A-L’s Joe DeCerbo Showcase wraps up with Bradford edging past Lions after hot 2nd quarter shooting, host Gators propelling past C-R off 2nd half comeback

ALLEGANY — The epic conclusion to the Joe DeCerbo Holiday Showcase began right in the afternoon with another opportunity for the Lions of Wellsville to keep their victorious impulse in full effect. Next up on the docket was the Bradford Owls — a team that took advantage of every opportunity they received against Olean the previous day.

With Wellsville now in line to square off against some premier competition from below the border, it certainly wasn’t a challenge they didn’t back down from.

After taking their first lead of the game in the early stages of the first quarter, the Lions constructed a big run of the Owls to extend their distance in front. But the momentum would shift gears completely in the next frame, as Bradford took over with a massive jaunt of their own to claim their first advantage.

Across the second half, a back-and-forth exchange of pleasantries settled in, and it would allow the Owls to maintain their position in the driver’s seat. Despite a powerful resurgence from JJ Howard to pace the Lions, it was not enough to force one final lead change in the last eight minute period, as Bradford walked away winners by a 58-52 count.

“It’s great to see we’re still improving. Of course we would love to have come away with a win today, but it still feels like we’re on the right trajectory,” said Lions coach Tom Muska. “Bradford is a really good program. We had a similar battle with them last year that went into overtime. (Jake) Franz is one of the best point guards we will see this year. His hot shooting and Bradford’s three-pointers before the half pretty much changed the game overall.”

Out of the gate, the Lions (2-6) saw five different scorers all pitch in on a strong start against the Owls, scoring a 12-5 lead after the first frame after an early quarter run propelled them in front. But as soon as momentum was gained, it was wiped out by Bradford in the next quarter of play leading into the break.

Down by seven, the Owls soared with a 21-point explosion that was caused by a quintet of three-pointers from long range. The barrage from Main Street in Allegany allowed the team in white and red to create a shift in the action that went in their favor, as they took the 26-25 lead going into the locker room.

“We would love another opportunity at Bradford again. Two of those threes, we had a good hand up at them. You can look at some of these and want them back, but we did a good job of forcing deep threes and nothing at the rim. We just played a team talented enough to make those tough shots.” said Muska.

From that point on, it was anyone’s game across the second half. Even though they were now positioned in the passenger’s seat, the Lions kept up the pressure and hung right with Bradford all the way down to the wire. All courtesy of an outstanding second half performance from JJ Howard down low, as he recorded 14 of his game-high 24 points in the last 16 minutes to keep the gas pedal down on offense.

But in the end, after a series of free throws in the waning stages, the Owls were able to hang on tight and claim the victory that awaited at the buzzer.

Finishing behind Howard for Wellsville were Karson Grover, Cooper Brockway and Ty Vogel, all tallying six points each. Aiden Cowburn and Alex Green rounded off the scoring with five points each.

The Lions will hit the road once again Wednesday night for a 7:30 p.m. visit to Waterloo.

Seven hours later in the day, it was Cuba-Rushford’s turn to close out their term at the annual holiday showcase. The matchup was a familiar one: host Allegany-Limestone.

One of exclusive familiarity to Rebels head coach Pat Wight, who previously served as the top assistant to Gators head coach Glenn Anderson on the sidelines for nearly 10 years. Now, in their first ever meeting against one another as coaches of their own respective teams, it was safe to say there was some excitement in the air, along with a little sprinkle of emotion, when Wight made his return back inside The Swamp.

A homecoming with a closely knit group he still calls family to this day.

“It was really awesome. Three of Glenn’s starters were on the last team I helped coach over here when we made the run to States. The other kids I saw all played JV, a handful of them played with my son in travel hoops,” Wight said. “They are all good friends and know each other well. Glenn and I, and his assistants are great friends off the court. We send each other notes and watch each other’s games for input when we need it. It’s bigger than basketball with them, and they were some of the first messages I woke up to when I had my health issues last year.”

Wight added on his return to Allegany-Limestone, saying that “They are family to me. I had about seven former players come say hello as well. The other night, Casey Curran came into the Cuba gym the other night. He was an 8th grader or freshman when I first started, and now he’s a senior at Alfred U. He needed a place to shoot, and we just got to talking about the good old days back then. It seems like yesterday, but at the same time, Braeden (Wight) was the manager for the team and now he’s a senior here. It’s a great group that myself, Braeden and the rest of my family were blessed to be a part of for so long.”

