Wednesday Roundup: Eagles win 8th consecutive game in double overtime thriller vs. C.G. Finney; Wellsville, Cuba-Rushford boys net home victories

Written By Chris Brooks

FILLMORE — Due to unforeseen circumstances in their matchup against Canisteo-Greenwood at the Barkley Showcase, the Eagles of Fillmore were not able to take the floor for the first time in nearly a week. But from this weekend up to until Tuesday night, it allotted more time for the team to continue preparations.

In that time, Eagles head coach Randy Crouch presented a challenge for his team with a difficult gauntlet of games forthcoming, beginning with C.G. Finney on Wednesday.

“I’ve been challenging the guys to compete as hard as they possibly can. I don’t think we play with enough intensity, and I’ve been challenging them for the last week to find that competitive drive,” he said. “It’s not about getting up for games against rivals like Genesee Valley, Cuba-Rushford, it’s about showing up and competing, telling them to be greedy and to battle for every possession.”

It was safe to say that electricity was most certainly occupying the air when the Falcons entered the terrain known as The Rock in Fillmore in a game that potentially be the biggest to date for the Eagles entering their homestretch into Sectionals. The hosts fought their way to a bright first half ending, but in the second half until the end, fireworks spewed in all angles of the floor.

C.G. Finney and Fillmore would engage in the heavyweight fight of the night, one that would require two extra periods of time to decide a winner. Within the double overtime, multiple lead changes and deadlocks were traded between each club with the last going in Fillmore’s favor by an 81-78 count with under 10 seconds left. At that point, it was all free throws, as the Eagles, behind Luke Cole’s pair of clutch shots to extend their lead by a pair of possessions, survived a double overtime thriller by an 83-79 count over C.G. Finney to win their eighth straight game.

“We saw how good these guys could be if they competed in every possession,” said Crouch. “We had some bad moments, but I’m really proud with how they showed up in the two overtimes and absolutely willed themselves to make the plays, and win what is a huge game for us. Oddly enough, I was sick yesterday, so we couldn’t come out for practice. I was really worried about the guys coming out, and being focused and understanding their responsibilities in terms of their personnel, and defending. They did a great job from the first possession in terms of understanding who we can help off of, and who we couldn’t help off of.”

After building a 21-13 lead of Finney after the first quarter, the Eagles (10-1) kept their successful ways rolling by holding their opposition to their smallest offensive output in regulation, holding them without a shot in the first four minutes of the second quarter. But Falcons phenom Markus Robinson cut that lead down to seven behind a pair of threes with under 30 seconds left, before Luke Cole responded with one of his own to garner a 34-24 lead at the break.

In the third quarter, Robinson helped take over the Falcons offense once more with a few more long-range shots, and a no-look pass inside to trim the deficit to three behind Fillmore with under three minutes left. But it would grow once more, as the Eagles planted more seeds in their offensive game with Levi Webb and Isaiah Voss both hitting three-point baskets to put toward a 50-43 quarter-ending advantage.

“We had some big shots off the bench from Isaiah outside, and he’s a shooter,” Crouch said. “I haven’t been getting him enough looks, but he went 2-for-3 tonight outside. You can’t go wrong with that. Hayden Rust came in and gave Levi and Tobias Webb a defensive spell, and he did a great job with it. He’s a guy that’s been earning more minutes recently. In a situation like that, we weren’t going to win the one-on-one battle with Robinson.”

Robinson would spearhead a big rally for the Falcons in the last eight minutes of regulation, continuing to find the basket in any way that he could, whether it be at the charity stripe, inside or outside. It all came to fruition for the visitors, as they assembled their largest offensive effort of the night with a 20-13 outscoring of the Eagles, with Robinson paving the way toward success with a pair of clutch shots, and assist to Cairo Vargas outside for a game-tying three with 11 seconds left.

“The Robinson kid is a spectacular player, and it seemed like we frustrated him a bit coming down the stretch,” Crouch said. “We forced some of the other guys to step up. There were a few guys on their side who hadn’t had a shot all game, and all of a sudden, they’re knocking down threes. That was a little deflating, but I was proud of how we responded to it.”

