Holley tops rival Kendall in tourney opener

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Holley’s Patrick Bower puts up a shot between Kendall defenders Mickey Gardner and Dale Steffen during the host Hawks tournament win over the rival Eagles this evening.

Building up a big third quarter lead, the host Hawks had to turn back a Kendall stretch run rally to claim a narrow 54-48 win over the rival Eagles this evening in the opening round of the Holley Holiday Tournament.

Holley opened up a 13 point, 46-33, lead at the end of the third period which saw Andrew Moseman hit four threes and Patrick Bower chip in with two layups and three free throws.

However, Kendall, which was plagued by foul trouble, came battling with 15-6 run in the final stanza to close to within four, 52-48, in the final half minute.  Two threes by Dale Steffen highlighted the Eagles rally which also included two baskets by Hunter Menze and one each by Mickey Gardner and Nate Warters.

Holley’s Andrew Moseman looks to shoot as John Rath defends for Kendall.

The Eagles though could get no closer as a pair of free throws by Moseman put a lock on the win for the Hawks.

Moseman finished with a game high 26 and Bower 21 to spearhead the Holley offense as Ryan Andrews had 4 and Nick Schutz 3. Bower also grabbed off 15 rebounds and John Mounts 10.

Menze led Kendall with 12 as Warters and Steffen both had 9, Rath, Gardner and Mason Kuhn 6 each.

Holley jumped out to a 12-6 first period lead as Moseman hit a three and went 4 for 4 from the foul line.

A pair of layups by Bower upped the Hawks advantage to 16-8 at the outset of the second period but Kendall came battling back.

The Eagles put together a 12-2 run, including two layups by Warters, a three by Rath, a jumper by Kuhn and a layup by Gardner to rally into a 20-18 lead.

Holley though answered with a 7-0 run to close the period on a layup and free throw by Moseman and two baskets by Bower to regain the lead for good by a 25-20 margin at the half.  Bower had a total of 10 points in the period.

The contest also counts as a Genesee Region League victory for the Hawks.

Holley will now face Rochester Academy Charter in the championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday while Kendall will take on Geneseo in the consolation game at 5:30 p.m.  RAC defeated Geneseo 55-44 in the other semifinal.

Kendall’s John Rath drives up court past Holley defender Andrew Moseman.

Kendall’s Nate Warters goes in for a layup against Holley defenders Andrew Moseman and John Mounts.