Wednesday Roundup: Dunbar paces bounce back for Lady Lions after Senior Night defeat, hold C-G in check behind 2nd quarter in 49-33 win; C-R, Ark-Can volleyball claim County Semifinal vacancies

WELLSVILLE — Wednesday night presented an opportunity for the Lady Lions of Wellsville to bring it all back to the win column once again, following their Senior Night defeat to the hands of Otto-Eldred nearly a week ago. At this stage of the game, the road ahead was not going to get any easier, as the Lady Lions had to fight right alongside Canisteo-Greenwood in their return to action, early on.

With the three-point game lighting the fuse for both teams in the opening sequences, the scoring became hard to come by for each side, resulting in the Lady Lions managing their way out on top with the lead.

Entering the second quarter, the momentum they had harnessed, was put entirely to extraordinary use across a second quarter that served as the difference, as the floor opened up for Makenna Dunbar to help take over the offense behind her game-high 23 point effort, setting up shop for what was a 49-33 bounce back win over the Lady Chargers to sweep their season series.

The battle commenced with a pair of three-pointers — one from each team in the opening stages, with Canisteo-Greenwood’s Anna Mitchell and Wellsville’s Emily Stuck both providing the ice-breaking barbs from outside. After a couple of exchanges inside, the Lady Lions (12-4) found their way back ahead of the Lady Chargers behind another deep shot, this time from Makenna Dunbar square off the glass and through the twine to help maintain their 8-7 lead at the end of the frame.

The Lady Lions then took charge of a second quarter that made a world of difference, with Dunbar posting six consecutive points off three drives under the rim to help assemble a 14-5 run of Canisteo-Greenwood (9-8) — a run that also saw the Lady Chargers provide a response from Paris May from each segment of the arc, bucketing two tough shots from inside and out to close the gap down to a pair of points past midway in the frame.

But to ensure a strong end to a brilliant quarter, Dunbar handed out her lone assist of the game to her sister, Jaden Dunbar on a strong cut directly up to the basket from the top of the key, providing a beautiful finish of the ball shortly after to close the half with eight straight points and a 22-12 lead.

Wellsville would remain on top for the rest of the game going forward, as they claimed advantages in each of the last two quarters, including a dominant 15-point fourth quarter conclusion that saw Dunbar finish off another masterful performance with a perfect 6-for-6 outing at the charity stripe.

Following behind the senior captain was Emily Stuck, who provided as brilliant of an effort on both ends of the floor for the Lady Lions, as she posted 11 points while keeping the Lady Chargers on their feet on defense along the way. Caelyn Stevens had seven points to go with seven rebounds, while Natalie Adams had seven assists to hand out. Jaden Dunbar had six rebounds to finish off the special teams efforts.

As for Canisteo-Greenwood, Anna Mitchell led the scoring with eight points. Paris May had seven points, while Bailey Mullen and McKenna Ferris each had six to chip in.

The Varsity contest did not get underway until about 8 p.m. due to some extra time being required for the JV contest that led off the evening in the Lion’s Den. After it was all said and done, the Lady Chargers were able to escape from Wellsville with a 33-31 win. Leading the hosts was Addy Hennessy and her team-high 13 points.

Coming up next, the Lady Lions will remain on their home turf when the weekend ahead concludes, as they now prepare to host the Pioneer Lady Panthers on Monday at 7 p.m.

Canisteo-Greenwood 7 5 11 10 – 33

Wellsville 8 14 12 15 – 49

CANISTEO-GREENWOOD: Kora Button 2 0-0 4, Bailey Mullen 3 0-0 6, MacKenna Mullen 1 0-0 2, McKenna Ferris 2 2-2 6, Paris May 3 0-0 7, Anna Mitchell 3 0-0 8. Totals: 14 2-2 33.

WELLSVILLE: Caelyn Stevens 3 1-2 7, Natalie Adams 1 1-2 4, Emily Stuck 4 1-4 11, Makenna Dunbar 7 7-11 23, Jaden Dunbar 1 0-0 2, Alexa Stuck 1 0-0 2. Totals: 17 10-19 49.

3-point goals: C-G 3 (Mitchell 2, May), Wellsville 5 (E. Stuck, M. Dunbar 2, Adams).
Total Fouls: C-G 12, Wellsville 3. Fouled out: None.

Avoca-Prattsburgh 60, Bolivar-Richburg 29

PRATTSBURGH — The Lady Titans of Avoca-Prattsburgh utilized a phenomenal start to their game in the opening eight minutes, all established by the red hot hand of Meyah Putnam, who conducted the offensive effort from start to finish with her game-high 20-point performance, as they managed to roll past visiting Bolivar-Richburg in Prattsburgh with a 60-29 victory on Wednesday.

