Saturday and Monday Sectionals: Fillmore rockets past A-P, punch ticket to Class D Finals behind Bialek’s unreal 1st half; And/Whi boys fall in waning seconds to J-T, B-R boys capture first Finals berth since ‘07
Photos and stories by CHRIS BROOKS, managing editor, wellsvillesports.com
WAYLAND — There was a very real possibility that Allegany County could take Blue Cross Arena by storm to start the afternoon this Saturday. There was also a chance that Steuben County could do the same thing themselves. And there was also an opportunity for the neighboring counties to go toe-to-toe for the coveted Class D Championship brick.
Only one of those scenarios was going to happen. It was a matter of where the course of time would take Monday night at Wayland-Cohocton.
Starting the two-game night were the Fillmore Eagles, the Class D bracket’s top seed. They have not only been Allegany County’s top team since the beginning of the season, but they’ve surfaced as one of New York State’s elites. No matter what the forecast indicated, no matter the opponent nor the result, the Eagles have emerged an even stronger team every time.
In fact, they are more than dialed in to the objective at hand, than ever. Just ask head coach Randy Crouch.
“I told the guys right up front coming into this year that the goal is the Sectional Finals, and then make a run to the State Tournament,” he said. “I put the most brutal schedule that I could together for them to play. We learn from the losses, we become prepared and we’ll be ready for anything that comes our way. We felt sort of a quiet confidence, and one of our phrases is “Respect all, fear none.”. I think they’ve really bought into that. This game is just the next step. We talked a bit about when you travel to New York City, you see the Empire State Building. You get all excited about that, and when you get into Manhattan, you lose sight of it. I told them not to lose sight of what we’re doing.”
A long awaited trip to the War Memorial was well within sight. One more obstacle blocked their path there — the No. 5 Avoca-Prattsburgh Titans.
To do it, they would need an early bird special right out of the gate. The kind of start they have yet to experience all season. The kind of commencement that they saved for this moment.
At the ready was Fillmore’s ace in the hole: Jonah Bialek. The Eagles sophomore pushed the button and began lift off. He proceeded to have not only the biggest, tone-setting game of the season, but maybe even perhaps one of the best in his young career.
Did I mention that he did it in just the first half?
The Eagles wasted absolutely no time whatsoever making their presence known on both ends of the floor. With outstanding defense, comes even more tremendous offense. For Bialek, the numbers spoke for itself — seven three-pointers, 28 first half points and a bundle of defensive stops to help those around him on the floor. That combination spelled Class D Finals for the top seeds, as they navigated over the Semifinal hump to finally reach the grand stage at the War Memorial this weekend with an absolutely dominant 88-40 victory over Avoca-Prattsburgh.
“We’re notoriously slow starters, but this was by far the best start to a game we’ve had all season,” said Crouch. “Jonah is as good of a shooter as I’ve ever had, and it wouldn’t shock me if he went home tonight and got up some more shots. That’s the way he is. The thing that gets lost is the ball-handling and the defense. A lot of teams think that one of the things they do to get after us is by pressing. We don’t work a lot on press-break, because we have some stuff we run that allows us to get the ball in his hands. His defense, he was tasked with handling (JJ) Crowder. I don’t know what he had at the end of the game, but I thought Jonah did a really good job of containing him. Those are the things that often get overlooked. Those 25-foot three-pointers he hits are covering up what he’s able to do on defense to help us get set up on offense.”
You simply could not ask for a better beginning to come into complete and full fruition for the Eagles (19-3), as they soared to open the first couple of minutes of action. With Avoca-Prattsburgh bucketing their first from inside in the midst of all the activity, the top seeds went straight to work with their first three shots going down from long range — two from the hand of Bialek from outside in the parking lot, to jumpstart a 9-2 advantage.
Bialek’s reign of power progressed all throughout the first quarter when he contributed two more three-pointers along with some stalwart defensive efforts on the other end, swiping away possession and cashing in on the fastbreak down the other way to finish off a 14-point first quarter, and a 23-9 lead of the Titans.
Fillmore went on to stomp back down on the gas in the second quarter, more than ever before to keep all the momentum retained in their favor, with a circus-esque pass play set up by Bialek, JD Bialek and Isaiah Sisson — the latter of the trio finishing off the play that helped start a 30-point second quarter.
With a 35-18 lead in hand, the Eagles coasted straight to the locker room off an 18-6 run of Avoca-Prattsburgh in the last five minutes of the half.
While in possession of a lead they never looked back on, the Eagles saw 10 different scorers all make their mark on the floor from start to finish. The scoring depth is an element to the game that Crouch absolutely covets as one of his biggest assets.
“This has been a luxury of riches for me, and I’m more than blessed to coach these guys,” he said. “When you have the other guys, they don’t play second fiddle. Isaiah is playing aggressive, getting up to the rim and off the offensive glass, Jameson (Rhett) shoots confidently, JD (Bialek) is getting touches in the post, and then guys like Carson (Sanasith) and Jordan (Bialek) who come off the bench and knock it down. Late in the game, we had a couple of JV call-ups that also played their role in our practices, and one of them went up against Crowder a little bit in the fourth quarter. They all did great.”
When the book closed, Bialek emerged as Fillmore’s leading scorer at the end of the night, posting a game-high 30 points. Isaiah Sisson recorded 13 points. JD Bialek posted 11 points, while Cam Mucher chipped in 10 points of his own into the mix.
Avoca-Prattsburgh was powered by Austin Swift and his team-leading 14 points. JJ Crowder was not far behind him, bucketing 13 points. Bryan Heale had four points.
Now half of the Class D dinner table was set for this weekend. Not long after the conclusion of game one, the nightcap then settled in.
No. 3 Jasper-Troupsburg and No. 2 Andover/Whitesville assembled an epic battle that came straight down to the wire through a close battle that saw the pendulum shift each and every direction. With the two-seeds looking to overcome one of their many deficits of the game in the final homestretch, the Wildcats were searching for a way to hold them back.
With absolutely zero room for error, the path ahead had to be cleared in some way.
Enter James Ainsworth and Gage Hall.
In the game’s waning moments, it was Ainsworth that aided the team’s propelling over the top with what served as the final lead change of the game, as he finished off an absolutely immaculate outing at the charity stripe with his last two shots before swiping an Andover/Whitesville inbound to airmail a pass straight down the court to the former Andover/Whitesville product in Hall, who went on to score four straight points off back-to-back runs to the rim with a minute remaining to branch out Jasper-Troupsburg’s lead in crucial fashion.
As a result, the Wildcats went on to hang on by the skin of their teeth to claim the final vacancy in this weekend’s Finals at Blue Cross Arena with a 57-53 victory.
“I knew going in that we could play 100 games against them and we would both come out 50-50. It’s two teams that are fairly similar in build and skill levels. Jimmy (Joyce) and his coaching staff do such a great job getting them prepared,” said Wildcats coach Louis Zver. “They worked really hard to get where they are now, and I could tell. If we could go man-to-man with them, we could disrupt their three-point shooting. Sometimes in situations like this, we just had to buckle down and play man-to-man.”
