Saturday Sectionals: Seventh-seeded Romulus nets upset victory over No. 2 Scio behind defense, 2nd quarter 3-point game; No. 1 Lady Eagles cruise past No. 9 J-T

Written By Chris Brooks

SCIO — Winning a Sectional title on the soccer field was one of Scio’s biggest goals going into the new sports season. They went on to do just that by winning their first championship in 40 years. After their season ended in the Qualifier round, the preparations to carry the momentum indoors on the basketball court began.

Behind the guidance of both of the team’s leaders in Cam Loucks and Brendan Graves, the Tigers provided another big showing in the regular season, recording back-to-back 16-win seasons after reaching that mark for the first time in over two decades, last season. Now as the season wound down, a chance to build more on top of it came on Saturday, when the team opened up Sectionals on their home floor as the No. 2 seed in the Class D2 field.

In town was No. 7 Romulus, a team coming off a very hot 86-point offensive performance against Andover in the opening round back on their home floor earlier this week. Through the first quarter of play, a messy but defensive battle began to formulate. But then a different story, as a light bulb clicked on for one of the teams.

That being the Warriors, and their fiery three-point shooter in Devon Morrell, who went off with three of his four three-pointers coming in the second quarter. With a back-and-forth pace settling in, his threes earned Romulus the lead at the half, as they went to the defense to deliver the goods in the second half, doing that by hanging on to pull off the upset victory over Scio by a 61-49 count, ending their season.

“The Morrell kid got hot, and we just had to find a way to be better defensively,” said Tigers coach Dillon McFall. “We didn’t play our best, and in Sectionals, when you don’t do that, you have a very small chance of winning the game. Romulus is a quick and athletic team, and sometimes we struggled with it. At times, we got the ball and we had to make our shots. We didn’t do that, they did.”

After both teams fought their way through a slow-go in the first quarter, Scio established ground with an 8-7 lead of Romulus heading into the second quarter, where a teeter-totter pace set in almost immediately. As both teams delivered basket after basket, a point in time during the frame of action allowed Romulus to plug in their spark plug in Morrell, who was unstoppable in the second quarter behind his three-point game, netting three big treys to put the Warriors ahead in three separate instances, including at the last minute of the half, putting them up 28-24 at the break.

In the second half, The Tigers managed to keep pace with the Warriors, but the defense from the seven seeds and turnovers continued to plague Scio, especially missed opportunities at the free throw line, where the two seeds finished with a 14-for-33 outing as a team.

“If you look at the game, we turned it over too much for our liking, so that takes away quite a few scoring chances,” McFall said. “We missed too many looks in the paint, and we missed too many free throws. We scouted them, and we knew we could get things going at them inside. We had the attempts, but they kept clanking off the rim. Romulus did a good job keeping Brendan from going outside. For them defensively against us, we couldn’t finish with what we had gotten.”

Within the endgame, Romulus went on to outscore Scio by a narrow 33-25 margin.

Cam Loucks led all scorers on the floor with a game-high 24 points for the Tigers, while Brendan Graves tallied 14 points of his own in his final game in a Scio basketball uniform. Jake D’Arcy chipped in with a pair of threes from downtown, while Cory Bolzan had five points.

The run is over for the Tigers, as they conclude the 2019-20 campaign with a record of 16-5 overall. The program will bid adieu to eight seniors total at the end of the year, in Graves, D’Arcy, Carl Finnemore, Alex Field, Tristen Woodruff, Colten Alsworth, Cam Kelsey and Szabi Nagy.

“We lost tonight, and we had a pretty heavy group of seniors along for this ride,” said McFall. “This was not the way we wanted to send our seniors out, and it was not indicative of how much they have provided to this program over the years, especially Brendan. He has over 60 career wins in his four years here, he got to 1,000 points. He’s been absolutely incredible. They all have, and I could not be more appreciative for all they’ve given.”

Romulus          7  21 16 17 – 61

Scio                  8  16 12 13 – 49

ROMULUS: Mike Kaufman 2 2-6 7, Luke Willower 0 1-2 1, Daryl Morrell 8 4-7 20, Devon Morrell 5 2-2 16, Raul Fuentes 3 5-9 11, Dan Reyes 1 0-1 2, Ben Jessop 2 0-0 4. Totals: 21 14-27 61.
SCIO: Jake D'Arcy 2 0-2 6, Cory Bolzan 2 0-0 5, Brendan Graves 5 4-8 14, Cayden Nickerson 0 0-1 0, Cam Loucks 7 10-20 24, Carl Finnemore 0 0-2 0. Totals: 16 14-33 49.
3-point goals: Romulus 5 (D. Morrell 4, Kaufman), Scio 3 (D'Arcy 2, Bolzan).
Total Fouls: Romulus 20, Scio 18. Fouled out: Reyes (ROM), Jessop (ROM), Loucks (SCIO), Nickerson (SCIO).

