Friday Roundup: Lady Bulldogs win 3rd straight game, use strong 2nd quarter to power past host Scio; Fillmore boys hold off visiting B-R at the buzzer

Written By Chris Brooks

SCIO — As of late, the Belfast Lady Bulldogs have begun to find their rhythm. In two of their last three contests, the team’s offense has accounted for season-high performances from within a balanced standpoint. On Friday, they didn't push down on the brakes, as the well-balanced effort came through again over the road in Scio, helping total a big first half run to set the tone on their third straight win, a 59-28 win over the host Lady Tigers.

It was a slow start for both sides on the floor to begin the early evening, but the game saw things heat up after a 5-5 tie on the scoreboard nearly halfway through, as Belfast (5-13) scored the last eight points of the quarter to take the lead entering the next frame. In the second, the Lady Bulldogs offense created an explosion that allowed themselves to break away from Scio’s grasp insurmountably, netting 21 of the 28 total points garnered to wrap up the first half with a 34-12 lead.

Mary Hamer was a big spark behind the cause, as she recorded a game-high 17 points for visitors in black and red. Alicia Borden helped get things started herself in the midst of the second quarter, netting 11 points in all, while Kaitlin Sadler had eight points to pitch in.

Scio (1-16) was led by senior Ashlynn Scotchmer, who had a team-high nine points. Camryn Wiech and Emily Stilson both followed with six points.

Both teams will battle it out with the Whitesville Lady Blue Jays in their next contest, as the Lady Tigers get their first crack with a quick turnaround back home this afternoon with a 1 p.m. tip-off. As for Belfast, they will hit the road when Whitesville returns home on Tuesday, at 6 p.m.

Belfast      13 21 16   9 – 59

Scio            5   7  6 10 – 28   

BELFAST: Kaitlin Sadler 3 2-6 8, Alicia Borden 4 3-6 11, Anna Drozdowski 3 0-0 6, Mary Hamer 7 3-4 17, Junie Shaw 0 1-2 1, Angel Jimerson 1 0-0 2, Emma Sullivan 2 5-6 9, Jaiden Enders 2 0-0 5. Totals: 22 14-24 59.
SCIO: Ashlynn Scotchmer 3 2-7 9, Camryn Wiech 2 0-0 6, Emily Stilson 3 0-2 6, Celina Warboys 1 1-2 3, Alexis Crossley 1 0-0 2, Melana Davenport 1 0-0 2. Totals: 9 3-11 28.

3-point goals: Belfast 1 (Enders), Scio 1 (Scotchmer).
Total Fouls: Belfast 18, Scio 21. Fouled out: Stilson (SCIO).

Lima Christian 49, Friendship 45

LIMA — The Lady Golden Eagles of Friendship were within reach of host Lima Christian over the road on Friday, but they could find their way ahead to victory, as the Lady Saints managed to hold on with a 49-45 victory.

Nevaeh Ross posted one of her best games of the season for Friendship (3-14), recording a team-high 20 points to pair with six assists and four rebounds. Following close behind was Kadence Donohue, who had 16 points of her own to go with five more rebounds, while Aaliyah Harmon paced the glass game department with a game-high 17 rebounds.

Further stats, and a complete box score were not available upon publication.

The Lady Golden Eagles will have a quick turnaround back home this afternoon, as they welcome in the Caledonia-Mumford Lady Red Raiders for a visit at 1 p.m.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Fillmore 58, Bolivar-Richburg 57

FILLMORE — Even though the Fillmore Eagles were down two starters in their final regular season home game of the season on Friday, they were tested down the wire by Bolivar-Richburg. But with some help by Will Valentine on both ends of the floor, the Eagles were able to hang on by the slimmest of margins at the buzzer to secure a 58-57 edge over the visiting Wolverines.

The first quarter was a hot one for the Eagles (15-3), as Levi Webb took charge as the team’s primary controller on offense, coming up with eight of the team’s 18 points to settle on a six-point advantage. But the deficit was soon made up by Bolivar-Richburg in the second quarter, as they lost their advantage to the Wolverines behind both Camdyn MacDonell and Landon Danaher, combining to make up for 15 of the team’s 20 points in the midst of their 20-13 run of Fillmore to take a 32-31 lead at the half.

The one-point lead garnered by the Wolverines (6-12) at the end of the half was quickly morphed into a four-point lead back the other way for the Eagles, behind the command of Valentine, who tallied the majority of his points in the second half of play, especially down the stretch in the waning minute of the fourth quarter.

After falling behind one more time to the visitors in black and red, Valentine made sure it didn’t happen again, as he nailed a pair of free throws at the line to help Fillmore go back ahead for good, locking down the victory with a big time rebound at the final buzzer.

