WARNER – Aberdeen Roncalli put together a big scoring night en route to a 72-56 boys’ basketball win over Waverly-South Shore Saturday evening as part of the Warner Classic.

The 72 points marked Roncalli’s highest scoring effort in nearly a month.

That effort was driven by a 24-point showing from Jesse Hernandez, who drilled five 3-pointers and was 7-for-7 from the free throw line. Hernandez scored the first eight points of the game, opening the floodgates for the Cavaliers.

“Jesse really started us off with a couple big threes, which was huge for him, just because … shots weren’t falling for him, especially on Thursday,” said Roncalli coach Dan Gallagher. “So to see his first couple go in was a huge momentum boost for him.”

Hernandez was joined in double figures by Parker Grieben with 14 points, and Aiden Fisher with 12.

Gallagher said that balance in the scoring column didn’t come by accident.

“Jesse really started us off, but Aiden took what he did on Thursday (against Deuel) … and he duplicated that, but got guys way more involved than he may have on Thursday,” Gallagher said. “He had 12 points, but he also had probably double-digit assists. He involved everyone.”

While Hernandez and the three-point line may have been a dominant storyline in Saturday’s win, Gallagher said other parts of his team’s performance stood out just as much.

“What really helped us was, we only hit six threes, and normally when we score in bunches like we did, we hit a bunch of threes,” Gallagher said. “Free throws were huge. Guys got to the lane and got to the line because of it. 15-for-17 from the free throw line was huge for us.”

With just one game remaining in the regular season – a Monday evening make-up contest against Tiospa Zina – Saturday’s offensive outburst was a boon for the Cavaliers, Gallagher said.

“It gives the guys a lot of confidence and a lot of momentum,” he said, “just understanding that it doesn’t matter who we play against, we don’t need to rely on the three. We can get to the basket and we can do other things.”

WAVERLY-SOUTH SHORE (11-8): Jace Jellis 0 1-2 1, Sam Appelhof 6 2-2 18, Colton Kranz 3 0-0 7, Brady Eschen 2 0-1 4, Zach Ries 4 4-5 12, Kyle Kneeland 5 0-0 14. Totals 20 7-10 56.

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (8-11): Jesse Hernandez 6 7-7 24, Aiden Fisher 5 2-3 12, Sam Franks 4 0-0 8, Brody Weinmeister 2 2-2 7, Parker Grieben 6 2-3 14, Sam Larson 1 0-0 3, Austin Fisher 0 2-2 2, Jackson Lewno 1 0-0 2. Totals 25 15-17 72.

Waverly-South Shore 15 32 44 56

Aberdeen Roncalli 20 38 51 72

3-point field goals – Appelhof 4, Kneeland 4, Kranz; Hernandez 5, Larson, Weinmeiste). Fouled out – Waverly-South Shore, Eschen. Total fouls – Waverly-South Shore 20; Aberdeen Roncalli 12.