Monday Roundup: B-R shows resilience despite Finney’s 1st half offensive fissure, fall to Falcons in titanic Class C bout; Fillmore’s Sisson eclipses 1,000 career points in home win over Franklinville

BOLIVAR — Just one game separated the Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg from the grand stage at Alfred State this weekend for the Dan Barkley Showcase. Not only was it just one game, it is one that will give them a great big look at the surrounding field of competition ahead when the middle of February approaches in just over a month’s time.

To start the week Monday night, the opponent of choice was the C.G. Finney Falcons — a team that has the expertise to take advantage of the opportunity right off the bat.

They showcased that in its entirety right away.

Led by a hawkish three-point attack and a stout and stingy defensive stand across the first half, the Falcons made connections across all facets on the court. They assumed complete and total control of the Wolverines, starting with a first quarter fissure that grew larger and larger as time went on. Despite some second half resilience from Bolivar-Richburg to climb back into the game, the visitors were able to hang on for a 77-63 victory.

“They hit six threes in the first quarter, and it was quite the trick to keep pace with them,” said Wolverines coach Justin Thomas. “When you start 20-8, that's pretty rough sledding right there. We played even with them the rest of the way, mathematically, but they hit a few more shots to keep that lead without turning it over. They were just too hot for us to flip the script on them completely.”

The Falcons stormed out of the gate with a thunderous presence, starting with a buffet of offense against Bolivar-Richburg (8-2) that consisted of six first quarter three-pointers, a slew of offensive rebounds and a ton of defensive pressure back down to the opposite end of the court. All of those ingredients mixed together allowed C.G. Finney to orchestrate a 22-8 run of the Wolverines to put them in front with the big advantage.

The offense proceeded to keep unraveling in the second quarter, not missing a beat by beginning the new frame with eight straight points — most the scoring stemming off multiple Bolivar-Richburg turnovers courtesy of their defensive pressure. As a result, the C.G. Finney lead would reach as much as 25 during the first half, despite the Wolverines starting a run of their own that saw them score 11 of the following 16 points with near two minutes remaining on the clock to climb back to within reach.

The run would help build a pile of momentum for the hosts in white and black to use in the third quarter, as they started the second half red hot with a 24-point stanza of offense. A response that Thomas was more than pleased with.

“It's a testament to the resiliency of these guys. I even said during a timeout that they weren't giving up and they had to find some sort of foothold,” he said. “They started to play better in the second, but they turned it around in the third to get us right back into the game. But they kept on hitting those shots to stay out in front. But from 25 down to close it to six, they're a big group of gamers that work tirelessly until the buzzer.”

At one point during the fourth quarter, the Wolverines kept shelling out responses to the Falcons, one after another until the double digit deficit decreased down to just a pair of possessions with enough wiggle room in time to work with to continue construction on a potential momentum shift. But in the end, C.G. Finney held on to the victory behind their corresponding buckets to Bolivar-Richburg while garnering some help at the charity stripe to close up shop.

Aydin Sisson led all Bolivar-Richburg scorers with a team-high 23 points. Landon Barkley chipped in with 19 points of his own, while Kingston Loucks finished with 15.

The Wolverines are now off until this weekend’s eighth installment of the Dan Barkley Showcase at Alfred State, where they will partake in battle against the Addison Knights in game three of the five-game set, beginning at 4 p.m.

C.G. Finney 22 19 17 19 – 77

Bolivar-Richburg 8 16 24 15 – 63

FINNEY: Mikey Crandall 2 0-0 4, Brealen Broome 6 4-10 21, Ethan Krogg 9 6-6 31, Ethan Snavely 2 0-0 4, Xavier Owens 5 2-4 12, Daniel Colon 2 0-0 5. Totals: 26 12-20 77.

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Aydin Sisson 10 1-2 23, Landon Barkley 6 4-5 19, Waide Karnuth 2 0-0 4, Reiss Gaines 1 0-0 2, Kingston Loucks 6 0-1 15. Totals: 25 5-8 63.

3-point goals: Finney 13 (Krogg 7, Broome 5, Colon), B-R 8 (Barkley 3, Loucks 3, Sisson 2).
Total Fouls: Finney 10, B-R 12. Fouled out: None.

[PHOTO PROVIDED]

Fillmore 70, Franklinville 50

FILLMORE — The start of a new week couldn’t go without making a little more history in the Allegany County Basketball ledger. Over the years since his uprising to the Varsity level, Zach Sisson has quickly and quietly made all the noise he could for the Eagles of Fillmore, emerging as one of the team’s leaders, as well as one of the best shooters in the area.

Just days after Genesee Valley/Belfast’s Mary Hamer joined the elite club of 1,000-point scorers in Belfast school history, it was time for another to hit the books in the boys basketball scene.

