Tuesday Sectionals: No. 4 B-R jets past No. 13 HAC behind epic 1st quarter run, dominant finish to open Sectionals; No. 7 Houghton boys welcome Davidson back in win over No. 10 Lyndonville
FILLMORE — There was no more waiting. The most exciting time of the winter season has finally come.
The hunt for championship glory has now graced its presence, and for four Allegany County teams, their journey began on Tuesday.
Amongst the Sectional starters: The Bolivar-Richburg Wolverines, who made Fillmore their home away from home due to Section V’s 75-mile rule during the school week, as they opened up their second season dossier to face the No. 13 Harley Allendale-Columbia Wolves.
Out of the gate, both the Wolves and the Wolverines were in the beginning stages of their accustomization to the confines of The Rock, with a slight advantage favoring Class C2’s No. 4 seeds. Then, the pistons began firing on all cylinders and the wheels started to churn.
The floodgates broke down.
With another phenomenal night from Landon Barkley helping lead the way, it was an early offensive spark from Braden Zilker that lit the fuse for Bolivar-Richburg in the game’s opening quarter, as they amassed a monstrous run of Harley Allendale-Columbia to build a lead they never lost going forward, assembling the strongest of finishes along the way to complete a powerful 71-48 Sectional debut in the win column to claim a spot in this weekend’s Quarterfinal round.
“Shoutout to Jon (Beardsley) and the Fillmore community for hosting us tonight. They did a great job taking us in and making it feel like a home game away from our home,” said Wolverines coach Justin Thomas. “We had that initial two minutes where we felt each other out, and then Braden took control on both sides of the floor for us. Landon’s not done playing either, he’s giving everything he’s got, leading by example to make one more run at it. I don’t know if it was fatigue early on, but we were middling our way through the game. HAC got some easy buckets and we were much more lax on defense. Once we tightened up after that, the boys put together a really nice game and we ended up closing out strong in our first game, to hold our own.”
It was a slow commencement for both HAC and Bolivar-Richburg out of the gate, but a short time later, that light flame soon burned brighter for the Wolverines (15-6) with the aid of Landon Barkley, who accounted for the team’s first six points to claim a slight 6-4 advantage over the Wolves near the midway mark.
With the driver’s seat being occupied by the No. 4 seeds, Zilker then took matters into his own hands with an epic first quarter performance for Bolivar-Richburg, using his three-point game to his utmost advantage while Barkley followed right behind him to help assemble a dominant 26-point frame of attack.
A stanza that included a 20-2 quarter-ending jaunt of the Wolves from within it.
The Wolves were able to shake off a great deal of pressure early on to mount a big second quarter comeback in return, as they utilized some missed opportunities on behalf of the Wolverines to tilt the offensive balance in their favor by registering a 12-2 run of their own to trim down their deficit past midway.
Although their chances have been limited all throughout the frame, the Wolverines were able to bounce back with a strong finish to the quarter with the last eight points on the board — six off back-to-back triples from the hand of Barkley, who wound up serving as the night’s leading scorer with a game-high 33 points.
Both teams traded even barbs throughout the third quarter before Bolivar-Richburg assembled one giant finish in the last eight minutes of play, posting a 23-point fourth quarter against Harley Allendale-Columbia to finish off a dominant start to their Sectional journey.
Behind Barkley in the ledger for the Wolverines was ZIlker, who finished with 15 points of his own — 10 of which, stemming in the first eight minutes of battle. Kingston Loucks chipped in with nine points, while Dylan Abdo had seven to add.
Coming up on Friday, the Wolverines will now host their first and last Sectional home game of the 2024-25 season, as they prepare to welcome in the No. 5 Red Jacket Cardinals for Class C2 Quarterfinal battle beginning tentatively at 6 p.m.
Harley Allendale-Columbia 6 12 12 18 — 48
Bolivar-Richburg 26 12 10 23 — 71
HAC: Nua Lung 1 2-2 4, Kaison Ashford 1 0-0 2, James Michael 10 6-10 29, Oliver Riveros 4 1-2 9, Josh Person 2 0-0 4. Totals: 18 9-14 48.
BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Landon Barkley 11 8-8 33, Braden Zilker 6 0-1 15, Dylan Abdo 3 0-2 7, Waide Karnuth 1 0-0 2, Carson Lipyance 0 1-2 1, Mason Baldwin 2 0-0 4, Kingston Loucks 4 0-4 9. Totals: 27 9-15 71.
3-point goals: HAC 3 (Michael), B-R 8 (Barkley 3, Zilker 3, Abdo, Loucks).
Total Fouls: HAC 15, B-R 10. Fouled out: Riveros (HAC).
No. 6 Oakfield-Alabama 63, No. 11 Genesee Valley/Belfast 57
OAKFIELD — No. 6 Oakfield-Alabama made the most of their opportunities on Tuesday. To open up Sectionals, the Hornets fleeced the boards off the glass against No. 11 Genesee Valley/Belfast in opening round action in the Class C2 bracket, as they established a dynamic start to their game to grant themselves a game-long advantage.
Despite the severe start to the contest, the No. 11 seeds showed no quit whatsoever, blazing behind their largest frame of attack in the last eight minutes to put a whole heap of pressure on the Hornets. But through it all, the No. 6 seeds remained vigilant and ultimately prevailed at the end of the night, as they warded off Genesee Valley/Belfast to end their season with a 63-57 home victory.
“We were hurt most by being out-rebounded on the opponent’s offensive end. I’m most proud of our team fighting their way back into the game, keeping their heads up along the way,” GV/Belfast coach Jason Hamer said. “We improved throughout the season, as we endured some bumpy patches. I think Michael Jordan said it best: “Talent wins games, but intelligence and teamwork wins championships.”. I know we are heading in the right direction, so going forward, we need to correct the small things that are holding us back from being better than we were this season.”
It was a fast start in the opening eight minute segment that saw many different contributors for the Hornets to provide an early bounty of success, including Avery Watterson, who went on to lead the offensive front from all angles of the floor with a game-high 30 points. From within his performance, a connection from the field and a 4-for-6 outing at the stripe to aid in setting up an 18-8 first quarter lead over Genesee Valley/Belfast.
As time progressed, the Hornets continued to lead through an even exchange of baskets across the next two quarters of play before the No. 11 seeds turned the heat up in the last eight minutes of regulation. After being held to just two points across the first three quarters, Ian McKenzie broke through the facade in a big way, helping kick the tires for the offense with 10 big points in the midst of a 22-point frame in total for the visitors in black.
In addition, Lannden Tilton and Kenton Shultz both provided assistance of their own, inside and out, with a two and three-point basket each. With Genesee Valley/Belfast closing the gap closer and closer behind the Hornets, the hosts were able to hang on until the final buzzer sounded to keep their lead intact, claiming a spot in this weekend’s Quarterfinal round along the way.
Shultz finished as Genesee Valley/Belfast’s leading scorer with a team-high 18 points. Ethan Davenport recorded 13 points, while McKenzie and Tilton followed with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Cal Tallman and Ryan Daciw both rounded off the scoring for the No. 11 seeds with two points each.
The season is over for Genesee Valley/Belfast, as they put a wrap to a 2024-25 campaign that saw them finish with a record of 9-12 overall. The team will graduate four seniors when the end of the school year arrives in a few short months, saying goodbye to Daciw, Brayden Cooper, Tyler Wedge and Harley Wardhaugh.
Genesee Valley/Belfast 8 13 14 22 — 57
Oakfield-Alabama 18 12 14 19 — 63
GV/BELFAST: Cal Tallman 0 2-2 2, Ian McKenzie 6 0-0 12, Ethan Davenport 5 1-2 13, Lannden Tilton 4 0-0 10, Kenton Shultz 7 3-4 18, Derek Calanni 0 0-2 0, Ryan Daciw 1 0-2 2. Totals: 23 6-12 57.