Avoca-Prattsburgh went straight to work controlling both ends of the floor against the Lady Wolverines (7-10), as they held their opposition to under 10 points across all four quarters of play, including a red-hot 18-9 lead in the first quarter behind the guidance of Putnam in all three phases of offense — a score from inside the paint, a pair of three-pointers, as well as a perfect 4-for-4 stretch at the charity stripe to complete a 12-point stanza.

The momentum continued to ride alongside the Lady Titans towards the end of the half, with Evelyn Travis aiding the cause with nine of the team’s 15 points from within their final outing leading into the break. In the second half, the hosts in white and gold kept extending their lead in insurmountable fashion behind the contributions of five different scorers, as they conducted a combined 27-11 finish down the stretch to lock down the win.

Leading the way for the Lady Wolverines was Raegan Giardini, who found her stroke early on with a pair of first quarter three-pointers from outside, allocating it towards a team-high 13-point effort. Carmen Crowley pitched in with eight points, while Emma Sisson had four of her own to add into the mix.

Bolivar-Richburg will look to rebound back home next Wednesday night, as they welcome in Friendship/Scio for a 6:30 p.m. contest.

Bolivar-Richburg 9 9 8 3 — 29

Avoca-Prattsburgh 18 15 15 12 — 60

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Nadia Baldwin 0 0-2 0, Emma Sisson 2 0-3 4, Lila Fanton 0 0-2 0, Raegan Giardini 5 1-2 13, Sydney Faulkner 1 0-0 2, Carmen Crowley 3 2-4 8, Madyson Stanton 1 0-0 2. Totals: 12 3-13 29.

AVOCA-PRATTSBURGH: D’Mariannah Hinson-Pike 1 3-3 5, Meyah Putnam 7 4-4 20, Breanna Jorritsma 3 2-4 8, Evelyn Travis 4 0-0 9, Kyra Farley 1 0-2 2, Tyanna Rivera-Pike 3 0-0 6, Avery Reagan 4 0-0 8, Charlotte Peek 1 0-0 2. Totals: 24 9-13 60.

3-point goals: B-R 2 (Giardini), A-P 3 (Putnam 2, Travis).
Total Fouls: B-R 14, A-P 15. Fouled out: Reagan (A-P).

BOYS BASKETBALL

Fillmore 84, Franklinville 61

FILLMORE — The general assignment for the Eagles of Fillmore entering Wednesday night’s contest with Franklinville was lucid and directly to the point: Recover quickly.

After experiencing defeat for just the second time following Monday night’s titanic clash with Wellsville, the Eagles ensured that the bounce back would become even greater in front of their home base inside The Rock, as they took care of business with another sublime performance on the offensive front, bucketing a first half lead and maintaining it all the way to the end of time to clinch an 84-61 season series-sweeping victory over the visiting Panthers.

“It was a great bounce back for us tonight after Monday's loss. I thought we really did a great job of making plays for each other and had a balanced team effort. Franklinville never quit and kept making runs, but we were able answer each run and keep pressure on them.” said Eagles coach Randy Crouch.

It was a tight battle that developed early on between the two foes in the opening quarter, but as time progressed, the Eagles (13-2) slowly began to start cooking with a red hot 20-9 lead of Franklinville. The Panthers would not let the fiery beginning go unnoticed and unresponsive, as they fired right back a run of their own to keep pace right behind them to close the frame out, sinking nine of the final 13 points to shrink Fillmore’s lead down to six.

After the Panthers came within a 26-20 deficit of the Eagles early on in the second quarter, that would be as close as they would reach, as the hosts in white and green pursued the momentum and captured a ton of it. As a result, they netted the next eight points to shove the advantage into double-digit territory where it would remain for the rest of the contest, proceeding to capture a 45-28 lead at the break that they continued to enumerate onto over time.

In the midst of a well-balanced attack on all fronts for the Eagles, Cam Mucher led all scorers on the hardwood with a game-high 21 points. Jonah Bialek added 20 points of his own. Jameson Rhett had 11 points, while JD Bialek had 10.

Fillmore is back on their home floor Friday night with red-hot Bolivar-Richburg — winners in 10 of their last 12 contests, in town for a 7:30 p.m. visit.

Franklinville 18 10 11 22 — 61

Fillmore 24 21 18 21 — 84

FRANKLINVILLE: Blake Green 2 3-4 8, Brady Tatlow 3 0-0 6, Bretton Blecha 8 3-7 20, Isaac Towne 3 0-0 6, Trevin Lane 1 0-0 3, Matt Spittler 6 2-2 16, Collin Mooney 1 0-0 2. Totals: 24 8-13 61.

