The Hornell Red Raiders improved to 11-4 Friday night with an 80-51 win over the visiting Haverling Rams. Coming off a tough loss to Pal-Mac on the road earlier in the week, the Raiders found themselves in a 6-0 deficit less than two minutes into the game.
A quick timeout by head coach Kirk Scholes was all that was needed for the Red Raiders to regroup and play their game. Hornell led by 6 at the end of the first quarter and was up 32-22 at the half.
Hornell maintained the lead the entire second half with a solid all around performance. Scholes was pleased with the players coming off the bench.
“I thought we had a lot of guys contribute,” said Scholes. “The entire bench played well. Wyatt Evingham knocked down some shots tonight. He played with more poise and confidence. Hakim Tigner gave us some tough physical minutes. I also thought Quinn Mauro, Davin Oyer, and Aaron McInerney did a lot of good things.”
Wyatt Evingham scored 10 points on the night, and Aaron McInerney added 8.
“Offensively, it’s the best we have played in a while,” added Scholes. “I thought we had good pace. The ball moved really well against the zone.”
The Raiders played a solid defensive game as well, touting 12 steals and 13 deflections as a team.
Junior guard, Gennaro Picco, led all scorers with 30 points on the night and also grabbed a team high 9 rebounds.
“Gennaro played really well,” Scholes continued. “He made plays at the rim, and he also knocked down some perimeter shots off good ball movement. Scoring 30 points is not easy, and sometimes he makes the game look easy. Tonight, he got into a good rhythm and trusted that his teammates would find him with the ball. I also love the way he rebounded the ball leading our team with 9. When ‘G’ affects the game in more ways than just scoring is when I know he’s having a great night.”
Shawn Rose scored 12 points and had 5 assists on the night.
“Shawn also played really well. He hit a couple big 3s early and got us going offensively,” Scholes said. “I love when he’s aggressive. When he’s making plays in the paint, our team is better. Tonight he had four rebounds and five assists. He gives us a toughness on our team. He leads our team in taking charges, and he just does so much to help us win.”
Haverling’s Jacob Hagadone picked up a double-double on the night with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Justin Yehl added 12 points in the loss.
In JV news, the Red Raiders beat the Rams 58-29. Hornell’s Demayne Dixon led all scorers with 21 points. Kellen Crowe and Marco Picco picked up 14 and 12 respectively. The Rams’ Dylan Wenban scored 13.
The Red Raiders are on the road next week traveling to Wellsville on Tuesday and Livonia on Friday.
“Next week is a huge week,” Scholes commented. “We know the games are going to be big tests. We are going to need to play our best, and we are looking forward to the challenge.”
