Warriors start quick, fade late in loss to Eagles

By The Chronicle staff
Posted 1/21/25

The Rochester boys basketball team started strong against Elma on Tuesday, but the Eagles pulled away to defeat the Warriors 63-46.

The Warriors hit three early three-pointers to go up 9-4, but …

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Warriors start quick, fade late in loss to Eagles

Posted

The Rochester boys basketball team started strong against Elma on Tuesday, but the Eagles pulled away to defeat the Warriors 63-46.

The Warriors hit three early three-pointers to go up 9-4, but the Eagles battled back to tie it at 11 after one and took a 28-20 lead at halftime.

In the third quarter, Elma’s Issac McGaffey got hot, and the Eagles put up 23 points in the frame.

“We came out playing pretty well,” Rochester coach Caleb Sells said. “We got open looks, and we just didn’t make them … They came out in the second half, and McGaffey took over. He’s a special player.”

The Warriors outscored the Eagles in the fourth, but it wasn’t enough to make a dent in the hole that they fell into in the middle two frames.

“We’re running our offense way better,” Sells said. “Just a couple more shots made in those quarters leads to a whole new ball game in the fourth.”

Freshman Emmitt Mancuso had his best game of the season to lead Rochester offensively, hitting five threes and scoring 17 points in his first game back from an illness.

“He played really well,” Sells said. “We’re looking forward to seeing what that kid keeps doing. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going with him going into the summer. He’s going to be someone we can rely on for this program going forward.”

Colton Weiss added nine points, while LeShawn Hines, Brayden O’Connor, and Kole Smith added five each.

The Warriors (1-15, 0-5 1A Evergreen) will be at home again on Saturday to host Aberdeen in a non-league matchup.