The Cardinals entered the second half with a sizable lead at 29-11, but they really put the game to bed in the third quarter as they opened with a 15-0 run. Randolph’s offense did what had worked on all night long, passing the ball around the horn with great off the ball movement to find open space — which was often in the corner from downtown.

Carson Conley got the Cardinals going as he found himself in the corner and put up the first of five consecutive 3-pointers. Conley hit three of his four 3-pointers in the third, Jaiden Huntington hit two and Drew Hind hit one of his four 3s in the quarter.

“I was just real happy with the way we played together,” Randolph head coach Kevin Hind said.

“Everybody shared the ball, that’s what we’ve been trying to do the whole year,” Hind added. “I’ve got a lot of guys that can shoot the basketball, moving it and finding the open guy and a bunch of guys stepped up and knocked down shots tonight. I can put five guys on the court that can really shoot the 3.”

Silver Creek’s Aidan Jamison (20) looks to make a play while being defended by a Randolph defender during Friday’s Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Central Division boys basketball game in Randolph. Photo by Mike Frame

Randolph’s largest lead was 44-11 with a large chunk coming from beyond the arc, but that’s not how the Cardinals first jumped ahead of the Black Knights. In the second quarter, Randolph showed off its multifaceted offense when the evening’s leading scorer Gabe McCoy started to get hot.

McCoy and Silver Creek’s Ray Cortes battled closely in the first quarter, but it was McCoy who pulled away in the second as he was unstoppable under the basket. McCoy scored 10 of his 17 points in the second quarter as he would not be denied when going up for a bucket. McCoy’s presence on the glass did not just impact the scoreboard, but he also managed 10 rebounds on the night, which helped extend possessions and create possessions for the Cardinals.

“Early in the game we went to Gabe,” Hind said about going to what was working for his offense. “He was dominating inside and they got in foul trouble. Gabe averaging 17-18 points a game just changes the game. We’ve been working really hard on inside-out and getting him the ball.”

Silver Creek’s offense had troubles all night long, missing much-needed buckets that could have kept the Black Knights in the game. Silver Creek’s only lead was early in the first quarter when Aidan Jamison hit a 3-pointer to make it 4-2, but that did not last long as Randolph finished the quarter on a 9-0 run highlighted by corner 3s from Hind and Conley.

“We definitely weren’t playing well and it continued,” Silver Creek head coach Ralph Jackson said. “We had opportunities, we had some early fouls and had to adjust some things. They made a bunch of shots and we didn’t. We didn’t adjust well enough.”

The Black Knights were led by Cortes with 13 points and six rebounds while both Shawn Kelly and Matt Woleben hit two 3-pointers.

Randolph’s defense was tenacious all night long not giving the Black Knights an easy crack at the basket, forcing turnovers and difficult shots that never fell. Randolph kept the Silver Creek scoring under double-digits in the first three quarters and surrendered just 10 points in the fourth.

“We’ve been playing really good defense,” Hind said. “You give up 11 points in a half, I keep telling my guys that the offense will take care of itself and that’s what happened in the third quarter.”

The Cardinals had a trio of double-digit scorers with McCoy at 17, Conley at 16 and Hind at 12, while Owen Nelson scored 8 points and added eight assists.

SILVER CREEK (30)

Parsell 0 0 0, Woleben 2 0 6, White 0 0 0, Steinwachs 0 0 0, Farley 0 0 0, Quiter 0 0 0, Jamison 1 0 3, Fiegl 0 0 0, Millar 1 0 2, Kelly 2 0 6, Cortes 4 4 13. Totals 10 4 30.

RANDOLPH (60)

ONelson 3 0 8, Kelly 0 0 0, Hind 4 0 12, Loomis 0 0 0, GNelson 0 0 0, Conley 6 2 16, McCoy 8 1 17, Huntington 2 1 7, Schrader 0 0 0. Totals 23 4 60.

3-point goals–Woleben 2, Jamison, Kelly 2, Cortes, ONelson 2, Hind 4, Conley 2.

Silver Creek 4 7 9 10 — 30

Randolph 11 18 20 11 — 60