Third-seed Batavia Notre Dame led the entire game to suffer a loss in the final seconds to Genesee Valley 59-54. The Irish was ahead the first half 23-18 led by Junior Mark Sanders, who sunk three three-point buckets, and Gabe McDonald and Colin McCulley added points for the Irish.
Controlling the ball and defense carried the Irish through the next quarter with Sanders, MacDonald and Cody Henry adding to Notre Dame’s lead 46-35 after three periods of play.
Genesee Valley kept chipping away at the deficit in the fourth quarter and defense stepped up their game. Senior Cody Schneider led the team with 10 in the quarter and 27 points overall in the game.
The Jaguars took the lead 51-50 with 3 minutes left to gain momentum on the Irish. Senior Evan Windus and Trevor Clark added points in the seesaw battle for the lead.
With 22 seconds left, Genesee Valley was up by two but a personal foul and technical was called on Notre Dame with 3.3 seconds left, which ended the game 59-54. Batavia Notre Dame junior Mark Sanders finished with 19 points and senior Gabe MacDonald 14 points.
Second-seed Genesee Valley will play number one-seed Avoca for the class D1 boys final this Sunday at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester; game time is 3 p.m.
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