Wednesday Roundup: GV/Belfast constructs 4th quarter run to claim rubber match of 3-game set with And/Whi; Corning’s 2nd half ascension aids win over Wellsville; B-R, Fillmore boys tally road wins

WHITESVILLE — It all came down to Wednesday night. With Genesee Valley/Belfast and Andover/Whitesville each garnering a victory each side, it was now time for the rubber match in Whitesville.

In what was their third and final battle of this season, the momentum clicker was switched on and off in a constant motion across the majority of the first half of play between both squads, with a pair of last-second buckets — one from each squad, helping determine which way the balance of power would tilt.

Through it all, Genesee Valley/Belfast had the upper hand in their possession, but it was not easy by any means with Andover/Whitesville trailing right behind them every step of the way. But after three quarters of competitive close quarters basketball, the final eight minutes would help tell the remainder of the story.

Genesee Valley/Belfast would be the ones to put the victorious cherry on top.

The visitors in black were able to ride all the waves of momentum to victory, as they capitalized on both ends of the floor across the board to record a run that allowed them to expand their advantage out of reach while holding Andover/Whitesville to their lowest stand of offense in the same swing. As a result, Genesee Valley/Belfast went on to claim the rubber match’s victory — their fifth overall in the last seven games, by a 57-37 final count over Andover/Whitesville.

“That was another tough battle between us and GV/Belfast tonight,” said Andover/Whitesville coach Jimmy Joyce. “We knew it would be since we played them twice already and both of those games were extremely competitive. We asked a lot of Vinny (Joyce) and Ethan (Warriner) down low against (Jacob) Borden and I thought they more than held their own, but offensively, we couldn’t get anything to fall. We chipped away at their lead several times, but we just couldn’t quite close the gap. Credit to Lintz (Bliven) and his crew. They are playing some real good basketball right now. For ourselves, we will take as much as we can from this game and move on to an even bigger game on Senior Night this weekend.”

The switch-flickering would stem right away in the opening eight minutes between both teams, with Genesee Valley/Belfast (10-9) flipping it first with their explosive start that allowed them to net eight straight points — a run that was aided by a triple each from Ian McKenzie and Kadin Logue, after an early exchange of baskets inside to break the ice.

But then, the switch was flipped towards the direction of Andover/Whitesville (9-9), as they went off on a near-identical jaunt themselves by scoring the next seven points in a row after some aid was received at the charity stripe, with Brody Vance and Colton Calladine leading the charge to trim their deficit down to four.

Right at the buzzer, the momentum would remain with the hosts in white off a ridiculous and preposterous last second shot off the hand of Colton Calladine just inside the far right wing, letting a shot fly from just behind the backboard and into the net as time expired to keep their degree of separation at four points going into the second quarter.

The constant transition of power would eventually land right back at Genesee Valley/Belfast’s doorstep near the midway mark of the frame, when they accounted for yet another run of Andover/Whitesville to extend their advantage to as large as 13 points, bucketing 11 of the frame’s first 13 points — all stemming behind a strong defense that allowed them to force the ball back in their favor from the hosts.

Behind a late triple from Gage Putnam in the final minute of the break, Andover/Whitesville continued to claw back and climb back within reach, but Genesee Valley/Belfast had a last second card to play themselves with Kadin Logue finishing the half with a massive three-point play to keep what was a 10-point advantage intact with five seconds left.

In the second half, both teams remained right with one another in the third quarter, which allowed Genesee Valley/Belfast to remain in front with a 42-32 lead going into the last eight minutes — a quarter where they were able to find their offensive edge, as they wrapped up the game on a 15-5 run of Andover/Whitesville to finish off another hard-fought victory with the series-clincher.

Leading the Genesee Valley/Belfast attack was Kenton Shultz, who provided a presence from all angles of the floor in his game-high 17-point performance. Right behind him was Jacob Borden down low, as he chipped in 16 points of his own, while Ian McKenzie had 14 points.

Andover/Whitesville witnessed Brody Vance pilot the offense with his 11 team-high points. Colton Calladine and Vinny Joyce each had eight points, while Gage Putnam had six points off a pair of triples.

Both teams will hit the hardwood again Friday night in a pair of 7:30 p.m. contests, as Genesee Valley/Belfast heads back home to take on Bolivar-Richburg in Belfast, while Andover/Whitesville stays put in Whitesville to welcome in the Houghton Academy Panthers for a visit.

Genesee Valley/Belfast 16 16 10 15 – 57

Andover/Whitesville 12 10 10 5 – 37

GV/BELFAST: Kyle McCumiskey 1 1-4 4, Kadin Logue 1 0-2 3, Matt Cater 0 1-2 1, Ian McKenzie 5 1-2 14, Jacob Borden 8 0-2 16, Kenton Shultz 5 5-5 17, Ryan Daciw 1 0-0 2. Totals: 21 8-17 57.

ANDOVER/WHITESVILLE: Jake Mattison 1 0-3 2, Ethan Warriner 1 0-0 2, Vinny Joyce 3 1-2 8, Brody Vance 4 1-4 11, Colton Calladine 3 1-2 8, Gage Putnam 2 0-0 6. Totals: 14 3-11 37.

