Tuesday Roundup: In third and final match of season, Lions assemble dominant straight-set sweep of C-R to move into County Finals; B-R, C-R, Fillmore boys hoops all capture victories

WELLSVILLE — The final stepping stone ahead of Tuesday night was the Allegany County Championship game. A beacon that shines brighter than ever before, and for two of the final four teams remaining, they will have an opportunity to bask in every bit of that illumination while going toe-to-toe for the winter’s biggest prize on the volleyball court.

Two of those teams left standing, alongside Arkport-Canaseraga and Portville, are two combatants that are no stranger to one another. Two teams that have shared plenty of history over the years.

More notably, during the COVID-19 stricken 2019-20 season, when an incredible five-set battle between Cuba-Rushford and Wellsville sent shockwaves throughout the entire gym in the Lion’s Den. From the very first serve of the game to the when the ball dropped onto the floor for the 15th and final point.

That was a match that the Rebels held on for dear life over the Lions to claim the County’s top prize, which was their first from within a strand of three championships across the next four seasons. In between those? — The Lions delivering the ultimate bounce back of them all the following season, in a shortened 2020-21 campaign to capture their third championship in a four-season span.

Now, the Rebels and Lions are two of the hottest teams heading into the postseason. And for one of them, their fire had to be doused in order to fill in one of the Championship game’s vacancies.

Push came to shove throughout the night in the Lion’s Den, with two of the first three sets being determined right down to the bitter end. With everything hanging in the balance, both teams gave it their all to try and be one of the first teams to play for this year’s crown.

But when the night wrapped up in what served as the rubber match, Wellsville extinguished Cuba-Rushford’s flame that had burned since the return to action at the beginning of January, as they survived two high octane battles with the Rebels, sandwiched in between a dominant second set to help construct what was their biggest victory of the season — a straight-set win in front of their home fans to send the team back to the County Finals for the first time since 2021, in a 25-23, 25-13, 25-23 final tally.

”I couldn’t have asked for a better group of kids to take to the Finals. They play so hard, and they played outstanding tonight on both sides of the court. Cuba-Rushford really made the game exciting and it gave us another great challenge after having played them tough twice already. It was everything that you would want a playoff game to be.” said Lions coach Adam Kellogg.

The Lions (11-3) were ignited by Xavier Scott on the offense, as he powered the way forward with six kills and six big blocks at the net. Lucius Griggs chipped in with four kills and a block of his own. From the service line, Kam Dodge provided three big aces, pairing them alongside two kills and two digs, while Terrence Benz rounded off the efforts with three kills and three blocks.

On the opposite side of the net, the Rebels saw Anderson Siegel take charge of the attack at the net, as he recorded a team-high 12 kills to go with three aces and three digs. Brock Stadler added more fuel to the fire with eight more kills of his own, pairing them with five additional digs on defense, while Coen Kellogg, the team’s setter, handed out 15 helpers to go with two aces and two digs.

Cuba-Rushford concludes a remarkable first chapter of the Whitney Miller era, as they put a wrap on a 2024-25 campaign with a record of 10-5 overall.

As for Wellsville, they will now press on and battle for their first Allegany County Championship in four years, as they now either host Arkport-Canaseraga or travel to top-seeded Portville for all the marbles later on this week.

The Wolves and Panthers will do battle in the other Semifinal battle of the Playoffs, tonight at 6 p.m. in Portville.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Bolivar-Richburg 65, Houghton Academy 33

BOLIVAR — Landon Barkley, Waide Karnuth and Maddox Davison have shared plenty of moments together on the hardwood during their time with the Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg program. For the very last time this regular season on Tuesday, they joined together in a moment of honorary reflection alongside their families, their fellow teammates and their fans for Senior Night.

Coincidentally enough, the three Wolverines seniors all carved the path forward for the offense when it came to gametime on the hardwood against the visiting Panthers of Houghton Academy, as they outlasted a fierce fight early on in the first quarter and placed a vehement stamp on their end of the first half, hardening their advantage throughout the second half to put a bow on their strong send-off with a 65-33 home win.

“It was an awesome send-off for them. Basketball is a tireless grind, so it was nice to wrap up the regular season in a way that saw our seniors shine a little bit for them on their night,” said Wolverines coach Justin Thomas. “They had some great moments and they did some great things, and then the other guys came in and filled in the blanks to support the cause. It’s been a journey to watch them develop not just in this game, but across the board. Maddox and Waide care about what they do and how hard they have to work to earn it, and then there’s Landon. They don’t get much better than that. He’s got the entire world in front of him and you can see it in the way he prepares. He handles everything with a calm head and he’s always out there competing regardless of the outcome. All three of these guys will be sorely missed next year.”

It was a beginning that the Wolverines had to fight alongside Houghton Academy with all throughout, with a back-and-forth exchange of pleasantries taking place before the hosts wedged their way ahead with the quarter’s final four points to end their pursuit of a 16-10 lead.

The second quarter was a frame that saw the hosts make their mark, as they cemented their advantage insurmountably with a 19-7 run of the Panthers to extend what was a 35-17 lead at the break, never looking back in the same swing.

In the midst of the offensive efforts for Bolivar-Richburg, Landon Barkley charted his course to the front of the pack with another stellar night from the field, bucketing a team-high 20 points. Maddox Davison followed with 15 points, while Waide Karnuth had 10 of his own to chip in.

For Houghton Academy, Jack Prentice ignited the hardwood with 31 of the team’s 33 points. Hoang Phung had the team’s remaining two points. The Panthers are back on the floor Thursday night, hosting Friendship/Scio at 6 p.m.