The back-and-forth trade of jaunts between the two clubs settled in fairly quickly in the opening frame, with Andover/Whitesville connecting on the first with six straight points following a 6-5 lead for the Wildcats, to spring out ahead. Jasper-Troupsburg eventually navigated their way out ahead with an 8-0 run of the No. 2 seeds during the second quarter behind Ainsworth’s guidance from the free-throw line.
The dry spell for Andover/Whitesville reached its end after what was a 10-0 run by the Wildcats, with James Miller-Young’s three-pointer helping cut the deficit down to a pair of points before Hall and Nolan Vallieres put a cap on a strong 17-9 second quarter advantage for Jasper-Troupsburg to take a three-point lead into the locker room.
The momentum was held in their hands. Zver said all his guys had to do was run with it.
“That’s something we usually try to preach in the locker room,” he said. “This was an opportunity to get that little edge when we need it the most. A lot of times, teams will come out a little complacent, but I thought if we had some open chances, we’d run with it. Landon (Zver), for the most part, connected on a two and a three to start the second half. That was big, and it propelled us for a bit, even with the mental lapses at times.”
Landon Zver guided the way for the Wildcats, as the team showed no signs of slowing down while picking up where they left off from the first half, registering the quarter’s first seven points — five of them belonging to the Wildcats junior to branch their advantage into double-digit territory for the first time in the evening.
Andover/Whitesville was able to shake it off later on to develop a rhythm themselves, beginning with a feisty right hand from Brody Vance to knock the ball loose from the Wildcats and cash in on a breakaway run to the rim. Colton Calladine ensued a short time later with a hard-fought basket down low to keep trimming away at their deficit.
They would climb to within three down the stretch of the frame with a phenomenal two-part sequence taking shape from Gage Putnam, as he stepped in to take a charge on the defensive end before being rewarded for his efforts on the other end on the very next play with a nice jumper from the inside.
After a couple of more exchanges, the Wildcats were able to stay out on top with a 41-39 third quarter lead going into the last eight minutes.
After both teams came together to procure a 41-41 deadlock in the early stages of the final frame, the Wildcats asserted control with a clutch 8-0 run against Andover/Whitesville consisting of a Xavier Remchuk three and five more points from Ainsworth on special teams with a three-point play and two individual shots at the line later on.
Despite falling behind with another deficit again, Andover/Whitesville reversed the propulsion to spearhead a 7-0 run to close the gap behind Jasper-Troupsburg once again, this time to a single point with 2:36 remaining in regulation.
With time running out, the Wildcats then used a late burst of momentum to speed back ahead, this time out of reach, with Ainsworth putting the finishing touches on what was an 11-for-11 outing at the charity stripe, all before Gage Hall took over the spotlight in the last minute with the conversion of two straight runners to the basket, branching the Wildcats lead out to five where it ultimately withstood the test of time to help them clinch a spot in this weekend’s Class D Finals at the War Memorial.
As for Hall, Zver says that ever since his arrival from Andover/Whitesville, he’s become a refreshing presence on the floor for the Wildcats.
“Gage has been a breath of fresh air for us. He’s a different player, and he plays hard. I saw when he got his first chance to score, he was going to make it in. He’s such a big kid, and as a senior who had to sit out a year after transferring to us, he did a very good job. I’m very proud of him.” he said.
Ainsworth’s perfect night at the charity stripe helped lead Jasper-Troupsburg in scoring, as he posted a game-high 17 points. Zver concluded with 15 points of his own, while Hall and Jackson Hayes both had eight points.
Andover/Whitesville was led by Brody Vance and his 14 team-leading points. Colton Calladine chipped in 13 points of his own, while Vinny Joyce had 11. The 2024-25 campaign for the team has officially reached its conclusion, as they wrap up with a record of 15-7 overall. Andover/Whitesville will graduate just one senior in Ethan Warriner when Graduation arrives this June.
“This was a battle tonight. I thought we had some early opportunities to really take charge and we just couldn’t do it,” Andover/Whitesville coach Jimmy Joyce said. “We will regroup and be even better next year, I promise you that. This hurts, and the emotions after the game were pretty tough to handle. These guys poured everything into this team both during the season and in the off-season. I’m so lucky to coach these young men. I want to thank our lone senior Ethan for all of his hard work. He’s a true leader on and off the court, and we will miss him dearly.”
Joyce continued, saying “Colton was tough tonight, he took a bad fall but he made it through the game. But congrats to Lou, Brian (Adams) and everyone at Jasper-Troupsburg. Well done and well deserved. Congratulations go out to Randy (Crouch) and everyone at Fillmore on their Finals trip as well.”
Jasper-Troupsburg has now earned the right to main event one of the many hoops contests going on at Blue Cross Arena on Saturday, as they get set to battle top-seeded Fillmore for all the marbles and a direct trip to the Class D Far West Regional at Gates-Chili in two week’s time.
“They are a handful. A big handful. They have five really good players and a couple more that come off the bench. I paid attention a little bit with them and tried to gauge who we might play during Sectionals,” Zver said. “We got some ideas to try and slow things down, but it’s going to come down to who plays their best basketball that day. We were there two years ago against a very strong Mount Morris team. They were 12 deep. I don’t take any of this for granted, so I told the guys to enjoy tonight and we’ll get back to work tomorrow.”
Eagles coach Randy Crouch added on their Finals battle with the Wildcats, saying that “I’m happy we’re having the opportunity to play in the Finals. I couldn’t be prouder of the guys. Jasper-Troupsburg has pretty good depth of size and I know they have a bunch of guys that can shoot the ball. I’ve been very conscientious about not getting ahead of myself. I’ve accumulated the data, but haven’t read anything. We’ll take tomorrow off from the grind to enjoy this, and then we’ll be back in the gym preparing for this weekend.”
Avoca-Prattsburgh 12 12 4 12 – 40
Fillmore 23 30 22 13 – 88
AVOCA-PRATTSBURGH: JJ Crowder 4 5-6 13, Austin Swift 6 0-0 14, Noah Hoffman 0 2-2 2, Carter Button 1 0-0 2, Colin Zurlick 1 0-0 3, AJ Underhill 1 0-0 2, Bryan Heale 2 0-0 4, Julian Frings 0 0-2 0. Totals: 15 7-10 40.
FILLMORE: Jordan Bialek 1 0-0 2, Carson Sanasith 1 1-1 4, Isaiah Sisson 5 3-3 13, Jonah Bialek 11 1-1 30, Tyler Voss 2 2-4 6, Jameson Rhett 4 0-0 9, Cam Mucher 5 0-0 10, JD Bialek 5 0-0 11, Liam McCumiskey 0 0-2 0, Connor McCumiskey 1 1-2 3. Totals: 35 8-13 88.
3-point goals: A-P 3 (Swift 2, Zurlick), Fillmore 10 (Jon. Bialek 7, Sanasith, Rhett, JD Bialek).
Total Fouls: A-P 10, Fillmore 9. Fouled out: None.
Jasper-Troupsburg 9 17 15 16 — 57
Andover/Whitesville 14 9 16 14 — 53
JASPER-TROUPSBURG: Braylon Lawson 1 1-2 3, James Ainsworth 3 11-11 17, Nolan Vallieres 1 1-4 3, Jackson Hayes 3 1-2 8, Landon Zver 6 0-1 15, Xavier Remchuk 1 0-0 3, Gage Hall 4 0-2 8. Totals: 19 14-22 57.
