Men Open At Home With A Win

Raheim Grant
R Grant

The men's basketball team opened at home with a 65-59 win against Region III opponent, Schenectady County CC, on Wednesday night.  Both teams struggled to find the basket in the early goings as Broome did not score their first points until Raheim Grant knocked down a corner 3 at the 15 minute mark.  Both sides of the scoreboard remained in single digits for another 5 minutes, before the Royals made it 11-7 with just under 10 minutes to go in the half.  That basket sparked a 6-0 run for the visitors that led to their biggest lead at 15-7.  Lucas Iacobucci put in a deep three pointer from the right wing that put the Hornets in double digits with 8:14 left to play.  Broome would finally draw the game even on a 2-2 trip to the free throw line from Freshman PG Tron Smith, Jr. with 41 seconds on the clock tying the game at 25-25, the scoring would end there going into the halftime.

Another slow start in the second frame for the Hornets led them to look deeper to their bench for help. With 12:18 to go, and Broome down 42-37, the Hornets big man, Jorod Waitkavicz scored the next 2 baskets.  The first assisted by Jeremiah Wright, the second on a baseline spin and reverse lay up making the score 42-41.  Brady Harrington hit a deep three that would give them their first lead of the game 44-42.  The three and a half minute spurt, starting with the first Waitkavicz basket resulted in an 11-0 run, and a 48-42 Broome lead.  Schenectady pulled back within 1, but that was as close as the visitors would get.  
 
Grant paced the Hornets scoring effort with 17 points and added 8 rebounds, 5 offensive. Smith, Jr contributed everywhere with 12 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, and 2 steals, also 6-8 from the foul line. Iacobucci scored 9 points, along with 3 assists and 4 steals, and Reginald Vaughan chipped in 8 points including 4 out of 4 free throws.
 
The Hornets travel to Corning CC this weekend for the Crossover Classic, Saturday against Jamestown CC and Sunday against Genesee CC. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 P.M. both days.