Wednesday Roundup: GV’s Windus makes history, joins best friend Schneider in 1,000 point club with game-high 26 points in 64-57 Jaguars home win over C-R

Written By Chris Brooks

BELMONT — At the beginning of the season when the Genesee Valley Jaguars came together to discuss what they would like to accomplish within their goals. The vast majority of the team put a Sectional championship at the top of their list, along with all of their other personal goals.

Among them, was Cody Schneider. He became a 1,000 point scorer last season as a junior, and then in his final season in uniform, became the program’s all-time leading scorer at the Andover Lions Club Tournament late last month. But there was something extra the Jaguars senior put on his list.

He wanted to help his best friend, fellow senior Evan Windus toward joining the exclusive 1,000-point club.

“From the start of the season, we knew that Evan was going to have to step up his scoring to get there, and he has really truly become a scorer for us this year, and the entire team,” Schneider said. “I always look to him to make those big shots when we need them. He has become more of a sharpshooter this year, and he’s been playing down low some more this year too. That really has benefitted him well.”

While posting his efforts game in and game out, Windus has become one of the top scorers in Allegany County this year alongside his lifelong friend each step of the way. With it, came an added bonus heading into Wednesday’s second-to-last regular season home game against the Cuba-Rushford Rebels — he was 20 points away from making history.

It may have been a difficult task all throughout the night, but in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, Windus made sure the fight was worth it in the end.

After Schneider missed the initial lay-in on a drive to the basket, Windus was right on the doorstep to pick up the offensive rebound, missing the first put-back before sinking the next while being fouled by Cuba-Rushford, as he landed a three-point play to send the cheering section into a thunderous craze by earning his 1,000th career point, sparking what was a 17-6 game-ending run after a 51-47 lead for the Rebels to edge their way toward a 64-57 victory.

“This means the world to Evan, because he works side by side with Cody,” said Jaguars coach Lintz Bliven. “They play AAU all summer together. They work their butts off, and Evan deserves every bit of this. To get 1,000 points while playing alongside one of the County’s best players in Cody, that tells you what kind of player he is. He’s grown up a lot in the three years I’ve been back here. He’s a very nice young man, and he drives me a little crazy once in a while, but he’s getting better in every single aspect.”

Before Windus gained traction on the fourth quarter run for the Jaguars (14-4), they had to battle their way from behind after rapidly descending to the trenches in the opening quarter by the Rebels press defense, as Cuba-Rushford gathered a big 20-7 lead behind multiple turnovers forced, and missed opportunities by the Jaguars offense.

“I about came unglued after that first quarter,” Bliven said. “They know that, and they’re too good of a team to sit back, and let the game play the way it’s been going. I have no idea what we were doing in that quarter. Usually we’re not too bad starting the game out. They missed defensive assignments, they didn’t rebound, they didn’t run offense, there were a lot of turnovers. They were trying a bit too hard at times.”

But some adjustments were made later on in the second quarter, decreasing the Rebels (7-9) lead down to six at the break after fighting back behind their big three on offense in Schneider, Windus and Brock Ellsessor all pacing the offense. Windus went on to net a three-bomb of his own from downtown to push the deficit closer to three, and then to a single point from Trent Scott, who netted his first varsity point at the line in two attempts to close the gap.

Cuba-Rushford continued to put on a solid display of defensive awareness after the Jaguars closed in, as Andrew Clement began a huge half-ending run with a three to charge up a run that saw the visitors score seven of the last nine points to gain the seven-point lead.

The run would not last long, as Cuba-Rushford was dealt a big blow just over halfway into the third quarter, seeing their leading offensive producer in Trent Chamberlain foul out of the contest in the midst of a teeter-totter battle that had Genesee Valley climb their way back in with an early run, led by a pair of technical free throws from Windus that tied the game at 35.

There was no lead bigger than three in the last two minutes of play, as the Jaguars found their way ahead briefly on a Schneider breakaway runner, and a long Windus three-pointer. But on the next Rebels possession, Grady McCumiskey put them back ahead at the end of the quarter with a 46-43 lead with a basket inside the paint, and Dan Emerson extending it to four on a wide-open look underneath.

The Jaguars would hang around after a few more offensive drains from the Rebels, as Schneider and Windus continued to head the charge. But then the spark plug was initiated after Windus eclipsed the millennium mark, formulating a run that saw them score 16 of the last 23 points. After the visitors in blue and maroon closed the deficit to two with an Ethan Brooks basket, the Jaguars garnered plenty of help at the line to create separation from Cuba-Rushford in the last minute of play to keep their lead in tact when the final buzzer sounded.