FILLMORE: Jordan Bialek 2 0-0 6, Carson Sanasith 2 0-0 5, Isaiah Sisson 4 0-1 8, Jonah Bialek 6 7-7 20, Ezra Knapp 1 0-0 3, Jameson Rhett 5 0-0 11, Cam Mucher 6 6-8 21, JD Bialek 5 0-0 10. Totals: 31 13-16 84.

3-point goals: Franklinville 5 (Spittler 2, Green, Blecha, Lane), Fillmore 11 (Jon. Bialek 3, Mucher 3, Jor. Bialek 2, Sanasith, Knapp, Rhett).
Total Fouls: Franklinville 16, Fillmore 12. Fouled out: None.

Genesee Valley/Belfast 67, Avoca-Prattsburgh 54

BELMONT — The return of Lannden Tilton to the lineup proved paramount for the Genesee Valley/Belfast boys on Wednesday.

With visiting Avoca-Prattsburgh hot on their trail going into the locker room, a spark was needed for the second half. Enter the junior sharpshooter, who captained a third quarter for Genesee Valley/Belfast like no other by creating an uproar that consisted of a 31-point bombardment against the Titans, with Tilton’s hot three-point game from downtown alongside a heavy inside presence from Ian McKenzie helping lead the way for the team’s 67-54 rebound victory back home in Belmont.

“It was a tough loss against Letchworth the other night, but we played well tonight to respond to that. It was great to have Lannden back, he had a great shooting night. Cane (Treusdell) and Kenton (Shultz) each had an outstanding rebounding night and they both worked incredibly hard in the paint. I can’t say enough about both of those guys, they come to play every night. This was a good win to have.” said GV/Belfast coach Jason Hamer.

Genesee Valley/Belfast (9-7) started hot in the opening frame off a 10-3 lead over Avoca-Prattsburgh that was soon erased in exchange for a back-and-forth exchange of pleasantries all the way down to the end of the frame. The Titans eventually navigated their way out front behind one of Austin Swift’s three triples in the contest to help claim a 16-14 lead in the last 60 seconds.

Despite being pushed into the passenger’s seat entering the second quarter, the hosts in white were able to work hard to climb their way back out on top, ending with the first half’s last five points to score a two-point advantage of their own going into the break.

Then, the gloves came off. Genesee Valley/Belfast pushed it straight to the limit across all eight minutes of the third quarter to take a two-point advantage and turn it into a monstrous outing on the attack, collecting a 31-12 run of the Titans that saw them net the frame’s first 10 points to set the tone immediately, as they used all the electricity from Tilton’s deep ball to McKenzie’s presence inside to work towards the victory that awaited at the end.

Tilton led all scorers with a game-high 19 points for the hosts, while McKenzie followed with 14 points of his own. Adding more assistance was Cal Tallman, who had 10 points.

Avoca-Prattsburgh was paced by JJ Crowder and his team-leading 18 points.

Up next for Genesee Valley/Belfast is a trip back up the road to Belfast to meet the Rebels of Cuba-Rushford at the Paul Vienna Memorial Gym, Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

Avoca-Prattsburgh 16 6 12 20 — 54

Genesee Valley/Belfast 14 10 31 12 — 67

AVOCA-PRATTSBURGH: Landon White 1 0-0 2, JJ Crowder 7 3-6 18, Austin Swift 3 0-0 9, Noah Hoffman 1 0-2 2, Carter Button 4 0-2 10, Connor Puralski 1 1-1 3, Bryan Heale 1 0-0 2, Gracyn Rumsey 1 0-0 2, Wyatt Chandler 2 0-0 6. Totals: 21 4-11 54.

GV/BELFAST: Will Guilford 2 0-0 4, Cane Treusdell 1 2-4 4, Cal Tallman 4 2-4 10, Ian McKenzie 7 0-0 14, Ethan Davenport 3 0-0 6, Lannden Tilton 7 0-0 19, Kenton Shultz 4 0-1 8, Ryan Daciw 0 2-2 2. Totals: 28 6-11 67.

3-point goals: A-P 8 (Swift 3, Button 2, Chandler 2, Crowder), GVB 5 (Tilton).
Total Fouls: A-P 8, GVB 10. Fouled out: None.

Keshequa 52, Friendship/Scio 29

NUNDA — The Friendship/Scio boys were the first to break the ice on the road at Keshequa, Wednesday night. But shortly after a timeout on the floor, the host Wildcats broke free and ran off with a massive 13-2 quarter-closing run to ultimately set the paradigm going forward, as they cruised their way towards victory behind a dominant finish to score the 52-29 victory.