ANDOVER/WHITESVILLE: Gage Putnam 3 0-0 6, James Miller-Young 2 0-0 5, Vinny Joyce 5 1-4 11, Brody Vance 5 2-3 14, Jon Vallieres 2 0-2 4, Colton Calladine 5 3-4 13. Totals: 22 6-13 53.
3-point goals: J-T 5 (Zver 3, Hayes, Remchuk), A/W 3 (Vance 2, Miller-Young).
Total Fouls: J-T 12, A/W 20. Fouled out: Calladine (A/W).
More stories on sections from the weekend and Monday after Chris Brooks photos:
Class C2 Semifinals
No. 4 Bolivar-Richburg 38, No. 1 Dundee/Bradford 35
DANSVILLE — It has been a long time coming for No. 4 Bolivar-Richburg.
They were mere seconds away from snapping a long Finals drought last season, when they went straight down to the wire with eventual finalist Alexander. The heartbreak that settled in, more than devastating.
But after constructing some of the basketball of the season to close out their regular season campaign entering Sectionals, the Wolverines were moving at full steam ahead. Now, just one more victory separated them from ending a drought that has lasted for nearly 20 years. Next in line: No. 1 Dundee/Bradford.
And they brought every bit of it to the table.
From start to finish, there was no degree of separation after every quarter that eclipsed more than four points, with the first three stanzas all being determined by no larger than a two-point basket. To say that it was a true defensive battle right to the end, would be a massive understatement.
After forcing a lead change across the fourth quarter, the Wolverines had to hang on. With the BraveScots quickly closing in right behind them, they needed a safety blanket.
Who else better for the opportunity, than one of the all-time greats in Landon Barkley.
With seconds remaining until the final buzzer sounded, Bolivar-Richburg charted their course towards victory in clutch fashion behind the Wolverines senior and his two game-sealing shots from the charity stripe, pushing their advantage out to a trio of points with virtually no time remaining for Dundee/Bradford to formulate a response in return, as the No. 4 seeds stun the Class C2 field with an upset of the top seeds to move onto the Finals for the first time since 2007 with a defensive 38-35 victory.
“It was every bit of a donnybrook as I thought it would be. It feels pretty good after having a great shot these last couple of years to finally get over that Semifinal hump,” said Wolverines coach Justin Thomas. “To push those heartbreaks aside and get through to the big dance, it’s a chance that we will not take for granted. The defensive battle was on the entire way. When either team doesn’t break 40, you know it’s going to be one of those knock out and drag out games. One of the big adjustments was we weren’t handling their screens really well. We were slacking on the recovery portion of that, and we did a great job not giving them open threes or easy buckets from those. The defensive effort was impeccable, and Dundee/Bradford was really difficult to score against. But we did just enough offensively and at the line to squeak it out.”
Bolivar-Richburg (17-6) had some early fireworks to set off, opening with the game’s first monstrous lead over Dundee/Bradford with a 10-2 run — six of those points off two big threes from the hand of Mason Baldwin. After the BraveScots regained traction to close out the first quarter strong with the narrow lead, the Wolverines came right back with Baldwin’s help from outside again, as he nailed his third three of the half to become the difference maker going into the locker room.
In the second half, the offensive efforts from the first half were left in the rearview mirror at an instant, as both defenses buckled down and kept one another at bay through the first four minutes before recommencing their attack later on, with Dundee/Bradford carrying a one-point lead going into the final eight minutes.
The two foes weaved their way back-and-forth against one another all the way down to the wire, where the Wolverines forced one final lead change along the way.
With Dundee/Bradford looking to make a game-saving move right behind them with minimal time remaining, Landon Barkley came to the rescue for the Wolverines with two outstanding free throws with nearly a second left to play to push the advantage out to three where it would remain solidified until the end of time.
Those efforts, sealing the envelope on a trip to the War Memorial for the first time in 18 years for the program.
Barkley finished as the leading scorer for Bolivar-Richburg, as he bucketed a team-high 14 points. Following Baldwin’s three first half triples for nine points, Kingston Loucks chipped in with eight points, while Braden Zilker and Waide Karnuth rounded out the scoring with five and two points, respectively.
The Wolverines have now punched their tickets to Blue Cross Arena coming up this Friday night, as they now prepare to go for championship glory against another stalwart in Section V — the No. 7 York Golden Knights, a team seeking their second title in the last four years, after they edged out No. 4 Notre Dame-Batavia to claim their spot in the Finals.
Thomas says York is as good as it gets.
“The pedigree is certainly there,” he said. “They’ve been there and they achieved glory in that setting. They know what to expect and the coaches are going to have them ready. Coach (Ed) Orman does a great job with those kids up there in York, and we’re going to make sure we leave no stone unturned. We should be in for another instant classic this weekend. We’re looking forward to this awesome opportunity.”
Bolivar-Richburg 10 12 6 10 – 38
Dundee/Bradford 11 10 8 6 – 35
BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Landon Barkley 4 5-6 14, Braden Zilker 1 2-3 5, Waide Karnuth 1 0-0 2, Mason Baldwin 3 0-0 9, Kingston Loucks 2 3-6 8. Totals: 11 10-15 38.
DUNDEE/BRADFORD: Aidan Webster 4 1-4 10, Jeremy Stiles 2 0-0 6, Chris Clancey 5 1-4 11, Alex Goltry 4 0-2 8. Totals: 15 2-10 35.
3-point goals: B-R 6 (Baldwin 3, Barkley, Zilker, Loucks), D/B 3 (Stiles 2, Webster).
Total Fouls: B-R 13, D/B 13. Fouled out: None.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Class B1 Semifinals
No. 8 Mynderse 51, No. 4 Wellsville 50
HONEOYE FALLS — After two strong quarters were pieced together by No. 8 Mynderse, the No. 4 Lady Lions of Wellsville were in the midst of a comeback on their own accord.
With a potential Finals matchup against the No. 2 Hornell Lady Red Raiders waiting in the wings this weekend in Canandaigua, the Lady Lions did everything in their power to make it happen on Monday.
The fourth quarter put everyone at Honeoye Falls-Lima on the very edge of the seats until the game was officially over. Wellsville was driving in the fast lane, with No. 8 Mynderse hanging on for dear life with the advantage in hand. The pressure began to boil over late, as the Lady Blue Devils lead closed down.
With the Lady Lions holding the final possession after two enormous free shots from the stripe, the future of their destiny was in their hands.
Makenna Dunbar came up at large for Wellsville with the sinking of a colossal three-pointer. But that only closed the gap behind the No. 8 seeds to just one point with less than two seconds remaining. After possession transferred over to Mynderse, the Lady Lions had run out of time, as the Lady Blue Devils went on and continued their Cinderella story into the Class B1 Finals this weekend with a stunning 51-50 upset win.
“I think we came out nervous and it took us a little while to settle in,” Lady Lions coach Michelle Alvord said. “When we did, things started to move along. We could get some stops, but we couldn’t capitalize off them. That helped them earn some momentum, and then we came out and made some adjustments that we should have made sooner. Our kids kept going at it and chipped away to try and win a game. But it ultimately became too late.”
