Monday Roundup: Wolverines account for scoreless 3rd quarter run of C-G to garner 8th straight victory; J-T silences Fri/Scio behind explosive 1st half in 77-43 road win

CANISTEO — It was a game that Bolivar-Richburg head coach Justin Thomas said, that his team needed to have. Approaching the midway mark to their season, the Wolverines needed a measuring stick to identify where they currently stand.

That would come in the form of the Canisteo-Greenwood Redskins come Monday night.

With seven straight wins in the wagon, their attempt at an eighth would not come easy at all. The Redskins came out swinging with a massive blow to start the game, holding their lead steady across the first half before going into the break carrying a full head of steam. In the same swing, a talk in the locker room for the Wolverines during the break.

The number one talking point: buckling down on defense. The message addressed by Thomas to his team, was delivered and received loud and clear.

As their response, the Wolverines provided the biggest explosion of the night — a scoreless third quarter run of the Redskins, using their defense as their best offense, as the team produced a game-changing spectacle to turn the tide of the battle completely in their favor, overtaking Canisteo-Greenwood in the driver’s seat and using clutch free throw shooting down the stretch to hold the fort down in their resilient 56-48 triumph over the road to remain undefeated with their eighth straight win.

“We needed both halves of this game. We needed someone to kick us square in the teeth and give us that “check yourself” moment, and that’s what they did with a strong first quarter,” said Thomas. “We were reeling and we couldn’t get anything going at all. We left big open gaps for them on defense, and they knifed us with the (Carson) Chaffee kid from downtown. They did whatever they wanted to do.”

Canisteo-Greenwood was red hot to start the night behind their hottest frame of offense, using the three-point game of Carson Chaffee to get them going from within an 18-7 lead they would take over the Wolverines (8-0). The advantage carried by the hosts was threatened going into the break, as the two teams traded a near-even exchange in the second, with Bolivar-Richburg garnering the upper hand with their 15-point edge to cut the deficit to nine.

With a slight burst of energy to carry into the locker room, they would need a momentous charge to bring it up to full strength for the third quarter.

They would do just that.

Behind the guidance of their defensive core, fronted by David Baldwin and Evan Pinney, the Wolverines issued a third quarter shutout of the Redskins, while in turn, the offense was in maximum overdrive to score an outstanding 17-0 run to overtake Canisteo-Greenwood’s lead ultimately for good, using the remaining eight minutes as icing on the cake.

In the fourth quarter, Bolivar-Richburg would then take their efforts to the charity stripe for some clutch free throw shooting. In the game’s entirety, the Wolverines would go 18-for-28 during their tenure. But in the penultimate frame, the team would record a 13-for-19 outing to seal the decision once and for all.

“We had a good talk at halftime about our defensive rotation, and how we need to let that fuel our offense,” Thomas said. “They rotated excellently, and it started with Evan doing a tremendous job taking the lead for us. The boys recovered and followed behind him in transition. It’s one of those things where we had to chip away slightly, and stop giving up second chance baskets. We stayed even with them to make sure we kept the lead to ice it. It was a really nice second have that we needed. I couldn’t be more proud.”

Aydin Sisson erupted for another big game to pace the Bolivar-Richburg offense, scoring a game-high 25 points to go with three helpers. David Baldwin followed behind with his 12-point, 12-rebound double-double, while Evan Pinney contributed seven points. The Wolverines also eyed some additional special teams help from Waide Karnuth, who had eight rebounds and a pair of blocks.

Bolivar-Richburg will look to continue their winning ways on Wednesday, as they shift their road swing to the Jungle where they will face off against host Genesee Valley/Belfast for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off in Belmont.

Bolivar-Richburg 7 15 17 17 – 56

Canisteo-Greenwood 18 13 0 17 – 48

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Aydin Sisson 8 6-11 25, Landon Barkley 1 5-6 7, Reiss Gaines 1 0-0 2, Waide Karnuth 1 0-0 2, David Baldwin 4 4-7 12, Evan Pinney 2 2-2 7, James Margeson 0 1-2 1. Totals: 17 18-28 56.
CANISTEO-GREENWOOD: Aiden Stewart 0 0-2 0, Thomas Sirianni 3 1-2 8, Carson Chaffee 9 0-0 21, JJ Reese 4 3-3 11, Sage Kleese 2 0-2 4, Noah Warriner 2 0-2 4. Totals: 15 4-11 48.

3-point goals: B-R 4 (Sisson 3, Pinney), C-G 4 (Chaffee 3, Sirianni).
Total Fouls: B-R 10, C-G 22. Fouled out: Co. Chaffee (C-G).

Jasper-Troupsburg 77, Friendship/Scio 43

SCIO — Over the course of this season, the Jasper-Troupsburg Wildcats have become a team to watch not only in the Steuben County basketball scene, but across Section V. Using a combination of an electric, spread-the-wealth offense to pair with a stout defense, the Wildcats have accounted for six straight wins to keep their fire lit.

Monday night’s road trip remained no different, as the team wasted no time coming out on an explosive note by scoring a pair of quarters consisting of at least 20 points, including a massive first quarter run that automatically put the hammer down against Friendship/Scio in what was a 77-43 road win in Scio.

