Friday Roundup: Danaher puts Wolverines on back, ignites offense with game-high 30 points to force OT, win tight battle with Fillmore by 54-51 count

Bolivar-Richburg junior Landon Danaher (2) puts up a tough, off-balanced shot inside against the defense of Fillmore junior Carter Sisson (12) during Friday night’s clash in Fillmore. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Fillmore senior Hayden Rust (11) puts up a jumper against the defense of Bolivar-Richburg junior Landon Danaher (2) during Friday night’s clash in Fillmore. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Bolivar-Richburg junior Camdyn MacDonell (32) puts up his jumper while splitting the Fillmore defense of Hayden Rust, left, and Luke Colombo (25) during Friday night’s clash in Fillmore. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Fillmore freshman Zach Sisson (14) drives his way to the basket while under pressure from the Bolivar-Richburg defense of Matt Mitchell (12), and Camdyn MacDonell (32) during Friday night’s clash in Fillmore. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

FILLMORE — The Bolivar-Richburg Wolverines knew the circumstances heading into perhaps their biggest game of the season Friday night against the Fillmore Eagles inside The Rock.

With their offensive ceiling continuing to rise, and their defense paying dividends in recent games, the Wolverines have been answering the call to their recent challengers. In their last meeting with the Eagles, Fillmore snuck out of Bolivar-Richburg with a narrow two-point victory.

In their second meeting, it shared some of the same qualities, but this time, Bolivar-Richburg would find a way to prevail. They can thank their junior Landon Danaher for that.

The Wolverines guard was lights out in the second half, as he provided a big basket with under 10 seconds left to play in regulation to bring the game to a tie, forcing overtime. In that extra four minute period, Danaher put the team on his back by scoring all seven of the team’s points — an amount that put them back in front of the Eagles one last time for good to steal four enormous Allegany County League points in their 54-51 overtime win.

“Tonight was a really tough back and forth game. Each team made runs and got leads multiple times,” said Eagles coach Randy Crouch. “Again, we struggled to understand how to close out a game with a lead down the stretch. Landon Danaher really put Bolivar-Richburg on his back, and carried them down the stretch. He hit a tough pull-up jumper to tie the game with 10 seconds left and then had all their points in overtime. We need to be better at closing out games, and understanding those situations. It’s tough to be upset about a player making shots like Landon did. This was a great win for Coach (Jeff) Margeson and his team. We will have to recover and get focused on a big week to close out the season.”

The back-and-forth pace settled in almost immediately right in the first half. When one run was made, another one was exchanged between the two clubs, and it was all put on display across all 36 minutes of action. But the big run that was garnered, was from the Wolverines (4-4), who fell behind by four after the first.

Bolivar-Richburg started the second quarter with seven straight points with Camdyn MacDonell delivering on back-to-back possessions down low, while Landon Danaher began to heat up himself with his first of five three-pointers for the Wolverines to go back up by three with nearly halfway to go in the first half.

But then the runs back to flip flop once more with Fillmore (5-2) taking the lead back again with some help at the free throw line, and then a basket from Hayden Rust after one of numerous Bolivar-Richburg turnovers were cashed in. But the Wolverines would find a way to end the first half strong, with Danaher leading the charge with the last 10 points scored by the team, including a pair of three-pointers, one of which allowed them to take the lead back from the Eagles at the break, by a 31-26 count.

In the third quarter, Fillmore would win the battles across both quarters, tallying both outscorings that would see Bolivar-Richburg’s lead erased, where at one point during the fourth quarter, the Eagles would jump back into the lead with the final Wolverines possession of regulation laying in the hands of Danaher, where he knocked down perhaps his most crucial shot of the night to force an extra session of basketball after a 47-47 tie.

In overtime, Danaher continued his scoring ways by netting all seven of Bolivar-Richburg’s points in the extra session, enough for them to take the lead back one final time for good to secure their biggest victory of the season, and four monumental points in the Allegany County Division I race.

Danaher would wind up finishing with a game-high 30 points for the Wolverines. MacDonell would conclude with 17 points of his own, while Wyatt Karnuth had four points. On the other side, Fillmore was led by the Sisson siblings, with Carter and Zach combining for 23 of the team’s 51 points, with Carter totaling a team-high 13 while Zach provided 10. Will Roeske also had 10 points down low for the Eagles, who will now get set to take on Cuba-Rushford back inside The Rock on Monday at 7:30 p.m.

Bolivar-Richburg will also return to action on Monday, but they will return home for that, as they prepare to welcome in the Andover Panthers for a 7:30 p.m. contest in search of their third straight victory.

