Friday Roundup: Massive 4th quarter implosion led by Danaher helps B-R stymie GV; Wellsville, Belfast boys also victorious

BELMONT — It all came down to the last eight minutes of the night. Bolivar-Richburg and Genesee Valley found themselves in a 27-27 deadlock after the third quarter. Something had to give.

In the fourth quarter, Landon Danaher had that something.

The Bolivar-Richburg junior pushed all the chips toward the center of the table, as he came up with his best performance of the season thus far, scoring a 4-for-4 outing at the charity stripe to go with his game-high 27 points, most of which were scored in the fourth quarter to help the Wolverines pull ahead toward a 49-37 victory over host Genesee Valley on Friday.

Danaher outdueled Genesee Valley’s Riley Gordon, who returned to action for his first game of the season, from the field, as the Jaguars senior recorded a team-high 23 points on the other side.

“Riley was a star tonight, and he’s a pleasure to coach,” Jaguars coach Lintz Bliven said. “The fourth quarter came, and our kids just got tired. We’ve been behind the eight ball since the beginning of things. We’ve tried to get a lot done in a short time, and it shows so far. We’ve been practicing since last Monday, and I feel sorry for them. They tried, and they gave their best. It’s the best team attitude-wise I’ve had since I’ve been here. We’ll get there, but it’s a short season. We don’t have time to peak. Jeff (Margeson) is a great coach, and I like the way he handles things. He does a great job with his kids, and he did everything right in the fourth quarter.”

The Jaguars (0-2) were able to establish the close early lead after the first quarter with a 12-8 lead in hand. But Bolivar-Richburg (1-1) turned the tables around to have the lead go in their favor heading into the break with a run of their own - a 12-5 jaunt that put them ahead by three.

The battle ensued into the third quarter where both teams found their way to a 27-27 tie, before the Wolverines brought the hammer down with their game-changing run of the night - a 21-10 outscoring of Genesee Valley led by Danaher’s guidance to the basket to break the tie for good. Finishing behind Danaher on the statsheer was Camdyn MacDonell, who had eight points. Wyatt Karnuth had five points to add.

The Jaguars also saw Brock Ellsessor pitch in behind Gordon, netting six points. Austin Murphy and Cody Platt each had three points.

Both teams are back in action Tuesday night with a pair of 7:30 p.m. contests, as Bolivar-Richburg will return back home to host the Fillmore Eagles while Genesee Valley hits the road to visit the Wellsville Lions.

Bolivar-Richburg 8 12 7 21 – 49

Genesee Valley 12 5 10 10 – 37

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Landon Danaher 10 4-4 27, Wyatt Karnuth 2 1-4 5, Brayden Ellis 1 0-0 2, Matt Mitchell 1 1-2 3, David Baldwin 1 0-0 2, Evan Pinney 1 0-0 2, Camdyn MacDonell 4 0-2 8. Totals: 20 5-12 49.
GENESEE VALLEY: Austin Murphy 1 1-4 3, Brock Ellsessor 3 0-0 6, Riley Gordon 9 1-3 23, Keegan McKnight 1 0-0 2, Cody Platt 1 1-4 3. Totals: 15 3-11 37.

3-point goals: B-R 3 (Danaher), GV 4 (Gordon).
Total Fouls: B-R 13, GV 14. Fouled out: None.

Wellsville 54, Cuba-Rushford 36

CUBA — With multiple Lions getting involved in their first road battle of the season back on Wednesday against Bolivar-Richburg, the storyline for their next road trip just a couple days later - balance.

Almost every member in black and orange colors got on the board with at least a basket throughout the course of the 32 minutes on the hardwood, with a handful of Lions making an impact before heading into the locker room for the half, and coming back out. That would see them grow what was a three-point opening quarter lead to an advantage that was insurmountable to take the 54-36 victory back home to Wellsville over host Cuba-Rushford on Friday.

‘For our first game, I thought we played fairly well offensively. Wellsville shot the ball well, and made us pay with their size advantage,” said Rebels coach Bryce Ryan. “But I thought as a team, we rebounded well and tried to make things difficult. We obviously have to shoot better and find a rhythm offensively. Props to Wellsville, they were super disciplined defensively, and took away our driving lanes. Overall, I was fairly pleased with some of the good things that we did, and can build on. We have a chance to right our wrongs tomorrow.”