No. 4 Bradford 77, No. 5 Houghton Academy 43

BRADFORD — For the third time in the last four games for the fourth-seeded Bradford Braves, they have put up at least 75 points worth of offense, scoring 77 in a Class D2 Quarterfinal that saw them record a pair of big stretches in each half, the biggest coming in the third quarter to allow them to pull away from No. 5 Houghton Academy and into the Semifinal round with a 77-43 win over the Panthers.

Houghton Academy gave Bradford as much as they could handle early on in the first half, but the Braves would have the game’s first say by establishing a big 23-13 lead with Blai Crespo and Blaze Machuga combining for over half of the team’s points inside, and at the stripe. In the second quarter, that lead was cut down to seven when the half came to a conclusion, as the Panthers, behind Ayo Banwo’s big quarter, cut the deficit down to seven.

But it then took a turn for the worst for the five seeds, as they were held to 15 points across the final 16 minute stretch while Bradford pulled away toward victory, using a massive 27-10 run in the third quarter to do just that to all but secure their advantage for good.

Banwo led the way as Houghton Academy’s leading scorer with a team-high 14 points. Gennaro Pico netted all nine of his points from downtown, hitting three of the team’s six three-pointers. Lee Murray and Samuel Morah each had eight points, while Loik Makuza followed with the remaining four points inside.

The season is over for the Panthers, as they finish up with an overall record of 13-6. The team will graduate three seniors at the end of the year in Banwo, Murray and Aiden Feng.

Houghton Academy    13 15 10   5 – 43

Bradford                       23 12 27 15 – 77  


HOUGHTON ACADEMY: Gennaro Pico 3 0-0 9, Lee Murray 3 0-0 8, Ayo Banwo 6 1-5 14, Loik Makuza 2 0-0 4, Samuel Morah 4 0-3 8. Totals: 18 1-8 43.
BRADFORD: Jordan Sutryk 11 1-4 23, Steven Spina 2 3-4 9, Blai Crespo 6 5-6 18, Blaze Machuga 10 3-8 23, Joey Miller 1 0-0 2, Lane Simpson 1 0-0 2. Totals: 31 12-22 77.
3-point goals: Houghton 6 (Pico 3, Murray 2, Banwo), Bradford 3 (Spina 2, Crespo).
Total Fouls: Houghton 17, Bradford 10. Fouled out: None.

Class C2 Quarterfinals

No. 2 Perry 59, No. 7 Cuba-Rushford 45

PERRY — The second-seeded Yellowjackets came out absolutely engulfed in flames on Saturday, creating a lot of traffic from Main Street in downtown Perry, recording eight of their 13 three-pointers right in the first half of play to set the tone almost immediately from the word go. Even though No. 7 Cuba-Rushford hung around in the second half, Perry made sure they came out on top with a 59-45 victory over the Rebels on Saturday.

“Perry came out hot, and we really got ourselves into foul trouble early,” Rebels coach Bryce Ryan said. “We made a decent run to get within manageable distance, but Perry just shot the ball very well and they outrebounded us down low as well. The (Michael John) Grover kid is tough. He can shoot it and take it off the dribble. The goal was to know where he was at all times, and shade their zone on his side, but he did a nice job relocating each time.”

It was a near-even spread of the offense through the first half by the Yellowjackets, with Michael John Grover igniting the fuse with four of his six team-leading three-pointers coming in the first set of 16 minutes. It would allow them to set up shop on a 31-19 lead at the break, despite Cuba-Rushford making a run back into the game in the second quarter.

The Rebels continued the shift into the second half, when Grady McCumiskey and Dan Emerson took their talents inside with the majority of the team’s points in the remaining 16 minutes of play. But they would ultimately find themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard, as Perry’s early three-point game established enough ground for them to hang on and eliminate the seven seeds from contention.

McCumiskey led all scorers for Cuba-Rushford with a team-high 19 points. Emerson followed with nine points of his own, with eight of them coming in the fourth quarter to permit a 15-15 deadlock with Perry. Andrew Clement finished with six points, while Ethan Brooks and Trent Chamberlain each had four points.

The season for the Rebels is officially over, as they wrap up their 2019-20 campaign with an overall record of 10-10. The team will say goodbye to seven of their seniors in all, in McCumiskey, Emerson, Clement, Brooks, Joey Jablonski, Alex Tylor and Julius Korytkowski.

“I am proud of the boys for working hard all season long,” Ryan reflected. “We lost some close games this year. Overall though, I am proud. It hurts to see our season end every year. Losing the seniors will be a big hurt, but at the same time, I am very appreciative for what they have done for this program. We are going to have to have guys step up next year, because these are some pretty big voids that they will leave behind.”

Cuba-Rushford        8 11 11 15 – 45

Perry                       14 17 13 15 – 59

CUBA-RUSHFORD: Ethan Brooks 2 0-0 4, Trent Chamberlain 2 0-0 4, Andrew Clement 1 3-6 6, Nate Burdick 1 0-0 3, Grady McCumiskey 8 3-4 19, Dan Emerson 4 1-2 9. Totals: 18 7-12 45.
PERRY: Errol Chisholm 1 0-0 3, Garrett McClurg 1 0-0 2, Mitchel Hockey 2 0-0 5, Michael Hockey 6 0-0 15, Carson DeVinney 3 1-1 9, Caleb Carr 2 0-0 4, Michael John Grover 7 1-3 21. Totals: 22 2-4 59.

