Friday Roundup: Four different scorers net double digits for Belfast in first round win over Andover; Bolivar-Richburg sweeps night with Cuba-Rushford on hardwood

Written By Chris Brooks

ANDOVER — In the second game of the Andover Lions Club Tournament, Belfast and the host Panthers battled their way through a back-and-forth opening half. Exiting the locker room, the Bulldogs managed to stay ahead despite their lead being narrowed down at one point to a single basket, as they held strong to move on to Saturday’s title game against Genesee Valley with a 57-45 victory.

“We beat ourselves,” Panthers coach John Dougherty said. “We were down 16 at one point in the third quarter, but we made some great adjustments and really made a comeback out of it to close it to two. But we just beat ourselves. We made some really insane mistakes. We finally started clicking on offense after it became stagnant for a while. We played outstanding basketball, and then we mentally crumbled.”

Four different scorers cracked double digits for Belfast (5-9), who started with a 16-11 lead after the first quarter by using a quick 8-3 run in the first few minutes to jump ahead. But Andover performed a fast rally to tie the game at 10 in the back half of the frame, as Spencer Cook provided a couple of runners inside to pace the effort. The Bulldogs would go on to finish the quarter with the last six points off back-to-back threes from Devin Harriger and Nick Ellison.

The lead would grow again for Belfast in the second quarter to as much as seven with Matt Weaver starting to take charge himself with a runner. They would ultimately finish the half with three of the last five points for a 26-18 lead at the break.

In the second half, the Bulldogs put together another run of Andover (4-9) in the third quarter before the Panthers put up their biggest comeback of the game, which saw them cut the deficit to a single basket after previously being down by 16. But the team in black and red managed to hang onto victory in the endgame, even though they were narrowly outscored in the final eight minute period.

Harriger led all Bulldogs scorers with a team-high 13 points. Ellison, Weaver and Carter Guilford all had 11 points to add in, while Hunter Enders and Jason Drozdowski had six and five points, respectively.

Andover was led by Cook, who led the entire field with a game-high 14 points. Grady Terhune and Chris Walker provided 11 points each, while Preston Ordway rounded off the Panthers scoring with seven points.

Before their contest with Belfast began, Dougherty issued a congratulations to Genesee Valley’s Cody Schneider, who broke the school’s scoring record in their first round contest with Alfred-Almond earlier in the evening.


”I’d like to send my congratulations out to Cody,” he said. “He’s a great young man, and he plays the game of basketball in all the right ways. I was really happy to see him get that record, especially with it being on our floor. Him and his entire family are a total class act.”

Tonight, the Andover Lions Club Tournament will conclude with the consolation game beginning at 6 p.m. between the Alfred-Almond Eagles and host Panthers. The nightcap will feature the Bulldogs taking on defending back-to-back champion Genesee Valley following at 7:30 p.m.

Belfast           16 10 13 18 – 57

Andover         11   7  8  19 – 45

BELFAST: Nick Ellison 3 2-2 11, Jason Drozdowski 1 3-6 5, Matt Weaver 3 4-6 11, Devin Harriger 4 4-5 13, Hunter Enders 2 2-5 6, Carter Guilford 5 1-6 11. Totals: 18 16-30 57.
ANDOVER: Grady Terhune 4 0-0 11, Spencer Cook 4 5-10 14, Chris Walker 4 3-5 11, Preston Ordway 2 5-8 7. Totals: 14 13-23 45.

3-point goals: Belfast 5 (Ellison 3, Weaver, Harriger), Andover 4 (Terhune 3, Cook)
Total Fouls: Belfast 23, Andover 22. Fouled out: Guilford (BEL), Cook (AND), Walker (AND).

Bradford (PA) 66, Wellsville 55

BRADFORD, Pa. — It was a game that the Wellsville Lions needed to have with a tough three-game final stretch coming up next week. But a first half start by the host Bradford Owls was one they built upon quickly, as they provided a pair of 19-point quarters to build a double digit lead on the Lions to hang onto for a 66-55 victory on Friday.

“It certainly took us a lot longer than we could afford to play at the level of intensity that Bradford was really playing on,” said Lions coach Raymie Auman said. “In Pennsylvania, it’s nearly impossible to come back from any kind of deficit against a team that really knows how to take care of the ball.”