Partway into the fourth quarter, Sisson was the next one up, as he gathered a phenomenal back-door pass underneath the rim to put away, as he sent the Fillmore bench into a frenzy after he eclipsed that historic mark in the midst of the team’s 70-50 home win — their fifth in a row, over Franklinville on Monday inside The Rock.

“The story of the night is Zach,” Eagles coach Randy Crouch. “He was able to hit 1,000 career points. I’m so proud of him, and nobody has outworked him over the last four years, and the way he has evolved from being a great shooter to being a great scorer and being a leader on both ends of the floor. It truly has been awesome to watch, and I’m really happy to have been there for every point.”

Out of his game-high 33 points, Sisson took charge of the Fillmore (7-2) offense with 22 points in the opening quarter. In a back-and-forth exchange with the Panthers early on, the Eagles found their opening to close out the opening quarter with the upper hand in their possession, as the senior sharpshooter raced in and let a jumper inside the paint fly right before the buzzer sounded to gnab a 19-16 advantage to carry onward.

With Franklinville closing the gap to as little as five points on multiple occasions across the second quarter, the Eagles remained in firm control when the first half closed up, as they assembled a massive 24-point stand of offense, led by Sisson, along with some added assistance from Cam Mucher and JD Bialek to blossom their lead to double digits.

With 3:45 left to go and a 31-26 lead of the Panthers in hand, the Eagles marched forward and closed out the half on a 12-2 run to ensure their lead remained intact.

“Franklinville is a tough team to play, and their coach always gets them ready to play,” Crouch said. “They have a little bit of everything in terms of athleticism, size and skill. They were better prepared for pressure tonight, and we got impatient and made some poor decisions early. We let Noah (Shenk) get some open looks, and he made us pay in the first. Once we settled down and found a rhythm, we were able to dictate pace and play our game. Cam (Mucher) made some big plays on both ends and really helped us through a couple of lulls.”

As Fillmore continued to add onto their lead across the second half, the big moment for Sisson arose just past the midway mark of the final eight minute period, as he gathered a pass from behind on the run from Jonah Bialek and provided the lay-in with ease before being swarmed by his teammates in celebration of the historic marker.

His final basket of the game.

Following behind Sisson on the Fillmore leaderboard was Mucher, who finished with 20 points — 12 in the first half to coincide with Sisson’s monstrous performance. JD Bialek recorded six points, while Jonah Bialek finished with five.

The Eagles will now go for six straight wins when they return to action Wednesday night with a 7:30 p.m. road trip to Andover/Whitesville, in Andover.

Franklinville 16 12 11 11 – 50

Fillmore 19 24 16 11 – 70

FRANKLINVILLE: Colin Terwilliger 2 1-1 5, Bretton Blecha 5 0-0 10, Eli Shenk 1 0-0 2, Grant Cornell 0 2-2 2, Noah Shenk 3 2-2 11, Matthew Spittler 1 0-2 2, Isaac Towne 4 1-1 9, Collin Mooney 3 1-2 7, Bill Slavinski 0 2-2 2. Totals: 19 9-12 50.
FILLMORE: Eben Schilke 1 0-0 3, Cam Mucher 6 2-2 20, Isaiah Sisson 0 1-2 1, Zach Sisson 11 9-9 33, Jonah Bialek 1 2-2 5, Brayden Hennard 1 0-0 2, JD Bialek 3 0-0 6. Totals: 23 14-15 70.

3-point goals: Franklinville 3 (N. Shenk), Fillmore 7 (Mucher 3, Sisson 2, Schilke, Jo. Bialek).
Total Fouls: Franklinville 13, Fillmore 15. Fouled out: None.

Perry 48, Genesee Valley/Belfast 47

PERRY — It was an early back-and-forth battle to begin Monday night, and down the stretch, a late fourth quarter comeback allowed Genesee Valley/Belfast to ascend into the lead in the waning stages. Alongside host Perry, the two teams came together and duked it out one final time with time of the essence.

With the visitors continuing to cling onto a four-point lead going into the last minute of play, the Yellowjackets were on the clock. Their response? — A go-ahead winner.

Down 45-41, Perry went on a rapid run of Genesee Valley/Belfast by scoring seven of the game’s last nine points. Amongst those baskets, a long triple that served as the bullseye for the Yellowjackets from deep, as Bryce Tallman knocked down his final triple from the parking lot to wrap up a 29-point performance and the comeback victory for the hosts in a 48-47 thriller.

The pace was reminiscent of a teeter-totter for much of the first half, including the opening quarter where both Genesee Valley/Belfast and Perry exchanged baskets at a constant, where the visitors in black were able to capture a one-point lead. But the momentum was held for only a brief juncture entering the next frame of play, as the Yellowjackets piloted a run that saw them score eight of the first 10 points to jump out to an 18-13 advantage.

