Story by CHRIS BROOKS, sports editor, wellsvillesports.com, photos by TRICIA DAVENPORT
SCIO — Lightning struck quickly for Friendship/Scio on Thursday, when they saw Ethan Davenport and Brenden Loucks dominate the hardwood early with a wide range of attack from inside and out.
As for their opposition, it also saw Andover/Whitesville respond in a very similar fashion — with CJ Estep and a season-best night from Kohler Niedermaier in the middle.
After Friendship/Scio garnered the early advantage through what was their highest scoring quarter, Andover/Whitesville would answer back with theirs, seeing the emergence of both Estep and Niedermaier come to life to create a strong finish entering the break. With it, the visitors in purple would build, as they held Friendship/Scio still in the second half while capitalizing on a big third quarter run to pull away towards a 58-47 road win in Scio.
“This was a great win for our group, and a great way for them to go into the holiday break. We started out a little slow, as Davenport and Loucks really dominated the floor in the early going,” Andover/Whitesville coach Jimmy Joyce said. “Once we got the low-post game going with our guards dumping it down to Kohler, we really took off. Our guys really took care of the ball tonight, limiting turnovers which we hadn’t been doing recently. It was a big factor in coming away with a win in a solid, all-around effort by every single one of our guys.”
The presence of Davenport and Loucks was felt early on for Friendship/Scio, as the two offensive stalwarts delivered a 17-point punch through the first eight minutes, combining to record 14 of those points behind Loucks’ inside presence and a pair of threes from Davenport downtown. But later on, Andover/Whitesville (4-6) would respond in a big way themselves.
They looked to a pair of senior leaders to guide the way towards a strong finish to the first half, as Estep and Niedermaier set up shop for big things with 11 of the team’s 19 game-high points in the second quarter, led by Niedermaier down inside the paint.
Up by four at the break, it was the beginning of even bigger things for the visitors.
Everyone would help the cause in what was a momentum-shifting third quarter for Andover/Whitesville, as they saw balanced efforts across the board set the pace for a 14-7 doubling up of Friendship/Scio (1-5) that would ultimately see their lead branch far enough out of reach to secure the win heading into the holiday recess.
Niedermaier led Andover/Whitesville on the floor with a team-high 20 points. Estep would follow behind with 13 points of his own, while Colton Calladine had nine. For the hosts in white, Davenport led with five of the team’s six triples on his way towards a game-high 22 points, while Loucks contributed 21 of his own. Matt Donohue rounded off the scoring for Friendship/Scio with the remaining five points.
Andover/Whitesville is now off until the New Year, as they get set to take on Bolivar-Richburg back home in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off on January 5 in Andover.
Friendship/Scio will now prepare to open Christmas Tournament action back on their home floor Wednesday night, hosting Archbishop Walsh in a 7:30 p.m. contest of their own. Prior to the nightcap, Cuba-Rushford and Genesee Valley/Belfast will open the festivities in their first round battle, at 6 p.m.
Andover/Whitesville 13 19 14 12 – 58
Friendship/Scio 17 11 7 12 – 47
ANDOVER/WHITESVILLE: Will Kent 2 0-0 4, CJ Estep 5 2-4 13, Colton Calladine 4 0-1 9, Kohler Niedermaier 9 2-2 20, Derek Perkins 1 0-0 2, Gavin Cutler 1 0-0 2, Brody Vance 3 0-0 8. Totals: 25 4-7 58.
FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Ethan Davenport 8 0-0 22, Matt Donohue 2 0-0 5, Brenden Loucks 10 1-3 21. Totals: 20 1-3 47.
3-point goals: A/W 4 (Vance 2, Estep, Calladine), F/S 6 (Davenport 5, Donohue).
Total Fouls: A/W 9, F/S 12. Fouled out: None.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Bolivar-Richburg 3, Arkport/Canaseraga 0
ARKPORT — The Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg made sure their entrance into the holiday break would be of successful grandeur, as they went over the road to Arkport/Canaseraga and arrived home victorious with a straight-set sweep of the host Wolves, bringing out the brooms on what was a 25-15, 25-18, 25-20 win on Thursday.
Leading the charge for the Wolverines (4-2) was Jaeger Turybury on the offensive front, as he produced a team-high five kills to go with two aces and two blocks. Following up was Hunter Walp, who had four more kills to chip in, pairing them with three aces and two blocks, while setter Ian Unfus helped set everything up with his eight assists alongside five blocks and three more kills.
Bolivar-Richburg is back in action after the conclusion of the holiday break, as they head back home to host Genesee Valley/Belfast in a 6 p.m. first serve on January 3.
TRICIA DAVENPORT PHOTO GALLERY, VARSITY AND JV GAMES:
