Cortland County Matchup: Homer Trojans get hot late in the fourth quarter to beat McGraw

Last night, the Homer Trojans kicked off their home opener by defeating County rival McGraw with a score of 54-42. 

The Mcgraw Eagles held the Trojans offense to zero points in the first seven minutes of the game. The Trojans scored 5 quick points in the final minute of the quarter, but the Eagles ended up having a 5-7 lead to end the first quarter. 

In the second quarter, both teams went back and forth, with Homer holding a one point lead (18-17) over McGraw at the half. 

The second half was still a close affair, with both teams battling each other on both sides of the court. McGraw senior Caleb Smith would cause some problems for the Trojans in the second half, scoring a total of 20 points on the night. 

With McGraw up by one point halfway through the final period, Homer’s Jake Calabro, Nick Partis and Jarrett Wilbur hit some big three-pointers to give the Trojans the lead back in the final minutes of the game. Homer then sealed the game with free throws down the stretch. 

“It was a full team effort to pull this one out,” said Homer Head Coach Rex Ryan. “Everyone who stepped on the court made big shots.” 

“Jake Atkins and Jake Calabro made a huge impact on both ends of the floor,” added Coach Ryan. “Jarrett Wilbur controlled the paint and made big shots when we needed him. Reid Partis played major minutes off the bench and hit a huge three in the fourth quarter to give us a little cushion finally.”

Up next, Homer will take on Bishop Grimes on the road on Tuesday, March 2nd at 5:30 pm. McGraw will host Section III Class D rival DeRuyter tomorrow (February 26th) at 6pm.