Tuesday Roundup: Lions extinguish Wolverines, halt 5-game win streak with confident 59-31 home win; Alvord picks up career win No. 200 in Lady Lions win at C-G

Written By Chris Brooks

WELLSVILLE — Wellsville received their gut-check notice after defeating Canisteo-Greenwood by the skin of their teeth this past Saturday behind a go-ahead three-pointer from Aidan Riley and some massive help at the line from Cooper Brockway helped secure the comeback victory to get back on track.

It was evident that after a first half of basketball that was not preferred, the second half straighten the ship back around for the Lions, giving them a big confidence booster going forward into the new week. With an aggressive slate of games coming up on the horizon, Wellsville needed to make sure they kept that shot of adrenaline by all means necessary.

Even it took an extinguishing of a team’s hot streak to do so.

With scorching hot Bolivar-Richburg in town for a visit, Tuesday night, the Lions simply would not be denied.

After a back-and-forth exchange of baskets to open a deadlocked opening quarter, the tide was turned by the Lions after a big defensive play led to an offensive stand that the visiting Wolverines were not able to overcome, as the hosts in white and orange coasted their way toward victory and ended Bolivar-Richburg’s five-game win streak in the process with a 59-31 rolling inside the Lion’s Den.

“I thought every kid played with confidence. All the way from Aidan Riley hitting a wide open shot, to Connor Ferguson coming off the bench and going beast mode, and even Dalton Ketchner coming hot off the presses and burying one,” said Lions coach Raymie Auman. “I’ve seen it in practice, and today we were able to get guys in good spots. We move the ball really well on offense, and the way you beat a zone is to move it eight, nine, 10 times back and forth, and then the shots come. That was great to see.”

The Lions (6-4) and Wolverines started the evening with a 7-7 tie under wraps in the first quarter, with each team exchanging twos and threes on their first few possessions. Soon after, the hosts began to run the table with their biggest, shapeshifting run of the night — a 19-5 jaunt of the Wolverines that allowed them to bring the hammer down almost immediately.

And it would all stem from a massive charge down underneath taken by Logan Dunbar, planting his feet to draw the foul against Bolivar-Richburg’s top scorer Landon Danaher, and send the ball back down the other way — an area on the floor that Wellsville could not get enough of, scoring 12 straight points in the midst of their first half-ending run to take a big 26-12 lead into the locker room.

A power play that Auman said, kept his team going.

“Plays like that are energy plays. It gets teams going. It was a huge moment, and it’s a team game. I watched film, and I know Danaher really well,” he said. “He’s one of the most crafty kids at going second level to get to the basket. He gets by the first guy, and then he’s surgical getting to the basket, slicing past that second guy. We practiced on stepping into those and taking charges, and what Logan did was provide a game-changer for us.”

The Lions, with a 14-point lead in hand to start the second half, kept all their newly-founded momentum in their favor for the remainder of the game, as they rolled through the third quarter with another big run of Bolivar-Richburg (7-2). With the defense forcing multiple turnovers, it would translate to more offense with eight of the quarter’s first 10 points going in their direction.

In all, an 18-7 run was built once more with great showings of defense being translated to great showings of offense back the other way.

It was as stalwart of a performance Wellsville provided on defense, as they held Bolivar-Richburg’s leading scorers — Danaher and Cam MacDonell to 17 combined points of the team’s 31 altogether, with MacDonell leading the Wolverines with nine and Danaher following with eight.

Those lockdown numbers were provided courtesy of Dunbar and Riley’s herculean efforts on the guard.

“Aidan and Logan are lockdown defenders, and nobody wants to go up against that,” Auman said. “Logan is a load in the post, and he took charges in the paint. The credit has to go to the other guys too behind them. We strive on keeping guys who get to the lane, out of the lane, as well as closing out the shooters. That’s where Eli (Schmidt) and Cody (Costello) come in with that, and they did great. Bolivar didn’t get many threes off, and they also strive off Danaher getting to the basket and then kicking it out. We did the opposite, and they never got into a rhythm. But, that will be a different team when we see them again in a few weeks.”

Dunbar would wind up being Wellsville’s leading scorer on the floor with a game-high 14 points. Eli Schmidt would follow with 13 points of his own, while Cody Costello chipped in with nine.

Finishing behind both Danaher and MacDonell for the Wolverines, Aydin Sisson and Evan Pinney each had five points. Bolivar-Richburg will head back home to try and get back into the win column with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off in store against incoming Fillmore.

As for the Lions, they will look to continue their confident ways going into Friday night, getting set to begin a home-at-home set with the Hornell Red Raiders, beginning in a 6 p.m. tip-off.

