wednesday.

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