Max Jusianiec spearheaded the Wellsville (9-7) offense right away in the first half of play by accounting for 19 of his 31 game-high points in the first 16-minute extension. The Lions would find a way in the second half to narrow the deficit down with Liam McKinley’s three-point game coming to life, as he knocked down three of his four triples in the next 16-minute timespan of the contest. But the early first half deficit proved to be too much to overcome.

Finishing behind Jusianiec in the scorebook was McKinley, who wound up ending the night with 16 points. Tyler Sands and Aidan Hart each had a two-point basket to add in.

The Lions will now have time off to prepare for one of their biggest home games of the season coming up next weekend, as they play host to the Marcus Whitman Wildcats on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Wellsville        11  12 19 13 – 55 

Bradford        19 19 16 12 – 66

WELLSVILLE: Tyler Sands 1 0-0 2, Max Jusianiec 10 9-11 31, Eli Schmidt 1 0-1 2, Liam McKinley 6 0-1 16, Logan Dunbar 0 1-2 1, Noah Chaffee 0 0-1 0, Aidan Hart 1 0-0 2, Brayden Delahunt 0 1-2 1. Totals: 19 11-18 55.
BRADFORD: Peyton Manion 1 1-1 3, Steven Knowlton 6 6-6 19, Evan Schmidt 3 2-2 9, Jerid Wilmoth 1 0-0 2, Dalton Dixon 1 0-0 3, Tyler Gigliotti 8 2-2 20, Caleb Nuzzo 1 2-4 4, Nate Gleason 0 0-2 0, Gavin Piscitelli 2 1-1 6. Totals: 23 14-18 66. 
3-point goals: Wellsville 6 (McKinley 4, Jusianiec 2), Bradford 6 (Gigliotti 2, Knowlton, Schmidt, Dixon, Piscitelli)
Total Fouls: Wellsville 22, Bradford 20. Fouled out: Jusianiec (WLSV), Manion (BRAD).

Bolivar-Richburg 57, Cuba-Rushford 49

BOLIVAR — They may have fallen victim to eight straight decisions, but the Bolivar-Richburg Wolverines have hung around through the majority of the stretch. With that, it was only a matter of time before they found the right side of the win column again. Friday turned out to be that day, as they did just enough to sweep the Rebels of Cuba-Rushford in the night’s doubleheader with a 57-49 home victory.

“I’ve been telling the guys over and over again how well they’ve been playing. We had a real tussle with Wellsville a couple of days ago, and that helped us. We always have that one bad quarter, and tonight we didn’t,” Wolverines coach Jeff Margeson said. “It was real fun to watch Landon Danaher do what he can do on any given night. He’s a special kid, and he took over the offense for us tonight. Cuba-Rushford is our mirror image on the floor. They’re a gritty team, and they’ll be hungry when we do this again next weekend.”

Danaher had the performance of the season for the Wolverines (5-11), as he recorded a career-high 36 points that including a massive 17-for-21 outing at the charity stripe. The team had to fight back after an early narrow first half deficit to the Rebels, and did just that in the second half by outscoring their opposition to take the lead insurmountably.

Following Danaher in the scorebook was his older brother, Riley Danaher, who had 10 points. Camdyn MacDonell sank eight points. On the flip side, Cuba-Rushford (4-7) was led by Grady McCumiskey, who had 12 of his 17 team-leading points in the first half. Ethan Brooks had eight points, while Joey Jablonski and Dan Emerson concluded with seven points each.

“Grady McCumiskey had 12 of his 17 points in the first half, and we put Riley on the (Andrew) Clement kid,” said Margeson. “We tweaked a couple of things on defense in the second half, and it all worked out. It was a chess match back and forth between us both. It was a much closer game than it indicated on the scoreboard.”

The Wolverines return to the floor on Tuesday, as they play host to the Andover Panthers at 7:30 p.m. As for the Rebels, they have a quick turnaround tonight over the road against the Canisteo-Greenwood Redskins at 6:30 p.m.

Cuba-Rushford         10 16 12 11 – 49

Bolivar-Richburg       12 13 17 15 – 57

CUBA-RUSHFORD: Ethan Brooks 2 2-4 8, Joey Jablonski 3 1-2 7, Trent Chamberlain 2 0-0 4, Andrew Clement 3 0-0 6, Grady McCumiskey 6 5-7 17, Dan Emerson 3 1-3 7. Totals: 19 9-16 49.
BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Riley Danaher 4 2-6 10, Landon Danaher 8 17-21 36, Wyatt Karnuth 0 1-2 1, Isaac Scott 1 0-0 2, Camdyn MacDonell 2 4-6 8. Totals: 15 24-34 57.

