January Madness: Hornell boys, girls to host 4 big basketball games
HORNELL — Saturday will be one of the best basketball days of the year for the Hornell Red Raider faithful as four straight games will be played in the high school gymnasium, including a huge rivalry nightcap as the boys’ varsity team welcomes the Wellsville Lions to town.
The long slate of games starts at 1 p.m. when the Hornell JV girls host the Aquinas Little Irish followed by the varsity game at 2:30 p.m.
This first slate of games is a rematch from a Jan. 4 contest that was played in Aquinas. The Hornell Lady Raiders traveled up to Rochester and simply put on a clinic in that game. Lillian Hoyt was unstoppable, scoring 23 points to go along with four assists, three rebounds and two steals as she led all scorers. Selena Maldonado also had a huge game by contributing 15 points, five assists, four rebounds and an incredible nine steals.
Hornell also saw Jordyn Dyring finish with 11 points, three assists, two rebounds and three steals as the youth explosion helped the Lady Raiders cruise to the 66-44 win on the road.
Mid-season girls basketball all-stars: See our list from around the Hornell area
Mid-season boys basketball all-stars: See our list from around the Hornell area
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Saturday’s contest promises to be a little bit closer as Aquinas is also a young team that is constantly growing. Since that first game two weeks ago, the Little Irish have put together a pair of huge wins over Class A opponents, winning by a combined 69 points.
Many people would consider Aquinas to be the more talented all-around team, but with the way the Lady Raiders can shoot the ball and defend, they will have an opportunity to be in any game. That should be the case again on Saturday. Aquinas will come ready and looking to get some revenge, but if the Lady Raiders can shoot and defend like they normally do, another double-digit win might be on the books.
After the varsity girls wrap up, the JV boys team will take to the court to play Wellsville, followed immediately by the varsity nightcap.
This is another revenge game as the Hornell boys defeated Wellsville just one week ago in Wellsville during a thrilling 68-64 win.
In that contest, Gennaro Picco was a dominant force on both ends of the floor, finishing with a game-high 31 points in the win. His brother and JV call-up PJ Picco also had a strong debut, scoring 11 points and helping to lead Hornell on a big third-quarter run that put them up by double digits going into the fourth quarter.
But Wellsville regrouped and made a furious fourth-quarter comeback bid, cutting the lead back down to just two points late in the contest. But Hornell finished the Lions off with a few free throws and secured the narrow road win.
Wellsville has one last opportunity to defeat the Red Raiders on Saturday afternoon, but it will need to play a full game like it did in the fourth quarter. But if the Picco brothers can continue to put things together with the rest of a senior-heavy lineup, Hornell might not be beatable.
This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: Hornell high school basketball teams to host 4 straight games