3-point goals: C-R 2 (Clement, Burdick), Perry 13 (Grover 6, Mic. Hockey 3, DeVinney 2, Chisholm, Mit. Hockey).
Total Fouls: C-R 12, Perry 10. Fouled out: McClurg (PER).

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Class D1 Quarterfinals

No. 1 Fillmore 59, No. 9 Jasper-Troupsburg 37

FILLMORE — For the longest time, having a balanced offensive attack has been one of Fillmore’s strongest traits on the basketball court. In most games, nearly everyone, whether if they score or not, always lends a hand to help out the cause. On Saturday, it proved to be a difference maker yet again.

With Carlee Miller assisting the top-seeded Lady Eagles off on a fast start, the supporting cast behind her chipped in with efforts of their own, as they held No. 9 Jasper-Troupsburg in check throughout the first half of play, capitalizing on a big double digit lead of the Lady Wildcats to ultimately set the tone on their eventual 59-37 victory in the Class D1 Quarterfinal round.

“We were consistent with our scoring all night long,” Lady Eagles coach Tom Parks said. “We’re playing our best basketball when we manage to do that, so it was nice to see everything come together tonight. Carlee really came to play, and she got us off to a really fast start to set the tone almost right away. She hit jumpers, drove to the basket very well, she did everything. She really got us moving tonight.”

A pair of lengthy runs across the first half got Fillmore’s (19-2) motor running, as they held Jasper-Troupsburg to just seven points on offense in each run, allowing themselves to spring ahead with a 30-14 lead at the break behind well-produced offense by Miller. The Lady Eagles were able to hold the double digit lead going into the second half, as they continued to outscore the Lady Wildcats, but only by slim margins, as they made sure their ticket back to the Class D1 Semifinals was punched again.

Miller led the way with a game-high 20 points for the Lady Eagles. Following behind was Riley Voss, who had 11 points of her own to add onto nine rebounds and four assists. Emma Cole had 10 points to pair with her 11 rebounds, completing a double-double, while Erin Mawn added in nine points to go with five steals.

Fillmore now moves into the Semifinal round, which will begin for them Tuesday night in Dansville by taking on No. 5 Notre Dame-Batavia for a spot in next weekend’s Finals, which will take place right back at Letchworth.

“Notre Dame is a solid program traditionally. They’re contending in multiple classes every year as a private school, because it fluctuates from time to time. They are a quality team, and as good as advertised on the floor. We should expect quite the battle come Tuesday.” Parks said.

Jasper-Troupsburg      7   7 12 11 – 37

Fillmore                    16 14 13 16 – 59  

JASPER-TROUPSBURG: Allyson Hayes 6 0-1 12, Kayla Atherton 3 1-2 8, Brynn Waters 4 0-1 8, Jade Atherton 1 7-10 9. Totals: 14 8-14 37.
FILLMORE: Riley Voss 5 1-2 11, Abby Hatch 1 0-0 2, Hannah Roeske 2 2-2 7, Emma Cole 3 4-8 10, Erin Mawn 3 2-4 9, Carlee Miller 7 6-6 20. Totals: 21 15-22 59.

3-point goals: J-T 1 (K. Atherton), Fillmore 2 (Roeske, Mawn).
Total Fouls: J-T 14, Fillmore 13. Fouled out: None.

INDOOR TRACK & FIELD

Kinnicutt places 3rd in hammer throw to move on to State meet

ROCHESTER — After last weekend’s Sectional Championship meet at the Rochester Institute of Technology, five Section V champions from Allegany County all made the trip back up once again on Saturday to earn a chance to punch their ticket to the New York State meet in Staten Island.

When it was all said and done, just one champion punched their ticket to the New York State Championship meet next weekend. That being Emma Kinnicutt, who recorded a top three finish in the hammer throw event to officially make the cut, as she will continue her throwing journey to the season’s final meet.

Kinnicutt placed third overall in the hammer throw, marking a 44-0.75 distance, which is just over a foot past the New York standard to make the cut. She would also pick up a third place finish in the shot put event, missing the cut by nearly a half foot with a 36-9 distance on the shot. The Lady Lions junior will officially make her way to the Ocean Breeze Athletics Complex in Staten Island on March 7 to compete for a State Championship from the field.

As for the remaining four Section V champions, Bolivar-Richburg’s Jarrod Polk earned the highest finish out of them all, placing seventh overall from the field in the long jump. On the ladies side, Rylie Osgood recorded a 12th place finish in the 1500 meter racewalk, while Kaylee Middaugh placed 13th overall in the pole vault.

Whitesville’s Aislynn Hamilton finished 13th overall in the 600 meter run to round off the local performances, as their seasons officially came to a close.

Chris Brooks
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Friday Sectionals: Adams, Marsh tag-team No. 3 Lady Lions offense in victory over No. 6 Williamson; Andover, Whitesville to meet in Class D2 Semifinals for 2nd straight year