FLY, EAGLES, FLY: No. 1 Fillmore boys march straight into Class D Far West, capture 1st Section V title in 15 years with dominant 74-38 win over No. 3 J-T; Eagles to play Section VI champ Panama next
ROCHESTER — Ever since the end of last season the previous March, a tremendous weight has been resting atop the shoulders of Fillmore head coach Randy Crouch. Despite hitting yet another Semifinal roadblock in last year’s hunt for glory against Notre Dame-Batavia, it also saw the exit of five seniors — one of them being Zach Sisson, the latest entrant into the school’s 1,000-point club.
But even after the heartbreaking defeat to the Irish and the departures of many playmakers right behind it, he kept believing in his team. With returning guys like Cam Mucher, Jonah Bialek, JD Bialek, Jameson Rhett and Isaiah Sisson — the new starting five for the Eagles heading into this year, all tucking away another bountiful year of experience into their resumes, Crouch continued to have the notion there was something unique hidden within them.
“I knew last year at this particular time, when we lost in the Semifinals to Notre Dame, I said that we could be even better next year,” he said. “We lost five seniors, including a 1,300-point scorer in Zach, and there were still some people that looked at me like I was nuts. But I still said and believed that we could be better the following year. These guys have something special within them. For me, there was a ton of pressure on me starting last March all the way to this point. As you put in the work to build a program and reach a pinnacle like this, I couldn't ask for a better group of guys to embody what I want Fillmore basketball to be. They are ultimate sportsmen, they are competitive, they love each other and they work hard for each other.”
Boy was he ever right.
At their campaign’s inception nearly three months ago, the Eagles of Fillmore had developed a quiet confidence. After surviving a docket that consisted of well-known Section V stalwarts like Byron-Bergen, Notre Dame-Batavia, Geneseo, Arkport-Canaseraga, Wellsville and C.G. Finney to name a few, the Eagles strengthened.
Off the back of garnering wins in decisive fashion left and right, with almost everyone across the board making an impact each night out, they were ready to make that Sectional run and the challenges that lay ahead in their way.
With all of their dedication to the game and their time perfecting their craft seeing them maximize their potential ten-fold over the course of time, Fillmore has emerged as one of Class D’s top teams not only in Section V, but in the Empire State. And with it, the long wait for reaching the Finals — an obstacle that the top-seeded Eagles of Fillmore longed to reach Blue Cross Arena, a well-known cathedral where dreams are made and hearts are broken, was over.
Now, an opportunity for the Eagles to fulfill their obligation in bringing glory back to the promised land — back home to The Rock, instantly became the primary focus.
The only remaining squadron that was left standing in their way was No. 3 Jasper-Troupsburg, a team that has experienced plenty of Blue Cross Arena in recent memory, with their last trip coming just two years ago.
Right out of the gate on Saturday, it was not an easy trek up and down the hardwood for the Eagles, as the Wildcats furnished a near-perfect counterattack to the top-seeds across a back-and-forth opening eight minutes at the War Memorial. But as soon as Fillmore managed to capture just enough breathing room, it served as their foundation. The construction on top of it, followed, as they proceeded to ride the momentum wave all throughout the game.
For Crouch, that constricting and overwhelming weight on his shoulders slowly started to dissipate with each passing measurement of time. Soon, his ultimate promise was fulfilled. The feeling that came after the final buzzer: Relief.
The Eagles were back on top once again.
For the first time since 2010, the Eagles of Fillmore checked one big box off of their list of goals entering the campaign, utilizing the generation of a mammoth second quarter outburst against Jasper-Troupsburg to set the tone going forward following their early back-and-forth first quarter chess match, claiming the Class D Championship brick, along with a direct invitation to the Far West Regional the next weekend, all for themselves, as they coasted towards a 74-38 victory over the Wildcats.
“I’ve been wanting this for a long time. I’m super proud of the group of guys and I’m so blessed to be their coach. They’re each to coach, easy to be around,” said Crouch. “One of the things we talk about all the time is I put some bullet points up on the board before every game, and I always say: Make each other better, be Fillmore basketball. This group has done that every step of the way and I couldn't be prouder. It is really inspiring to watch the way they make plays for each other. The way guys like Cam (Mucher) and Jonah (Bialek) find guys when they're open, even when they could go and score themselves. But they know that including everyone, they all make us a better team. Even the guys that don't get all the attention every day in practice, they do what I ask of them to make the guys that are getting more playing time better. To sit here and witness the Fillmore basketball program evolve into this, is really gratifying for me.”
By no means was it straightforward for the Eagles (20-3) to open the contest against the Wildcats. Right from the get-go at mid-court, they clashed with their Steuben County opposition in a back-and-forth battle of wits, with almost every basket between both teams coming in correspondence with one another. With the Eagles providing a razor-thin edge down the stretch, they built upon it with the last four points of the frame — two of those off a colossal wide-open look from JD Bialek down low to extend their lead to a five-point, 19-14 advantage.
