Monday Roundup: Wellsville drops Josh Palmer Holiday Classic title game to Mansfield; GV girls finish 3rd at Keshequa

Wellsville’s Tyler Sands (2) goes up for the lay-in as the North Penn-Mansfield defender leaps to make a block during Monday afternoon’s championship game of the Josh Palmer Holiday Classic in Elmira. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Wellsville’s Logan Dunbar (23) puts up a shot, as the North Penn-Mansfield defense swarms to make a play during Monday afternoon’s championship game of the Josh Palmer Holiday Classic in Elmira. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Wellsville senior Max Jusianiec (3) drives the lane against the North Penn-Mansfield defense during Monday afternoon’s championship game of the Josh Palmer Holiday Classic in Elmira. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Wellsville junior Liam McKinley (12) looks to find his way around the North Penn-Mansfield defense during Monday afternoon’s championship game of the Josh Palmer Holiday Classic in Elmira. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Wellsville’s Eli Schmidt (5) dribbles under pressure from the North Penn-Mansfield defense during Monday afternoon’s championship game of the Josh Palmer Holiday Classic in Elmira. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

ELMIRA — The Wellsville Lions are in the midst of a two tournament stretch within the area’s winter break. The four-game gauntlet in Section IV sought out a challenge for head coach Raymie Auman’s young crew.

First up was their second trip back to Elmira and the Josh Palmer Holiday Classic, where they got past Elmira-Notre Dame in opening round festivities this past Friday night to earn a spot in the Regional Division I Championship game on Monday, where they took on North Penn-Mansfield for the tournament’s top prize in the bracket.

In a game that many witnessed a back-and-forth pace put on display between both teams, things would get away from Wellsville in the last eight minutes of play, with a deficit reaching as much as nine at one point. But under the command of their senior captain Max Jusianiec, the Lions did all they could to chomp at North Penn-Mansfield’s lead to as little as three to garner a potential game-tying chance with under 30 seconds in regulation.

After North Penn-Mansfield missed the offensive rebound on a failed one-and-one situation, that chance for the Lions came on a loose board. But, the ball found its way into the hands of the North Penn-Mansfield shooter once more, allowing him to reach the line and seal the game for good with two big free throws with three seconds left, giving the Tigers the Josh Palmer Holiday Classic title with a 59-54 win over the Lions.

“Every 50-50 ball, every broken play, all of it went their way,” Auman said. “It’s not fortunate, it’s effort. It’s not that we didn’t play hard, but it’s a disciplined effort. We managed to fight back after being down nine or 10 at one point with under a minute left in the game. We got it down to a distance where if they missed it, we could have had a chance to tie the game with about 15 seconds left. But they got the rebound, and that was pretty much indicative of the game.”

What turned into a late rally was started after Wellsville and North Penn-Mansfield engaged in teeter-totter warfare across the first three quarters, with the Tigers getting the first edge in the opening quarter. After the Lions (4-4) started out with six of the first eight points, North Penn-Mansfield ended the frame with 10 of the final 12 points by capitalizing on missed opportunities in the defensive zone to take the 12-8 advantage.

The advantage went to the Lions in the second quarter, as Jusianiec made his reign of fire apparent after the stanza started with six points being found at the charity stripe. Trailing by one, the Wellsville senior went on to score five straight points to the basket to take the lead away from North Penn-Mansfield for the rest of the half, even if it was a bit shaky at times according to Auman.

“We made some pretty poor mistakes in the first half, but we were in charge of the game,” he said. “Mansfield moved the game to a different level, and we didn’t. It was kind of the tale of a young team, and luckily it’s only December. As a coach, I have to recognize that stuff, and keep working at being dedicated to becoming disciplined, and learning from these mistakes as a team.”

The back-and-forth pace continued into the third quarter with North Penn-Mansfield finding their way toward seizing control of the game behind their stingy defense, and three-point game off the transition. Despite suffering a minor setback after attempting a dunk, Jusianiec saw his way off the court and back on again within the frame, never losing a beat, as he took command of the Wellsville offense with his long-range treys to deliver a 36-34 Lions lead with nearly a minute left.

The quarter would conclude with two of the last three baskets finding the twine from downtown both by the Tigers, putting them ahead of Wellsville both times, with the latter of them earning a 40-38 lead entering the last eight minutes of play.

North Penn-Mansfield went on to score their biggest quarter of the night in the fourth, which ultimately shaped up as a 19-point quarter. As the Tigers continued to respond to Wellsville’s offense, they connected on a pair of key turnovers with 3:30 left to play to pick up eight straight points to the hoop for the night’s largest lead at 53-44 to force a timeout on the floor.