Both Mynderse and Wellsville each traded a share of the lead across the first half of play, with Mynderse springboarding their way out to the front off the erasing of a 13-9 first quarter lead from the No. 4 seeds, as they unleashed their offensive balance in the second quarter with a lengthy 17-9 half-closing run to jump ahead.
The Lady Blue Devils remained in the driver’s seat at the start of the second half with their strongest outing of offense in the contest. But their advantage was threatened in the final stages of battle by the Lady Lions, who assembled a dominant 17-7 jaunt to close out the game with a monstrous amount of pressure to create one last tidal wave.
With Makenna Dunbar launching what would be the very last shot of her illustrious career for the white and orange, it trimmed the deficit down to a single point with less than two seconds remaining in regulation.
After a timeout, the Lady Blue Devils held onto the ball for dear life as time wound to the end, as they ended Wellsville’s stellar season on the hardwood.
Dunbar led all scorers on the floor for Wellsville with a game-high 24 points, pairing them with five rebounds to finish off another All-Tournament performance through Sectionals — an honor she has been graced with for a fourth straight year.
Jaden Dunbar chipped in with 10 points. Caelyn Stevens had nine points, while Emily Stuck had six rebounds to grab off the glass, and Natalie Adams had a trio of assists to hand out.
The season is now over for Wellsville, as they wrap up with a record of 15-7 overall. The Lady Lions will graduate three seniors at the end of the year in June, in Dunbar, Adams and Alexa Stuck.
For Alvord, she said that all three seniors will truly be missed.
“I cannot express what Makenna, Natalie and Alexa have brought to this team,” she said. “Honestly on and off the court, as far as their talent, it speaks for itself. The leadership, the comradery, especially with Makenna and Nat. Those two have been up on this program since they were in JV. I hate to see them all go out this way, but I’ve been very fortunate to coach them. I will dearly miss them. The future is definitely bright ahead, with a strong nucleus coming back to go with some really good JV players from this past season. I’m really excited to see where things will take us.”
Mynderse 9 17 18 7 – 51
Wellsville 13 9 11 17 – 50
MYNDERSE: Chelsea Korzeniewski 8 5-6 26, Danielle McDermott 0 0-2 0, Peyton Verkey 7 0-0 15, Alessandra Nigro 2 0-0 4, Reese Markel 2 1-2 6. Totals: 19 6-10 51.
WELLSVILLE: Caelyn Stevens 3 2-2 9, Natalie Adams 1 0-0 3, Emily Stuck 1 2-2 4, Makenna Dunbar 8 6-11 24, Jaden Dunbar 3 4-4 10. Totals: 16 14-19 50.
3-point goals: Mynderse 7 (Korzeniewski 5, Verkey, Markel), Wellsville 4 (M. Dunbar 2, Stevens, Adams).
Total Fouls: Mynderse 13, Wellsville 13. Fouled out: None.
No. 2 Hornell 62, No. 9 Penn Yan 26
Penn Yan 9 3 8 6 — 26
Hornell 16 24 7 16 — 62
It’s hard to believe Hornell was down 9-7 at one points. The Red Raiders went on a 33-5 run to end the first half and never looked back.
Coach James Dagon was proud of the champions who face Mynderse in the finals.
“After a slow start offensively, our defense led the way for us, holding Penn Yan to just 12 points in the first half and 14 in the second. Penn Yan is very athletic and defends well, which stifled us at times, but I think the girls did a great job of taking care of the ball and being patient on offense, leading to quality scoring opportunities,” Dagon said. “As a team, we shot 43% from the floor, which was a result of our willingness to let plays develop and we executed well when we finally produced a good scoring opportunity.”
Hornell could have locked up a No. 1 seed, but the team opted for a tougher schedule and it worked, as the team reached the place they want to be in March, the finals with a chance to keep playing.
“It’s been a grind this year with the difficult schedule we had, but the girls have been resilient and are playing their best basketball at the perfect time,” Dagon said. “We are going to continue taking things one game at a time, trusting each other, and focusing on the things we can control.”
Game Stats:
Jordyn Dyring – 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Raegan Evingham – 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists
Payton Bentley – 9 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 assists
Selena Maldonado – 7 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, 1 block
A’jonay Hawkins – 5 points, 3 rebounds
Teegan Eveland – 3 points
Mia Nasca – 2 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Alexis Smith – 2 points, 2 steals
Class B2 Semifinals
No. 1 Lyons 65, No. 4 Canisteo-Greenwood 53
CANANDAIGUA — Right in the first half of play, the top-seeded Lyons Lady Lions came out swinging on Monday against No. 4 Canisteo-Greenwood.
After garnering the early edge in the opening frame, one switch of the knob went up in the second quarter, where the Lady Chargers could not overcome the major bump in the road, as they saw their season come to an end after a 65-53 defeat in the Class B2 Semifinals in Canandaigua.
Throughout the first half of play, the Lady Lions did not miss a beat, as they used multiple contributions across the first quarter to help lay the foundation down on one end while holding Canisteo-Greenwood to just three field goals along the way on the other to lay claim on a 16-9 lead. In the second quarter, a much bigger story.
With the momentum currently residing with the top-seeds, Lyons punched down on the gas one more time with an absolutely dominant finish to the half behind the efforts of four different scorers, all posting at least four points to help set the stage.
When it was all said and done, the Lady Lions raced into the break on a 21-7 run that granted them a massive double-digit lead going into the recess.
Despite staring a 37-16 halftime deficit right directly between the eyes, the Lady Chargers still made the most of the opportunity behind the guidance of Bailey Mullen, who transformed a two-point first half into a 22-point second half on offense — 13 of those points in the third quarter alone.
The second half also saw a three-point presence from Mullen and Paris May come to fruition, as the two combined to bury three of the team’s nine triples altogether to try and swap the momentum back in their favor.
The three-pointers served as a precursor into the last eight minutes, where Canisteo-Greenwood found the outside wing as much as they could by knocking down four more triples — two from the hand of May, to keep the pressure on.
But in the end, the early first half deficit was ultimately too much to overcome, as the Lady Chargers drew their season to a conclusion.
Bailey Mullen led all scorers for Canisteo-Greenwood with a game-high 24 points, pairing them with 11 rebounds off the glass to complete a monster double-double.
In addition, MacKenna Mullen chipped in with 12, while Paris May had nine points off all three of her shots from deep.
The Lady Chargers have officially closed the book on their 2024-25 campaign, as they finish with a record of 11-11 overall. The team will graduate just two seniors in McKenna Ferris and Lauren Markel when the time comes this June.
Canisteo-Greenwood 9 7 17 20 — 53
Lyons 16 21 11 17 — 65
CANISTEO-GREENWOOD: Bailey Mullen 8 6-9 24, MacKenna Mullen 4 1-4 12, McKenna Ferris 1 0-0 2, Paris May 3 0-0 9, Anna Mitchell 1 0-0 3, Harlie McCaffery 0 1-2 1, Lyla Greenfield 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 8-15 53.