The Fillmore response came in the pair of overtime periods the home crowd saw. First came a low-scoring, but highly intense first overtime which saw Luke Cole begin the frame with a three outside, nearly two minutes in. But Robinson delivered another punch on a big three-point play at the line to take the lead, and extending it with a runner inside off a turnover. But the Eagles would find a way to force an extra overtime with Levi Webb outside, draining the biggest three-pointer of the game off a turnover of their own to link together a 68-68 tie.

More points were scored in the last four minute period, as each team used their three point game to their fullest advantage. Both the Falcons and Eagles exchanged four consecutive three-pointers, with Tobias Webb starting the period with the first go-ahead, and Cole ending it with the last to keep the Eagles in the driver’s seat for good with the last with 90 seconds left.

The game was put on ice at the charity stripe, where Fillmore was able to put away four of the last five shots at the line, including two clutch shots from Cole with under five seconds remaining to extend their lead insurmountably, securing an electric and thrilling victory in front of their home crowd to keep their win streak alive at eight games.

“It was as good as you’re going to get. This was a really fun game to be a part of,” said Crouch. “I had glanced over at Coach (Joe) Marchand on the other side, and I said to him that this game was fun. It was fun, and our crowd was electric. Much like the team, they were never out of it, and it was as raucous as it could be in the overtimes. I’m a bit under the weather, and that alone gave me a little adrenaline rush. It’s always great to see The Rock going crazy.”

When the excitement of the county’s first game to reach double overtime subsided, Fillmore was able to come away with a balanced scoring effort in the scorebook, with Cole leading the way behind a team-high 20 points. Tobias Webb was right behind him with 19 points of his own, while Will Valentine and Levi Webb followed with 16, and 14 points respectively.

On the flip side, Robinson, C.G. Finney’s star freshman, dominated all aspects of the floor despite being on the losing end of the spectrum with a game-high 54 points. Crouch said despite giving up that many to a bright superstar in Section V, he said that his team provided the best showing of the season to date.

“We didn’t get down, and the guys were excited on the bench. We were jacked up to go battle again for another four minutes, and then another four minutes after that,” he said. “It’s probably our best team effort of the year in terms of scoring, but also it came with great team defense. It’s hard to say that when someone like Robinson scores 54 on you, but I thought we did a great job with it despite that.”

Fillmore now hits the road in search of their ninth straight victory coming up on Friday, but they won’t have to go very far to look for it, as they pay a visit to the Houghton Academy Panthers for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.

“Houghton Academy is next, and then a three-game stretch after that in League play,” said Crouch. “Houghton Academy will be good because of the proximity to us, and they’re always up for the challenge. We need to maintain that competitive will, and every game from here on out is a winnable game for us. We need to battle the same way like we battled against Finney tonight.”

C.G. Finney        13 11 19 20   5  11 – 79

Fillmore              21 13 16 13   5 15 – 83 

C.G. FINNEY: Markus Robinson 19 13-17 54, Cairo Vargas 4 1-2 12, Connor Torrell 1 0-0 2, Matt Magliato 2 0-0 6, James Sidorshin 1 0-0 2, Connor McIntyre 0 1-2 1, Justice Smith 1 0-0 2. Totals: 28 15-21 79.
FILLMORE: Dylan Valentine 3 1-2 8, Luke Cole 6 5-6 20, Levi Webb 3 5-6 14, Isaiah Voss 2 0-0 6, Tobias Webb 7 2-3 19, Will Valentine 6 4-5 16. Totals: 27 17-22 83.

3-point goals: Finney 8 (Robinson 3, Vargas 3, Magliato 2), Fillmore 12 (Cole 3, L. Webb 3, T. Webb 3, Voss 2, D. Valentine).
Total Fouls: Finney 18, Fillmore 14. Fouled out: None.

