Randolph's Drew Hind passes around Chautauqua Lake's Brendan Klossner (30), Trent Houser (21) and Yazan Abuhmeidan (12) during Saturday's Section VI Class C quarterfinal boys basketball game in Randolph. Photo courtesy of Mike Frame

RANDOLPH — Devin Pope was effusive in his praise of Randolph’s Drew Hind following Saturday afternoon’s game.

That’s high praise from Chautauqua Lake’s head coach, who is the fifth highest scorer in Chautauqua County history.

Hind scored 23 first-half points as the top-seeded Cardinals led 36-14 after 16 minutes on their way to a 66-39 victory over the eighth-seeded Eagles in a Section VI Class C boys basketball quarterfinal at Randolph High School.

“Drew Hind is one of the best players this area has ever seen,” Pope said postgame. “Just the way he elevates himself and all of his teammates … he’s just so smart, it’s insane.”

Hind did it all in the first half. With the game tied 10-10, Randolph went on a 13-1 run to close the first quarter, fueled by Hind. The senior guard hit a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws before another two treys for a personal 10-0 run that made it 21-10.

Randolph's Carter Conley (12) looks to make a move while being defended by Chautauqua Lake's Carson Fairbank (4) during Saturday's Section VI Class C quarterfinal boys basketball game in Randolph. Photo courtesy of Mike Frame

“I haven’t seen a kid hit some of those shots, like he did today, in a long time. His step-back game is disgusting,” Pope said of Hind. “He’s just so calm. I feel like he’s never sped up, never under pressure. When you have a player like that, you just make everyone around you better too.”

The Cardinals finished the opening quarter 8 of 13 from the field, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range, while also holding Chautauqua Lake for 1-6 from the field and forcing three turnovers before the period was over.

“We brought a couple of guys off the bench at that point who played really good defense. Jaxson (Morrison) and Baker (Huntington) have both been playing really hard lately,” Randolph head coach Kevin Hind said. “Drew kind of took over and we really locked in on defense to make everything hard for them.”

Hind added 9 more points in a 13-3 second quarter, and finished his afternoon with 27 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals.

“Our game plan coming in was to basically deny the other two shooters and try to load up on Drew as much as we can,” Pope said. “He goes for 23 in the first half. … The game plan kind of went out the window after that.”

Chautauqua Lake's Trent Houser (21) looks to make a move on Randolph's Carter Conley during Saturday's Section VI Class C quarterfinal boys basketball game in Randolph. Photo courtesy of Mike Frame

The Eagles tried everything defensively against Randolph. When they played man-to-man defense, the Cardinals patiently ran through their offense looking for a mismatch after forcing Chautauqua Lake into a switch. If the Eagles played zone, Randolph meticulously broke it down until finding a seam to score.

“I think they hit five to seven 3s with under 8 seconds left on the shot clock,” Pope said. “Twenty-six seconds of great defense and they just find an open look or Drew creates space and hits a shot.”

Sophomore Carter Conley was the beneficiary of those zone breakdowns time and again as he finished with 16 points to go along with six rebounds.

“Carter was great today,” Coach Hind said. “We’ve been working hard with Carter. He finished around the basket and he rebounded the ball.”

“Conley, I think, might have played the best game he’s played all year,” Pope added. “Coming in I thought we’d be able to sag off him a little bit, but he finished everything he grabbed. … He ate us up tonight, too.”

Chautauqua Lake's Nick Jacobson (2) attempts to get by Randolph's Jaxson Morrison during Saturday's Section VI Class C quarterfinal boys basketball game in Randolph. Photo courtesy of Mike Frame

Junior Nick Jacobson led Chautauqua Lake with 12 points, all on 3-pointers, but quite frankly the Eagles just did not get enough attempts at the basket.

“It was going to be a tall test. It was for sure. I’m proud of our guys, especially in the second half, they didn’t give up,” Pope said. ” … My seniors could’ve stopped playing, my best player could’ve stopped playing, but they just continued to work their tails off like they have all year.”

On one end, Randolph bled the shot clock into the final 10 seconds over and over again.

At the other end of the floor, Chautauqua Lake went just 12 of 37 from the field and turned the ball over 15 times.

“This was about one thing: us locking them down on defense and then if the shots fall you win by 30. If they don’t, you squeak one out,” Coach Hind said. “Play really well on defense and the offensive stuff will take care of itself.”

Now the Cardinals, the New York State Sportswriters Association’s 11th-ranked Class C team this week, will take on No. 4 Westfield — the state’s third-ranked team — in the 6 p.m. semifinal Tuesday at Jamestown Community College’s Physical Education Complex. The Wolverines beat No. 12 Brocton 89-51 in another Saturday afternoon quarterfinal.

“It’s still at JCC. It’s still a big game and the place will be packed. … It’s going to be a great basketball game with an awesome atmosphere. The only thing is, whoever it is who wins that one, you have to go and win another one,” Coach Hind said. ” … This time of year, it’s one game at a time.”

NOTES: Griffin Nelson had 11 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals; Baker Huntington had seven rebounds; and Kevin McElwain had five rebounds for Randolph, which finished 26 of 54 from the field, including 9 of 30 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over just seven times. … Other than Jacobson, nobody had more than 6 points for Chautauqua Lake. Nate Henry had six rebounds, while Yazan Abuhmeidan had five rebounds and four assists for the Eagles, who finished 7 of 19 from 3-point range.

CHAUTAUQUA LAKE (39)

JSwan 2 0 6, Jacobson 4 0 12, Henry 0 3 3, Fairbank 0 0 0, Horvath 0 0 0, Hawkins 0 0 0, LSwan 1 2 4, YAbuhmeidan 2 0 4, JAbuhmeidan 0 0 0, Jauce 0 0 0, Houser 1 1 4, Gresh 0 0 0, Klossner 2 2 6. Totals 12 8 39.

RANDOLPH (66)

Morrison 0 0 0, NBeaver 0 0 0, Hind 9 5 27, Johnson 1 0 3, McElwain 2 0 5, Nelson 4 0 11, Conley 8 0 16, Brooks 0 0 0, BHuntington 0 0 0, Pihlblad 1 0 2, Root 0 0 0, GHuntington 1 0 2, MBeaver 0 0 0. Totals 26 5 66.

3-point goals–JSwan 2, Jacobson 4, Houser, Hind 4, Johnson, McElwain, Nelson 3.

Chautauqua Lake 11 3 7 18 — 39

Randolph 23 13 15 15 — 66