Hornell – 65, Livonia – 44: Dixon, Picco, Woolover lead Hornell to a big win
From Hornell High School Athletics,
The Hornell Red Raiders traveled to Livonia for an LCAA matchup with the Bulldogs Friday night and improve to 2-1 with the 65-44 win.
Demayne Dixon led Hornell with 19 points in the win. He also had 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. “Demayne played well tonight,” commented Hornell coach Kirk Scholes. “He is so athletic, and he can get to the paint at will. He started to finish tonight, and his production matched.”
Marco Picco followed with 18 points on the night and had 5 rebounds. “Marco was fantastic tonight in the paint,” continued Scholes. “He’s playing with poise and getting to his spots. Marco’s understanding of who he is as a basketball player is fantastic. He’s versatile in that he can play in the paint, but he has guard skills that helps us with ball handling and shooting.”
“We shared the ball pretty well and the balanced box score shows that,” Scholes continued. “We got good performances from many guys. Andrew Flint and Elliott Klees gave us some big minutes off the bench in the 2nd quarter. Ben (Woolever) played a really good game. It may have been his best rebounding game.”
Woolever had another great night with 12 points, 6 rebounds, 6 steals, and 6 assists. Also scoring for the Red Raiders were junior Cody Cardamone (9 points) and Tyrone Buchanan (7 points, 5 assists).
Scholes had a lot to say about sophomore Cody Cardamone. “Cody also played his best game of the year on both ends. He was active defensively and got some deflections and steals. I loved the first possession of the game when the ball got swung to the corner and he had the confidence to step up and drill the shot. I thought it was a big confidence boost.”
Looking at the team’s performance as a whole, Scholes reflected, “Tonight we played with a great amount of energy. We were flying around defensively, and I loved how often I saw guys helping and rotating defensively. The identity of this team has to be on the defensive end. We will continue to work and progress, but I think we are getting better.
“Again, we need contributions from everybody. I’m enjoying this team right now. Our last few practices have been really good. The kids are gaining confidence and are playing with an understanding of what we are trying to accomplish. The best thing I can say about them right now is that we are a team!”
Livonia’s Oliver Taylor led all scorers with 26 points in the loss. Owen Austin added 10 points for the Bulldogs.
The Red Raiders will take on Wayland-Cohocton next Tuesday at Alfred University with tipoff scheduled for 6:30pm.