LYONS: Kamryn Bonnell 4 4-7 12, Car’Mella Parker 6 0-2 12, Ja’Niyah Bell 4 0-0 8, Jayla Bell 9 10-14 29, Addison Jones 2 0-4 4. Totals: 25 14-27 65.
3-point goals: C-G 9 (M. Mullen 3, May 3, B. Mullen 2, Mitchell), Lyons 1 (Jay. Bell).
Total Fouls: C-G 25, Lyons 19. Fouled out: May (C-G), Parker (LYO), Ja. Bell (LYO).
Friday Sectionals: Big night from Adams aids No. 4 Lady Lions in 3rd quarter eruption, roll past No. 5 Dansville to clinch Semis berth; C-R boys upset by No. 7 York, No. 4 B-R cruises by Red Jacket
WELLSVILLE — Friday night marked the very last time this year that the Wellsville Lady Lions will grace their presence from within the Lion’s Den.
In front of a near max-capacity crowd, the No. 4 seeds in Class B1 put on a show. Even if things were a little unhurried at first against the No. 5 Lady Mustangs of Dansville.
The preliminary stages of battle saw both the Lady Mustangs and the Lady Lions remain relatively quiet throughout, with the visitors finding the edge to jump ahead. The two teams continued to exchange blows leading up to the halftime break, where the Lady Lions ultimately wiggled their way free despite Dansville trailing right behind them.
Leading by four going into the second half, something had to give.
The Lady Lions were poised. So was Natalie Adams.
In one of the biggest nights of her career, the Wellsville senior did not miss a single beat across the third quarter, as she posted half of her game-high 24 points within the frame to jumpstart a massive run against Dansville that, in the fullness of time, set the bar going forward, as the No. 4 seeds went on to ride the coattails towards capturing a Class B1 Semifinals berth in their last home game of the campaign with a 62-37 victory over the Lady Mustangs.
“I’m so proud of the girls, and I’m especially happy for the seniors. Having one last game at home is really nice, but this was a nice way to go out. We had some nerves early on, and the girls made some really good adjustments after that,” said Lady Lions coach Michelle Alvord. “Our offense helped our defense in big ways. Natalie really showed what she was capable of in the third quarter, and to have that at a really big time in the game, was something we needed. They obviously know Makenna (Dunbar) is our go-to, and Dansville did a good job neutralizing her. But that opens the floor for everyone else. Jaden (Dunbar) had a great game, Nat’s big quarter, Emily (Stuck) was a rebounding machine. It was a real team effort tonight.”
The scoring came at a premium early on between both teams, with the Lady Lions (15-6) wedging their way free from Dansville’s grasp with a 7-4 lead off five straight points ushered in by both a Makenna Dunbar three, and a wide-open lay-in next to the rim from Jaden Dunbar on the ensuing possession.
But the momentum changed hands right before the end of the quarter, with the Lady Mustangs buckling down to score seven of the last nine points — three off a Taylor Hamsher three that propelled the visitors in red ahead upon the expiration of the first eight minutes.
The back-and-forth exchanges raged on in the second quarter, with the Lady Lions going back ahead behind a magical play from Makenna Dunbar, using the baseline as a tightrope to deliver a one-handed pass off to Natalie Adams, who finished the tremendous play with a silky smooth triple from downtown, forcing a Lady Mustangs timeout in the process.
Dunbar kept building the momentum in more ways than one after the Dansville defense slowed her down on the offensive front, as she stood in to take a big charge, handing possession back to Wellsville in the same swing to set up a collaborative effort alongside Emily Stuck, who finished off the capitalization with a long three-ball on back-to-back drives just past midway to claim a 22-17 lead.
Dansville continued to keep pace right behind the Lady Lions however, using more inside help to close the gap back down before the hosts snuck their way around the Lady Mustangs one more time to score a four-point halftime advantage going into the locker room.
But in the third quarter, the bar was set.
Led by Adams from every angle, the Lady Lions rolled away and out of reach from Dansville, as they assembled a monstrous 23-9 run that saw the Wellsville senior score 12 gigantic points.
As a collective, the team started the frame red hot with 16 of the first 20 points.
Despite back-to-back three-pointers from Megan Tyler to help cut the deficit down for Dansville in the early stages of the fourth quarter, the Lady Lions were not going to be denied a trip to the Semifinals, as they went on to finish out the night on top with one last victory in front of their home crowd.
Right behind Adams and her game-high 24 points, six steals and three assists for the Lady Lions was Makenna Dunbar, despite finishing with just two shots from the field, as she used a clutch 6-for-8 outing at the stripe to power up a 12-point effort, pairing them with four assists and three rebounds.
Jaden Dunbar and Emily Stuck each finished with nine points, with the two Lady Lions combining for 20 rebounds along the way. Dunbar had 13 of them, a team-high off the glass.
Dansville was led by Megan Tyler, who finished with 18 team-high points.
The Class B1 Semifinal now begins to eclipse over the horizon for the Lady Lions, as they now prepare for a long bus ride up north to Honeoye Falls-Lima on Monday to take on No. 8 Mynderse, who upset No. 1 Young Women’s College Prep earlier in the evening to claim their spot in the Semifinals.
Tip-off for the battle is set for a 7:45 p.m. start, with the winner facing either No. 7 Penn Yan or No. 3 Hornell in the Class B1 Finals next weekend at Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua.
Dansville 11 9 9 8 — 37
Wellsville 9 15 23 15 — 62
DANSVILLE: Morgan Ball 1 0-0 2, Emily Versluis 2 0-0 4, Alivia Mosman 0 1-2 1, Taylor Hamsher 3 2-2 9, Megan Tyler 5 5-8 18, Kassidy Cole 1 1-2 3. Totals: 12 9-14 37.
WELLSVILLE: Caelyn Stevens 1 0-0 2, Reegan Perkins 1 2-2 4, Natalie Adams 8 4-7 24, Emily Stuck 4 0-2 9, Makenna Dunbar 2 6-8 12, Jaden Dunbar 4 0-0 9, Alexa Stuck 1 0-0 2. Totals: 21 12-19 62.
3-point goals: Dansville 4 (Tyler 3, Hamsher), Wellsville 8 (Adams 4, M. Dunbar 2, E. Stuck, J. Dunbar).
Total Fouls: Dansville 17, Wellsville 13. Fouled out: Cole (DAN).
Class B2 Quarterfinals
No. 4 Canisteo-Greenwood 46, No. 5 Williamson/Marion 37
CANISTEO — There were plenty of reasons to celebrate in the Canisteo Valley on Friday.
Not only did the No. 4 Canisteo-Greenwood Lady Chargers pick up a positive beginning to their postseason, but they did it whilst adding the first 1,000-point scorer in the career of head coach Collin Button spanning across both boys and girls basketball over the years in the winter, as Bailey Mullen eclipsed the mark to join the elite club late in the fourth quarter, helping seal up a 46-37 win over No. 5 Williamson/Marion.
“Bailey is one of the hardest working basketball players I have had the privilege to coach,” said Lady Chargers coach Collin Button. “She is a consistent scorer who wills her way to create scoring opportunities. On top of that, she rebounds so well, being a smaller guard. One of the most amazing things about her is that she and I never once had a conversation about her 1,000-point milestone. She is all about the team’s success and is very modest. The Canisteo-Greenwood coaching staff and her teammates are very proud of her.”