Wellsville 59, Bolivar-Richburg 48

WELLSVILLE — Entering their return home in nearly two weeks, Wellsville had begun to start finding their stride. With a loss on the road at Marcus Whitman sandwiched in-between, the Lions have found the win column in four of the last five games, including what could be a season-turning victory at the Barkley Showcase against Hornell this past weekend.

With Bolivar-Richburg in town for a visit on Wednesday, a challenge was brought forth to the Lions right away in the game’s opening quarter, as both teams battled their way to a 16-16 deadlock entering the second quarter. The Lions would find their way ahead going into the break, but upon coming back out, they built on it in a big way, as they held the Wolverines to just five points in their 16-5 third quarter run to pull away toward a 59-48 victory.

“The third quarter defensively was the difference in the game,” said Lions coach Raymie Auman. “We have a knack for coming out with a lack of focus to start games, but then we are able to turn it on. If we don’t fix that, it will really hurt us late in the season. Give credit to Bolivar-Richburg, they have a young nucleus of guys, and stayed resilient even when they were down.”

In the opening quarter, Landon Danaher and Camdyn MacDonell took charge of a Wolverines offense that hung side-by-side with Wellsville, accounting for 12 of the team’s 16 points while a balanced Lions (9-6) offense responded with 16 points of their own to tie the game heading into the second.

Max Jusianiec scored five points to start, but made up for lost ground quickly in the second to jumpstart a mini breakaway for the hosts with 12 of the team’s 21 points in their 21-13 outscoring of Bolivar-Richburg (4-11) to head into the half with a 37-29 lead.

In the third quarter, a complete shift in momentum, as the second half defense came into effect for Wellsville by holding the visitors in black and red to just five points to pull away for good with a 16-5 run, despite the Wolverines applying the pressure late in the fourth quarter. But their run proved to be the difference maker in the end.

Jusianiec led all scorers on the floor with 25 game-high points, with 17 of them coming in the first half. Aidan Hart was busy underneath the basket, recording 10 points, while Liam McKinley powered the three-point game with two of the team’s four in all to put forth in his eight-point efforts.

The Danaher brothers led the offense for the Wolverines, with Landon Danaher heading the charge with a team-high 16 points. Riley Danaher followed behind with 14 points of his own, while MacDonell finished with 12 points. Bolivar-Richburg is back on the floor at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, as they welcome in the Cuba-Rushford Rebels for their very first meeting of the season.

As for the Lions, they will also return to action on Friday, as they prepare for a road trip down below the boarder to Bradford to take on the host Owls in a 7:30 p.m. clash.

“This is a huge clash for us. Bradford is well-coached, talented and they play really hard basketball,” Auman said, “It is extremely tough to go down there and get a win. We are continuing to get better after every game, and when Friday comes, hopefully it will be no different.”

Bolivar-Richburg     16 13   5 14 – 48

Wellsville                 16 21 16  6 – 59

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Riley Danaher 6 0-2 14, Landon Danaher 7 1-2 16, Wyatt Karnuth 1 0-0 3, Brayden Ellis 1 0-0 3, Camdyn MacDonell 5 2-5 12. Totals: 20 3-9 48.
WELLSVILLE: Tyler Sands 0 1-2 1, Max Jusianiec 7 10-11 25, Eli Schmidt 2 2-3 6, Liam McKinley 3 0-0 8, Logan Dunbar 1 0-0 3, Aidan Hart 5 0-0 10, Brayden Delahunt 2 0-1 4, Tim Jones 1 0-0 2. Totals: 21 13-17 59.
3-point goals: B-R 5 (R. Danaher 2, L. Danaher, Karnuth, Ellis), Wellsville 4 (McKinley 2, Jusianiec, Dunbar).
Total Fouls: B-R 15, Wellsville 14. Fouled out: None.

Cuba-Rushford 61, Franklinville 57

CUBA — Despite a slow start right from the start, Cuba-Rushford dug their way back in the second half. It would set up shop for a heavy barrage of points between both the Rebels and visiting Franklinville in the remaining eight minutes of play. Even though the Panthers outscored the hosts by just three points, the Rebels had the winning edge to bounce back from Tuesday’s loss in Scio with a 61-57 home win on Wednesday.

