Quinn Kwasniak made one 3-pointer in Cornerstone’s season opener against Gilmour on Nov. 27. With the state record holder for 3s made in a season having an off game, the Patriots needed help elsewhere. Darrien Davis and Asiah West were ready to lead the rally. Cornerstone grabbed a slim halftime lead and continued to press. A Hudson Funk mid-range jump shot gave the Patriots the lead, and a rebound with less than five seconds left sealed the season-opening 61-60 victory. PHOTOS: Gilmour vs. Cornerstone Christian boys basketball, Nov. 27, 2024 Cornerstone (1-0) started slowly and trailed by five late in the first quarter. With the shooting challenge for Kwansiak, the Patriots turned elsewhere. A Funk layup made it a three-point defect through one and buckets from Quinn and Carter Sims gave the Patriots the first lead of the game. Patriots coach Babe Kwasniak said that after an emotional start, the team needed to re-enter. "Coach (Sean) O'Toole (Gilmour's AD) is the closest thing to a brother I've had and his speech before the game was beautiful with his connections to the Big Guy (Tedd Kwasniak)," Babe said, referring to his father, who died Oct. 29. "Gilmour does things the right way. Coach (Dan) DeCrane is an incredible coach but a better man. They did a great job not letting Quinn beat them and forcing everyone else to." That's when Davis and West came in. They had 18 points combined in the first half and led the charge in double figures. Davis, in his first contest with the Patriots after transferring, finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Davis said he needed to be ready when going against a player who can control the glass inside like David Pfundstein. "I'm glad that Cornerstone accepted me and Gilmour is a very great team," Davis said. "Playing against a guy like David, he's a great player. For me to be with this family and everything they've been through, I'm just thankful for that." West finished with 12 points and Quinn Kwasniak had 10. With his shooting rhythm off, Quinn Kwasniak found different ways to impact the game. He ran the offense and grabbed 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double. Quinn Kwasniak has worked to round out his game and be able to work more inside rather than just beyond the arc. Babe Kwasniak said that depth will help get the team to the goals they want to achieve. "Quinn worked all summer with future lottery picks and was the smallest one there and it wasn't close," Babe said. "But that also allowed for him to be able to be more impactful of a player. He still had some questionable fouls but his impact in other areas was impactful tonight." Transition scores by Kysaiah Jackson and Zac Titas in the third put the Lancers up one and a bucket for Pfundstein off of an inbounds early in the fourth was the same result. But again, Cornerstone went back to work. Davis hit a pair of runners that gave Cornerstone a two-point lead. A Titas three and a pair of Pfundstein free throws put the Lancers up 60-59 but Funk hit a jumper from the free throw line with 1:42 left and the defense held Gilmour scoreless for the remainder of the game. "This offseason coach got on us to stay right," Davis said. "Through everything, we can't keep our heads down. We made sure to talk, keep focused and work from there." Pfundstein finished with a game-high 26 while Titas added 15. Gilmour (0-1) pushed the tempo early and made the speed of the game work for them. But they couldn't find their shot from beyond the arc. The Lancers finished 6 of 28 on 3-pointers with only Brady Olsen hitting multiple from deep. Coach Dan DeCrane liked the speed of the game but knows they need to not go with the first look every time. "It was a target of our game plan for sure to limit Quinn," DeCrane said. "He hit one off of a ball screen early but Brady Olsen did a great job the rest of the way. In some areas, we didn't push it enough and froze on some inbound passes. It was a little peculiar. We did shoot early in possessions and some of them were way too rushed. We settled and didn't attack the rim." Gilmour travels to Baldwin Wallace as a part of the Cleveland Basketball Classic against Berea-Midpark on Dec. 1. Cornerstone has another strong challenge early in the season with Maple Heights the same day as the final game of the Great Lakes Classic at Cleveland Heights.