Route 36 Rivalry: Hornell – 84, Dansville – 43
From Hornell High School Athletics, photos by Ella Green
The Hornell Red Raiders improve to 7-2 on the season and are currently the #1 seed in Class B1 with their 84 – 43 win over the Dansville Mustangs Tuesday night at Alfred University.
The Red Raiders took the lead early with 13 unanswered points and ended the first quarter up 17-5. Hornell’s momentum carried them into halftime ahead 37-18.
“Tonight the kids really played selflessly,” commented coach Kirk Scholes. “We shared the ball really well and our total assists had to have been a season high. It helps when we get contributions from everybody.” Demayne Dixon led with 7 assists, while Cody Cardamone and Tyrone Buchanan added 6 and 4 respectively.
Four Red Raiders hit double figures in the win. Marco Picco led all scorers with 21 points, followed by sophomore Elliott Klees who netted 18 points on 6 3s. Demayne Dixon followed with 17 and Ben Woolever added 14 points.
“I loved that Elliott got hot tonight and the kids were on the bench wanting him to get more looks,” added Scholes. “I saw kids rooting on their teammate and realizing he had the hot hand. Tonight should be a big confidence boost for him. We need him to stretch the defense.”
Senior, Nick Gray contributed good minutes for the first time this season coming off a broken ankle sustained during soccer season. Andrew Flint also played strong minutes scoring 5 points and adding 3 rebounds and 3 steals. “Our bench provided great energy,” said Scholes. “I thought Klees, Flint, and Gray got the ball rolling for us a little with their energy and hustle.”
On the defensive side, coach Scholes was pleased with his team. “We mixed the defenses and did a good job of controlling the 3 point line,” he said. “I thought we had a good week of practice and we need to keep it going. However, we still have areas we can improve. The best part about this team is that we haven’t peaked. We have a lot of room to grow at both ends.”
Dansville’s Brady Henchen scored 16 points for the Mustangs followed by Sean Everett with 9.
The Red Raiders take on the Haverling Rams Friday night at Alfred University with tipoff scheduled for 5PM.
