Monday Roundup: 4 different Lady Eagles post double digits to pace offense in road win at Ark/Can; Houghton boys survive late challenge from Keshequa to claim road victory
By CHRIS BROOKS, managing editor, wellsvillesports.com
CANASERAGA — A momentous and enormous surge of horsepower airmailed the Lady Eagles of Fillmore straight over top of Section V powerhouse Pavilion to open their campaign on the hardwood over the weekend. With the ball of energy now firmly within their possession, their aim was to keep the wheels churning along into the brand new week on Monday with their first road trip of the season.
Up next on the docket was Arkport/Canaseraga, and like their Saturday afternoon battle with the Lady Golden Gophers back home, the Lady Eagles once again used a first quarter detonation to set the tempo against the Lady Wolves, holding them to just two points while building an advantage that saw them remain in the driver’s seat for good, never unbuckling in what was a 65-32 road win.
“The girls came out with a lot of energy and set the tone right away tonight. We were able to play fast and because of it, we got a lot of contributions up and down the lineup.” said Lady Eagles coach Tom Parks.
Four different Lady Eagles (2-0) all eclipsed the 10-point plateau on the stat sheet, including another team-leading performance from Hope Russell, who tallied 19 game-high points. Following behind was Emalyn Mucher and her outside game, nailing a trio of triples from downtown to put towards her 13 points. Preslee Miller and Grace Russell helped round off a high-octane offense with 11 and 10 points, respectively for the visitors.
Fillmore never looked back from their rapid start against Arkport/Canaseraga across the first eight minutes of play, as the defense clamped down their end of their hardwood and held the hosts to just a single basket’s worth of points in the midst of their 17-2 run that allowed them to set the table for the remainder of the game ahead.
On special teams, Mattie McCumiskey led the game off the glass with 11 big rebounds, finishing just two points shy of a double-double for the Lady Eagles. Adding more help along the way was Grace Russell, who recorded seven steals and six assists. Rachel Hatch handed out five more helpers.
Next up for Fillmore is a 7:30 p.m. trip back home on Thursday, as they welcome the Lady Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg into The Rock.
Fillmore 17 13 18 17 – 65
Arkport/Canaseraga 2 9 7 14 – 32
FILLMORE: Hope Russell 7 5-8 19, Grace Russell 5 0-0 10, Rachel Hatch 1 0-0 2, Kylee Ellsworth 1 0-0 2, Mattie McCumiskey 2 4-8 8, Preslee Miller 3 5-7 11, Emalyn Mucher 5 0-2 13. Totals: 24 14-25 65.
ARKPORT/CANASERAGA: Jasmine King 3 1-2 8, Charonjit Vilkhu 0 3-5 3, Madelynn Kellogg 2 0-0 6, Kelsey Karr 1 0-0 3, Gracen Mahany 2 1-2 5, Payton O’Dell 2 2-2 6, Morgan Gilbert 0 1-2 1. Totals: 10 8-13 32.
3-point goals: Fillmore 3 (Mucher), A/C 4 (Kellogg 2, King, Karr).
Total Fouls: Fillmore 9, A/C 19. Fouled out: Mahany (A/C).
BOYS BASKETBALL
Houghton Academy 47, Keshequa 44
NUNDA — Both Houghton Academy and Keshequa went back-and-forth all throughout the night on Monday, exchanging trips up and down the hardwood. They would remain a stone’s throw from one another until the visiting Panthers created an opening in the second half to build a lead that nearly eclipsed double figures.
But the hosts in white and orange closed the gap once again to make it a one-possession game all the way down the stretch. Something had to give in the contest’s waning minutes, and for the Panthers, two big shots at the free throw line allowed them to branch their lead insurmountably enough to hang on and claim a narrow 47-44 win.
