Senior Ben Reding and juniors Patrick Uebelacker and Gianni Pellett each scored in double-figures and Spencerport never trailed in a 65-59 victory over Gates Chili to avenge an early season loss to the Spartans.
Combined with another win over Webster-Thomas, the Rangers were sitting in the middle of the Class A1 Section V playoff standings and were trying to build some momentum heading to the postseason.
The Rangers jumped out to a 17-5 lead as Pellett hit two three-pointers and Reding a trey with four free throws, but Gates Chili came right back with a 15-0 run.
Reding knocked down three treys from the right corner to build their lead back and Uebelacker added four points and Andre Marianetti a lay-up just prior to half-time to put the Rangers up by 11.
“We really got open shots, were moving the ball really well with good spacing,” Reding said. “We were going inside and out – our big man (Uebelacker) did a good job passing.”
A 10-0 run by Gates Chili to open the second half got them to within one point of the lead, but Uebelacker and Pellett helped the Rangers score on four consecutive trips to again push the lead to ten.
Gates Chili used full court pressure in the final quarter and the Rangers struggled a bit but, with the lead just two points and 73 seconds remaining in regulation, Reding, Pellett, and Uebelacker combined to hit five of six free throws to lock up the victory.
“We needed something like this,” Spencerport head coach Rich Vleck said. “These guys work hard every day and we’ve had a lot of leads this year…and we’ve had too many go the wrong way, unfortunately, but we deserved one and I’m glad we finally got one.
“Our record (6-12) is not indicative of how good we really are, and hopefully we are peaking at the right time.”
Reding finished with a team-high 21 points while Uebelacker had 20, Pellett added 15 points, and Marianetti five for the Rangers.
“This really boosts us for Sectionals; to get out there and really take it to teams and do something the other team doesn’t expect,” Reding said.