The Lady Chargers (11-10) came out firing on all cylinders to start the battle against the Lady Marauders, as three different scorers — Mullen, Paris May and Anna Mitchell, all found the breadbasket from long range at least once to help ignite an early 16-8 lead.
Williamson/Marion continued to chip away at the hosts in white and red through the next three quarters, including a strong 13-point note in the second quarter to slowly erase their deficit going into the break.
A near even timeshare of offense between both teams highlighted the start of the second half, which allowed Canisteo-Greenwood to maintain their advantage going into the last eight minutes of play.
In the fourth quarter, Mullen made history for the Lady Chargers in the midst of a game-ending 10-5 run of Williamson/Marion, as she cashed in on a breakaway layup to become the newest entrant into the program’s coveted 1,000-point club.
Mullen finished with a game-high 19 points to pair alongside 15 rebounds, completing a monstrous double-double. Right behind her was May and Mitchell, both scoring eight points. Adalyn Andrus — a seventh grade JV call-up for the Lady Chargers, posted seven points to go with 12 additional rebounds off the glass.
The Lady Chargers are now on to the Class B2 Semifinal round on Monday, where they now square off with top-seeded Lyons in Canandaigua for a chance to advance into next weekend’s Finals.
Tip-off is slated for a 7:30 p.m. commencement.
Williamson/Marion 8 13 11 5 — 37
Canisteo-Greenwood 16 10 10 10 — 46
WILLIAMSON/MARION: Lydia McKay 1 0-0 3, Kendall Fernaays 1 0-2 2, Kate Campbell 3 6-8 13, Ellie Alexander 2 3-6 8, Keira Robinson 0 4-4 4, Kayla Bellefontaine 3 1-4 7. Totals: 10 14-24 37.
CANISTEO-GREENWOOD: Bailey Mullen 8 1-2 19, McKenna Ferris 2 0-0 4, Paris May 3 1-5 8, Anna Mitchell 3 0-0 8, Adalyn Andrus 2 2-6 7. Totals: 17 7-15 46.
3-point goals: W/M 3 (McKay, Campbell, Alexander), C-G 5 (B. Mullen 2, Mitchell 2, May).
Total Fouls: W/M 17, C-G 19. Fouled out: None.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Class C2 Quarterfinals
No. 7 York 61, No. 2 Cuba-Rushford 50
CUBA — In recent years, the York Golden Knights have become a force on the hardwood.
In each of the last four years, they have reached at the very least, the Semifinal round, having won it all back in 2021-22 before falling just short in the next two seasons after, including a heartbreaker to Andover native Matt Shay and his Pembroke Dragons in the Class C2 Finals at Blue Cross Arena the very next campaign.
Now, the Golden Knights enter the second season as Class C2’s No. 7 seed, looking to navigate their way into the Semifinal round for a fifth straight year, weaving their way past No. 10 Perry to earn a date with the No. 2 Cuba-Rushford Rebels — a team that entered the tournament with wins in 10 of their final 12 games.
For the Rebels, the competition was fierce, and it lived up to the name in front of a jam-packed crowd in the Wighthouse. But there was one problem.
York ran the table.
After a massive second quarter rebound allowed them to carry the momentum and the lead in their hands going into the break, the Golden Knights used every bit of it to completely turn the tide in the third quarter, amassing a heavyweight stand of offense to help complete their pursuit towards eventual victory, as they went on to capture a fifth straight Semifinals berth on Friday with a 61-50 upset victory over the Rebels, ending their postseason right as it began.
“York is a very good basketball team and they came in, and put us on our heels,” Rebels coach Pat Wight said. “We played well through the first half and we had some good looks in the second. We just couldn’t get any of them to fall. York got hot from the arc and we couldn’t answer those at times either. I’m very proud of my guys this season. It wasn’t an easy season by any means, but they stuck together and performed at a pretty high level. Congratulations to York and Coach (Ed) Orman, and I wish them the best of luck going forward. Thank you to my seniors Finn (Ricketts), Donovan (Breckenridge), Dean (Frank) and Eli (Sleggs). They will be missed and I am proud to have coached them.”
It was a strong start for the Rebels that came together quickly against the Golden Knights, as they used every piece of their inside game to the fullest of advantages. As a result, four different scorers all registered at least a bucket, with three Rebels posting a pair to set up an early 14-6 lead out of the gate.
As for York, they flipped the script come the second quarter, turning the heat up with an 18-9 jaunt of Cuba-Rushford, using all facets of the hardwood to their utmost advantage along the way, taking what was an eight-point deficit and turning it into a one-point halftime lead.
With the advantage in hand, all that was left for the Golden Knights to do, was build.
In the third quarter, they constructed what was perhaps the game’s difference maker — a 23-point aerial attack that saw five enormous three-pointers, three of them from the hand of Parker Bonefede, along with some more help inside the arc, set up an insurmountable branching of their lead as time went on.
Both teams went on to exchange near even pleasantries across the final eight minutes of battle, allowing York to hang onto their lead permanently to steal the spotlight in the Wighthouse with the upset victory over the No. 2 seeds.
Despite the defeat, the Rebels were paced by Adam Roe inside and out, as he posted a team-leading 14 points along with eight rebounds. Zach Deck and Carter Brown each posted nine points, with Deck posting all of the team’s second quarter points off a trio of triples. Donovan Breckenridge had eight points.
The 2024-25 season for the Rebels is now officially over, as they put a wrap on a campaign that saw them go 15-6 overall. The team will bid farewell to four seniors in Breckenridge, Finn Ricketts, Dean Frank and Eli Sleggs at the end of the school year in June.
York 6 18 23 14 — 61
Cuba-Rushford 14 9 14 13 — 50
YORK: Liam Ezard 0 1-2 1, Yeriel Diaz-Pena 6 3-7 17, Parker Bonefede 6 1-2 17, John Ayers 1 0-0 2, Ryan Brady 2 0-2 5, Mason Parsons 4 2-4 11, Zachary Bauer 3 0-0 8. Totals: 22 7-17 61.
CUBA-RUSHFORD: Dean Frank 1 0-0 2, Adam Roe 6 0-0 14, Donovan Breckenridge 4 0-0 8, Eli Sleggs 1 0-2 2, Zach Deck 3 0-0 9, Carter Brown 2 5-6 9, Finn Ricketts 3 0-1 6. Totals: 20 5-9 50.
3-point goals: York 10 (Bonefede 4, Diaz-Pena 2, Bauer 2, Brady, Parsons), C-R 5 (Deck 3, Roe 2).
Total Fouls: York 17, C-R 14. Fouled out: None.
No. 4 Bolivar-Richburg 62, No. 5 Red Jacket 45
BOLIVAR — The second half can be used as a metaphorical wiping of the slate.
For the No. 4 Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg, that was one of the main topics of discussion in the locker room during Friday’s Class C2 Quarterfinal against No. 5 Red Jacket.
With an advantage of 10 in hand and Red Jacket starting to creep closer behind them, the Wolverines needed a plan of action. With the key in the ignition for the team’s offense, one big turn allowed the engine to re-fire back up again.