Right away, the visiting Panthers got off to a start on the Rebels that they wanted to get, as the defense forced them into shots that they could not make. At the end of it, just two baskets were netted in the entirety of the first quarter with Franklinville leading by a 16-4 count heading into a second quarter where Cuba-Rushford (4-6) rebounded.

“We struggled right away. We came out flat, and missed some really easy shots,” Rebels coach Bryce Ryan said. “We also had some poor defensive rotations in the first quarter. We settled down after that, and we just started to execute better. Grady (McCumiskey) finished well, Ethan Brooks had some big shots for us. Franklinville was excellent down the stretch to make it very close in the last few minutes, but we found a way to win.”

The Rebels started a big run across the next two quarters to bring their offense altogether, narrowly outscoring Franklinville by a pair of possessions to trim their lead down to six at the break. In the third quarter, it was their turn to limit the Panthers offense, as they allowed just a single basket’s worth of points in the midst of their 15-2 run to pull ahead with a seven-point lead going into the remaining eight minute period.

The fourth quarter saw a lot of back-and-forth action between both clubs in their last meeting of the season, but the Panthers managed to shave a seven-point deficit down to four, but it would be all the Rebels would allow from the visitors, as they held on in the late stages to secure the rebounding victory.

Grady McCumiskey led the Cuba-Rushford offense with a team-high 18 points inside, becoming one of three Rebels offensive attackers to cross over the double digit line. Ethan Brooks was not far behind, as he sank a pair of the team’s three treys on his way toward a 16-point performance, while Andrew Clement followed suit with a perfect 5-for-5 charity stripe outing in his 13-point game.

Up next is a road trip to Bolivar-Richburg for the Rebels, as they take on the Wolverines in hopes of continuing their homestretch of basketball on the right foot. For Ryan, it’s a chance for his team to right a few wrongs.

“We have to take care of the ball, plain and simple,” he said. “We have to have disciplined close outs, and play with poise. We have an opportunity in front of us on Friday to right some wrongs for the next few weeks. I’m looking forward to how we can keep responding.”

Franklinville           16 15 2 24 – 57

Cuba-Rushford         4 21 15  21 – 61

FRANKLINVILLE: Jacob Torpey 1 0-0 2, Tyler Clear 2 0-0 5, Blake Frank 6 1-3 16, Matt Peters 1 0-0 3, Logan Frank 7 2-2 18, Kam Ramadhan 4 2-3 13. Totals: 21 5-8 57.
CUBA-RUSHFORD: Ethan Brooks 4 6-8 16, Joey Jablonski 2 0-0 5, Trent Chamberlain 1 1-2 3, Andrew Clement 4 5-5 13, Grady McCumiskey 7 4-8 18, Dan Emerson 2 2-4 6. Totals: 20 18-27 61.

3-point goals: Franklinville 9 (B. Frank 3, Ramadhan 3, L. Frank 2, Clear, Peters), C-R 3 (Brooks 2, Jablonski).
Total Fouls: Franklinville 19, C-R 13. Fouled out: None.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Hinsdale 40, Andover 32

HINSDALE — Both Andover and Hinsdale scuffled their way through what turned out to be a neck-and-neck battle through the entire first half of play, with each team coming away with a lead change within it. The Lady Panthers had the last one heading into the locker room at the end of the first half, using a second quarter run to pull ahead by two points.

But all the momentum they had built, was quickly evaporated when the third quarter came around, as the host Lady Bobcats capitalized on everything they saw to provide a game-changing jaunt in the first eight minute period of the second half, springing ahead of Andover toward the win column with a 40-32 victory on Wednesday.

“The past two games we’ve had should have been a wake-up call for the girls,” said Lady Panthers coach Jake Bannerman. “We have to stop looking around amongst one of us for someone else to lead. We have to do things ourselves, and 20 turnovers tonight against a team like Hinsdale isn’t going to cut it for us.”