3-point goals: C-R 2 (Brooks), B-R 3 (L. Danaher).
Total Fouls: C-R 22, B-R 17. Fouled out: Chamberlain (C-R), Clement (C-R), Emerson (C-R).

Fillmore 71, Houghton Academy 52

HOUGHTON — The Eagles of Fillmore were put into the hole early with some foul trouble, but it did not stop them from recording their two biggest outings of offense Friday evening at Houghton Academy. With an assist coming from another of Luke Cole’s season-best performances, Fillmore put the sledgehammer down on a 42-26 first half lead, and never let off of it, as they coasted their way toward their ninth straight win behind a 71-52 road victory.

“Houghton caught us off guard a little bit with their perimeter quickness, and we got in some early foul trouble along the way,” said Eagles coach Randy Crouch. “But Luke put the team on his back and helped us through with another huge game of his. Isaiah Voss and Hayden Rust gave us great minutes off the bench when we needed them. In the second half, Tobias (Webb), Levi (Webb) and Will (Valentine) found their rhythm and helped us pull away. We are a little banged up with some injuries and illnesses, but hopefully we will get healthy this weekend for a big week coming up.”

Cole made his presence evident right away for Fillmore (11-1), scoring 25 of his 28 points in the first half of play to power the team’s pair of 20-point quarters, ultimately taking the double digit lead for good going into the locker room. To go with his game-high performance, Cole also added 14 rebounds to complete a double-double, adding seven assists and a pair of blocks along the way.

Also for the Eagles, Will Valentine finished with 16 points, while Tobias Webb chipped in with 13 points. For Houghton Academy (8-3), Ayo Banwo finished with a team-high 13 points. Gennaro Pico and Lee Murray were not far behind, netting 11 and 10 points each.

Each team is back on the floor Monday night, as Fillmore returns home to welcome in Scio for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off, while Houghton Academy remains on their home floor to take on Belfast at 6 p.m.

Fillmore                           21 21 15 14 – 71

Houghton Academy    12 14 13 13 – 52

FILLMORE: Luke Cole 12 1-5 28, Levi Webb 3 2-2 8, Isaiah Voss 2 0-0 6, Tobias Webb 4 3-4 13, Mason Cool 0 0-2 0, Will Valentine 8 0-0 16. Totals: 29 6-13 71.
HOUGHTON ACADEMY: Lee Murray 4 0-0 10, Ayo Banwo 4 5-8 13, Loik Makuza 3 0-0 6, Gennaro Pico 2 7-8 11, Chris Habecker 2 0-0 4, Samuel Morah 4 0-1 8. Totals: 19 12-17 52.

3-point goals: Fillmore 7 (Cole 3, Voss 2, T. Webb 2), Houghton 2 (Murray).
Total Fouls: Fillmore 15, Houghton 11. Fouled out: None.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Bolivar-Richburg 53, Cuba-Rushford 39

BOLIVAR — For the first time this season, Cuba-Rushford and Bolivar-Richburg finally renewed their yearly rivalry, and stepped onto the same hardwood with a Friday doubleheader in Bolivar with both girls squads kicking off the twinbill.

The Lady Wolverines, with an 8-3 lead in hand and a strong defense alongside it, used the first half to their biggest advantage to hold the Lady Rebels down to single digits to capitalize on a 53-39 victory, their third in a row.

The storyline in the first half for the Lady Wolverines (9-5) was configuring a way to contain arguably one of Allegany County’s top notch players in Lady Rebels senior Kate Howe. They would do just that, as she only scored eight points across the first three quarters of play. At the same time, it would allow them to jump on top in the first quarter, and then extend their lead with a 16-9 second quarter run to end the half with a 24-12 lead.

But both teams, after a deadlocking third quarter, heated up in the final eight minutes of play, as they recorded a pair of 20-point quarters respectively, which allowed Bolivar-Richburg to keep their lead for good.

“Once we broke the ice in the first quarter, we put a nice quarter and a half together to take it into halftime,” Lady Wolverines coach Justin Thomas said. “Thankfully, despite a slow third quarter, we kept them in check. Kate Howe heated up in the fourth quarter, but we really matched up their baskets very well. Both teams had some nice runs in the fourth, but we had some nice runs earlier on to keep them off our tails.”

