Friday Roundup: And/Whi boys come up large at Naples, earn big Sectional points with 65-50 road win; Crowley paces B-R past Hinsdale, Fillmore girls bounce back against And/Whi

NAPLES — Andover/Whitesville head coach Jimmy Joyce made note earlier in the week that their Friday night matchup against the Naples Big Green was one of, if not, their biggest game of the campaign to date.

When the day came, it was time for his team to go out and get the job done.

In their third game of the week, Andover/Whitesville’s aim was to finish it off in perfect fashion, with a sublime second half finish against Avoca-Prattsburgh back on Monday before laying the hammer down on a massive spreading of the wealth in their latest win over Houghton Academy just 24 hours ago.

It was a tight battle through a first quarter that saw both Andover/Whitesville and Naples come together for an early back-and-forth duel, witnessing a pair of scoreless runs come to totality, providing a close deadlock on the scoreboard in the process.

Then, when the second quarter arrived, Andover/Whitesville went lock, stock and barrel across all fronts, as Brody Vance aided the offensive efforts with a giant momentum boost from all angles on the floor, propelling the team out into the lead where they remained for the rest of the game to finish off one of their biggest victories of the campaign with a 65-50 win over the host Big Green.

“I was very happy with our performance tonight from start to finish,” said Andover/Whitesville coach Jimmy Joyce. “It was kind of unfamiliar territory for us being in Naples, so I think both teams spent the first quarter feeling each other out. We knew they had some shooters and we tried to limit the damage. Our defense really stepped up tonight. This was kind of one of those games that was added to the schedule late, and we penciled it in thinking it would be a very nice win if we were able to make it happen. It really helps us towards our push to Sectionals. The guys are working hard and hopefully, we can keep the momentum up.”

After the two combatants applied an early 6-6 deadlock onto the scoreboard, they would each have a turn at driving a scoreless run to claim an advantage, with Naples jumping ahead with six straight points before Andover/Whitesville (11-6) fired right back with seven in a row themselves with close to 60 seconds remaining in the frame. The two teams engaged in a brief back-and-forth exchange in the waning seconds before Naples tied the game at 16 on a buzzer-beating lay-in up to the rim.

In the second quarter, the momentum that the Big Green built was completely vaporized by Andover/Whitesville all throughout the frame. With Naples coming up with a 22-20 lead with under five minutes left. The visitors in black then advanced onward to bucket the next 10 points in rapid succession to garner their largest lead of the game at that juncture of time, moving towards a 36-25 overall advantage entering the break.

Within that frame, Vance led the scoring behind a pair of gigantic three-pointers in what was a 10-point outing from within the team’s 20-8 run of the Big Green.

Andover/Whitesville would maintain their momentum across the third quarter before Naples began to dig their way back to within reach in the final stanza, closing the gap to within nine of their opposition early on. But soon after, the advantage was branched out in insurmountable fashion, as Andover/Whitesville conducted a major 13-3 run of the Big Green to pull away towards victory.

Vance paced the offensive efforts for Andover/Whitesville behind his game-high 24 points. Colton Calladine was right behind him with 22 points of his own, while Vinny Joyce had 13 points.

Up next, Andover/Whitesville will seek to keep their winning ways rolling on Tuesday back home in Andover, hosting Alfred-Almond in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.

Andover/Whitesville 16 20 10 19 — 65

Naples 16 9 11 14 — 50

ANDOVER/WHITESVILLE: Gage Putnam 0 1-2 1, Ethan Warriner 0 0-2 0, Vinny Joyce 6 1-2 13, Brody Vance 7 6-6 24, Jon Vallieres 2 1-2 5, Colton Calladine 9 3-5 22. Totals: 24 12-19 65.
NAPLES: Isaac Ward 1 0-0 3, Colin Kenney 0 2-4 2, Matt Lincoln 3 0-0 9, Joseph Christmas 1 0-0 3, Maddox Mannella 10 1-2 22, Oliver Bruen 4 2-2 11. Totals: 18 4-8 50.