The tone was set by the Wildcats following an early 5-0 run produced by Friendship/Scio (6-10) out of the gates, as they turned the ship around and rode a first quarter wave with ease by posting a massive quarter-ending jaunt that saw them net the next 11 points in consecutive fashion along the way, going on to claim a 13-7 lead at the end of the frame.

Momentum was maintained all throughout by the Wildcats, gradually adding to their lead over time heading into the fourth quarter, where the victory was put away for good behind a game-ending 16-7 run of the visitors in black and gold.

Friendship/Scio’s offense was propelled by a team-leading 11-point effort from Connor Blouvet, adding six rebounds and four steals along the way. Jerome Harmon, Jerimiah Brown and Deacon Brown all added six points each, with Harmon garnering eight rebounds and four assists, while Jerimiah Brown led the boards with 11 of his own.

Up next is another road trip for Friendship/Scio forthcoming on Friday, as they visit the Houghton Academy Panthers in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.

Friendship/Scio 7 6 9 7 – 29

Keshequa 13 12 11 16 – 52

FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Jerome Harmon 3 0-2 6, Connor Blouvet 3 3-4 11, Jerimiah Brown 3 0-0 6, Deacon Brown 3 0-0 6. Totals: 12 3-6 29.

KESHEQUA: Zach Smathers 2 1-2 6, Owen Pike 5 2-5 12, Aiden Upright 8 2-5 20, Ian Hinrich 2 2-2 6, Nolan Therrien 1 0-0 2, Brady Wood 2 0-0 6. Totals: 20 7-14 52.

3-point goals: F/S 2 (Blouvet), Keshequa 5 (Upright 2, Wood 2, Smathers).
Total Fouls: F/S 14, Keshequa 10. Fouled out: None.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

County Playoffs: Opening Round

Cuba-Rushford 3, Bolivar-Richburg 0

CUBA — The race for County glory is officially on.

With the League’s top seed, the Portville Panthers, earning a first-round bye, the playoff picture beginning on Wednesday would whittle itself down to just four teams left out of a field of six from within the tournament’s opening round. Wellsville was the first to capture their spot in next week’s Semifinal round, where they will host at least one more game in front of their home crowd to close out their campaign.

Their opponent? — That was decided in the Wighthouse between host Cuba-Rushford and Bolivar-Richburg, where the Rebels capitalized on a strong start and set the tone against the Wolverines, outlasting a blast of pressure in the third set along the way to go on and claim the 25-16, 25-15, 25-22 win, setting the stage for their third and final battle with the Lions for a chance at this year’s County crown.

Leading the way forward for Cuba-Rushford (10-4) was Gunnar Jahnke on the offensive front, as he posted a game-high eight kills to go with five digs on defense, two big blocks at the net and one ace. Brock Stadler chipped in with seven kills of his own, pairing them with four additional digs and an ace. Setter Coen Kellogg (three digs, one ace) laid the foundation down for the aerial attack, handing out 15 helpers.

Statistics for the Wolverines were not made available to report upon publication. Bolivar-Richburg concludes their 2024-25 campaign on the court with a record of 3-12 overall.

Cuba-Rushford will now get set to battle Wellsville for the third and final time in the County Semifinal round, which is set to begin Tuesday night at 6 p.m. in Wellsville. The winner will face either Arkport-Canaseraga or Portville in the Championship game later in the week.

Arkport-Canaseraga 3, Fillmore 0

ARKPORT — As for the Wolves of Arkport-Canaseraga, they battled tough alongside the Eagles of Fillmore for much of their battle on their home floor Wednesday night. But through it all, they came away each time to ultimately claim a straight-set sweep, filling in one of the last Semifinal vacancies in the County’s playoff picture with a 25-18, 25-16, 25-19 victory.

The offense saw an even balance across the board to aid Arkport-Canaseraga’s propelling into the penultimate round of the tournament, with Curtis Hartman helping power the efforts with a strong night of service, scoring eight aces, five kills and three blocks. Drew Glover chipped in with four kills of his own, while setter Aydan Button handed out 10 assists to pair with five additional kills and four aces.

For Fillmore, Jayce Ashton led the way with four kills and two blocks. Molly Mahoney recorded eight service points from the back line to further the offense’s cause, while Anderson Wiltsey (nine digs) and Aiden Freeman combined to record 35 total assists to lay the groundwork down for the attack. The Eagles wrap up their 2024-25 campaign on the floor with a record of 5-8 overall.

Arkport-Canaseraga will now move into the Semifinal round, which is set to begin on Tuesday with a 6 p.m. visit to top-seeded Portville. The winner will face either Cuba-Rushford or Wellsville in this year’s Championship game later on this week.