Aliyah Cole led the way for Bolivar-Richburg with a team-high 25 points to go with 13 rebounds, completing her double-double. Kelsey Pacer had another double-double to pitch in, recording 10 points and 10 rebounds. On special teams, McKinlee Harris dished out the helpers, tallying 12 of them to go with five steals.

Howe scored her remaining 18 points in the 20-point fourth quarter the Lady Rebels (6-7) posted, ending the night with a game-high 26 points. Taylor Searle had five points.

Both teams are back to action Monday night with 7:30, and 6 p.m. contests respectively, as the Lady Wolverines welcome in Alfred-Almond, while Cuba-Rushford pays a visit to Belfast.

Cuba-Rushford           3  9  7 20 – 39 

Bolivar-Richburg         8 16  7 22 – 53 

CUBA-RUSHFORD: Lillian Forward 1 0-1 2, Sarah Cole 2 0-0 4, Taylor Searle 2 0-0 5, Kate Howe 10 5-9 26, Elysa Tylor 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 5-10 39.  
BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: McKinlee Harris 1 2-4 4, Madigan Harris 4 0-0 8, Kelsey Pacer 4 1-4 10, Kelsey Ferris 1 0-0 2, Aliyah Cole 10 5-8 25, Jianna Nix 2 0-0 4. Totals: 22 8-16 53.

3-point goals: C-R 2 (Howe, Searle), B-R 1 (Pacer).
Total Fouls: C-R 15, B-R 13. Fouled out: Shaw (C-R).

Fillmore 48, Whitesville 22

FILLMORE — Across the first half, the Lady Eagles of Fillmore held a red hot Whitesville offense in check with two big defensive stands, while the offense went to work on the other end of the floor, as they managed to extinguish the 11-game win streak recorded by the Lady Blue Jays on Friday with a 48-22 home win.

“We knew coming in that Whitesville had been playing very well, and they have a very special player in Vanessa Hall,” Lady Eagles coach Tom Parks said. “We had to play hard going up against them again. I was proud of their defensive energy, and the effort they put into this game. Whitesville is going to be an up-and-coming team with their youth. They’re getting better every game, and they’ll be around for a while.”

A 13-5 early first quarter lead allowed Fillmore (12-2) to set an early tone, as they continued finding success with another avalanche of points coming in the second quarter to end the half with a 31-9 lead, and an 18-4 run of Whitesville.

The Lady Eagles saw Hannah Roeske and Emma Cole took charge of the offense, with Roeske paving the way with a game-high 15 points. Cole followed with 11 points inside to pair with her team-leading seven rebounds. Helping the cause along the way on special teams were Erin Mawn, who dished out six assists, and Riley Voss, who had four assists of her own.

Whitesville (11-3) was led by Vanessa Hall, who recorded at team-high 12 points. Kate Pensyl chipped in with five points.

On Monday, both teams are back on their respective home floors with the Lady Eagles playing host to Arkport/Canaseraga at 7:30 p.m, while Whitesville welcomes in Genesee Valley for a 6 p.m. tip-off.

Whitesville      5   4    7  6 – 22

Fillmore          13  18  13  4 – 48

WHITESVILLE: Kennedy Bledsoe 1 1-2 3, Rachel Jackson 1 0-0 2, Vanessa Hall 5 1-2 12, Kate Pensyl 2 1-2 5. Totals: 9 3-6 22.
FILLMORE: Riley Voss 2 0-0 4, Abby Hatch 1 0-0 2, Hannah Roeske 7 0-0 15, Emma Cole 5 1-4 11, Morgan Byer 1 0-0 3, Erin Mawn 1 2-2 5, Carlee Miller 2 4-4 8. Totals: 19 7-10 48.

3-point goals: Whitesville 1 (Hall), Fillmore 3 (Roeske, Byer, Mawn).
Total Fouls: Whitesville 7, Fillmore 11. Fouled out: None.

Houghton Academy 49, Rochester Prep 32

HOUGHTON — The Lady Panthers of Houghton Academy picked up an early first quarter lead to head into the next frame of play. In the frame, they held Rochester Prep to just two baskets from the field while capitalizing on a huge run to end the first half strong with the lead for good, as they rolled their way toward a 49-32 victory on Friday.