“I’m really proud of the guys for how they battled back tonight,” said Eagles coach Randy Crouch. “Much like Wednesday, we came out hot in the first quarter, but went into a lull in the second and third quarters. Levi Webb really kept us alive on the offensive end, and as a team, we did a good job with it. Will played his usual game after struggling in the last game. Bolivar-Richburg really made it a great battle the whole way. Now, we need to get focused on closing out the season.”

Webb led all scorers on the floor with a season-high 25 points to go with his five steals on special teams. Valentine followed with 20 points of his own, pairing them with 12 boards to complete his double-double, and four assists. Tobias Webb added in six points.

Bolivar-Richburg was led by Danaher, who netted a team-leading 20 points. MacDonell followed with 15 points underneath the basket, while Riley Danaher and Wyatt Karnuth each had eight points to chip in.

Both teams will have the Cuba-Rushford Rebels on their respective dockets, as the Wolverines close up their final regular season road game on the road in Cuba-Rushford this afternoon with a 12 p.m. tip-off. Fillmore will hop on the bus to take on the Rebels later on in the new week on Wednesday, at 7:30 p.m.

Bolivar-Richburg     12 20 11 14 – 57

Fillmore                   18 13 16 11 – 58

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Riley Danaher 2 4-5 8, Landon Danaher 9 1-3 20, Wyatt Karnuth 2 2-2 8, Brayden Ellis 1 0-0 3, Matt Mitchell 0 1-2 1, Jason Greeson 1 0-0 2, Camdyn MacDonell 7 1-1 15. Totals: 22 9-13 57.
FILLMORE: Levi Webb 11 0-3 25, Tobias Webb 2 2-4 6, Aaron Buck 1 0-0 3, Mason Cool 1 1-2 4, Will Valentine 6 7-10 20. Totals: 21 10-19 58.

3-point goals: B-R 4 (Karnuth 2, L. Danaher, Ellis), Fillmore 6 (L. Webb 3, Buck, Cool, W. Valentine).
Total Fouls: B-R 18, Fillmore 11. Fouled out: Karnuth (B-R).

Belfast 65, Andover 56

ANDOVER — Although Belfast provided a pair of narrow outscorings after a first quarter tie with host Andover on Friday, the back-and-forth pace settled in for much of the contest. But when a chance to break free came about in the last eight minute period, the Bulldogs bolted, using a combination of key shots, and big free throws down the stretch to pull away toward a 65-56 victory over the Panthers.

“We were missing Chris Walker tonight, but that is not an excuse to use,” Panthers coach John Dougherty said. “Despite that, we played the best 32 minutes of basketball in any game, all year. We were great defensively, we played as a team, we moved the ball well on offense, transitioned when we needed to. It was a tie ballgame when it got back and forth in the fourth quarter. It just came down to them making their foul shots, and us missing ours. But it was Senior Night, and the seniors that got onto the floor closed out their careers like they should have. They left it all out there.”

The Bulldogs (7-12) hit some foul trouble early on in the first half, especially for Nick Ellison, who ended up being the team’s leading scorer. Even with the added pressure of fouls on his shoulders, the Belfast sophomore had an absolute rhythm going from downtown, knocking down all eight of the team’s three-pointers to account for a career night, a game-high 26 points in the rack to help set the tone on offense. Carter Guilford took control down low, accumulating 20 more points, including a 5-for-8 stretch at the line.

Andover (4-15) was led by Spencer Cook, who controlled the offense for the majority of the evening with a game-high 24 points. Grady Terhune added 13 points of his own, while Greg Riley and Preston Ordway each had six to chip in.

The regular season for both teams will wrap up on Wednesday with 7:30 p.m. contests, as Andover hits the road for Whitesville, and Belfast makes their return home to welcome in Friendship.

Belfast           15 12 15 23 – 65

Andover        15 11 13 17 – 56

BELFAST: Nick Ellison 8 3-5 26, Max Miller 0 2-2 2, Matt Weaver 4 2-7 10, Devin Harriger 1 3-4 5, Hunter Enders 1 0-0 2, Carter Guilford 7 5-8 20. Totals: 22 15-23 65.
ANDOVER: Grady Terhune 5 3-6 13, Spencer Cook 10 3-6 24, Greg Riley 3 0-2 6, Preston Ordway 2 0-0 6, Noah Greene 2 0-0 5, Gabe Halsey 1 0-0 2. Totals: 23 6-14 56.

3-point goals: Belfast 8 (Ellison), Andover 4 (Ordway 2, Cook, Greene).
Total Fouls: Belfast 13, Andover 21. Fouled out: None.

