On some nights, Coach Kevin Hind’s team has been an offensive juggernaut, firing in shots at will from beyond the arc, but that was not the case against the Bears.

“I thought the defensive effort by my guys was really the difference in the game,” Hind said. “We’ve been shooting the ball really well lately, so that was No. 1. No. 2 was we really wanted to focus on second-chance opportunities. Even though they have some size in there we wanted to play hard and really go get some rebounds.”

From the opening tip, Frewsburg was forced to deal with an early press and defensive effort that quickly started to cause turnovers.

“Randolph’s defense is so fast, so quick,” Bears head coach Rob Collver said. “We haven’t faced a team that fast and quick all year. It is hard to simulate in practices. We did the best we could with our scout team, but to actually get in here and feel it is different. Our defense was solid all game; it was our offense that kind of got out of whack. We got a little helter skelter, we turned the ball over a ton. We had 16 turnovers in the first half. We haven’t had 16 turnovers the entire year.”

Frewsburg’s Traden Gray (32) shoots over Randolph’s Jaiden Huntington (23) during Wednesday’s Section VI Class C2 semifinal in Randolph. P-J photo by Jay Young

Zach Winters would persevere through Randolph’s defense in the opening quarter, scoring 8 of his team-high 17 points in the first eight minutes.

Randolph would see a lead at 9-7 after a Bears turnover and a finish by Isaac Hind on the drive, but Winters responded with inside shots while Traden Grey got on the board with putback to make it 13-11 Frewsburg after one.

Isaac Hind, one of five seniors on Randolph’s roster, would make his biggest contributions in the second quarter with a combination of defensive effort and offensive production.

“Isaac was really, really good in the first half,” Kevin Hind said. “He was all over the place getting steals out in front, he finished a couple of different layups. He’s just been the glue. He’s the hardest working player out there, you can’t find someone to match it. For him it’s not about points, it’s not about glory. It is, ‘I’m here to win.'”

Isaac Hind scored on an inside cut, then picked up a steal and drove for another bucket, and completed an old-fashioned three-point play to give Randolph a key 23-18 lead in the second period.

That margin would grow to 9 points after Ashton Bushey sent home a backdoor layup and Drew Hind hit a 3 just before halftime.

“Our game plan was to get it to the bigs in the middle, break down the defense, and then either attack or look to our shooters on the outside,” Collver said. “We started turning the ball over and when you do that, when you don’t rebound, it is one-and-done and Randolph gets the ball right back. You’re not going to be successful that way.”

With Randolph’s defensive pressure starting to slow Frewsburg’s offense, the Cardinals got another key contribution down the home stretch from Carson Conley.

The sophomore buried a pair of 3s on back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter, taking the first off a nice feed from Drew Hind, and finishing the second along the baseline.

“Carson Conley, two in a row for him. That was huge,” Hind said. “We came right back down the next possession — we’ve talked about it 100 times — when someone gets going (get them the ball). I went right for a play with him in the corner and he banged another one and that was a turning point in the game.”

Randolph will now look to avenge two of its losses in a finals matchup at home against No. 2 Ellicottville on Friday.

The Eagles were 48-40 winners on the road on Feb. 19 and claimed a one-possession victory over Randolph at home on Feb. 24.

NOTES: Bushey would lead Randolph with 16 points, four rebounds, six assists and three steals; Isaac Hind had 11 points, six rebounds, four steals and four assists; and Drew Hind 13 points, four assists and three steals. … Grey would finished with 12 points and eight boards; Winters 11 rebounds; and Zach Carr five assists.

FREWSBURG (35)

Carr 0 0 0, Smith 0 0 0, DeJesus 0 0 0, Laska 0 0 0, Murray 2 0 6, Gray 5 1 12, Winters 5 7 17. Totals 12 8 35.

RANDOLPH (55)

Bushey 7 1 16, IHind 5 1 11, DHind 4 3 13, Conley 3 0 8, Huntington 3 0 7. Totals 22 3 55.

3-point goals–Bushey, DHind 2, Conley 2, Huntington, Murray 2, Gray.

Frewsburg 13 6 6 9–35

Randolph 11 17 14 13–55