The driver? — Kingston Loucks, and his giant footprint in the third quarter.
When things began to look sideways for Bolivar-Richburg, the Wolverines sharpshooter was Johnny on the spot to start the second half. As a collective unit, the offense meshed together an outstanding three-point presence — an element of the game that they could not kickstart through much of the first half against the Cardinals.
But for Loucks, it took three big shots from long range to get the wheels turning, as they set up shop with a massive 22-point frame to pull away for good, clinching their third straight trip back to the Class C2 Semifinals with a 62-45 home victory.
“That third quarter was super important,” said Wolverines coach Justin Thomas. “I told the guys at the half that it felt like we were down more than what the scoreboard appeared to show. We didn’t hit anything from outside and we ultimately had to work it back inside. But the boys, right at the beginning, they took off in the second half. They knocked down the shots outside to open the inside back up, they locked down on defense. So much of Red Jacket’s offense runs through (Truman) Hill, and Waide (Karnuth) did an incredible job holding him tight. He was a lot to deal with and Waide stepped up to the challenge tonight. I was really proud of the adjustments we made to get the win.”
The contest was controlled primarily by the Wolverines (16-6) across the first half. Despite some shots not falling down on offense, Bolivar-Richburg continued to ride the momentum wave by using a 15-point frame that opened the night as their foundation towards an eventual 30-20 halftime lead over the Cardinals after a near-dead even exchange in the second quarter.
In the second half however, the eruption soon came for the Wolverines.
After their three-point game stalled out through much of the first 16-minute sequence, it received new life in the back half of time remaining, beginning in the third, where Kingston Loucks took charge of the offense with three of the team’s six total three-point shots — accounting for 18 of the team’s 22 total points to open the third quarter with a 22-11 run of Red Jacket to pull away.
Loucks finished as Bolivar-Richburg’s leading scorer with a game-high 27 points. Landon Barkley chipped in with 19 points of his own, including four more three-pointers of his own to add into the fray. Braden Zilker had nine points to chip in.
Up next, the Wolverines now chart their course for the Class C2 Semifinal round coming up on Monday, as they now face-off with top-seeded Dundee/Bradford at a time and place yet to be determined.
Red Jacket 11 9 11 14 — 45
Bolivar-Richburg 15 10 22 15 — 62
RED JACKET: Dylan Henry 1 0-0 3, Tim Brown 6 4-6 19, Dillon Janke 1 1-2 4, Jackson Kennelly 2 1-2 5, Truman Hill 5 4-9 14. Totals: 15 10-19 45.
BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Maddox Davison 1 0-0 3, Landon Barkley 5 5-8 19, Braden Zilker 3 1-2 9, Waide Karnuth 2 0-1 4, Kingston Loucks 11 1-2 27. Totals: 22 7-13 62.
3-point goals: RJ 5 (Brown 3, Henry, Janke), B-R 11 (Barkley 4, Loucks 4, Zilker 2, Davison).
Total Fouls: RJ 19, B-R 18. Fouled out: Kennelly (RJ), Karnuth (B-R).
Class D Quarterfinals
No. 5 Avoca-Prattsburgh 66, No. 4 Friendship/Scio 36
SCIO — The No. 5 Avoca-Prattsburgh Titans took advantage of everything they saw on Friday, as they established their occupancy right from the beginning with a first quarter lead they never lost against No. 4 Friendship/Scio, flooring it full speed ahead to the finish line with what ultimately became a 66-36 upset victory in Scio, in the Class D Quarterfinal round.
Avoca-Prattsburgh’s reign came right in the thick of a first quarter dead heat alongside Friendship/Scio, as the two foes traded constant barbs in the opening eight minutes, ultimately ending with the Titans claiming a four-point edge.
WIth the lead, came momentum, as the Titans mustered plenty of it to use in a second quarter that became a humongous difference maker, finishing out the first half on a dynamic note with a 19-7 run of the hosts.
“We got off to a good start, but we had two really bad stretches in the game. One of them was in the second and towards the end of it. Avoca-Prattsburgh got hot and ended strong to put us behind the eight-ball,” said Friendship/Scio coach Dillon McFall. “We had it down to seven at the start of the second half, but we had some careless turnovers after that. We also missed some shots that we should have had too. It was much closer than the score indicated, and it was pretty intense at times as well, but things got away from us at the end.”
Friendship/Scio was able to close the gap early on at the start of the second half with a run of their own to freeze the Titans in place temporarily, climbing to within seven points. But Avoca-Prattsburgh shook it off and proceeded to hold the hosts at a near standstill going forward, as they claimed a vacancy for the Class D Semifinal round after the weekend.
JJ Crowder was one of three different scorers to eclipse double figures for the Titans, leading all scorers with a game-high 21 points. Carter Button chipped in with 19 points, while Austin Swift had 10.
Avoca-Prattsburgh now goes on to face top-seeded Fillmore in the Class D Semifinal round on Monday, beginning at 6 p.m. at Wayland-Cohocton.
On the opposite end, Friendship/Scio saw Aiden Golden take command with 11 team-high points — nine of them off three triples from downtown. Deacon Brown chipped in 10 points, while Jerimiah Brown nearly assembled a double-double performance, finishing with nine points and eight rebounds.
Friendship/Scio’s season has reached its conclusion, as they finish up with a record of 8-13 overall. The team will graduate four seniors in Cooper Greenman, Jerome Harmon, Zacoby Holder and Matt Donohue, when the end of the year arrives this June.
“I’m really proud of the guys as a whole. We won five games all of last year and we came back around to win eight this year. They grew up a lot since last season, and we’ve become a much better basketball team now than we once were. This was a tremendous step forward in the right direction,” said McFall.
Avoca-Prattsburgh 18 19 11 18 — 66
Friendship/Scio 14 7 12 3 — 36
AVOCA-PRATTSBURGH: JJ Crowder 8 4-6 21, Austin Swift 5 0-0 10, Carter Button 7 2-3 19, Colin Zurlick 3 0-0 6, Connor Parulski 4 0-0 8, Bryan Heale 1 0-0 2, Gracyn Rumsey 0 0-2 0. Totals: 28 6-11 66.
FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Jerome Harmon 1 0-0 2, Connor Blouvet 2 0-0 4, Aiden Golden 4 0-2 11, Jerimiah Brown 3 3-6 9, Deacon Brown 5 0-4 10. Totals: 15 3-12 36.
3-point goals: A-P 4 (Button 3, Crowder), F/S 3 (Golden).
Total Fouls: A-P 11, F/S 13. Fouled out: None.
No. 2 Andover/Whitesville 75, No. 7 Houghton Academy 46
ANDOVER — In what was an early, high-octane shootout between two of Allegany County’s sharpest of shooters, it was Andover/Whitesville’s Brody Vance who made an immediate impact all throughout the first half against Houghton Academy’s Jack Prentice right from the start, as the sophomore assembled a game-high 33-point performance to aid a 75-46 victory — their third over the No. 7 Panthers this year, to move onto the Class D Semifinals.