The blueprint was laid down. In the second quarter, the Eagles put their nose to the grindstone and delivered a massive punch — a 25-point offensive ebullition against the Wildcats that saw five different contributors all pitch forth their efforts to the cause. One of them being the tournament’s MVP, Jonah Bialek, who went on to serve as the offense’s spark plug by posting 12 of his 22-points within the frame, sending Fillmore into the locker room with a 44-26 lead they never relinquished.
“One of my points of emphasis is by the nature of the way we play defense,” Crouch said. “We have depth, but it's not unlimited depth. We're prone to getting into some foul trouble, so we really emphasized, today especially because Jasper-Troupsburg has kids that can play, scaling back on the defensive pressure initially. We're still going to get up and get after them, but we're not going to aggressively chase and trap like we normally would do. If we can get to the second quarter and stay out of foul trouble, we can ramp it up a little bit. And they did.”
In the second half, the Eagles remained at large on defense to close out their championship-winning victory, as they allowed just 12 more points from Jasper-Troupsburg across the final 16 minutes to further solidify that monumental victory the program has waited 15 years for.
In addition to Bialek’s MVP performance, Fillmore also garnered an All-Tournament nod from Cam Mucher, Isaiah Sisson and JD Bialek, with Mucher leading the team in scoring with a game-high 25 points, and Bialek and Sisson each posting 11 points right behind him.
Crouch spoke about his team’s efforts all throughout the game — an element that made all the difference in the world on both ends of the floor.
“I can't say enough about Cam and Jonah on defense, they were stellar. But I really cannot say enough about the guys behind them, guys like Isaiah and Jameson (Rhett),” he said. “What they did defensively tonight, we put them on some of their most dangerous players and they were awesome all game. Other than a couple of screening actions we got caught on, Jameson really did a great job, and it often gets overlooked a bit. T Then you have a guy like Isaiah, who guarded their best ball-handler in the full-court and really worked him the entire game and held him in check. We had some great attacks off of that. And then JD was JD down low. He finds where to be, he knows the right spots, he finishes when he gets a great chance, especially off the boards. He fills his role perfectly.”
On the opposite end of the floor, Jasper-Troupsburg was powered by James Ainsworth and his team-high 12-point performance that saw him score an All-Tournament nod along the way. Jackson Hayes chipped in with eight points, while Xavier Remchuk had five. In addition to Ainsworth, Landon Zver was the second Wildcat to earn an All-Tournament nod.
Alongside the other All-Tournament nominations, Andover/Whitesville’s Vinny Joyce was amongst those selected to the team, while Jasper-Troupsburg’s Braylon Lawson and Fillmore’s Jameson Rhett earned Sportsmanship Awards on behalf of Section V.
As for the Wildcats, they go on to finish their season with a record of 12-11 overall, as the team bids farewell to their three seniors: Hayes, Gage Hall and Matthew Foster.
For Fillmore, their journey continues on with a return trip back to the outskirts of the Flower City next weekend, as they now head for the home of the Royal Comets at Rush-Henrietta to meet Section VI, Class D champion Panama in the Far West Regional. The winner will go on to the Class D State Final Four, which will commence in two week’s time in Binghamton.
The potential matchup with Section VI’s pride of Panthers was something that Crouch knew was going to be waiting on the other side.
“To be perfectly candid, I think we've known that was the collision course all year. I had a lot of people that asked me about Panama, and I've always been deliberate and intentional about not looking ahead. I'm not going to look ahead, and we've been blessed with the schedule we had,” the Fillmore coach said. “I've got five days now that I can really start focusing on Panama. The work won't start tonight, but probably Sunday afternoon, there will be some video to analyze to help develop a game plan. I know all five of their starters are seniors, they've played with one another for a long time. But I think we're battle tested, and the great thing at this point is you roll the ball out and go play.”
Tip-off is tentatively scheduled for a 1:45 p.m. start, next Saturday afternoon.
Jasper-Troupsburg 14 12 8 4 — 38
Fillmore 19 25 19 11 — 74
JASPER-TROUPSBURG: James Ainsworth 3 5-5 12, Nolan Vallieres 1 0-0 2, Jackson Hayes 3 0-0 8, Landon Zver 2 0-0 5, Trajan Terry 1 0-0 2, Xavier Remchuk 3 0-0 6, Gage Hall 1 1-4 3. Totals: 14 6-9 38.
FILLMORE: Isaiah Sisson 5 1-1 11, Jonah Bialek 8 4-4 22, Ezra Knapp 1 0-0 3, Jameson Rhett 1 0-0 2, Cam Mucher 10 5-6 25, JD Bialek 5 1-1 11. Totals: 30 11-12 74.
3-point goals: J-T 4 (Hayes 2, Ainsworth, Zver), Fillmore 3 (Jo. Bialek 2, Knapp).
Total Fouls: J-T 14, Fillmore 10. Fouled out: None.