3-point goals: GVB 7 (McKenzie 3, Shultz 2, McCumiskey, Logue), A/W 6 (Vance 2, Putnam 2, Joyce, Calladine).
Total Fouls: GVB 11, A/W 15. Fouled out: None.

Corning 66, Wellsville 51

CORNING — To open the season, the Lions of Wellsville were presented with a challenge in the shape of a Section IV powerhouse — the Corning Hawks. They were met right away with the presence of eighth grade phenom Nolyn Proudfoot, who dominated the floor inside the Lion’s Den back at the beginning of December.

Looking ahead to their second and final battle off to the east in Corning on Wednesday, the Lions were looking to flip the script completely with a massive response to hold the Hawks steady from beyond the arc.

For the most part, they would do just that, as they kept the pressure on to force them inside to remain within striking distance going into the break. But soon after, Corning would solve the puzzle and as a result, they broke loose behind an incredible third quarter outburst that saw them branch their lead out in insurmountable fashion to proclaim victory to sweep the series with Wellsville by a 66-51 count.

Leading off the battle, the Hawks assumed control behind the guidance of Nolyn Proudfoot’s hot start, as he accounted for eight big points out of the team’s 16 in total, while the Lions (7-12) saw a wealth of scorers all pitch in to keep the offense within distance. In the second quarter, Wellsville then took their talents to the free throw line, where a 5-of-6 outing at the stripe was garnered by JJ Howard helped maintain their distance behind Corning going to the break, down by four.

With a 26-22 lead on the Lions that started to close fast, Corning would then spread the wealth across the hardwood themselves across a third quarter that ultimately set them apart for good, bolstering their advantage with a 23-point frame that was aided by seven different Hawks from the field. Out of the 10 made field goals that were made in the frame, eight of them were all unearthed from within the arc to ignite their strong inside presence.

To finish off the victory, the Hawks would turn their attention back outside to the parking lot, where they finished with three big fourth quarter triples to keep their double-digit advantage well intact, despite some late chipping away by the Lions in an attempt to close the gap.

Despite the defeat, Wellsville’s offense was propelled by JJ Howard and his team-leading 15 points, while Ty Vogel followed up with 13 points of his own. Alex Green had nine more points to chip in.

The Lions will close out their regular season Friday night in the Maple City, as they pay a visit to their archrival Hornell Red Raiders in a 7 p.m. contest.

Wellsville 11 11 14 15 – 51

Corning 16 10 23 17 – 66

WELLSVILLE: Aiden Cowburn 1 0-0 2, Karson Grover 2 0-0 4, Cooper Brockway 2 0-0 5, JJ Howard 4 7-9 15, Ty Vogel 4 3-8 13, Jace Densmore 1 0-0 3, Alex Green 4 1-1 9. Totals: 18 11-18 51.

CORNING: Larsen Burch 2 1-4 5, Jeremy Spears 3 1-1 7, Gavyn Hogue 6 2-2 16, Caleb Anderson 2 0-1 4, Kyler Stevenson 3 0-0 8, Mekai Daniels 2 0-0 5, Logan Moore 1 0-0 2, Tiegen Gill 3 0-0 9, Nolyn Proudfoot 5 0-0 10. Totals: 26 4-8 66.

3-point goals: Wellsville 4 (Vogel 2, Brockway, Densmore), Corning 7 (Gill 3, Hogue 2, Stevenson 2, Daniels).
Total Fouls: Wellsville 10, Corning 13. Fouled out: None.

Bolivar-Richburg 66, Houghton Academy 41

HOUGHTON — Through the opening quarter, baskets on each side were temporarily difficult to come by. But when the opening sequence of time passed, so did the fog, clearing the path for one team to set the tone on Wednesday.

The Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg brought the thunder to the table at the very end of the first half and then created a thunderstorm in the next behind a big outing from Kingston Loucks, who was one of five different scorers to eclipse the 10-point plateau to propel the offense to the top of the victorious peak with a 66-41 victory over host Houghton Academy.

“Early on, we had a lot of opportunities to get five guys to 10 points, but we couldn't buy a bucket,” said Wolverines coach Justin Thomas. “Houghton spread the ball around a lot and used up much of the shot clock to their advantage. We were cold and they kept the possession for as much as they could to make it a very frustrating first half. But in the second half, things started to click with Kingston getting hot and we started to work the ball in even more to run away with it.”

Both Bolivar-Richburg (12-5) and Houghton Academy went back and forth across the opening quarter with a fair exchange of offensive pleasantries that allowed the Wolverines to pull ahead with a narrow four-point lead. But despite some early difficulty, the visitors in black and red were able to fight their way through it and deliver a big 16-8 punch to build a forceful amount of momentum heading into the break.

With it, the Wolverines came out swinging in the third quarter to set the tone with Kingston Loucks and his 13 second half points captaining the game-changing efforts to keep them fastened in the driver’s seat permanently with a gigantic 20-7 run, flooring it towards victory for good.