“It’s always tough playing a team for the third time, regardless of the opponent,” said Andover/Whitesville coach Jimmy Joyce. “Jeff (Prentice) had the guys ready to roll. That team is vastly improved from earlier in the season, and Jack (Prentice) is one heck of a player. He was virtually impossible to try and slow down. It was a real pleasure for myself to coach against him the past several years, as well as our players to play against him. He makes everyone around him better.”
In the opening quarter, it was the Prentice and Vance show for the vast majority of time spent on the hardwood between the two foes, as the two sharpshooters combined for 24 of the first quarter’s 36 total points, with Prentice scoring all 13 for Houghton Academy, and 11 for Vance and Andover/Whitesville (15-6) in the midst of a game-high 23-point frame of attack to open up the contest with a 23-13 lead.
Across the next two frames, Andover/Whitesville began to open the scoring even further, holding Houghton Academy down to under 10 points in the midst of a pair of game-changing runs.
The latter of the two, making all the difference, with five different scorers — including three more combined triples from both Vance and Gage Putnam, allowing Andover/Whitesville to jet off on an 19-7 scamper that ultimately sealed the deal on their Quarterfinal victory.
“I thought we were a little off early with some basic sloppiness and laziness, and settling for bad shots and not being the aggressor at times,” Joyce said. “Once we found our rhythm, things started to round into form for us. Our leaders stepped up when it mattered. We did what we needed to do and that’s all I can ask for at this point. No time off between now and Monday, so we have a lot of work to do in a short amount of time. Survive and advance, as they say.”
Behind Vance and his 33 points was Putnam and Colton Calladine, as each Andover/Whitesville scorer posted 12 points. Jon Vallieres had seven points.
For Houghton Academy, Jack Prentice finished out his final game in the Panthers with a team-high 30 points. Josh Davidson chipped in with 12 of his own, while Hoang Phung had four points.
The Panthers finish out their 2024-25 campaign with a record of 6-16 overall, as the team graduates just two seniors in Prentice and Gavin Martino.
“We threw everything we could at Andover/Whitesville, and we couldn’t find a way to respond to it,” said Panthers coach Jeff Prentice. “It is what it is. Gavin had 15 rebounds tonight, and then Jack was our leader for pretty much the whole season. He’s been our rock. They both have done an outstanding job this year for all the work they have done, and will continue to do in the time ahead when they’re done here.”
Andover/Whitesville now moves into the Class D Semifinal Round on Monday, where they will be pinned up against No. 3 Jasper-Troupsburg for the entire kit and kaboodle for the next bracket, with tip-off set for a 6 p.m. start.
The winner advances into the Class D Semifinal next weekend.
Houghton Academy 13 8 7 18 — 46
Andover/Whitesville 23 15 19 18 — 75
HOUGHTON ACADEMY: Josh Davidson 4 2-6 12, Jack Prentice 8 7-12 30, Hoang Phung 2 0-0 4. Totals: 14 9-18 45.
ANDOVER/WHITESVILLE: Gage Putnam 4 0-0 12, James Miller-Young 1 0-0 2, Jake Mattison 1 0-0 3, Vinny Joyce 3 0-2 6, Brody Vance 12 3-4 33, Jon Vallieres 3 1-2 7, Colton Calladine 4 2-2 12. Totals: 28 6-10 75.
3-point goals: HA 9 (Prentice 7, Davidson 2), A/W 13 (Vance 6, Putnam 4, Calladine 2, Mattison).
Total Fouls: HA 9, A/W 19. Fouled out: None.
No. 1 Fillmore 71, No. 8 Elba 47
FILLMORE — Right as the engine started to fire, the band-aid was soon ripped off. Inside the electric factory that is The Rock in Fillmore, the top-seeded Eagles made their Sectional debut with a noisy first half of basketball on Friday.
Pitted against No. 8 Elba, the bracket’s top seeds overcame a sluggish beginning to the evening in the most gargantuan of ways possible — a 33-point second quarter, where the Eagles hit all strides from all over the floor against the Lancers to put them on pins and needles the rest of the way, locking up the defense on the opposite end of the floor in the same swing to help set up a 71-47 Class D Quarterfinal victory.
It was a first half that initially saw the Eagles (18-3) trail Elba by as much as three possessions out of the gate. But despite the slow beginnings, the offensive fire reignited later on with a tremendous three-point presence serving as the fuel, as Fillmore knocked down 11 total triples in the game — 10 of them in the first 16 minutes, and eight in the second quarter alone.
As a result, the team in white and green set the tone with a barbaric 33-point quarter, a 33-10 run of the Lancers altogether, to branch their first quarter advantage into insurmountable territory, as Fillmore held onto the lead going forward to claim their spot in the Semifinal round after the weekend.
“I had been warning the guys that Elba was significantly better than their record. They play in a tough league and are battle-tested. We got off to a little bit of a tepid start. I don’t know if it was nerves or rush, but Elba came out with a ton of energy and we were a little off-balanced,” Eagles coach Randy Crouch said. “We missed some early looks and just lacked rhythm, but Isaiah (Sisson) really kept us in it with some transition finishes. I think we were down seven or eight, but then, we got rolling. JD (Bialek) took the lid off the rim with a big three and then, we were able to settle in and play the way we are capable of.”
Crouch continued, saying that “Elba never quit. They threw a press, a half-court trap and a triangle-and-2 at us, but we responded to each defensive scheme. We hit eight threes in the second and really tightened our defense. From there we played smart basketball, and controlled the game. I’m proud of the guys. The first playoff game can always be an adventure. Avoca-Prattsburgh will provide a challenge and we need to get dialed in for what they bring to the table.”
Four different scorers all posted at least 10 points to charge the Fillmore attack, with Cam Mucher and his game-high 24 points leading the way. Jonah Bialek chipped in with 18 points of his own, including four of the 11 three-pointers for the team. JD Bialek and Isaiah Sisson posted 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Up next, the Class D Semifinal round awaits the Eagles, as they now head for Wayland-Cohocton to take on No. 5 Avoca-Prattsburgh in a 6 p.m. start time on Monday.
The winner will meet either No. 3 Jasper-Troupsburg or No. 2 Andover/Whitesville in the Finals, next weekend.
Elba 9 10 14 14 — 47
Fillmore 16 33 15 7 — 71
ELBA: Jadiel Amaro 0 1-6 1, Bing Zuber 3 2-2 8, Mark Caparco 1 0-0 3, Nick Scott 8 1-2 18, Jason Rowe 1 0-0 2, Brayden Jachimowicz 1 0-0 3, Alex Rascoe 0 1-2 1, Ryan Marsceill 4 0-0 11, Gunnar Scarborough 0 0-2 0. Totals: 18 5-14 47.
FILLMORE: Jordan Bialek 1 0-0 3, Isaiah Sisson 6 0-2 13, Jonah Bialek 7 1-1 18, Cam Mucher 8 3-4 23, JD Bialek 6 0-0 14. Totals: 28 4-7 71.
3-point goals: Elba 6 (Marsceill 3, Caparco, Scott, Jachinowicz), Fillmore 11 (Mucher 4, Jon. Bialek 3, JD Bialek 2, Jor. Bialek, Sisson).
Total Fouls: Elba 8, Fillmore 14. Fouled out: None.