Genesee Valley/Belfast would navigate their way back into reach, closing the gap behind the Yellowjackets to as close as one before the hosts in white and blue kept them in the rearview mirror to close out the half with another run, carrying a four-point lead into the locker room.

After Perry scored a 12-7 advantage across the third quarter, Genesee Valley/Belfast pushed their chips to the center of the table with a fourth quarter comeback, outscoring the Yellowjackets by a 17-9 count to overtake them at the top of the peak with a 45-41 entering the final minute of play.

Despite capturing the upper hand, the Yellowjackets had one final card to play in the shape of Tallman, who knocked down the most clutch of baskets from the outer perimeter to shift the balance of power back in their direction once and for all, as they closed the game with seven of the last nine points to claim victory at the buzzer.

Leading the scoring for Genesee Valley/Belfast was Kadin Logue, who recorded a team-high 17 points. Kenton Schulz chipped in with 14 points of his own, while Ian McKenzie had seven.

The road swing journeys on for Genesee Valley/Belfast Wednesday night, as they prepare for a 7:30 p.m. visit to Friendship to battle host Friendship/Scio.

Genesee Valley/Belfast 11 12 7 17 – 47

Perry 10 17 12 9 – 48

GV/BELFAST: Kyle McCumiskey 1 0-0 2, Kadin Logue 6 3-6 17, Ian McKenzie 3 0-0 7, Owen Heaney 1 0-0 2, Jacob Borden 1 0-0 2, Kenton Schulz 7 0-0 14, Ryan Daciw 1 1-3 3. Totals: 20 4-9 47.
PERRY: Bryce Tallman 11 5-11 29, Beau Slocum 1 1-2 3, Emmit Hill 1 0-0 2, Trenton Washburn 1 0-2 2, JT Grover 1 0-2 2, Hunter Henchen 5 0-0 10. Totals: 20 6-17 48.

3-point goals: GVB 3 (Logue 2, McKenzie), Perry 2 (Tallman).
Total Fouls: GVB 18, Perry 12. Fouled out: None.

Arkport-Canaseraga 64, Jasper-Troupsburg 40

GREENWOOD — The three-point game was hitting all strides for the Wolves of Arkport-Canaseraga, Monday night. Out of their 12 total they collected across their 32-minute battle with host Jasper-Troupsburg, seven of them were posted in the opening half. Led by a game-leading charge from Caden Carey, they went on to score their ninth win in their first 10 games by a 64-40 count over the Wildcats.

“That’s the most that we’ve shot all season. This was a great team win on the road against a well-disciplined Jasper-Troupsburg club,” Wolves coach Max Houy said. “Their coaching staff has them prepared, and you have to hustle your tail off and play as hard as you can against them. It’s always been this way, especially during my time when Coach (Tom) Price was coaching. It was always a battle that we never took for granted. I’m really proud of the guys and their effort, especially on the defensive end. Every guy out there battled with great intensity on a Monday night.”

Arkport-Canaseraga (9-1) settled right in with ease in the first half, especially in the opening quarter where four of their seven first half triples all found nothing but the twine on the way down, scoring an early 16-9 lead on the Wildcats to carry forward. After conducting a similar run to close out the first half, the offense would reach a boiling point when the second half opened up.

Led by Carey’s 10-point third quarter, along with a 7-for-9 outing at the charity stripe, the Wolves put their foot down on the gas and never let off of it, as they strolled away and out of reach of Jasper-Troupsburg with a 22-7 run to change the complexion of the game completely. Carey finished with a game-high 22 points for Arkport-Canaseraga.

Following behind in the scoring was Ibra Ford, who had all four of his three-pointers in the first half, totaling 18 points for the contest. Devin Moran knocked down two more triples for six points, while Kohler Preston had five.

Jasper-Troupsburg was paced by a team-high 12 points from Sawyer Troxel.

The Wolves will look to eclipse the 10-win mark on Wednesday, when they take aim for the complete season sweep of the defending State Champion Avoca-Prattsburgh Titans back home in Canaseraga, starting at 7:15 p.m.

Arkport-Canaseraga 16 16 22 10 – 64

Jasper-Troupsburg 9 10 7 14 – 40

ARKPORT-CANASERAGA: Devin Moran 2 0-0 6, Connor Westfall 1 0-0 3, Caden Carey 7 5-5 22, Ibra Ford 6 2-2 18, Lucas Smith 1 0-0 3, Kohler Preston 2 0-0 5, Tim Vilkhu 0 4-5 4, Dan Clark 1 1-2 3. Totals: 20 12-14 64.

JASPER-TROUPSBURG: Braylon Lawson 2 1-2 5, James Ainsworth 4 0-0 8, Sawyer Troxel 5 0-0 12, Jackson Hayes 1 1-2 3, Landon Zver 2 1-4 7, Jacoby VanGorden 2 0-0 5. Totals: 16 3-8 40.

