Observer photo by Scott Kindberg Nick Jacobson of Chautauqua Lake drives into the lane against a pair of Randolph defenders during Tuesday’s non-league game at Randolph.
RANDOLPH — Randolph boys basketball coach Kevin Hind knew that Kevin McElwain was an excellent 3-pointer shooter.
The sophomore showed that last season as a junior varsity player.
And on Tuesday night, the 5-foot-9 guard picked up where he left off, drilling seven shots from beyond the arc en route to 23 points. Combined with 25 points, nine steals and eight assists by junior Drew Hind. And 12 points, five assists and four steals from junior Griffin Nelson were more than enough for the Class C state champions to beat Chautauqua Lake 71-50 in a non-league game.
Not bad for a team that starts with five guards, none of whom are taller than 6 feet.
Welcome to the world of Coach Hind’s hoops for the 2023-24 season.
Observer Photo by Scott Kindberg Chautauqua Lake’s Asher Olson retrieves the rebound during Tuesday’s non-league game at Randolph.
“We are young” He said. “We’re trying to figure out how we’re going to play. “We have five sophomores on the Jayvee team that are filling some pretty big shoes.”
So far, so good.
It was the Cardinals’ aggressiveness in taking the ball to the hoop that gave them a 22-14 lead after the first quarter, a margin that rose to 40-23 at intermission. Drew Hind was the main reason as he scored 23 points in the first half, while McIlwain hit three triples on his way to 11 points.
“Kevin McIlwain had a few games last year where he made five-plus-3s, so he can really shoot the ball, as he showed tonight.” Coach Hind said.
After the break, Randolph hit nine more 3-pointers — four from McElwain, two from Nelson, and one each from senior Rowan Kelly, sophomore Cooper Freeman and sophomore Broden Brooks — to extend the lead to as many as 26.
“We have the potential to achieve good things.” Coach Hind said. “We’ll just try to get better.”
Despite the loss, first-year Chautauqua Lake coach Devin Pope was pleased with the effort his young team showed against a program that left Glens Falls in March with a state title.
“We knew (Randolph) was a good pitcher, especially a home run.” He said. “We did our best, but we started watching the ball too much. … They’re a good team. You can’t take anything away from them.”
The Eagles were led by sophomore Trent Houser with 16 points, junior Brendan Klusner with 13 points and sophomore Asher Olson with 10 points. Leading scorer Nick Jacobson, another sophomore, was limited to 6 points – all free throws – thanks to the Cardinals’ defensive effort. .
“We didn’t set it up to open.” The Pope said. “We didn’t set up good screens to allow him to get space. We know it’s going to happen a lot. We just have to keep working and get out of it and make the right reads.”
“I’m proud of our guys. They played hard. I thought the score didn’t show how hard the game was, how close it was or how competitive it looked. … They’re still a young group. I’ve got six sophomores who played crucial minutes. We’ll get it done.”
Randolph returns to action on Friday when it hosts Silver Creek. Lake Chautauqua will not play again until hosting Sherman on Monday.
Chautauqua Lake (50)
Jacobson 0 6 6, Henry 2 1 5, Fairbanks 0 0 0, Gibbs 0 0 0, Fry 0 0 0, Olson 5 0 10, Abu Humaidan 0 0 0, Hauser 7 0 16, Klausner 4 2 13. Totals 18 9 50.
Randolph (71)
Morrison 0 0 0, Kelly 1 2 5, Hind 12 0 25, Nelson 5 0 12, McElwain 8 0 23, Freeman 1 0 3, Brooks 1 0 3, Huntington 0 0 0. Totals 28 2 71.
3 points: Hauser 2, Klausner 3, Kelly, Hind, Nelson 2, McElwain 7, Freeman, Brooks.
Chautauqua Lake 14 9 14 13 – 50
Randolph 22 18 20 11 – 71
Chautauqua Lake experienced a scorching night of shooting by the sophomore basketball team, leaving its opponents in the dust. The impressive display of skill and strategy has sparked excitement among fans and supporters, as the team continues to dominate the court. The hot sophomore shooting performance has put Chautauqua Lake on the map, and has established them as a force to be reckoned with in the world of high school sports.