Windus led all scorers on the floor with a game-high 26 points, upping his career total with 1,006 points entering the last two regular season games on their docket. For Bliven, seeing his senior become the second player in back-to-back seasons to record quadruple digits in his career is just a sign of how dedicated his team really is.

“That just tells you how hard they work. You could have about any coach, those two kids, and the effort would still be the same,” he said. “Evan and Cody both know how to make us coaches look good while playing the game. To have that, it’s a testament to them. It has nothing to do with me, it’s on them in the work they put in. I yell at them pretty good, but I’m the first one that has their back. Day one since we stepped into the gym, I told them that we do not accept mediocrity. It’s the way our kids are here at Genesee Valley.”

Following Windus in the scorebook was Schneider, who had 17 points himself. Brock Ellsessor and Trevor Clark followed with 17, and six points respectively for the Jaguars. On the other side, Chamberlain finished with a team-high 16 points upon being fouled out for Cuba-Rushford. He was one of four different scorers that posted at least 10 points for the Rebels, as Grady McCumiskey and Dan Emerson each had 12 points. Andrew Clement finished with 10.

The Jaguars have now set up a matchup that will decide this year’s outcome for the Allegany County Division I championship on Friday, as they welcome in the Scio Tigers, who defeated the Fillmore Eagles over the road later on in the evening to stay in the hunt for the title. A win for Genesee Valley will clinch their second straight outright title, but a win for the Tigers will result in a second year in the last three of the title being split.

“We have to take care of business on Friday,” said Bliven. “It would be a nice thing to come out on top as County champs a third year in a row. Scio beat Fillmore tonight, and Fillmore was without Luke Cole. We have Cody and Evan. We should give them a battle, and it’s Senior Night on the same night as well. Even though we’ll probably have another home game in Sectionals, it’s their last Senior Night to make it a memorable one.”

As for the Rebels, they will return to their home floor Saturday afternoon with a 1:30 p.m. tip-off inside the Wighthouse against the Bolivar-Richburg Wolverines.

Cuba-Rushford         20 13 11 11 – 57

Genesee Valley           7 20 16 21 – 64

CUBA-RUSHFORD: Ethan Brooks 3 0-1 7, Joey Jablonski 0 0-1 0, Trent Chamberlain 6 4-6 16, Andrew Clement 4 0-0 10, Grady McCumiskey 6 0-4 12, Dan Emerson 6 0-1 12. Totals: 25 4-13 57.
GENESEE VALLEY: Trent Scott 0 3-4 3, Trevor Clark 2 0-0 6, Evan Windus 10 3-3 26, Brock Ellsessor 4 0-4 11, Riley Vohs 0 1-2 1, Cody Schneider 6 4-8 17. Totals: 22 11-21 64.

3-point goals: C-R 3 (Clement 2, Brooks), GV 6 (Windus 3, Clark 2, Schneider).
Total Fouls: C-R 18, GV 15. Fouled out: Chamberlain (C-R).

Scio 62, Fillmore 59

FILLMORE — With Genesee Valley leading the pack in the Allegany County Division I standings, the championship was still up for grabs between the Jaguars and two other foes — Scio and Fillmore, as both the Tigers and Eagles did battle from within The Rock on Wednesday.

Each team has two losses inside league play. In this battle, the winner of the battle would ultimately challenge the Jaguars for a piece of the County title. Through the first half, a hot start erupted for the Eagles that witnessed them gather a double digit lead going into the break, but then it was all erased in a hurry.

Scio came out with an offensive explosion in the second half, totaling a pair of 20 point quarters to make up for lost ground, springing ahead of Fillmore despite the close result, as they take care of business with an enormous 62-59 victory over the road behind a solidly executed inside game from their big forwards.

“We got off to a great start tonight with Dylan Valentine really stepping up, but we couldn't carry that momentum that we built for four quarters,” Eagles coach Randy Crouch said. “Cam Loucks was a monster inside for Scio, and Tobias Webb did a great job of attempting to keep the ball out of his hands. No one in a white jersey accepted the challenge of boxing he or Carl Finnemore out. They dominated the glass, and we need to figure that out in a hurry. Otherwise, our remaining games will be a struggle as well.”

With one of Fillmore’s (14-3) leading scorers in Will Valentine being virtually shut out in the first half, it was on his younger cousin Dylan Valentine to get things started on offense, as he accounted for nine of the team’s 14 points to jump out to a four-point lead after the first quarter. The lead saw an extension toward double digit territory when the half closed up, as both Levi and Tobias Webb took their turn leading the offense, combining for nine more points inside another 14 point frame to take a 28-18 lead at the break.