The Lady Bobcats (9-4) got themselves off to a 10-5 lead through opening quarter festivities, only for it to be wiped down by Andover in the last eight minute period before the half, as they propelled their way into the driver’s seat themselves with a 15-8 run of Hinsdale to take the two-point edge into the break.

At that point, the lead was gone for good, as Hinsdale came out swinging for the fences in the third quarter by capitalizing on multiple turnovers to cash in on a 12-3 jaunt that sealed the deal on their trip to the winner’s circle over the Lady Panthers, who now move to 10-5 on the season.

Kaitlynn Roberson led a well-balanced attack for the Lady Bobcats with a team-leading 11 points. Ashley Chapman chipped in with nine, while Liz Pryzbyla had eight.

On the flip side, Andover was paced by a great inside game from their senior center Kelsie Niedermaier, who recorded a game-high 14 points. Hayleigh Nidermaier swished a pair of threes on her way to eight points, while Tess Spangenburg and Livia Simon rounded off the scoring with five points each.

Hinsdale will go for their 10th win of the season back on their home floor Friday, as they host Belfast for a 6 p.m. contest. On Saturday, Andover will look to rebound over the road with their final meeting of the regular season against Avoca/Prattsburgh at 7 p.m.

Andover           5 15  3   9 – 32

Hinsdale         10    8 12 10 – 40

ANDOVER: Hayleigh Niedermaier 3 0-0 8, Tess Spangenburg 2 1-4 5, Livia Simon 2 1-2 5, Kelsie Niedermaier 5 4-8 14. Totals: 12 6-14 32.
HINSDALE: Kaitlynn Roberson 3 4-7 11, Ashley Chapman 3 1-2 9, Kayla Brooks 2 1-2 7, Liz Przybyla 3 2-6 8, Haylee Jozwiak 1 0-0 3, Lindsey Veno 1 0-4 2. Totals: 12 8-21 40.

3-point goals: Andover 2 (H. Niedermaier), Hinsdale 6 (Chapman 2, Brooks 2, Roberson, Jozwiak).
Total Fouls: Andover 18, Hinsdale 8. Fouled out: Calladine (AND), K. Niedermaier (AND).

Whitesville 64, Friendship 22

WHITESVILLE — After garnering a seven-point lead through the first eight minutes of play, the host Lady Blue Jays of Whitesville brought their offense to full circle on Wednesday, accounting for a huge 22-4 run to end the first half, and the game with a double digit lead, rolling past visiting Friendship with a 64-22 decision for their 10th straight victory.

Three different scorers for the Lady Blue Jays (11-2) eclipsed the 10-point plateau, with Vanessa Hall breaking out once more with a game-high 27 points to pair with her seven rebounds, six steals and five assists. Kennedy Bledsoe and Kate Pensyl each had 11 points, with Bledsoe grabbing five more rebounds and five steals, while Pensyl chimed in with five boards and five swipes herself.

On the other side, the Lady Golden Eagles (2-10) were led by Navaeh Ross, who paved the offense with a team-leading 11-point effort. Kadence Donohue added in four points, while Logan Roberts and Faith Sands had the remaining five points, earning them on a three-pointer and two inside respectively. Friendship will head over the hill to visit the Scio Lady Tigers at 6 p.m. on Friday.

Also on Friday, Whitesville will hit the road for action as the week comes to a close, as the Lady Blue Jays prepare for their second and final meeting with the Fillmore Lady Eagles at 7:30 p.m.

“They have one of the best coaches, teams and programs around. They handled us pretty easily in our first matchup in our place,” Lady Blue Jays coach Aaron Rawady said. “Now, we will find out whether or not we have improved since then. Hopefully we can challenge them a little bit this time, but it will be tough. We will learn a lot about ourselves come Friday, and find out what kind of team we really are.”