The biggest lead one team would possess was eight points, held by Houghton Academy (2-0) after halftime. In the midst of a flurry of back-and-forth baskets all throughout the contest, the Panthers would turn their attention to some big shots at the line from James Adenuga to go with a long triple from Josh Davidson in the last minute of the third quarter.
Both teams would remain step for step with one another, but Keshequa would never take the lead away from the Panthers, as they used three huge shots at the charity stripe to go with a Davidson two-pointer inside to assist in locking up the win while facing immense pressure from the hosts across the second half.
Leading the way was Adenuga, who had a team-high 17 points. Jack Prentice was not far behind, collecting 16 points and eight rebounds. Davidson finished with eight points, while Marco Zanini had six to go with eight rebounds.
Houghton Academy is back home on Wednesday for their home opener against incoming Fillmore at 7:30 p.m.
Houghton Academy 13 13 17 4 – 47
Keshequa 12 12 14 4 – 44
HOUGHTON ACADEMY: Jack Prentice 6 2-7 16, Josh Davidson 3 0-0 8, James Adenuga 6 3-4 17, Marco Zanini 3 0-2 6. Totals: 17 5-13 47.
KESHEQUA: Zach Smathers 1 1-2 3, Owen Pike 2 1-2 7, Aiden Upright 4 3-4 11, Ian Hinrich 4 10-14 18, Brady Wood 2 0-0 5. Totals: 13 15-22 44.
3-point goals: HA 6 (Prentice 2, Davidson 2, Adenuga 2), Keshequa 2 (Pike).
Total Fouls: HA 18, Keshequa 9. Fouled out: None.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Genesee Valley/Belfast 3, Bolivar-Richburg 0
BELMONT — A straight-set start to the 2023 season was to be had for Genesee Valley/Belfast on the volleyball court, as they used a strong opening set start against Bolivar-Richburg to set the pace on Monday in the Jungle to collect win number one behind a 25-15, 25-21, 25-13 final count over the Wolverines.
“A win is a win,” GV/Belfast coach Darren Bradt said. “This one feels pretty good, especially with having lots of new players and young players. I was really glad to see them come out for a 3-0 win. Hopefully, we can continue to grow and mold them as the time progresses. They did a great job in game two after being down late, but some good service brought us back into it and pushed it over the edge.”
The hosts in black were paced by a strong night of offense produced by Sean Mahon, as he gathered a team-leading six kills to go with his one block at the front of the net. Following up from the service line was Brayden Cooper, who had five aces to go with four kills of his own, and one additional block. Damien Rinker had three kills and two aces to chip in to round of Genesee Valley/Belfast (1-0).
Bolivar-Richburg (0-1) was led by Dustin Murray on the attack, garnering four kills to pair with four digs, two aces and two blocks. Setter Owen Unfus handed out seven helpers to his teammates, coupling them with two kills. The Wolverines are right back on the floor tonight with their home opener against Cuba-Rushford at 6 p.m.
Coming up on Friday, Genesee Valley/Belfast will return to their home floor for a 6 p.m. first serve against the Wellsville Lions.
Arkport/Canaseraga 3, Fillmore 1
FILLMORE —After falling in a back-and-forth first set to open the action in Fillmore, the visiting Wolves of Arkport/Canaseraga bounced back in a big way to capture the next three sets directly in a row. One of them included a third-set marathon that saw an extension into extra serves, as the Wolves declared triumph in four sets at the end of the night, winning 23-25, 25-17, 26-24, 25-14.
The Eagles (0-2) were led by Reid Cockle at the service line, as he gathered 17 service points to go with three aces. Following up was Nathan Tanner, who chipped in with 10 service points and one more ace, while setter Anderson Wiltsey handed out 26 big helpers to set up the offense for success.
For Arkport/Canaseraga, Noah Drouin recorded 10 kills and four aces to lead the offense. Salim Ford handed out eight assists to go with three aces from the service line.
Fillmore is back on the court Friday night with a 7:30 p.m. visit to Cuba-Rushford.