3-point goals: A/W 5 (Vance 4, Calladine), Naples 7 (Lincoln 3, Ward, Christmas, Mannella, Bruen).
Total Fouls: A/W 11, Naples 15. Fouled out: None.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Fillmore 37, Andover/Whitesville 28

FILLMORE — There was some early adversity for the Lady Eagles of Fillmore to overcome with visiting Andover/Whitesville approaching rapidly on their heels, Friday night inside The Rock.

With foul trouble serving as one of the big driving forces in the first half, the Lady Eagles were put on their heels right away. But even with the minor bump in the road, the supporting cast behind their starting five stepped up and rose to the occasion, including Lily Sisson and Kelsie Songster, to help deliver a big momentum swing at the half. As a direct result, Fillmore floored it straight towards a massive third quarter run to stay one step out ahead of Andover/Whitesville and end the week strong with a 37-28 victory.

“We had a bit of a nightmare scenario to start with three girls going out early in the second because of early foul trouble, an injury and Andover/Whitesville coming very ready to play,” Lady Eagles coach Tom Parks said. “Honestly, I was hoping to just get to halftime and be within striking distance, but our bench came in and actually extended our lead. Ella (Decker), Kelsie and Lily were a huge difference tonight. I also thought Mylee Miller played a very big role for us. Andover/Whitesville has two very strong forwards that have a size advantage on us, and she played real tough down low.”

The points were a bit difficult to come by across the opening eight minutes of the contest, with Fillmore (13-1) initially surviving the battle against Andover/Whitesville with a narrow 8-7 lead. Across the first five minutes and change in the second quarter, the Lady Eagles found their groove once again with a 10-4 run to garner additional cushioning for their advantage, which would remain intact going into the break courtesy of their clutch contributions from the bench in what was an 18-13 lead.

The momentum carried over into the third quarter where the offense soon turned into a five-alarm fire that could not be extinguished, as they strolled towards their biggest lead of the night over Andover/Whitesville (11-2) with a meteoric 12-0 jaunt to put the pressure on immediately, traveling in the direction of a 35-20 advantage going into the last eight minutes.

“I think the play of our bench gave us a little spark coming out of halftime,” Parks said. “We had a nice run in the third quarter to give us a little more breathing room. Foul trouble crept up again in the fourth, and we had to play a much slower game to just try and get this one home. Andover/Whitesville has a nice team and is having a great season. Any win against them is notable. This one took all eight and players taking on larger roles. The girls really stood tall in the face of adversity and against a good team.”

Despite Andover/Whitesville closing out the game by holding Fillmore to just two points, the damage was done by the Lady Eagles and their 17-7 run in the third quarter, as they held on to secure a big victory in resilient fashion.

Leading the scoring for Fillmore was Emalyn Mucher, who totaled a team-high 11 points. Mylee Miller, Morghyn Ross and Mattie McCumiskey all scored six points each. For Andover/Whitesville, Stella Bledsoe and Olivia Waters each recorded a team-leading 11 points.

Both teams will return to the floor after the weekend concludes, with Andover/Whitesville heading back home to start the week on Monday with a 6 p.m. contest in Andover against red hot Arkport-Canaseraga, while the Lady Eagles return one day later back on the road with a 7:30 p.m. visit to Cuba-Rushford on Tuesday.

Andover/Whitesville 7 6 7 8 — 28

Fillmore 8 10 17 2 — 37

ANDOVER/WHITESVILLE: Makenna Vance 1 0-0 2, Stella Bledsoe 5 1-2 11, Graci Lewis-Ellison 1 2-4 4, Olivia Waters 3 5-9 11. Totals: 10 8-15 28.

FILLMORE: Mylee Miller 2 2-2 6, Lily Sisson 2 0-0 4, Morghyn Ross 3 0-2 6, Emalyn Mucher 3 5-6 11, Mattie McCumiskey 3 2-2 6, Kelsie Songster 2 0-0 4. Totals: 15 9-12 37.
Total Fouls: A/W 9, Fillmore 15. Fouled out: None.