The series will conclude one week later in Hornell, next Saturday, January 22 at 7 p.m.

“This is why you coach, and why you play this game,” Auman said. “These kinds of games are always extremely fun, and it’s always a Sectional Final-like atmosphere whenever we get together with Hornell. You throw all the playbooks out the window, all the scouts, the kids that don’t normally make the shots wind up making them. There’s just so much passion between us and Hornell, and I can’t wait. It’s going to be a ton of fun, and I hope the kids are ready for that challenge.”

Bolivar-Richburg 7 5 7 12 – 31

Wellsville 7 19 18 15 – 59

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Aydin Sisson 2 0-0 5, Landon Danaher 2 4-8 8, Wyatt Karnuth 1 0-0 2, Reiss Gaines 1 0-0 2, Evan Pinney 2 0-0 5, Cam MacDonell 4 1-2 9. Totals: 12 5-10 31.
WELLSVILLE: Cody Costello 4 0-2 9, Alex Perkins 3 0-0 6, Cooper Brockway 2 0-0 4, Eli Schmidt 5 2-3 13, Dalton Ketchner 1 0-0 3, Aidan Riley 1 0-0 3, Logan Dunbar 6 1-3 14, Connor Ferguson 2 0-1 4, Asher Billings 1 0-0 3. Totals: 25 3-9 59.
3-point goals: B-R 2 (Sisson, Pinney), Wellsville 6 (Costello, Schmidt, Ketchner, Riley, Dunbar, Billings).
Total Fouls: B-R 11, Wellsville 11. Fouled out: Ferguson (WLSV).

Belfast 47, Friendship/Scio 44

BELFAST — It was safe to say that the three-point game was alive and well on Tuesday in Belfast. Between both teams, 15 threes found the netting on the way down.

When it was all said and done, it was a factor that the host Bulldogs held, as they used it to keep themselves one step ahead from the grasp of visiting Friendship/Scio, led by both Kadin and Anthony Logue’s hot performances that powered a close 47-44 edge toward victory.

The Logues for the Bulldogs (8-2) provided a phenomenal performance from three-point range to power up the team’s offense, both combining to make up for all 10 of their three-pointers, each netting five to put toward their team-high 17-point efforts. Belfast and Friendship/Scio locked horns for most of the contest, but the Bulldogs were able to remain one step ahead in the second quarter with a strong finish to the half with a five-point lead to work with.

Despite the pressure coming down the stretch, the hosts in white and red were able to hold off Friendship/Scio (6-5), as they forced multiple fouls against the Bulldogs to send them to the line, allowing them to secure the win for good.

Friendship/Scio was led by Ethan Davenport and his game-high 26 point effort, ignited by his four three-pointers from downtown. Brenden Loucks added in 15 points, while Nate Ford had the team’s last three-pointer to round off the scoring.

Both teams are back in action over the road Thursday night, as the Bulldogs pay a 7 p.m. visit down the road to Houghton Academy, while Friendship/Scio looks to rebound in Andover for a 7:30 p.m. contest against host Andover/Whitesville.

Friendship/Scio 9 13 11 11 – 44

Belfast 9 18 10 10 – 47


FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Brenden Loucks 7 1-3 15, Ethan Davenport 10 2-3 26, Nate Ford 1 0-0 3. Totals: 18 3-6 44.
BELFAST: Kadin Logue 6 0-0 17, Max Miller 1 2-2 4, Matt Cater 1 1-1 3, Anthony Logue 5 0-0 17, Matt Weaver 2 2-4 6. Totals: 16 5-7 47.

3-point goals: F/S 5 (Davenport 4, Ford), Belfast 10 (K. Logue 5, A. Logue 5).
Total Fouls: F/S 11, Belfast 11. Fouled out: None.

Pioneer 58, Fillmore 26

YORKSHIRE — It was a start to finish performance that Section VI power Pioneer was able to string together against visiting Fillmore on Tuesday.

After a close battle across a first half of play, the host Panthers buckled down and delivered a dominant second half showing to hold the Eagles in check, limiting them to just eight more points for the remainder of the game to pull away and toward a 58-26 victory.

The Eagles (5-3) had to make up some ground early on after Pioneer came out swinging in the first eight minutes with an 18-6 lead, as they cut their deficit down to 10 going into the break with a narrow 12-8 run — their largest of the game, led by a slew of Eagles scorers.

But Pioneer’s lead was ultimately pushed when the second half began, as the defense only let up eight more points in the third quarter while providing another stellar showing on offense in turn to pull away permanently.

No scorer eclipsed double digits for the game for the Eagles, with Will Roeske leading the way behind a team-high nine points. Mitch Ward followed with seven, while Brent Zubikowski had six.