“The 16 and 19 points worth on defense were tough in the second half,” said Auman. “What got them going were the offensive rebounds. They were missing the ball, missing shots in the third quarter and into the fourth. But those second chance opportunities hurt us, and we didn’t do a good job boxing out and limiting them to just one shot. A lot of it is our defensive focus, and that’s on me. We’re young, but I thought we were a little more along with our habits. Against a team like this, bad habits get exposed.”

All was not lost for the Lions though.

As North Penn-Mansfield extended their scoreless run of Wellsville, Eli Schmidt found a way to snap it with a lay-in to begin closing the gap. Jusianiec followed up on the next two possessions with his three-ball, firing on all cylinders with a pair of long-range, back-to-back treys to close the Tigers lead to four with under 20 seconds left to play.

The Tigers managed to branch their lead out once more, only for the Lions to cut away again with Liam McKinley putting away the inside basket to find Wellsville trailing by just a single possession. After a foul was drawn on the opposition, North Penn-Mansfield gained a chance to put the game on ice with a crucial one-and-one situation at the charity stripe.

The first initial shot could not go, as it created a rebound for the Lions, but the ball eventually found its way into the arms of the North Penn-Mansfield free throw shooter. The play resulted in another foul in front of the basket to set up what became two successful free throws with three seconds left, allowing the Tigers to close up shop on Wellsville’s late rally.

When it was all said and done, Jusianiec had another explosive night on the hardwood, leading the charge with his game-high 38 points to put toward an All-Tournament selection. Liam McKinley picked up another honor for Wellsville earning the BSN Heart of the Game Award.

Next up on the docket for Wellsville is another tournament to partake in, as the Lions prep for a road trip back into Section IV territory this Friday at Watkins Glen, where they will face the host Senecas in opening round action at 7:30 p.m.

“It doesn’t get any easier. Watkins Glen is an incredibly tough team, almost like Mansfield,” Auman said. “They shoot a ton of threes, they push the floor, they pressure you. They’re very well-coached, and it’s almost identical to the team we just played against. It’s great competition, and it will make us better. It will be another tough test to tell us where we are at this point of the season. We’ll learn from this loss, and regroup and fix our mistakes come Friday.”

North Penn-Mansfield    12 12 16 19 – 59  

Wellsville                          8 19 11 16 – 54

NORTH PENN-MANSFIELD: Nolan Frederick 0 1-1 1, Logan Tokarz 5 3-4 15, Dom Garverick 5 2-5 14, Alex Stein 4 0-0 8, Curtis Craig 5 0-0 10, Brody Burleigh 1 0-0 2, Jacob Evans 3 0-1 9. Totals: 23 6-11 59.
WELLSVILLE: Max Jusianiec 13 5-5 38, Eli Schmidt 4 0-1 8, Liam McKinley 1 0-0 2, Logan Dunbar 1 0-0 2, Aidan Hart 2 0-1 4. Totals: 21 5-7 54.

3-point goals: NP-M 7 (Evans 3, Tokarz 2, Garverick 2), Wellsville 7 (Jusianiec).
Total Fouls: NP-M 15, Wellsville 15. Fouled out: Stein (NP-M).

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Keshequa Christmas Tournament Consolation

Genesee Valley 50, Campbell-Savona 32

NUNDA — After both teams got off to a slow first quarter start, the Lady Jaguars of Genesee Valley found a way to pull themselves out of reach from Campbell-Savona with two big runs to earn a third place finish with a 50-32 win over the Lady Panthers in the consolation round of Keshequa’s Christmas Tournament, Monday evening.

The Lady Jaguars (2-6) hit all strides in the second quarter after taking a 7-4 lead, holding Campbell-Savona with a big 18-9 run to take a double-digit lead at the break. The momentum continued after exiting the locker room, as they went on to hold the Lady Panthers in check one last time with a lengthy 13-6 run to pull away for the victory.

Hailey Herring led all scorers on the floor with a game-high 16 points for Genesee Valley. Emera Aquila was not far behind, netting 14 points of her own. Lizzie Bentley provided eight points to help the cause.

Up next for the Lady Jaguars is a trip back home, as they return to action after this upcoming weekend with a home meeting against the Cuba-Rushford Lady Rebels next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Campbell-Savona    4   9   6 13 – 32

Genesee Valley         7 18 13 12 – 50
 

CAMPBELL-SAVONA: Kiara Barron 1 1-4 3, Gardner 4 1-2 9, Cierra Machuga 2 0-0 4, Kalyska Payne 0 3-4 3, Lydia Hawken 6 1-8 13. Totals: 13 6-18 32.
GENESEE VALLEY: Emera Aquila 5 3-6 14, Lizzie Bentley 4 0-2 8, Hailey Herring 6 4-8 16, Sierra Burrows 3 1-2 7, Isabelle Ordway 1 0-0 2, A. Herring 1 1-1 3. Totals: 20 9-19 50.

3-point goals: GV 1 (Aquila).
Total Fouls: C-S 18, GV 15. Fouled out: Bentley (GV).