OAKFIELD-ALABAMA: Gavin Armbrewster 5 4-6 16, Carson Warner 1 1-2 3, Jack Cianfrini 2 2-2 6, Avery Watterson 11 6-9 30, Brady Williams 0 2-2 2, Gabe Smith 3 0-0 6. Totals: 22 15-21 63.
3-point goals: GVB 5 (Davenport 2, Tilton 2, Shultz), O-A 4 (Armbrewster 2, Watterson 2).
Total Fouls: GVB 18, O-A 12. Fouled out: None.
Class D First Round
No. 7 Houghton Academy 43, No. 10 Lyndonville 25
HOUGHTON — After an extended period away due to injury, there was no better time for the No. 7 Houghton Academy Panthers to welcome Josh Davidson back into the lineup than in their first game of the second season, Tuesday night.
With No. 10 Lyndonville in town for their third and final meeting of the campaign, Davidson made an immediate impact behind his three-point game alongside a dominant offensive presence provided by Jack Prentice, as the Panthers went on to claim rubber match honors against the visiting Tigers in front of their home crowd for the last time this year, scoring the 43-25 home victory.
“We certainly had to adjust some things over the course of time since Josh has been out. Although some of the numbers don’t really show up on the stat sheet, every single guy out there really stepped up in his absence. I’m super proud of them. When Josh came back tonight, the guys really put everything all together for one of the best games we’ve had all season. With all the hard work they continue to put in, especially with the rebounding, they were more than deserving of this win to start Sectionals.” said Panthers coach Jeff Prentice.
A sublime first half of basketball for the Panthers (6-15) came into view on offense, beginning in an opening quarter that saw Davidson pick up where he left off, knocking down a pair of big threes to charge up the efforts on the attack, all while holding Lyndonville to just a single shot from the field in the midst of a 9-3 lead.
The advantage grew larger over time, expanding into double digit territory going into the locker room before re-emerging from the break with a headful of steam in the third quarter, as they floored it straight past the Tigers with a 17-7 run — 15 of those points from Houghton Academy’s dynamic duo in Davidson and Prentice, to help seal the deal on their Sectional-opening victory and a season-series triumph over the Tigers.
Prentice led all scorers for the Panthers with a game-high 25 points, while Davidson followed right behind him with 14 points of his own. Hoang Phung chipped in the team’s remaining four points along the way.
Houghton Academy now navigates into the Class D Quarterfinal round, which is set to begin Friday night, when they travel to Andover to take on No. 2 Andover/Whitesville. Tip-off is slated for a 6 p.m. start.
Lyndonville 3 5 7 10 — 25
Houghton Academy 9 9 17 8 — 43
LYNDONVILLE: Colton Smith 3 2-4 8, Lane Woodworth 0 0-2 0, Juan Alberdi 1 1-2 3, Lyric Raduns 1 0-0 3, Jacob Pitcher 4 0-2 11, Atticus Mank 0 0-2 0. Totals: 9 3-12 25.
HOUGHTON ACADEMY: Josh Davidson 5 0-2 14, Jack Prentice 8 7-12 25, Hoang Phung 2 0-0 4. Totals: 15 7-14 43.
3-point goals: Lyndonville 4 (Pitcher 3, Raduns), HA 6 (Davidson 4, Prentice 2).
Total Fouls: Lyndonville 12, HA 17. Fouled out: Martino (HA).
No. 8 Elba 58, No. 9 Hinsdale 31
ELBA — On night one of Sectionals, the No. 8 Elba Lancers took care of business in front of their home fans to earn a date with Class D’s top seed — the Fillmore Eagles, coming up this weekend, as they rolled past the visiting nine-seeded Bobcats of Hinsdale with a 58-31 victory on Tuesday.
Stats and a complete box score were not made available to report upon publication.
The Bobcats have concluded their 2024-25 campaign on the hardwood, as they finish with a record of 3-17 overall. The team will graduate four seniors at the end of the school year, in Tyler Richards, Cody Hand, Jeffrey Wright and Philip Dixon.