Then, Scio’s inside game came to life, as Cam Loucks and Carl Finnemore pushed the chips to the center of the table for the Tigers (15-3) with over half of the team’s points inside a third quarter run that narrowed the Fillmore lead from 10 to just two entering the last eight minute period. From there, the Tigers were able to hop into the driver’s seat behind a lot of help from the charity stripe to seal the deal on their comeback victory.

Loucks led all scorers with a game-high 23 points for Scio, while Finnemore followed with a season-high 15 points of his own. Brendan Graves added in 14 points of his own before being fouled out, while Jake D’Arcy had seven. For Fillmore, Dylan Valentine led all scorers with 21 team-high points. Levi Webb finished with 16 points, while Tobias Webb had nine.

Both teams are back on the hardwood for a pair of 7:30 p.m. contests, as Scio now hits the road for Genesee Valley to challenge the Jaguars for the Allegany County Division I title, where a win for the Tigers will allow them to capture at least a share of the title. As for the Eagles, they remain at home inside The Rock to welcome in Bolivar-Richburg.

Scio             10   8 21 23 – 62 

Fillmore      14 14 13 18 – 59

SCIO: Jake D'Arcy 1 4-4 7, Brendan Graves 5 4-8 14, Cayden Nickerson 1 1-4 3, Cam Loucks 9 5-10 23, Carl Finnemore 7 1-5 15. Totals: 23 15-31 62.
FILLMORE: Dylan Valentine 9 1-5 21, Levi Webb 6 0-0 16, Isaiah Voss 1 0-0 3, Hayden Rust 2 0-0 5, Tobias Webb 4 0-0 9, Will Valentine 1 1-2 3, Carter Sisson 1 0-1 2. Totals: 24 2-8 59.

3-point goals: Scio 1 (D'Arcy), Fillmore 9 (L. Webb 4, D. Valentine 2, Voss, Rust, T. Webb).
Total Fouls: Scio 10, Fillmore 22. Fouled out: Graves (SCIO), Rust (FIL), W. Valentine (FIL).

Houghton Academy 59, Andover 47

HOUGHTON — After the Panthers of Houghton Academy established an initial two-point lead through the first eight minutes, momentum was built in the next two quarters of play on offense, providing two lengthy runs of visiting Andover to set the pace for the remainder of the game to earn their third win the last four games by a 59-47 count.

With a 15-13 first quarter advantage in their possession led by Ayo Banwo’s strong offensive showing, it was Lee Murray’s turn to take charge of the scoring for the Panthers (11-4), as he sank nearly half of the team’s points within their 14-7 run of Andover to end the half with a nine-point advantage. They would build upon it with a narrow outscoring of the visitors out of the locker room, accounting for a 17-11 run that allowed them to pull away toward victory in the end.

Banwo led all scorers with a game-high 17 points for the host Panthers. Murray finished with 15 points of his own, while Gennaro Pico tacked on 13 points. On the flip side, Andover (4-14) was led by Spencer Cook’s team-high 15 points. Preston Ordway added in 14 points, while Gabe Halsey had eight.

Both teams are back in action Friday night, as Houghton Academy will look for the win column back on their home floor against Whitesville in a 6 p.m. contest, while Andover heads back home to play host to Belfast at 7:30 p.m.

Andover                       13   7 11 16 – 47

Houghton Academy     15 14 17 13 – 59

ANDOVER: Grady Terhune 2 2-6 6, Cormac Brown 0 1-2 1, Spencer Cook 6 3-4 15, Chris Walker 1 4-9 6, Preston Ordway 4 0-3 14, Gabe Halsey 4 0-3 8. Totals: 17 10-27 47.
HOUGHTON ACADEMY: Gennaro Pico 4 4-10 13, Lee Murray 7 1-2 15, Ayo Banwo 7 3-6 17, Malachi DeGolyer 1 0-0 2, Loik Makuza 3 0-1 7, Chris Habecker 1 1-2 3, Samuel Morah 1 0-0 2. Totals: 24 9-21 59.

3-point goals: Andover 3 (Ordway), Houghton 2 (Pico, Makuza).
Total Fouls: Andover 16, Houghton 19. Fouled out: Cook (AND), Morah (HA).