The hosts took the double digit lead permanently heading into the break with a massive 19-4 second quarter run of Rochester Prep. Upon exiting the locker room, Houghton Academy (7-6) would hold the visitors to four more points in the third quarter to begin yet another run to pull away.

Jessica Prentice and Sarah Retz led all Lady Panthers scorers with a game-high 18 points. Jessica Adenuga chipped in with five points, while Emma Retz and Anna Huizenga rounded off the scoring with four points each.

Houghton Academy is back to action on Monday, as they head over the road to visit the Hinsdale Lady Bobcats for a 7:30 p.m. contest.

Rochester Prep               6  4  4 18 – 32

Houghton Academy      9 19 17  4 – 49

ROCHESTER PREP: Deyshalis Brown 5 0-0 10, Kanijae Moxley 1 0-0 3, Janiyah Love 1 0-0 2, Paige Crumity 5 1-4 11, D'Nique Brooks 3 0-0 6. Totals: 15 1-4 32.
HOUGHTON ACADEMY: Jessica Prentice 8 1-2 18, Emma Retz 2 0-0 4, Sarah Retz 8 1-1 18, Anna Huizenga 2 0-0 4, Jessica Adenuga 2 1-2 5. Totals: 22 3-5 49.
3-point goals: RPrep 1 (Moxley), Houghton 2 (Prentice, S. Retz).
Total Fouls: RPrep 9, Houghton 13. Fouled out: None.

Hinsdale 40, Belfast 34

HINSDALE — It became close down to the end, but the host Lady Bobcats of Hinsdale prevailed with a 40-34 victory over the visiting Belfast Lady Bulldogs, Friday night.

Kayla Brooks and Lindsey Veno each headed the Lady Bobcats (10-4) offense with a team-high 12 points. Kaitlynn Roberson added eight points. No stats for Belfast (2-11) and a complete box score were made available upon publication.

Both teams are back on the floor on Monday, as Hinsdale plays host to Houghton Academy in a 7:30 p.m. contest, while Belfast returns home to welcome in Cuba-Rushford at 6 p.m.

Friendship 38, Scio 15

SCIO — Navaeh Ross led all scorers on the floor for the Lady Golden Eagles of Friendship, as they went over the road on Friday to find themselves back into the win column with a 38-15 win over the host Scio Lady Tigers.

Ross recorded a game-high 18 points to go with seven rebounds to pace the Friendship (3-10) attack. Logan Roberts provided 10 more points, while Kendra Gleason led the glass game with 12 rebounds. Faith Sands had six more rebounds to chip in for the Lady Golden Eagles.

No stats for Scio (1-14) and a complete box score were made available upon publication.

Friendship is back on the road Monday night, as they visit Bradford/Hammondsport. Later in the week, the Lady Tigers return to action on their home floor against incoming Whitesville at 6 p.m.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Allegany County Playoffs: Genesee Valley 3, Arkport/Canaseraga 1

ARKPORT — All season, the Jaguars of Genesee Valley have been searching for their first win to post into the win column. With a little bit of motivation to enter the Allegany County Playoffs on Friday, it was a night that was bigger than any other, as they went over the road to defeat Arkport/Canaseraga in four sets, taking the 25-22, 18-25, 25-8, 25-19 decision.

“We were down 8-6 at some point in the third set, and then Devin’s (Cline) serves really helped us get into a rhythm,” Jaguars coach Darren Bradt said. “He served up 19 straight, and that really put us on the winning track toward a lopsided victory. I felt good with where we are as a team. We ran two morning practices bright and early to get us prepared for this game. They practiced well, and they played good. They were excited to get this win. Hopefully we can keep it going, and see where this leads.”

Along with Cline, Kayden Lehman, Austin Ford and Ethan Porter combined to deliver a heavy offensive attack for the Jaguars (1-10), pounding away with 38 kills altogether. The team’s setter, Logan Torrey, had a boatload of assists to dish out, recording a game-high 35 in all to go with five kills of his own, and two aces from the service line.

Genesee Valley now moves into the semifinal round of the Playoffs, where they will continue their road trip to Cuba-Rushford on Monday with a 6 p.m. meeting with the second-seeded Rebels. The winner will take on either defending champion Bolivar-Richburg or Wellsville in the County title game later in the week.

Chris Brooks
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KING OF THE JUNGLE: Schneider nets 1st quarter three to become Genesee Valley’s all-time leading scorer in 76-22 win over Alfred-Almond