STEVE HARRISON PHOTOS
The Hornell Red Raiders improved to 3-0 with a 66-52 win over the Warsaw Tigers in their home opener Friday night.
Both teams stood steady at 11 points a piece to close out the first 8 minutes of play, but the Red Raiders built a solid 10-point lead going into halftime.
The Raiders were able to add to that lead in the second half, but coach Kirk Scholes admitted his boys weren’t on their top game.
“We played well in stretches,” commented Scholes. “There were times we played really well, but other times we didn’t take care of the basketball, didn’t slow down and get into our offense, and we did a poor job on the defensive boards. These are things we have to work on everyday. Little things are going to be the difference between winning and losing late in the year.”
Senior guard, Gennaro Picco, stepped up and led all scorers with 32 points on the night. “Gennaro was outstanding, carrying us offensively with 32 and going 10 for 11 at the free throw line. He made plays all over the court.” Picco also led the Raiders with 9 rebounds, 5 steals, and 4 deflections on the night.
Aaron McInerney contributed 10 points, 5 rebounds, and a pair of steals and blocks in the win.
“We didn’t get a lot of contributions from other guys tonight, some because of foul trouble and some because of injury,” continued Scholes. “There’s a lot of takeaways from the game that we will work on in practice to continue to get better and grow this season.”
Warsaw’s Quinton Librock and Tristan Schurr both tallied 14 points for the Tigers. Patrick Klump led all players with 15 rebounds.
The Red Raiders will have a few days of practice before a road game against the Haverling Rams on Tuesday.