Leading the scoring for the Wolverines was Aydin Sisson and Landon Barkley, as the dynamic duo each recorded a team-high 14 points. Following behind Loucks and his 13 points was Waide Karnuth, who pitched in 11 points. David Abdo had 10 points.

For the Panthers (6-10), James Adenuga led the scoring with his game-high 18 points. Jack Prentice chipped in with 14 points of his own, while Josh Davidson had the last eight points for the hosts in white and blue, who will now hit the road for a visit to Andover/Whitesville on Friday, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Whitesville.

Bolivar-Richburg will head back home in quick turnaround fashion, as they host the Hinsdale Bobcats on Senior Night tonight at 6:30 p.m.

Bolivar-Richburg 14 16 20 16 – 66

Houghton Academy 10 8 7 16 – 41

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Aydin Sisson 7 0-0 14, Landon Barkley 5 3-3 14, David Abdo 5 0-0 10, Waide Karnuth 5 1-3 11, Trevor Pforter 0 1-2 1, Caden Giardini 1 0-0 3, Reiss Gaines 0 0-2 0, Kingston Loucks 5 0-0 13. Totals: 28 5-10 66.

HOUGHTON ACADEMY: Jack Prentice 5 3-7 14, Josh Davidson 3 0-0 8, James Adenuga 6 2-2 18, Xianmeng Chen 0 1-2 1. Totals: 14 6-11 41.

3-point goals: B-R 5 (Loucks 3, Barkley, Giardini), HA 7 (Adenuga 4, Davidson 2, Prentice).
Total Fouls: B-R 11, HA 7. Fouled out: None.

Fillmore 88, Friendship/Scio 23

FRIENDSHIP — The Eagles of Fillmore spread the wealth all around the court in their latest road trip Wednesday night, with almost every Eagle getting their hands on the ball and finding the twine hanging from the rim, as they started the game red hot and kept their foot down on the gas the remainder of the way in their 88-23 win over host Friendship/Scio, in Friendship.

Fillmore (17-2) assembled a first quarter spearhead to break the ice with, as the dynamic duo of Zach Sisson and Jonah Bialek propelled the attack towards a massive 29-point inception — 22 of the points combined between the two sharpshooters, setting the tone against Friendship/Scio with a 29-6 lead that at no time was surrendered.

Sisson would lead all scorers on the floor with a game-high 24 points, while Bialek added in 12 points of his own. Following behind them was Cam Mucher and his 11 points, while Isaiah Sisson had eight points to add in.

Friendship/Scio (4-15) was paced by Connor Blouvet and his team-leading eight points. Jerome Harmon had six points. The team will return to action back in Friendship, Tuesday night with a 6 p.m. visit from Hinsdale.

The Eagles will wrap up their spectacular regular season with one last trip over the road next Wednesday night, visiting the Cuba-Rushford Rebels in a 7:30 p.m. contest.

Fillmore 29 24 19 16 – 88

Friendship/Scio 6 8 4 5 – 23

FILLMORE: Cam Mucher 4 3-3 11, Marcus Wolfer 2 0-0 5, Isaiah Sisson 4 0-0 8, Layton Sanasith 3 0-0 7, Brandon Buck 3 0-0 6, Zach Sisson 10 2-2 24, Jonah Bialek 6 0-0 12, Brayden Hennard 1 0-0 2, Jameson Rhett 2 0-0 4, Gavin Barnhart 1 0-0 3, JD Bialek 3 0-0 6. Totals: 39 5-5 88.
FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Aiden Golden 1 1-2 4, Jerome Harmon 3 0-2 6, Connor Blouvet 2 2-6 8, Charlie Taylor 1 0-0 2, Matt Donohue 1 0-0 3. Totals: 8 3-10 23.

3-point goals: Fillmore 4 (Z. Sisson 2, Wolfer, Barnhart), F/S 3 (Blouvet 2, Donohue).
Total Fouls: Fillmore 10, F/S 8. Fouled out: None.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

County Semifinals: No. 1 Allegany-Limestone 3, No. 5 Genesee Valley/Belfast 0

ALLEGANY — With No. 2 Arkport-Canaseraga waiting in the wings to determine this year’s Allegany County Champion, the final vacancy remaining would see No. 5 Genesee Valley/Belfast and top-seeded Allegany-Limestone duke it out in the Swamp on Wednesday.

With two strong sets in the wagon for the Gators, they would push Genesee Valley/Belfast to the brink. Under immense pressure, the visitors would consume every bit of it and put up the fight of their lives by forcing extra sets in what was the third and final set of the night. But in the end, the undefeated top seeds would punch their return tickets back to the Finals with a 25-12, 25-7, 28-26 straight-set win.

The Gators were aided by a strong offensive performance from Josh Nolder, recording a team-high 13 kills. Kevin Edwards-Hardy chipped in with eight more kills while the team’s setter in the middle of the floor, CJ Ellison, handed out 21 helpers to set the offense up.

Statistics for Genesee Valley/Belfast were not made available to report upon publication, as they wrap up their 2023-24 campaign with a record of 9-9 overall.

Next Thursday night, the Allegany County League crown will be decided between Arkport-Canaseraga and Allegany-Limestone in a 6 p.m. first serve in the Swamp.