By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
RANDOLPH, NY – Meeting for the first time Friday night, the Twin Tier powerhouses of Otto-Eldred and Randolph battled for four quarters. While the Cardinals won the first half, the Terrors won the second, outscoring their opponent 38-11 in the final 16 minutes on their way to a 60-35 victory.
While separated by a state border, the two squads share a similar prowess. Over the course of the three previous years, both teams have dominated their competition, with O-E holding a 65-4 record in that timeframe and Randolph sitting at 63-9. However, while the Terrors have pushed deep into the playoffs without capturing any sort of title, Randolph has broken through. Winning the Section VI Class C championship the past two years, the Cardinals also earned the NYSPHSAA State Championship in 2023. With equally impressive resumes, there is plenty of mutual respect to go around.
“That’s a hell of a basketball team right there and that’s a hell of a coach,” said Otto-Eldred head coach Derrick Francis of Randolph’s Kevin Hind. “He taught me a lot and our friendship is a lot more important than a win or a loss. He taught me more than I could ever know and taught my son. A lot of success we’re having is because of Kevin Hind.”
Coming into the game, everyone on the Terrors’ bench knew who to watch out for: Drew Hines. Leading the Cardinals in scoring the past few years, he was as dangerous as anyone on the court, and he made it known early.
Out of the gates, Hines got to work attacking the basket or driving through the lane only to pull up a short jumper that dropped no matter how contested it was. As the tip of the spear, Hines scored the Cardinals’ first nine points as they jumped out to an early lead.
“That kid is unbelievable. I knew we had to make him work for everything,” said Francis. “I knew he was going to get his points. I just told our guys, ‘trust us. Trust our defense, trust the process.’”
Meanwhile, the Terrors’ notorious offensive weapon – their accuracy from 3-point range – rarely drew iron early. Facing an air-tight and in-your-face 2-3 zone defense that included double teams on the wings, O-E struggled to both find space to shoot or entry into the paint. However, with the backcourt duo of Manning Splain and Landon Francis smothered, the Terrors turned to Shene Thomas.
In the closing minutes of the quarter, Thomas cleaned the glass on one end before knocking down a deep triple to tie the game. After a defensive stop, he would again sink another 3-pointer immediately after as O-E ended the period on an 8-0 run.
Randolph would counter in the second quarter, again led by Hind who scored the Cardinals’ first seven points. As both teams began to get familiar, the lead swapped hands back-and-forth. Facing an oppressive man-to-man spread, the Terrors were unable to find lanes in close while still struggling to knock down jumpers. O-E’s lone triple of the period came as the final basket of the period – Landon Franics connected to cut the deficit to two heading into halftime.
“I thought (the offensive struggles) were on me. Maybe I’m too systematic, like maybe I don’t let them freelance enough. I have to figure that out. That’s on me,” said Derrick Francis. “I have to do a better job of putting my kids in better situations early in the game.”
Being behind on the scoreboard for the first time all season, the Terrors went back to the drawing board in the locker room. What they came back with was an emphasis on aggression, physicality and pace.
Entering the second half, the Terrors hit the boards hard. Thomas and his big man counterpart Davey Schenfield attacked the glass for numerous rebounds, shutting down the Cardinals’ second-chance points and creating some of their own. On defense, O-E smothered ball handlers and pounced on drives with multiple defenders, forcing several Cardinal turnovers.
On the other side of the ball, the Terrors shook off the shakey first half and instead leaned into their shooting identity. Starting with a 3-pointer from Landon Francis that put O-E back in front, the Terrors would connect on consecutive shots to spark a 10-2 run.
“We rotated our players down one guy, per se, and we put more help more help in the paint where Drew likes to attack,” said Derrick Francis. “Then our kids made some buckets. That’s how it goes, we get rolling and it’s a freight train.”
From there, they closed out the third quarter with back-to-back triples from Landon Francis and Splain followed by a layup from Schenfield to enter the fourth up by nine.
At this point, the Terrors could smell the blood in the water. Sensing a gassed Cardinals squad, they doubled down on both fronts. After allowing Randolph to open the quarter with a layup, the Terrors wouldn’t allow another point until the final seconds of the game. In meantime, O-E would open with four consecutive triples, returning to full form as they flooded the scoreboard. With everyone contributing points, their instantaneous 12-0 run would snowball into 20 unanswered points, including an alley-oop slam dunk from Manning to Thomas.
Unable to stop the bleeding, both Cardinals and their fans watched as O-E celebrated the final buzzer, earning a win in very hostile territory.
Three Terrors ended in double-digit scoring, with Thomas scoring a team-high 20 points. Landon Francis ended with 15 points, all coming from beyond the arc, while Splain hit three 3-pointers and recorded 13 points.
AT RANDOLPH
Otto-Eldred (60)
Thomas 7 3-3 20, Francis 5 0-0 15, Splain 5 0-0 13, D. Schenfield 2 3-3 8, M. Schenfield 1 0-2 2, App 1 0-0 2. Totals: 20 6-8 60
Randolph (35)
Hind 9 5-5 24, McElwain 2 2-4 6, Brooks 1 0-0 3, Huntington 1 0-0 2. Totals: 13 7-9 35
Otto-Eldred 16 22 40 60
Randolph 13 24 31 35
Three-point goals: O-E (12) Francis 5, Splain 3, Thomas 3, RND (2) Hind, Brooks; Total fouls: O-E 7, RND 11; fouled out: None.JV: Randolph 36, Otto-Eldred 27
