Three weeks after turning in his helmet and pads, the 6-foot-7 forward began his senior basketball season in impressive style Friday night, scoring 18 points to go along with 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block as the Red Raiders downed Southwestern 73-49 in the opening round of the United Way Tip-Off Tournament at McElrath Gymnasium.

Junior Trey Drake added 21 points, six rebounds and five steals, and junior Sean Paige chipped in 13 points for Jamestown (1-0), which moves into the championship game at 7:30 tonight against Health Sciences. The charter school from Buffalo advanced to the title contest by knocking off Cardinal O’Hara in the other first-round matchup.

“It was great to finally play,” Red Raiders coach Ben Drake said. “We certainly needed the extra time. So many of our guys played football. It was good to finally compete and play against somebody other than just ourselves. I thought we played hard throughout the night. We made some mistakes, and certainly we have some things to improve on. I think we had some first-game jitters with turnovers and things, but we’re looking forward to (tonight). Health Sciences is a very good team and it’s a great early season test for us. They’re probably one of the more talented teams in Western New York.”

Last night’s meeting between the crosstown rivals was close after one quarter — Jamestown led 21-15 — but the hosts outscored the Trojans 23-6 in the second period to build a 44-21 lead at the break. The game was played on even terms in the second half.

Southwestern’s Griffin Bogdanowicz (12) attempts to grab a loose ball on the floor with Jamestown’s Trey Drake while the Red Raiders’ Sean Paige looks on during Friday’s first-round game at the United Way Tip-Off Tournament at McElrath Gymnasium. P-J photo by Scott Reagle

“It was our press,” Drake said of the second-quarter run. “We forced them into turnovers that resulted in some easy buckets for us.”

Southwestern (2-2), which will meet Cardinal O’Hara at 6 p.m. today for consolation honors, was led by Aidan Kennedy with 19 points and Matt Pannes with 10.

SOUTHWESTERN (49)

Kennedy 7 2 19, Bogdanowicz 2 1 5, Pannes 4 2 10, Ni 4 0 9, Miller 1 0 2, Marshall 0 0 0, Lemk 2 0 4, Davidson 0 0 0, Pike 0 0 0, Vanstrom 0 0 0, Pierce 0 0 0, Burlingame 0 0 0. Totals 20 5 49.

JAMESTOWN (73)

Farmer 9 0 18, Paige 6 0 13, Brumagin 2 0 6, Freeney 0 1 1, Drake 9 0 21, Harley 0 0 0, Torres 0 2 2, Butts 1 0 2, Pryce 1 0 2, Garland 1 0 3, Viele 0 0 0, Colletti 1 0 2, Butera 1 1 3. Totals 31 4 73.

3-point goals–Kennedy 3, Ni, Drake 3, Brumagin 2, Paige, Garland.

Southwestern 15 6 12 16 — 49

Jamestown 21 23 15 14 — 73

CLYMER STAYS UNBEATEN

MAYVILLE — Clymer hit five 3-pointers during a 17-9 first quarter and never looked back en route to a 59-32 nonleague boys basketball win over Chautauqua Lake on Friday.

Austin White hit a pair of 3-pointers while Blake Kopta, Micah Willink and Owen White also connected from deep during the opening eight minutes for the Pirates (4-0).

Willink finished with 14 points and two steals; Austin White had 14 points, four steals and three assists; Weston Hepler had 12 points; and Michael Shampoe had seven rebounds and three assists for Clymer, which shot 10 of 17 from 3-point range.

Lawson Ormsby led the Thunderbirds (1-3) with 8 points.

CLYMER (59)

Michael 1 0 2, MKopta 0 0 0, AWhite 5 0 14, Hepler 4 4 12, BKopta 4 0 11, Shampoe 0 0 0, Willink 6 0 14, Baez-Dixon 0 0 0, OWhite 1 0 3, Ramos 1 0 2, Buerk 0 1 1. Totals 22 5 59.

CHAUTAUQUA LAKE (32)

Testa 0 0 0, D’Anthony 3 0 7, Cole 0 0 0, Miller 3 0 7, Flurie 0 0 0, Tarr 1 0 2, Brown 0 0 0, Meadows 2 1 5, Ormsby 4 0 8, Parkhurst 1 1 3. Totals 14 2 32.

3-point goals–AWhite 4, BKopta 3, Willink 2, OWhite, D’Anthony, Miller.

Clymer 17 12 19 11 — 59

Chautauqua Lake 9 12 7 4 — 32

Jayvees: Clymer won.