Lima Christian 64, Friendship 52

FRIENDSHIP — Both Lima Christian and Friendship assembled a very competitive first half of basketball on Wednesday in Friendship. But things flipped upside down for the host Golden Eagles in the second half, as the Saints offense struck all chords in the third quarter with a massive run that saw them pull away instantaneously toward a 64-52 win.

After each team traded a first half run, it turned from a one-point Friendship (2-14) lead, into a one-point lead for the Saints at the break. That was all the momentum they needed to make a splash in the third quarter, as they rolled their way toward a 25-13 run of the Golden Eagles with four different scorers recording at least 10 points each to coast away toward the win column.

Despite the loss, the Golden Eagles saw a season-high performance from Blake Hewitt, who recorded a game-high 25 points. Micah Hosley helped the cause with 10 points of his own, while Dekota Stewart had five points to chip in.

Friendship’s regular season on their home floor is over, as they now hit the road for their final two games beginning on Monday with a trip to visit the Whitesville Blue Jays at 7:30 p.m. for their third and final contest of the year.

Lima Christian     11 17 25 11 – 64 

Friendship            12 15 13 12 – 52 

LIMA CHRISTIAN: Myles Howard 7 2-2 17, John Gretzinger 3 2-4 10, Nathan Herring 5 0-0 12, Kevin Consul 1 0-0 3, Jaden Labarca 1 0-0 2, Evan Herring 8 4-4 18, Gideon Fiegl 1 0-0 2. Totals: 26 8-10 64.
FRIENDSHIP: Micah Hosley 2 6-12 10, Blake Hewitt 10 5-9 25, Dekota Stewart 2 0-0 5, Atlin Moore 1 0-0 2, Omar Daghlus 1 0-0 2, Taylor Moore 2 0-0 4, Jacob Golden 1 0-0 2, Garrett Miller 1 0-0 2. Totals: 20 11-21 52.

3-point goals: Lima 10 (E. Herring 4, Gretzinger 2, N. Herring 2, Howard, Consul), Friendship 1 (Stewart).
Total Fouls: Lima 19, Friendship 10. Fouled out: Sonoga (LC), LaBarca (LC).

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Belfast 36, Whitesville 27

BELFAST — The Lady Jays of Whitesville were without their leading scorer Vanessa Hall in their quick turnaround back over the road, Wednesday night. That would allow host Belfast to get off on the right foot in the first eight minutes of play, coming away with a start that loomed large as a big difference maker in the endgame to edge past the visiting Lady Jays with a 36-27 victory.

“We are playing pretty well right now,” Lady Bulldogs coach Jim Schneider said. “These girls are starting to get it at the right time, and they’re seeing at first hand that they can play against great teams. We are nine deep on the team, and we can change up how we want to play defense. Anna (Drozdowski) has really stepped up her offensive play the past couple of games, and that allowed the shooters to open things up outside.”

One of Belfast’s (4-13) biggest offensive outputs came in the first eight minute period, as they used their defense to help pace what became an 11-3 run of Whitesville to gain the eight-point edge. The lead was narrowed down to seven after the next two quarters, but then the Lady Bulldogs were able to hang on in the end with one last narrow outscoring of the Lady Jays to stay ahead.

Drozdowski led a balanced scorebook for the Lady Bulldogs, compiling a 7-for-13 outing at the line to go with her two-point basket to sum up a team-high nine points. Mary Hamer and Kaitlin Sadler followed behind closely, as they chipped in with eight, and seven points respectively. The Lady Jays (12-6) on the flip side, were led by Kate Pensyl, who also had nine points. Serina Button added in seven points, while Kennedy Bledsoe had five.

Belfast will look to make it three straight wins on the road Friday night in Scio with a 6 p.m. contest against the Lady Tigers, while Whitesville waits for their turn against Scio on the road on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Whitesville       3  7  8   9 – 27

Belfast 11 6 8 11 – 36

WHITESVILLE: Kennedy Bledsoe 1 3-6 5, Rachel Jackson 1 1-2 3, Serena Ainsworth 1 0-0 2, Chelsie Reisman 0 1-2 1, Kate Pensyl 2 4-10 9, Serina Button 2 1-3 7. Totals: 7 12-24 27.
BELFAST: Kaitlin Sadler 3 1-2 7, Alicia Borden 2 0-0 4, Anna Drozdowski 1 7-13 9, Mary Hamer 4 0-2 8, Emma Sullivan 3 0-0 6, Jaiden Enders 1 0-0 2. Totals: 14 8-17 36.

3-point goals: Whitesville 1 (Pensyl).
Total Fouls: Whitesville 13, Belfast 22. Fouled out: Shaw (BEL).

Chris Brooks
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