By: Zachary Harnischfeger
ROCHESTER, NY--- The Greece Athena Trojans entered the game looking to keep their perfect season alive and capture their ninth sectional championship in program history. The Trojans weren't able to keep pace with a hot Victor team and were defeated by the Blue Devils 70-61.
"I think at some point, we'll be able to look back and be proud of ourselves," Greece Athena head coach Mike Setzer said. "Just right now it hurts. There is a lot to be proud of. We won our division, we were the number one seed for class AA and we won 23 straight games. At one point we were ranked number one in the state. That's a lot to be proud of, just right now I can't feel it."
Trojans junior guard I'zick Reaves got the scoring started in the first quarter after draining a 3-pointer. After a back-and-forth first quarter which saw a plethora of lead changes, blocked shots, and 3-pointers by both teams, the Trojans held a 21-16 lead. Victor came out firing in the second quarter.
The Blue Devils went on a 10-0 run to begin the second quarter and were backed by dominant defense that held the Trojans to just seven points in the second. Victor went into halftime with a 35-28 lead. Garrett Clar and Nicholas Leonard combined for 15 of the Blue Devils' 19 points scored in the quarter.
"We just started falling apart," Trojans senior guard Zee Johnson said. "Once they went into a zone, it stopped our momentum from scoring. That is pretty much what happened and we weren't getting defensive stops either."
In the third quarter, the Trojans put together a rally, which saw senior forward Connor Osier score 10 of his team-high 18 points in the game. They outscored the Blue Devils in the third quarter, 19-10, to give the Trojans a 47-45 lead at the end of the quarter.
"[Connor] is always going to be a dog," Trojans senior guard Khorie Reaves said. "He's got a great career ahead of him with baseball and for this to be his second sport, he loves it. That is why he is going to be great."
Foul trouble and missed shots by the Trojans allowed the Blue Devils to pull away and outscore the Trojans 25-14 in the fourth quarter to give Victor the 70-61 victory. This was the Blue Devils' third sectional championship in program history.
For the Trojans, Johnson finished with 16 points on the night and Khorie Reaves finished with 11 points on the night. Osier, Khorie Reaves, and Johnson were selected to the Section V Class AA All-Tournament team.
For Victor, Leonard and Clar finished the night with a game-high 23 points apiece. They combined for 46 of the 70 total points scored in the game by the Blue Devils.
With the loss, the Trojans finished the season with a 23-1 record. With the win, the Blue Devils move on to play in the Far West Regional on March 9.