Bolivar-Richburg 14 17 7 9 7 – 54

Fillmore 18 8 10 11 4 – 51

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Landon Danaher 11 3-6 30, Wyatt Karnuth 1 2-2 4, David Baldwin 1 1-2 3, Camdyn MacDonell 7 3-4 17. Totals: 20 9-14 54.
FILLMORE: Isaiah Voss 1 0-0 2, Hayden Rust 3 1-2 7, Carter Sisson 6 0-0 13, Zach Sisson 4 1-3 10, Dylan Valentine 1 3-4 5, Luke Colombo 2 0-1 4, Will Roeske 5 0-0 10. Totals: 22 5-10 51.

3-point goals: B-R 5 (Danaher), Fillmore 2 (C. Sisson, Z. Sisson).
Total Fouls: B-R 13, Fillmore 13. Fouled out: None.

Cuba-Rushford 56, Genesee Valley 54

BELMONT — In a game that saw the Jaguars of Genesee Valley continue their search for their first win, they were in a prime position to do so with a 10-point lead over Cuba-Rushford during one point in the game. But then, foul trouble hit. A turning of the tide occurred.

With a five-point deficit to make up heading into the fourth quarter, the Rebels did just that, and then some, saving their best outing of offense for last, coming back to edge out Genesee Valley at the last possible moment to swipe away the 56-54 decision over the road inside the Jungle, Friday evening.

“We were up 40-30 at one point, and I felt like we had this one,” said Jaguars coach Lintz Bliven. “It’s frustrating, but the kids played as hard as they could. Riley Gordon is a joy to coach, and he gives his heart in everything that he does, and Austin Murphy and Morgan Torrey are both starting to come around. I had a good feeling about this game, and we were winning most of the night, but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.”

All three quarters before the final eight minutes were decided by no more than four points, with Genesee Valley (0-7) scoring two outscorings of Cuba-Rushford after both teams settled on a 10-10 tie after one quarter. The lead grew to four in the second, and then to five entering after three complete quarters of play, with the Jaguars lead reaching as much as 10 at one point.

But then the hosts in white and green were hit with foul trouble, which allowed Cuba-Rushford (3-4) to jump back into the game with their biggest tenure of offense — a 21-14 fourth quarter run that allowed them to sneak past Genesee Valley for the victory behind a massive effort by Trent Chamberlain, who recorded his best game of the season with a game-high 27 points. Landon Wight added in 11 points of his own, while Jack Frank had eight.

The Jaguars were led by Riley Gordon, who recorded a team-high 20 points before being fouled out in the fourth quarter. Morgan Torrey had the hot hand outside, nailing three three-pointers on his way toward a 13-point effort, while Brock Ellsessor led the game down low with 12 points.

Cuba-Rushford will look to hop back up to .500 on the season Monday night back on the road, as they prepare to take on the Fillmore Eagles in a 7:30 p.m. contest. As for Genesee Valley, they will welcome in the Wellsville Lions for a visit Tuesday night in a 7:30 p.m. contest for their second and final meeting this season.

Cuba-Rushford 10 13 12 21 – 56

Genesee Valley 10 17 13 14 – 54

CUBA-RUSHFORD: Jack Frank 3 1-1 8, Trent Chamberlain 11 4-10 27, Brayden Lavery 1 0-0 2, Landon Wight 4 0-1 11, Jacob Smith 1 0-0 2, Nate Burdick 1 4-8 6. Totals: 21 9-20 56.
GENESEE VALLEY: Austin Murphy 4 1-4 9, Brock Ellsessor 6 0-0 12, Morgan Torrey 4 2-4 13, Riley Gordon 9 0-1 20, Cody Platt 0 0-3 0. Totals: 23 3-12 54.
3-point goals: C-R 5 (Wight 3, Frank, Chamberlain), GV 5 (Torrey 3, Gordon 2)
Total Fouls: C-R 14, GV 19. Fouled out: Gordon (GV).

Belfast 56, Friendship 33

BELFAST — The Bulldogs saw three different scorers eclipse double digits on offense, as Belfast used a pair of first half runs to set the pace almost immediately, as they continued their winning ways back home on Friday, rolling their way toward win number six of their last seven games by a 56-33 count over visiting Friendship.

Right out of the gate, the Bulldogs (6-1) started out with a strong 16-5 run of the Golden Eagles, only allowing their five points off just two shots from the field. The lead for the hosts in white and red grew to 16 after the second quarter, as a slew of Bulldogs continued to chip in with another run of Friendship.

