Nick Perry’s seven steals guided Fayetteville-Manlius as they allowed their persistent mentality to carry them to a 65-64 double-overtime victory over Bishop Grimes in opening game of the More Than A Game Tournament.
The win was the second straight for the Hornets after they got off to the 0-4 start and answered a few of the questions that were being asked about them.
F-M’s superstars stepped up at different points throughout the game and overcame the adversity that they faced and ended up outscoring the go-to men on Grimes and led their teammates through the back-and-forth affair.
And the crowd was on their side. Even when Luciano Vigliotti and David Mo were finding the bottom of the net hometown Hornet crowd was loud and proud, a spectator said after the game.
Vigliotti and Mo combined for 50 of the 64 points that Grimes posted throughout the game, which was accepted by F-M’s head coach, Jason Dudzinski, who said that his team “played great.”
And that started with the hard work of Nick Perry that helped create the offense for the Hornets.
Perry’s fellow senior, Jawaan Crouch, supported and sometimes even carried the Hornets throughout the game. Crouch knocked down 3 of his 6 three-pointers in the second quarter and finished with 29 points, six rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
Forward Timmy Zapisek put 15 points on the scoreboard and collected 8 rebounds. He was 7-of-18 from the field and made one of the five three-pointers that he attempted.
Their teammate, Ryan Salzberg, found his stroke when it counted the most. Throughout the game, he had a steal and an assist, but, he just made his mark on the scoreboard in the overtime periods. Salzberg was 3-of-9 from the field and scored 12 points.
Dudzinski and his team were proud of the fact that his team didn’t give up when the game required physical and mental toughness.