Friendship       5   4   9   4 – 22

Whitesville     12 22 19 11 – 64

FRIENDSHIP: Navaeh Ross 3 3-6 11, Logan Roberts 1 0-0 3, Kadence Donohue 2 0-3 4, Faith Sands 1 0-0 2. Totals: 8 3-6 22.
WHITESVILLE: Kennedy Bledsoe 5 1-2 11, Serena Ainsworth 2 0-0 4, Vanessa Hall 9 6-6 27, Randa Waite 1 0-0 2, Kate Pensyl 5 0-1 11, Serina Button 3 2-2 9. Totals: 25 9-13 64.

3-point goals: Friendship 3 (Ross 2, Roberts), Whitesville 5 (Hall 3, Button, Pensyl).
Total Fouls: Friendship 12, Whitesville 11. Fouled out: Harmon (FRI).

Belfast 45, Scio 13

BELFAST — The Lady Bulldogs, after a narrow defeat to Arkport/Canaseraga and tough loss to Jasper-Troupsburg, have found their way into the win column back home on Tuesday, as they used a quick hop to their step in the first eight minutes of play to gallop their way toward a 45-13 victory over the visiting Scio Lady Tigers.

The offensive attack was balanced across the board for Belfast (2-10), with Alicia Borden leading the charge with a game-high 10 points. Jaiden Enders was not far behind, adding eight more points. Kaitlin Sadler, Mary Hamer and Emma Sullivan all had six points to pitch in.

“We played one whopper of a game on defense. We created all of our offense behind it. It was a fun game to see the girls continue developing some great things for their game.” said Lady Bulldogs coach Jimmy Schneider.


Scio (1-13) was led by Emily Stilson, who had a team-leading four points. Camryn Wiech added three more points.

Both teams are back on the floor at 6 p.m. Friday night, as the Lady Bulldogs hit the road to visit the Lady Bobcats of Hinsdale, while the Lady Tigers head back home to welcome in the Friendship Lady Golden Eagles.

Scio           6  2   0   5 – 13

Belfast     16  8 10 11 – 45

SCIO: Ashlynn Scotchmer 1 0-0 2, Camryn Wiech 1 1-4 3, Emily Stilson 2 0-0 4, Celina Warboys 0 1-2 1, Alexis Crossley 0 1-2 1, Alyshia Chandler 1 0-0 2. Totals: 5 3-8 13.
BELFAST: Kaitlin Sadler 3 0-0 6, Alicia Borden 5 0-1 10, Anna Drozdowski 2 1-2 5, Mary Hamer 3 0-0 6, Junie Shaw 2 0-3 4, Emma Sullivan 3 0-2 6, Jaiden Enders 3 2-6 8. Totals: 21 3-14 45.
Total Fouls: Scio 12, Belfast 16. Fouled out: None.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Allegany County Play-In: Bolivar-Richburg 3, Scio 1

SCIO — Wednesday marked the official start of the Allegany County Players on the volleyball court, with the first match of the tournament ultimately answering one question at the end of the game — Win or go home?

Between the Bolivar-Richburg Wolverines and the Scio Tigers, only one could advance their way into the playoff picture. In the end, it was the visiting Wolverines, as they bounced back after a second-set loss to come out on top in the final two sets, eliminating the Tigers with a four-set victory by a 25-21, 17-25, 25-23, 25-18 count.

Hunter Murray led all Bolivar-Richburg (6-6) attackers with a team-high seven kills to go with three blocks at the net, and one assist. Jaydon McDonald helped the cause with five kills of his own to pair with five assists, three aces, and one denial. Rounding off the Wolverines was setter Jordon McDonald, who dished out a game-high 12 assists up front, going with three more kills on offense and three aces from the service line.

Scio (4-7) was led by a big night offensively from Patryk Pietruszka, who led all attackers on the court with a game-high 27 kills, pairing them with four assists. At the service line, Elia Travaini tallied 17 service points to go with 10 assists at the net, three blocks and one ace. Chandler Cobb had 16 more service points to pitch in along with three aces and one block.

The Wolverines now head into the next round of action over the road once again, as they visit Arkport/Canaseraga Friday night at 6 p.m. for a chance at second-seeded Cuba-Rushford next week in the semifinal round.

Chris Brooks
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