Wednesday Basketball: Wellsville rolls highlight film in final regular season game, post dominant 67-45 win over Haverling; Fillmore, And/Whi boys score Senior Night wins, Hinsdale edges out Houghton
WELLSVILLE — The Sportscenter Top 10 has become a staple over the years. It is a man-made highlight reel unlike any other, where thousands upon thousands of magnificent plays from all walks of life within the sports dimension embrace the limelight almost every single day whenever you flip the television onto the worldwide leader in sports.
Game-winning plays, clutch plays, the list goes on and on.
For the Lions of Wellsville in this particular case against Bath-Haverling, there were plays that looked like they came straight from a magic show on the famous Las Vegas Strip. One in particular: An alley-oop lob from Aiden Cowburn to the rising hand of JJ Howard next to the rim, finished with absolutely thunderous authority. That slam dunk was one of six amassed for the game by the Lions.
That wasn’t all either.
Right at the tail end of the first half, Wellsville was granted one final possession to branch their lead on top of the Rams. The ball was held by Ty Vogel at the forefront of the rush. With it, he fired home a baseball-quality fastball straight to the mitts of Trent Green in front of him. With seconds winding down and a pair of Rams trying to jar the ball loose from his grasp, the Wellsville junior shook both of them off.
As a result, his last second attempt from deep, swished straight through the twine with ease at the buzzer.
In short, when things go your way, it just simply goes your way.
The shot by Green granted Wellsville a 44-18 halftime lead going into the locker room, as it put the finishing touches on what was a herculean 25-point second quarter to branch out their advantage over Bath-Haverling in their final regular season game in the Lion’s Den. The advantage they had built remained firmly intact going forward into the second half, as the Lions put a bow on an absolutely phenomenal finish to their campaign following five wins out of six over the road entering the night, winning their 10th contest of the last 13 with a 67-45 decision over the Rams.
“Jim Insley used to say that sometimes a team can peak too early in the season. I think we’re finding a great groove right around our Fillmore game, and I feel like we are going to start reaching our highest potential this playoff run,” Lions coach Tom Muska said. “I absolutely loved the basketball we got to see tonight. We’re playing fast, but unselfish. The ball is moving and you never know who might end up leading us on any given night. We talked about playing for the name on the front of the jersey, and I think the boys did an excellent job of showing what Wellsville basketball looks like.”
The hammers came down for the Lions (13-7) not even three minutes into battle to set the bar, finding their groove in the midst of a colossal 14-2 run of the Rams that was paced by two vehement dunks from the hands of JJ Howard and Trent Green on back-to-back possessions. Each Lion, breaking free from the defense to put away a breakaway jam while sending the home crowd into a cheering craze in the process.
With a 19-7 first quarter lead in the bag, Wellsville wasn’t finished setting off the fireworks. In fact, it later continued all throughout a second quarter that featured four more dunks — two from aboard the JJ Howard freight train, with the latter of the pair stemming off an absolutely filthy alley-oop set up by Aiden Cowburn from the middle of the paint to his fellow Senior teammate on the left side of the rim, finishing the play off with authority soon after.
The play, receiving rave reviews from their head coach and the bench behind him, on the sidelines.
Muska says it was one of the most electrifying plays he’s seen inside the gym as a coach, and even as a player back when he last put on the jersey himself.
“That might be the most exciting basket we’ve ever had in this gym,” he said. “I can think of some buzzer beaters that might beat it. Max’s (Jusianiec) had one against Franklin from half court, I remember Logan (Dunbar) throwing a half-court pass to Brayden Delahunt to sneak one in at the buzzer against Bolivar-Richburg. But that dunk was just nice.”
You didn’t think the electric factory was going to stop there, did you?
After more time continued to pass in the second quarter, leading into the final seconds of the frame, Ty Vogel held the last possession for Wellsville. With it, Vogel delivered an absolute zinger straight to the receiving hand of Trent Green, who faced duress from a pair of Rams defenders in front of him. Despite it, he managed to shake both of them to deliver a last second missile straight through the twine from in front of the Texas Hot downtown to grant the Lions a 44-18 halftime lead that was never lost from their sight.
Muska spoke of Green, along with the rest of the team and their collaborative efforts all throughout the night.