Fillmore will look to turn it back around on Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off slated over the road once more at Bolivar-Richburg.

Fillmore 6 12 8 0 – 26

Pioneer 18 8 21 11 – 58

FILLMORE: Carter Sisson 1 0-0 2, Brent Zubikowski 3 0-0 6, Mitch Ward 3 1-2 7, Zach Sisson 1 0-1 2, Johnny Mills 0 0-3 0, Will Roeske 3 3-4 9. Totals: 11 4-10 26.
PIONEER: Walker Bekiel 4 0-2 8, Kyle Stover 3 0-0 8, Dalton Giboo 3 0-0 8, Owen Mason 1 0-0 2, Sam Platt 5 0-1 10, Josiah Jarocinski 7 2-5 17, Kaiter Giboo 2 0-0 5. Totals: 25 2-8 58.
3-point goals: Pioneer 6 (Stover 2, D. Giboo 2, Jarocinski, K. Giboo).

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Wellsville 48, Canisteo-Greenwood 24

CANISTEO — Michelle Alvord has seen a lot of victories during her time as a girls basketball head coach. From the very beginning in Friendship, to Whitesville, and now a place where she has called home for nearly a decade — Wellsville.

Since Alvord’s arrival, the Lady Lions have seen a multitude of success. Multiple winning seasons, many deep treks through the Sectional field which saw a Section V championship back in the 2015-16 season — the last time they won it all. All of the numerous successes Alvord and the program has seen over the years, led to a significant moment come Tuesday evening in Canisteo.

After grabbing an early first quarter start against a red hot Lady Redskins team, the Lady Lions were able to continue the momentum shift before the opening half reached its conclusion, as they began one of two massive runs in the next two quarters that saw their lead grow insurmountably to hand Alvord career win No. 200 behind a 48-24 rolling of host Canisteo-Greenwood.

“I’ve been very fortunate to coach some really good kids, and some really good players over the years. It wasn’t on my radar tonight, but through Friendship, through Whitesville, and now here, it’s been a journey,” Alvord said. “I’ve coached some great teams over the years that all led to this tonight. They all made this happen, and it was even better that I was able to do this with Wellsville. It makes it even more special.”

The Lady Lions (9-2) continued their red hot tenure on offense which was fueled by stellar defense on the other side, dominating the paint down low in the rebounding department. Four different scorers combined to record 33 of the team’s boards off the glass while in turn, holding Canisteo-Greenwood’s leading scorer — Lillian Mullen, to just 10 points in the game.

Two objectives Alvord was more than pleased with in their second go-around with Canisteo-Greenwood.

“The girls played really well tonight,” she said. “It was nice to see Emily (Costello) begin to start putting some great games together. Everyone played well, and I talk every game to them about controlling the boards. We exceeded that expectation tonight, and to help that, we held Mullen to 10 points after giving up 24 the last time we played them. It didn’t matter who we had guarding her, we had to make sure of her awareness and that was something that the team really takes pride on.”

Led by the performances from Emily Costello and Marley Adams both inside and outside of the arc, the Lady Lions never let up on the gas after establishing a 12-5 lead on Canisteo-Greenwood to start the night, as they ended the half with a massive 11-2 run to take a double digit advantage going into the break. That was soon extended upon at the start of the second half, when they scored another long run to seal the win for good by an 18-4 count in the third quarter.

Costello and Adams combined for 25 of the team’s 48 total points on offense, with Costello pacing the attack with her game-high 13 points, while Adams had 12 to add in. Makenna Dunbar had nine points to go along with eight rebounds. On defense, Kaylee Coleman was unstoppable off the glass, gathering a whopping 17 rebound evening to go with four assists. Jaylynn Mess and Emily Robbins each had four rebounds.

The Lady Lions will look to eclipse the 10-win mark when they return home on Saturday, playing host to the sharpshooting Hornell Lady Red Raiders to begin a four-game stretch where Alvord believes will reveal more about her team going forward.

“Hornell, Dansville, Bath, Portville. Those four games are really nice to have, especially at this stage of the season,” she said. “It will be key for us. I feel like we match up really well with Hornell than we have in previous years, but they are always proven lethal from three-point range. They created some hard matchups in the past, but we have a chance to match up really well with them and giving them a game, if we can take care of the ball ourselves.”

Wellsville 12 11 18 7 – 48

Canisteo-Greenwood 5 2 4 13 – 24

WELLSVILLE: Marley Adams 5 0-2 12, Jaylynn Mess 0 3-4 3, Emily Costello 5 0-0 13, Jaelyn Knapp 2 0-0 4, Natalie Adams 1 0-0 3, Sara Reitz 1 0-0 2, Kaylee Coleman 1 0-2 2, Makenna Dunbar 4 0-0 9. Totals: 19 3-8 48.
CANISTEO-GREENWOOD: Bailey Mullen 0 0-2 0, Hailey Davis 1 0-0 3, Lillian Mullen 3 4-5 10, Peyton Peters 1 0-0 2, Brooke Byrd 3 3-4 9. Totals: 8 7-11 24.