Bolivar-Richburg has now put a bow on their regular season, as they now await Sectional play beginning in two weeks time.

Houghton Academy 10 7 4 12 — 33

Bolivar-Richburg 16 19 15 15 — 65

HOUGHTON ACADEMY: Jack Prentice 11 3-6 31, Hoang Phung 1 0-0 2. Totals: 12 3-6 33.

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Maddox Davison 7 0-0 15, Landon Barkley 6 6-8 20, Braden Zilker 3 0-0 9, Ryder Iantorno 2 0-0 5, Dylan Abdo 1 0-0 3, Waide Karnuth 5 0-4 10, Mason Baldwin 1 0-0 3. Totals: 25 6-12 65.

3-point goals: HA 6 (Prentice), B-R 9 (Zilker 3, Barkley 2, Davison, Iantorno, Abdo, Baldwin).
Total Fouls: HA 10, B-R 8. Fouled out: None.

Cuba-Rushford 49, Hinsdale 19

HINSDALE — The Rebels of Cuba-Rushford overcame a back-and-forth battle with host Hinsdale immediately out of the gate Tuesday night, as they turned the ship around in the second quarter and sailed straight towards victory, holding the Bobcats to just nine more points across the remaining three quarters to secure a 49-19 road win.

“We struggled big time out of the gate with lack of energy and some timid guys. But we really woke up right before the half and third quarter to go on a 30-2 run and put the game away. I thought Adam (Roe), Finn (Ricketts) and Eli (Sleggs) really controlled the boards. But credit to Hinsdale, they played their butts off the whole game.” Rebels coach Pat Wight said.

The Rebels (15-5) reversed the momentum that Hinsdale established in the opening eight minutes of play in a hurry, as they flipped the action upside down following a 10-8 deficit going into the second quarter and found every corner of the paint possible to take control of the offensive end going forward. After ending with a half-ending go-ahead run, the visitors in blue and maroon stepped hard on the gas pedal and took off with a 20-0 third quarter run to bolster their advantage permanently.

Pacing the offensive efforts for Cuba-Rushford was Donovan Breckenridge, who posted a game-high 14 points. Adam Roe and Carter Brown each scored 10 points, while Finn Ricketts sank eight points of his own. Adding special teams help along the way was Eli Sleggs, who controlled the boards with eight off the glass. Zach Deck handed out five assists.

The Bobcats were led by Tyler Richards and his team-high 10 points. Hinsdale stays put on their home floor to welcome in Andover/Whitesville at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Cuba-Rushford will now await Sectional play in two weeks, as they officially put a wrap on their regular season.

Cuba-Rushford 8 10 20 11 — 49

Hinsdale 10 2 0 7 — 19

CUBA-RUSHFORD: Carter Getz 1 0-0 2, Adam Roe 5 0-1 10, Donovan Breckenridge 7 0-0 14, Eli Sleggs 1 0-1 2, Carter Brown 4 2-2 10, Finn Ricketts 3 2-4 8, Landon Hendryx 1 0-0 3. Totals: 22 4-8 49.

HINSDALE: Chris Forney 1 0-0 2, Sean Forney 1 0-2 3, Aiden Baird 2 0-0 4, Tyler Richards 3 2-5 10. Totals: 7 2-7 19.

3-point goals: C-R 1 (Hendryx), Hinsdale 3 (Richards 2, S. Forney).
Total Fouls: C-R 8, Hinsdale 11. Fouled out: None.

Fillmore 52, Friendship/Scio 25

SCIO — The house was brought down by the Fillmore Eagles right off the bat on Tuesday, as a magnificent stand of offense through the first eight minutes allowed them to ring in the evening on the loudest of notes, setting the tone against host Friendship/Scio to assemble a dynamic 52-25 victory on the road in Scio.

“Besides turnovers, I thought their defensive pressure sped us up and it really made us take some bad, rushed shots. That really hurt us across the board. On a brighter note, we rebounded the ball really well, which was great especially against a team like Fillmore who does that really well themselves.” said Friendship/Scio coach Dillon McFall.

The Eagles (15-2) wasted no time striking while the iron was scorching hot in the first quarter, as the offense took shape around a massive 22-point outing while the defense held up their end of the bargain in return on the opposite side of the floor, limiting Friendship/Scio to just six points in a tone-setting sequence that gave them the advantage permanently.

Charging those herculean efforts for the visitors in green and black was Cam Mucher, who went all out to deliver a game-high 27-point performance. Isaiah Sisson followed with 10 points of his own, while Ezra Knapp had seven points.

For Friendship/Scio (7-11), Deacon Brown led the scoring down low with a team-high 10 points. Jerome Harmon pitched in with five points. The team will look to rebound on the road Thursday with a 6 p.m. visit to Houghton Academy.

Fillmore will travel over the road themselves to close out the week on Friday, as they trek north for a monstrous 6 p.m. clash with the C.G. Finney Falcons.

Fillmore 22 9 14 7 — 52

Friendship/Scio 6 10 3 6 — 25

FILLMORE: Isaiah Sisson 4 2-5 10, Tyler Voss 1 0-0 3, Ezra Knapp 3 0-0 7, Jameson Rhett 2 0-0 5, Cam Mucher 9 5-5 27. Totals: 19 7-10 52.

FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Jerome Harmon 2 1-4 5, Connor Blouvet 0 2-6 2, Aiden Golden 1 2-2 4, Jerimiah Brown 2 0-0 4, Deacon Brown 5 0-2 10. Totals: 10 5-14 25.

3-point goals: Fillmore 7 (Mucher 4, Voss, Knapp, Rhett).
Total Fouls: Fillmore 9, F/S 12. Fouled out: None.