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).

[FILE PHOTO]

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.