On the court between the Rebels and Gators, an explosive first quarter that saw points being traded in rapid succession. A first half filled with fireworks would carry into the second half where Allegany-Limestone turned up the pressure on Cuba-Rushford. All of that would come to a boiling point in the last eight minutes when a big finish was put into overdrive by the hosts in white, as they held their opposition at a near-standstill to wrap up the tournament with a 63-51 victory.

There was no lead that ever eclipsed higher than four points on either side across the first eight minute session, as both Cuba-Rushford (5-4) and Allegany-Limestone went straight to work on a back-and-forth battle on the attack. For the Rebels, it was a 25-point frame that was conducted by their starting five on the floor — primarily controlled by Peyton Joy inside, as he posted eight of his team-leading 12 points to ignite the spark.

The Rebels would maintain their lead going into halftime after another widespread assortment of baskets allowed them to record a six-point extension to their advantage. But in their return to the floor, a turning of the tables was issued by the Gators, as they fired on all cylinders with a 20-point third quarter which was paced by a 14-point breakout from Michael Frederick across the second half.

Because of it, Allegany-Limestone was able to propel their way to the top. And then some.

With the lead now in their command, the Gators prepared a big finish to close out the DeCerbo Showcase in style, as they held Cuba-Rushford to just two points while gluing together a 13-2 run to ensure their victory at the end of the night.

“I was very pleased with our energy and execution through the first three quarters. Back-to-backs are never easy, but we fought. It came down to which team could finish more plays off with scores, and unfortunately we couldn’t do that when it counted,” said Wight. “Allegany-Limestone is a great team with a great coach. We had some great looks in the fourth, and we couldn’t finish them. It really took the wind out of our sails and Allegany-Limestone took the advantage. We definitely learned and got better this weekend here.”

Helping pave the scoring further behind Joy for the Rebels was Luke Brooks and his 10 points, as he earned the Sportsmanship award at the holiday showcase at night’s end. Following up was Finn Ricketts, who had nine points, while Kaden Bell had eight. To round off, Braeden Wight was selected to the All-Tournament team.

The Rebels are back on the floor Thursday night back home in the Wighthouse, as they play host to undefeated Bolivar-Richburg in a colossal 7:30 p.m. contest.

Wellsville 12 13 15 12 – 52

Bradford 5 21 13 19 – 58

WELLSVILLE: Aiden Cowburn 1 2-2 5, Karson Grover 3 0-0 6, Cooper Brockway 2 1-2 6, JJ Howard 11 2-6 24, Ty Vogel 2 2-2 6, Alex Green 2 1-2 5. Totals: 21 8-14 52.
BRADFORD: Adam Ward 5 1-1 12, Nasir Armstrong 1 0-0 3, Jake Franz 3 2-2 10, Brendan Warner 2 2-2 8, Chase Wineberg 2 4-6 8, Talan Reese 4 1-2 11, Daniel Marasco 2 2-3 6. Totals: 19 12-16 58.

3-point goals: Wellsville 2 (Cowburn, Brockway), Bradford 8 (Franz 2, Warner 2, Reese 2, Ward, Armstrong).
Total Fouls: Wellsville 16, Bradford 13. Fouled out: Howard (WLSV), Ward (BRAD), Wineberg (BRAD).

Cuba-Rushford 25 11 13 2 – 51

Allegany-Limestone 21 9 20 13 – 63

CUBA-RUSHFORD: Braeden Wight 2 3-6 7, Kaden Bell 3 2-2 8, Luke Brooks 4 2-2 10, Eli Sleggs 2 0-0 5, Finn Ricketts 4 0-0 9, Peyton Joy 6 0-0 12. Totals: 21 7-10 51.
ALLEGANY-LIMESTONE: Sean Conroy 3 2-4 8, Collin Forrest 2 1-1 5, Evan Johnson 1 0-0 2, Carson Kwiatkowski 6 1-6 16, Michael Frederick 10 2-6 22, Caleb Strade 4 1-2 10. Totals: 26 13-19 63.

3-point goals: C-R 2 (Sleggs, Ricketts), A-L 4 (Kwiatkowski 3, Strade).
Total Fouls: C-R 17, A-L 9. Fouled out: Brooks (C-R).