Big win for the Red Raiders Friday Night, see the GALLERY
From Hornell High School Athletics, photos by JC’s Photography
The Hornell Red Raiders improve to 4-3 after a big win over Class A Rochester Prep Friday night at home. Friday’s matchup was the second this season for the two teams. The Red Raiders fell to the Tigers on the road back in December by 21 points, 61-40. This time in front of their home crowd, the Raiders displayed confidence on both the defensive and offensive sides of the ball.
“We played with some grit tonight,” commented Hornell coach, Kirk Scholes. “The kids came with the right attitude to work and they followed the game plan. We wanted to make them jump shooters as much as we could. We tried to pack the paint and keep the gaps tight. Rochester Prep is at their best in transition and getting the ball into the paint. We tried to limit both areas as much as we could. We have grown a bit with our ball and player movement and I’m hoping it continues to get better as we go. We need to have five threats on the floor and continue to let the ball move.”
Hornell senior, PJ Picco led all scorers with 25 points in the win. Demayne Dixon added 14 points, and Wyatt Evingham contributed 10. Aaron McInerney had 7 points and 9 rebounds.
Scholes continued, “PJ was a monster tonight. He played an all around great game. He scored from all three levels of the floor. I thought tonight he really showed who he is as a basketball player. He’s figuring out how to get to his spots.
“Demayne also played really well. His is all mindset. He can live at the rim. When he’s in attack mode our team becomes that much better.
“Wyatt did a good job of starting the offense and getting the ball moving. He did his job in protecting the ball and getting his teammates involved early.”
The Raiders are currently seeded #4 in Class B1 and sit atop LCAA Division I with a league record of 2-0. They will host Pavilion next Wednesday before traveling to Dansville for a league matchup next Friday night.
“This was a big step in the right direction for us. We know we haven’t reached our ceiling and there is a lot of room for this team to grow at both ends of the floor. We have some big tests coming down the road, but we are hoping tonight may be the turning point of our season,” reflected Scholes