“As for Trenton, we’ve seen all year, even before basketball, what kind of hands he has. It’s amazing,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of great teams with a lot of great players. But I can say I’m personally really proud of this group with showings like tonight where everyone is getting touches, everyone is playing hard on defense and everyone is playing with a joy for the game. It was a great win, and now we have to use this to get back to work on winning some that really matter.”
Through all of the magic tricks and the rabbits in the hat, it was another spreading of the wealth around the hardwood for the Lions, with Ty Vogel and his team-leading 18 points illuminating the way forward. Behind him were both Howard and Green, each totaling 15 points. Cole White had seven points.
Wellsville will now wait for what the Sectional future holds ahead next week, as they officially put a wrap on their regular season campaign.
Bath-Haverling 7 11 9 18 — 45
Wellsville 19 25 8 15 — 67
BATH-HAVERLING: Austin Durand 3 0-0 6, Maclain Wright 1 1-2 3, Lawrence Duncan 1 0-0 2, Caleb Woodard 1 0-0 2, Eric Carney-Hendrix 1 0-0 2, Jake Hagadone 7 5-6 23, Gavin Price 2 1-3 5, Andrew Gardiner 1 0-0 2. Totals: 17 7-11 45.
WELLSVILLE: Aiden Cowburn 2 1-1 5, Karson Grover 1 0-0 2, JJ Howard 7 0-3 15, Ty Vogel 7 0-1 18, Trent Green 6 1-3 15, Cole White 3 0-0 7, Derek Coleman 2 0-0 5. Totals: 28 2-8 67.
3-point goals: B-H 4 (Hagadone), Wellsville 9 (Vogel 4, Green 2, Howard, White, Coleman).
Total Fouls: B-H 14, Wellsville 13. Fouled out: None.
Fillmore 94, Genesee Valley/Belfast 47
FILLMORE — With the number one seed all under wraps for Sectionals when it arrives in full next week, the Eagles of Fillmore solidified a magnificent end to their regular season with a season-best performance, as they ran wild all throughout the first half against visiting Genesee Valley/Belfast to send their lone senior JD Bialek out with a bang in what was a 94-47 Senior Night victory in The Rock on Wednesday.
“I was really proud of our defensive effort tonight. I thought, other than a few lapses early, we did a really good job of sticking to the game plan,” Eagles coach Randy Crouch said. “Jonah did a great job of making Ian (McKenzie) really work for his points, and to Ian’s credit, he made some tough shots. It was also a great night to honor our lone senior, JD. He’s the foundation we are built on. He is Mr. Consistency and he embodies what I want Fillmore basketball to be. I have been blessed to have him for two years, and I hope we can continue his career for a few more weeks. Now we get nine days off to get healthy and ready for our Sectional game right back here next week.”
The Fillmore (17-3) offense left no doubt across the first 16 minute sequence of the night behind a complete team effort from the field, with every single Eagle finding the basket at least once. Among the scorers was one of the team’s leaders on the offensive front all season long, Jonah Bialek, who assembled an absolutely phenomenal first half on the hardwood by posting 23 of his game-high 28 points to aid in setting the tone, never looking back on an eventual 52-21 halftime lead over Genesee Valley/Belfast.
The team’s lone senior, JD Bialek, helped provide a spark in the third quarter to keep the momentum at full bore for Fillmore, posting 10 of his 14 points within the frame to finish off one of his very last games inside The Rock.
In between both Bialek siblings on the scoresheet, Cam Mucher turned in a 19-point effort, while Isaiah Sisson had 12 points of his own to chip in.
Genesee Valley/Belfast (9-11) was paced by Ian McKenzie and his team-leading 14 points. Ryan Daciw handed in a 13-point performance right behind him, while Ethan Davenport had seven points.
Both teams have put a wrap on their regular season, as they now await Sectional play beginning next week.
Genesee Valley/Belfast 11 10 14 12 — 47
Fillmore 23 29 23 19 — 94
GV/BELFAST: Will Guilford 0 1-2 1, Cal Tallman 2 0-0 4, Ian McKenzie 6 0-0 14, Ethan Davenport 3 0-1 7, Kenton Shultz 3 0-0 6, Riley Rogers 0 2-2 2, Ryan Daciw 5 2-4 13. Totals: 19 5-9 47.