Wellsville’s (2-1) lead reached double digits entering the halftime break, as their balance scored a 17-9 run of the Rebels. Nearly the same exact story could be told for the third quarter when they came back out onto the court, holding the hosts to single digits on offense one more time before each team battled tooth and nail through the fourth. But the visitors created enough of a buffer zone to pull away for good.

To go with their balance, the Lions three-point game also took effect as the game went on, launching eight of them in all with Liam McKinley leading the way with three of them himself. Sam Schmidt added in two more as the two seniors coasted toward a team-high nine points each. Tyler Sands had eight points to add, while Logan Dunbar recorded seven.

The Rebels (0-1) were led by Trent Chamberlain’s productive night inside, as he collected a team-high 14 points. Jack Frank dished up eight points, while Jacob Smith had five.

The Lions will take an extended period off until Thursday, as they now prepare to go for their third win in their first four games back home against the Genesee Valley Jaguars in a 7:30 p.m. contest. As for Cuba-Rushford, they have a quick turnaround this afternoon, as they travel to visit the Portville Panthers in a 1 p.m. contest of their own.

Wellsville 9 17 16 12 – 54

Cuba-Rushford 6 9 9 12 – 36

WELLSVILLE: Tyler Sands 3 0-1 8, Alex Perkins 2 2-2 6, Sam Schmidt 3 1-2 9, Liam McKinley 3 0-0 9, Logan Dunbar 3 0-2 7, Connor Ferguson 2 1-2 5, Aidan Hart 2 0-0 4, Brayden Delahunt 2 0-0 4, Kalob Phelps 1 0-0 2. Totals: 21 3-7 54.
CUBA-RUSHFORD: Jack Frank 3 1-2 8, Trent Chamberlain 7 0-2 14, Brayden Lavery 1 0-0 2, Jacob Smith 2 0-0 5, Hunter Williams 2 0-0 4, Austin Clement 1 1-1 3. Totals: 16 2-5 36.

3-point goals: Wellsville 8 (McKinley 3, Sands 2, Schmidt 2, Dunbar), C-R 2 (Frank, Smith).
Total Fouls: Wellsville 10, C-R 12. Fouled out: None.

Belfast 38, Whitesville 20

BELFAST — A balanced Belfast lineup was able to fire on all cylinders starting right from the get-go, as they accounted for a 17-5 first quarter run with Devin Harriger, Stephen Struckmann and Matt Weaver all getting involved for the host Bulldogs to set up what became a 38-20 victory over visiting Whitesville, Friday night.

Weaver was the main driving force behind getting the game started for Belfast (2-0), providing the hot hand that included one of the team’s three triples, recording nine first quarter points inside the 17-5 lead they carried into the second. The Bulldogs defense on the transition, held Whitesville below 10 points across all four quarters to secure their lead for good.

Weaver would finish with a game-high 11 points to lead the hosts in white and red. Struckmann added in 10 points himself, while Harriger netted seven. For the Jays (1-1), Lucas Erdmann and Colby Gaines led the way with five points on offense.

Belfast will now search for a 3-0 start this afternoon back on their home floor, as they welcome in their crosstown rival Fillmore for a 2:30 p.m. clash. Whitesville will hit the road once more on Tuesday, as they visit the Andover Panthers in a 6 p.m. contest.

Whitesville 5 3 4 8 – 20

Belfast 17 11 7 3 – 38

WHITESVILLE: Chris Gullett 1 0-0 2, CJ Estep 2 0-0 4, Lucas Erdmann 2 0-0 5, Colby Gaines 2 1-2 5, Dylan Acor 1 0-0 2, Spencer Mattison 1 0-0 2. Totals: 9 1-2 20.
BELFAST: Jason Drozdowski 1 2-2 4, Nick Ellison 1 0-0 3, Chris Fuller 1 0-0 2, Devin Harriger 3 0-0 7, Matt Weaver 5 0-0 11, Stephen Struckmann 4 2-2 10, Collin Preston 0 1-2 1, Tony Logue 0 0-2 0. Totals: 15 5-8 38.

3-point goals: Whitesville 1 (Erdmann), Belfast 3 (Ellison, Harriger, Weaver).
Total Fouls: Whitesville 10, Belfast 9. Fouled out: Gaines (WHI).