Houghton Academy 49, Whitesville 32

HOUGHTON — The Panthers of Houghton Academy made sure they closed out their regular season strong on their home floor on Friday, as they managed to use the next three quarters to their fullest advantage after a slow first quarter go, rolling their way toward the win column with a 49-32 victory over the visiting Whitesville Blue Jays.


Jessie Pensyl led the charge for the Blue Jays (1-16) in the opening quarter, finding his route inside any way he could to grab eight of the team’s 15 points in the midst of their 15-6 run of Houghton Academy to take the lead. But in the second quarter, the script was flipped upside down on the visitors in blue and white, and Houghton Academy ran off behind a season-high effort from Lee Murray, as he scored 21 of his 25 points in the next three quarters, 13 in the second half to assist the Panthers in two enormous runs to pull ahead for good.

Finishing behind Murray in the Houghton Academy (12-4) scorebook, was Chris Habecker, who tallied 10 points. Gennaro Pico added in eight points. On the other side, Pensyl finished with a team-high 14 points for the Blue Jays, while CJ Estep had five to add in. Robert Whitesell and Dylan Acor each had four points.

Houghton Academy wraps up the regular season, and will now await Sectional seeding with a record of 12-4. As for Whitesville, they will now return home to finish off their regular season home slate with a pair of games, beginning Monday night against the Friendship Golden Eagles.

Whitesville                 15  8  4 5 – 32

Houghton Academy     6 14 12 17 – 49

WHITESVILLE: Chris Gullett 0 1-2 1, Brendal Jackson 1 0-0 2, Jessie Pensyl 5 3-8 14, CJ Estep 2 0-0 5, Robert Whitesell 2 0-0 4, Colby Gaines 1 0-2 2, Dylan Acor 2 0-0 4. Totals: 13 4-12 32.
HOUGHTON ACADEMY: Lee Murray 11 2-2 25, Loik Makuza 1 2-4 4, Gennaro Pico 2 2-4 8, Chris Habecker 4 2-2 10, Samuel Morah 0 1-2 1. Totals: 18 9-14 49.

3-point goals: Whitesville 2 (Pensyl, Estep), Houghton 3 (Pico 2, Murray).
Total Fouls: Whitesville 15, Houghton 13. Fouled out: None.

WRESTLING

Four B-R Wolverines grapplers advance to Saturday’s Semifinals

BROCKPORT — The road to the grandest stage of them all officially begun at SUNY Brockport, Friday evening with the Section V State Qualifier. Numerous grapplers from both Bolivar-Richburg and Wellsville have earned the right to fight for their place within the confines of Times Union Center in Albany later on this month.

The Wolverines had the majority of their team make the trip, sending 12 in all after their dominant Section V, Class B3 championship performance last weekend in their own backyard, picking up five individual champions along the way. After the preliminary round saw its conclusion, just four Wolverines advanced into Saturday’s semifinal round with a chance to make a trip to the State’s capital.

In the lightweight division, Sectional runner-up Tavyn MacDonell was the first to advance into the second to last stage, moving into the semifinal bracket where he is scheduled to face a familiar competitor in Canisteo-Greenwood’s Xavier DeJesus-Remchuk in the 99 pounds bout. In the middleweight class, two-time Sectional champion Dawsen Yates will also compete in the semifinal round at 126 pounds, where he is slated to face Dansville/Keshequa’s Trey Learn.

Hudson Evingham and Tyler Smith have also made the semifinal cut for the Wolverines from within the heavyweight division, as Evingham will battle Palmyra-Macedon’s Josh Shafer in the semifinals at 195 pounds, while Tyler Smith will go toe-to-toe with Geneva’s Jahvon Loucks at 220 pounds.

In the consolation round, Dominic Stone (113 pounds), Raycee Carr (120 pounds), Kadin Tompkins (138 pounds), Wayne Karnuth (152 pounds), Brayden Day (160 pounds), Trent Sibble (182 pounds) and Sam Thorton (220 pounds) will all compete in consolation round action prior to the semifinal and final rounds for Bolivar-Richburg.

For Wellsville, Hunter Brandes (170 pounds), John Layfield (195 pounds), Evin Rought (220 pounds) and Mekha Dorrough (285 pounds) will all battle in consolation round action, as will Kainan Beardsley, the lone representative for Fillmore, at 170 pounds.

For all of the latest updates on the final day of State Qualifier action, head over to Armdrag.com to follow along throughout the day. We’ll have a complete wrap-up of the semifinal and final rounds in our Saturday roundup.

Chris Brooks
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