FILLMORE: Jordan Bialek 3 0-0 7, Carson Sanasith 2 0-0 4, Isaiah Sisson 5 1-1 12, Jonah Bialek 11 0-0 28, Tyler Voss 0 2-2 2, Ezra Knapp 1 0-0 3, Malcolm Nusbickle 1 0-0 2, Jameson Rhett 1 0-2 3, Cam Mucher 8 2-3 19, JD Bialek 7 0-0 14. Totals: 39 5-8 94.
3-point goals: GVB 4 (McKenzie 2, Davenport, Daciw), Fillmore 11 (Jon. Bialek 6, Jor. Bialek, Sisson, Knapp, Rhett, Mucher).
Total Fouls: GVB 8, Fillmore 10. Fouled out: None.
Andover/Whitesville 72, Friendship/Scio 27
ANDOVER — Wednesday night was the final hurrah for Andover/Whitesville’s Ethan Warriner, and it was one that his fellow teammates sent him out swinging gloriously, as the team put a wrap on a magnificent end to their regular season in Andover with a dominant first half tone-setter over visiting Friendship/Scio, coasting towards what was a 72-27 home win.
With the quest towards the big dance right around the corner, Andover/Whitesville (14-6) ensured a strong finish to their regular season in front of their home fans, as they used a first quarter combination of offense from both inside and outside the arc, along with a 5-for-8 outing at the stripe to set up shop for an early 15-5 lead out of the gate.
The hosts kept riding the momentum amidst the first half, with Colton Calladine serving as one of five different contributors to propel the offense into the break, posting 11 of the team’s 21 points to establish a 36-14 lead they never looked back on.
In the third quarter, Andover/Whitesville put the finishing touches on the victory with a 28-6 run of Friendship/Scio — 14 of those points from Brody Vance, who led all scorers with a game-high 28 points.
“I was pretty happy with our effort out of our guys tonight. It was a little sloppy at times, but we settled down and played very well on both ends. I have to give credit to Dillon (McFall). His team is certainly improving. He does a great job,” said Andover/Whitesville coach Jimmy Joyce. “Ethan Warriner played extremely well tonight. I’m very happy with him, as he is our only Senior. With a week before Sectionals start, we have a few things to tweak but I don’t really see any major changes. Just slight adjustments, but we’ll see what we can do from here. It’s a fun time of year that’s for sure.”
Calladine was right behind him on the scoresheet, posting 19 points of his own. Vinny Joyce had eight points.
Friendship/Scio (8-12) was spearheaded by Aiden Golden and his team-high 13 points. Deacon Brown had six points down low to chip in.
Both teams now await Sectional play beginning next week, as their regular seasons officially draw to a close.
Friendship/Scio 5 9 6 7 — 27
Andover/Whitesville 15 21 28 8 — 72
FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Aiden Golden 5 2-7 13, Charlie Taylor 1 0-2 2, Jerimiah Brown 1 0-2 2, Cooper Greenman 1 1-2 3, Deacon Brown 3 0-2 6, Tyler Truax 0 1-2 1. Totals: 11 4-17 27.
ANDOVER/WHITESVILLE: Gage Putnam 1 0-0 2, James Miller-Young 0 1-2 1, Trey Kent 1 1-2 3, Ethan Warriner 2 0-0 4, Vinny Joyce 4 0-0 8, Brody Vance 10 3-4 28, Jon Vallieres 3 0-0 7, Colton Calladine 7 4-8 19. Totals: 28 9-16 72.
3-point goals: F/S 1 (Golden), A/W 7 (Vance 5, Vallieres, Calladine).
Total Fouls: F/S 15, A/W 12. Fouled out: D. Brown (F/S).
Hinsdale 39, Houghton Academy 28
HOUGHTON — It was a tight battle through and through for the final time this regular season on Wednesday in Houghton. But when the final buzzer sounded, the Bobcats of Hinsdale rose victorious over host Houghton Academy to finish their campaign on a solid note with a 39-28 road win.
Stats and a complete box score were not made available to report upon publication.
Hinsdale (3-16) and Houghton Academy (5-15) now await Sectional play, which is set to begin next week.