3-point goals: Wellsville 7 (Costello 3, M. Adams 2, N. Adams, Dunbar), C-G 1 (Davis).
Total Fouls: Wellsville 13, C-G 8. Fouled out: None.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Cuba-Rushford 3, Genesee Valley/Belfast 0

BELMONT — Being the lone unbeaten team left in Allegany County on the volleyball court, the Rebels of Cuba-Rushford made sure they started a brand new week of action back in the win column, as they collected their eighth straight victory to remain unbeaten, sweeping host Genesee Valley/Belfast with a 25-20, 25-16, 25-19 decision on Tuesday.

Both Logan Lewis and Nate Cole paced the offensive attack for Cuba-Rushford (8-0), each garnering a game-high six kills, with Cole furthering his cause with an ace and block to add in. Setter Allen Fuller was busy at the front dishing out helpers, compiling 19 altogether to go with three aces and a kill of his own.

Sean Mahon led Genesee Valley/Belfast (1-6) on the attack with five kills and a denial, while Joe Ward provided solid service behind six aces to pair with two additional kills.

Both teams are back on the floor tonight in a pair of 6 p.m. first serves, as the Rebels go for nine straight wins on the road at Fillmore, while Genesee Valley/Belfast remains at home to welcome in Bolivar-Richburg.

WRESTLING

Wellsville 54, Avoca/Prattsburgh/Hammondsport 19

WELLSVILLE — Through the fog that was of multiple forfeit victories, the Wellsville Lions grapplers three additional victories on the mat out of seven, including a strong finish from both Noah Black and Evin Rought within the heavyweight division, as they rolled their way past visiting Avoca/Prattsburgh/Hammondsport with a 54-19 victory on Tuesday.

“It was a great team win for our guys,” said Lions coach Tyler Carman. “As the season progresses, we are beginning to learn that the longer we wrestle into these matches, the better we will have a chance at winning them. I am super proud of the boys and their continued improvement on, and off the mat, and they are looking forward to competing in Hornell this weekend.”

After both teams exchanged victories, including a Jayden Acker forfeit at 110 pounds to begin for the Lions, the next four matches would swing in Wellsville’s favor, with Jack Cicirello, Brayden Riley and Noah Joslyn all recording forfeit wins at 126, 132 and 138 pounds respectively. Cole Hadfield would deliver the team’s first official victory of the evening, pinning his opponent just over midway in the second period at 3:22.

Avoca/Prattsburgh/Hammondsport would go on to record the next three wins on the mat, including perhaps the closest match of the night at 152 pounds between George Drake and Wellsville’s Xander Outman. Both grapplers exchanged points back-and-forth until the very end.

Just as Outman delivered a game-tying point off an escape, Drake finished off the win in the waning seconds with a two-point take down.

Wellsville would finish the match strong however, despite it, as they wrapped up with four straight wins, including back-to-back pin-fall wins for their heavyweights, Noah Black and Evin Rought, who delivered their quickest pins of the evening at 28 and 26 seconds, at 215 and 285 pounds.

Blake Geffers would add one final forfeit win at 102 pounds to complete the triumph in its entirety.


Wellsville now awaits weekend competition beginning Saturday morning off to the east in Hornell, as they get set to partake in the State Farm Classic.

Results

102 – Blake Geffers (WLSV) by for.

*110 – Jayden Acker (WLSV) by for.

118 – Nate Young (A/P/H) def. Adam Iantorno (WLSV) by major dec, 16-4.

126 – Jack Cicirello (WLSV) by for.

132 – Brayden Riley (WLSV) by for.

138 – Noah Joslyn (WLSV) by for.

145 – Cole Hadfield (WLSV) def. Tristian Davis (A/P/H) by pin, 3:22.

152 – George Drake (A/P/H) def. Xander Outman by dec, 13-11.

160 – Nevin Davis (A/P/H) def. Anthony Stamey (WLSV) by pin, 5:35.

172 – Justin Palmer (A/P/H) def. Blake Cranmer (WLSV) by pin, 1:22.

189 – John Layfield (WLSV) by for.

215 – Noah Black (WLSV) def. Ryan Lemardt (A/P/H) by pin, :28.

285 – Evin Rought (WLSV) def. James Stephens (A/P/H) by pin, :26.

Chris Brooks
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