The Wildcats were on fire through the first 16 minutes of action, as the tag team of Cayden Lawson and Cash Bouton helped set the tone almost immediately with the bulk of the team’s points, with Bouton finding his groove down low and Lawson nailing a pair of threes along the way to fuel the offense even more. In all — a 21-10 run of Friendship/Scio (2-8) to take a strong advantage ahead.

In the second quarter, the momentum would remain in Jasper-Troupsburg’s complete control to close out the first half, permanently sealing their victory with a massive 25-7 run led by Bouton once more inside, who recorded nearly half of the team’s points in the midst of their balanced attack.

Bouton would conclude an incredible night for the Wildcats with a game-high 22 points.

For Friendship/Scio, Brenden Loucks led the team’s inside attack with his team-leading 19 points, while Ethan Davenport took it to the outside with his three triples from downtown, putting them towards a 14-point effort.

Up next is a Wednesday night road trip for Friendship/Scio, as they visit the Bobcats of Hinsdale in a 7:30 p.m. contest.

Jasper-Troupsburg 21 25 18 13 – 77

Friendship/Scio 10 8 7 18 – 43

JASPER-TROUPSBURG: Cayden Lawson 7 0-2 16, Gage Guerin 1 0-0 3, Sawyer Troxel 3 0-0 8, Jared Ainsworth 5 0-0 10, Cash Bouton 11 0-1 22, Landon Zver 3 1-1 8, James Ainsworth 4 1-5 10. Totals: 34 2-9 77.
FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Taylor Moore 2 0-0 4, Ethan Davenport 5 1-2 14, Hunter Hill 1 2-2 4, Cooper Greenman 1 0-0 2, Brenden Loucks 8 3-6 19. Totals: 17 6-10 43.
3-point goals: J-T 7 (Lawson 2, Troxel 2, Guerin, Zver, Jam. Ainsworth), F/S 3 (Davenport).
Total Fouls: J-T 12, F/S 7. Fouled out: None.

Keshequa 42, Hinsdale 30

NUNDA — A brilliant first half was punctuated even further by the Keshequa Indians on Monday, as they used the early boost of momentum at full capacity to start the brand new week with a 42-30 home win over visiting Hinsdale.

Stats and a complete box score were not made available to report upon publication.

The Bobcats (0-10) will return to action on Wednesday back home, hosting Friendship/Scio at 7:30 p.m.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Wellsville 3, Genesee Valley/Belfast 2

WELLSVILLE — Fresh out of the Midseason Tournament at Genesee Valley this past weekend, Genesee Valley/Belfast and Wellsville came together for one, epic five-set battle on Monday.

Genesee Valley/Belfast would push the host Lions towards the brink after the first three sets of play, taking the two latter sets in close fashion to grab the upper hand. But the hosts would remain resilient and vigilant however, as they brought it all back together in the final two sets of the night and provided decisive victories to capture the overall win by a 25-21, 19-25, 23-25, 25-16, 15-8 count.

“We’re coming off the Midseason Tournament this past Saturday and going straight into this one here tonight,” said Lions coach Adam Kellogg. “The boys were a little tired, and we ended up backing ourselves into a corner right around midway in the second and third sets. But we managed to pull through and take the last two for the win. They made up for it and played really well to end the night. Now we have to get ready for a big game on Thursday.”

The Lions (5-4) saw Brody Heaney conduct the offense at the front of the net, leading with a team-high 10 kills to pair with two aces, two blocks and a dig. Following behind was Xavier Scott and his eight kills, adding in five big aces, one block and one dig along the way. Setter Gavan Dickerson helped set everything up on the attack with 11 assists.

On the other side of the net, Sean Mahon and Canaan Sullivan both propelled Genesee Valley/Belfast and their strong offensive night with 12 kills each, while Dominic Marra handed out a whopping 30 assists.

Both teams are back in action Thursday night in a pair of 6 p.m. contests, as Wellsville plays host to Bolivar-Richburg, while Genesee Valley/Belfast heads back home to welcome in the Eagles of Fillmore.

Bolivar-Richburg 3, Friendship/Scio 0

RICHBURG — After falling in a straight-set decision to close out the week previously, there was no better way for the Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg to respond than to provide a sweep of their own, as they returned home and recorded a 3-0 victory over visiting Friendship/Scio on Monday in a 25-20, 25-11, 25-15 decision.

Engineering the offense for the Wolverines (6-3) was a strong night of offense from Dustin Murray, who tallied a team-high nine kills to pair with two aces and one block at the front. Ian Unfus was not far behind with his efforts, chipping in with seven more kills of his own to couple with eight assists, five blocks and two aces. Rounding off was Noah Little and his five kills, and two blocks.

Statistics for Friendship/Scio (2-7) were not available to report upon publication.

Both teams will return to the court for a pair of 6 p.m. first serves on Thursday, as Bolivar-Richburg comes to Wellsville to visit the Lions, while Friendship/Scio heads back home to welcome in Arkport/Canaseraga.