When it was all said and done, Devin Harriger led the attack with three of the team’s 10 total three-pointers, en route to a game-high 16 point performance for the Bulldogs. Tony Logue added in three more threes to put toward a season-high 13 point effort, while Stephen Struckmann led the play down low with 11 points.

The Golden Eagles were led by Dekota Stewart, who charged their attack with a team-high 10 points. Jacob Golden added nine points, while Taylor Moore and John Outman rounded off the scoring with eight and six points, respectively.

The two teams will finish their home-at-home series back in Friendship on Monday in a 7:30 p.m. contest. Beforehand, the Golden Eagles will have a quick turnaround this evening with a 4 p.m. contest slated on the road in Scio.

Friendship 5 9 9 10 – 33

Belfast 16 14 12 14 – 56

FRIENDSHIP: Taylor Moore 3 0-0 8, Jacob Golden 4 0-0 9, Dekota Stewart 4 0-0 10, John Outman 3 0-0 6. Totals: 14 0-0 33.
BELFAST: Jason Drozdowski 2 0-0 5, Nick Ellison 2 0-0 6, Tony Logue 5 0-0 13, Devin Harriger 5 3-4 16, Matt Weaver 2 0-0 5, Stephen Struckmann 4 3-4 11. Totals: 20 6-8 56.

3-point goals: Friendship 5 (Moore 2, Stewart 2, Golden), Belfast 10 (Logue 3, Harriger 3, Ellison 2, Drozdowski, Weaver).
Total Fouls: Friendship 11, Belfast 3. Fouled out: None.

Scio 55, Hinsdale 21

SCIO — The Scio Tigers provided a home-at-home series sweep of the Hinsdale Bobcats on their home turf, Friday night. After avoiding a close call with a late Bobcats rally in the second half, Scio made sure it didn’t happen again back home, as they used a combination of offense and defense to keep Hinsdale still, rolling toward what became a 55-21 victory to earn their third straight win.

“I thought we had more intensity on the defensive end, and it led to better offense for us tonight. If we can build off of that for tomorrow’s game and into next week, we can be in great shape heading into Sectionals.” said Tigers coach Dillon McFall.

Cam Loucks posted another 30-point night for the Tigers (5-2), scoring a game-high 32 points to pair with his 18 rebounds, completing his double-double. Brendan Loucks chipped in with 12 points of his own to go with 12 boards, while Aydan Faulkner earned eight points and Cory Bolzan dished out eight assists for the hosts, who started the first eight minutes with a strong 12-2 run that would wind up setting the tone for the remainder of the game.

Hinsdale (1-5) was led by Parker Keenan, who recorded nine team-high points.

Both teams will have a quick turnaround today, with Scio preparing to welcome in Friendship for a 4 p.m. contest, while Hinsdale looks to bounce back out on the road with a stop in Franklinville at 11:30 p.m.

Hinsdale 2 4 8 7 – 21

Scio 12 11 13 19 – 55

HINSDALE: Zach Byrne 1 0-0 2, Ethan Cashimere 1 0-0 2, Parker Keenan 4 0-0 9, Jeff Rossman 1 0-0 2, Cody Barton 3 0-3 6, Jake Elliott 0 0-4 0. Totals: 10 0-7 21.
SCIO: Brendan Loucks 6 0-0 12, Ayden Faulkner 4 0-0 8, Cory Bolzan 1 1-2 3, Cam Loucks 13 6-12 32. Totals: 24 7-14 55.
3-point goals: Hinsdale 1 (Keenan).
Total Fouls: Hinsdale 11, Scio 7. Fouled out: None.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Wellsville 3, Bolivar-Richburg 0

RICHBURG — 24 hours removed from their 3-1 victory over the Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg, it was a quick turnaround in their home-at-home series as the action shifted to Richburg on Friday, where the Wellsville Lions would continue to remain undefeated on the season with the sweeping victory over the road, taking the 3-0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-23) decision over the host Wolverines.

Walker Waldon led the offense for the Lions (7-0) with a game-high 14 kills to go with his three aces. Aiden Tucker provided six more kills to pair with three aces, and one block. Setter Matt Bittel was busy up front dishing out the assists, coming away with 20 of them, along with five aces from the service line.

Bolivar-Richburg did not provide stats to report upon publication.

The Lions will go for eight straight victories when they continue the road swing on Monday, when they visit Cuba-Rushford for a 6 p.m. contest. As for the Wolverines, it will be a quick turnaround as they travel for a pair of games at Arkport/Canaseraga beginning at 1 p.m.