Bolivar-Richburg 39, Hinsdale 23

BOLIVAR — The overwhelming presence of Carmen Crowley down low aided the Lady Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg towards a rampant start to their game on Friday, as they used a dominant beginning stage to their fullest advantage to rebound off their Wednesday defeat to Cuba-Rushford with a 39-23 home win over visiting Hinsdale.

Crowley powered the first quarter with ease for Bolivar-Richburg (7-8) with a strong presence inside off eight of the team’s 12 points, all while holding Hinsdale to just a three-point bucket from outside along the way to piece together a 12-3 lead that served as the difference maker going forward.

After halftime, the Lady Bobcats (0-11) used a tough three-point presence once again to trim their deficit down, as Lily Bushnell sank a pair of third quarter triples to power the team’s latest offensive efforts. But the Lady Wolverines were able to keep their advantage intact to pick up the victory.

Crowley finished as the night’s leading scorer with a game-high 18 points. Raegan Giardini chipped in with eight points of her own, while Nadia Baldwin had five.

Hinsdale was led by Bushnell and her team-leading eight points. The Lady Bobcats will return to action on Monday with a 5:30 p.m. visit to Mount Morris.

Bolivar-Richburg will now hit the road themselves coming up on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. clash at the Paul Vienna Memorial Gym in Belfast against host Genesee Valley/Belfast.

Hinsdale 3 6 10 4 — 23

Bolivar-Richburg 12 8 12 7 — 39

HINSDALE: Caylee Barton 0 1-2 1, Charlie Briggs 2 0-2 4, Kaylie Foskit 2 0-0 5, Sarah Easterly 2 0-0 5, Lily Bushnell 3 0-0 8. Totals: 9 1-4 23.

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Nadia Baldwin 2 0-0 5, Emma Sisson 1 0-0 2, Jaelyn Kinnicutt 1 0-0 2, Raegan Giardini 4 0-0 8, Sydney Faulkner 1 1-2 3, Kelsey Hogan 0 1-2 1, Carmen Crowley 8 2-3 18. Totals: 17 4-7 39.

3-point goals: Hinsdale 4 (Bushnell 2, Foskit, Easterly), B-R 1 (Baldwin).
Total Fouls: Hinsdale 12, B-R 4. Fouled out: None.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Arkport-Canaseraga 3, Genesee Valley/Belfast 2

BELMONT — For the second straight night, the Genesee Valley/Belfast boys fought a hard fight to force another five-set showdown with their opposition on Friday. After a resilient finish to the night’s fourth set, the hosts coerced visiting Arkport-Canaseraga into one last battle inside the Jungle in Belmont.

But despite their heroic efforts, the Wolves were able to put punctuation on a strong finish to the regular season, as they warded off a magnificent game from Genesee Valley/Belfast to wrap up a five-set, 25-17, 25-20, 14-25, 22-25, 15-11 victory.

“Back-to-back five set games, but unfortunately, we were on the losing side of things again, almost pulling off the reverse sweep,” GV/Belfast coach Darren Bradt said. “I believe we’re playing at some of our highest levels that we’ve played all year. Arkport is just a strong team and we just need to shore up some mental errors. They’ve come a long way in the season, and hopefully over the next couple of days, we can come out strong against our first round opponent in the playoffs.”

Leading Genesee Valley/Belfast (0-13) was Lawson Ector, who posted 12 kills, four aces, four blocks and four assists. The team’s setter, Noah Miller, aided in setting the offense up with 16 big helpers, pairing them with four more kills and three aces of his own.

Statistics for Arkport-Canaseraga were not made available to report upon publication.

Both teams will now await Allegany County Playoff play, which will begin next week.

WRESTLING

Wellsville (w/ Alfred-Almond) at Campbell-Savona — No report.