3-point goals: A-C 12 (Ford 4, Carey 3, Moran 2, Westfall, Smith, Preston), J-T 5 (Troxel 2, Zver 2, VanGorden).
Total Fouls: A-C 10, J-T 10. Fouled out: None.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Bolivar-Richburg at Oswayo Valley - No report.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Wellsville 3, Friendship/Scio 0

SCIO — Despite a very tough battle from host Friendship/Scio across the night, Brody Heaney and Lucius Griggs helped provide some big offensive firepower to ignite the Lions of Wellsville over the road Monday night, as they came together to assemble a straight-set sweep by a 25-21, 25-21, 25-14 count in Scio.

Heaney led the Lions (6-3) offense behind a team-high 10 kills to pair alongside with two aces and a block. Griggs followed suit with eight more kills of his own to couple with two aces and two assists at the front of the net.

For Friendship/Scio (1-7), Lawson Ector paced the offense with his nine kills and one ace. Following was Nathan Griffiths, who had seven assists to hand out, along with a pair of digs on defense. The team will return to action Wednesday night with a 6 p.m. visit to Bolivar-Richburg.

“Coming off a long day and good showing at the Midseason Tournament on Saturday, we just didn’t have our legs tonight. Our lack of depth caught up to us, having only six players the past week,” said Friendship/Scio coach Kaiden Bowers.

Wellsville is back home Thursday night with a 6 p.m. visit from Genesee Valley/Belfast.

Arkport-Canaseraga 3, Fillmore 0

ARKPORT — Remaining right behind undefeated Allegany-Limestone, the Wolves of Arkport-Canaseraga keep on trailing a blaze of glory with their eighth win of the season in their home quarters, as they knocked off the visiting Fillmore Eagles in straight-set fashion on Monday, claiming the 25-16, 25-22, 25-23 decision in Arkport.

Noah Drouin electrified the Arkport-Canaseraga (8-1) offense from start to finish at the front of the net, recording a game-high 11 kills to go with three aces from the back line. Marcos Gutierrez complimented the offense with five more kills and three aces, while Curtis Hartman had six aces and three kills.

The Eagles (4-5) were headed by Anderson Wiltsey, who dished out 20 assists to go with two aces. Skylar Freeman handed out 12 more helpers, while Nathan Tanner and Reid Cockle followed with five and four kills, respectively, on offense.

Fillmore is back on their home floor Wednesday night, hosting Cuba-Rushford at 6 p.m.

Cuba-Rushford 3, Bolivar-Richburg 0

CUBA — Both Bolivar-Richburg and Cuba-Rushford gave it everything they had in a close battle to start the week, Monday night in the Wighthouse. With no decision in each set eclipsing more than six points, each would share the same result — a Rebels victory, as they came out of the match winning the war amongst rivals with a 25-21, 25-19, 25-19 straight-set decision.

Anderson Siegel helped set the stage for a strong performance on defense to captain Cuba-Rushford (3-6), as he posted nine big digs to keep the ball off the floor, pairing them with five aces from the back line and four kills on the attack. Brock Stadler chipped in with six kills, three digs and an ace, while Coen Kellogg handed out nine helpers to couple with five more digs on defense and an ace.

The Wolverines (0-10) saw Dustin Murray engineer a strong presence on offense, recording eight team-high kills to go with four blocks at the net and an ace. Owen Unfus was busy in the middle of the floor setting up the attack, handing out 19 apples to pair with two aces and a kill. Bolivar-Richburg heads back home for a 6 p.m. contest against incoming Friendship/Scio.

The Rebels will look to continue their winning ways back on the road tonight in a quick turnaround, visiting Portville in a 6 p.m. first serve.

Allegany-Limestone 3, Genesee Valley/Belfast 0

BELMONT — Genesee Valley/Belfast came out with a powerful start to their game, hanging right alongside the unbeaten Gators of Allegany-Limestone to begin the night on Monday.

But when it was all said and done, the Gators were able to create just enough wiggle room to grab the two points they needed to close out the opening set, also building momentum in the same swing to put towards what morphed into a straight-set victory over the road to claim their ninth win of the campaign — a 25-23, 25-13, 25-15 decision.

“I felt really good about our game one. We really pushed them hard, but we had a few mistakes that we had to shore up to really fix that game. But I was really proud of how they were pushed and how they responded. Hopefully this was a great sign that we can continue that growth.” said GV/Belfast coach Darren Bradt.

Brayden Cooper led the offense for Genesee Valley/Belfast (4-6) with eight kills and three blocks at the front of the net. Sean Mahon and Noah Miller converged to record 14 combined assists to help set up the attack in the middle of the floor.

Allegany-Limestone was paced by Josh Nolder on offense, recording 12 kills to pair with 12 digs on defense. CJ Ellison continued fueling the team’s cause, handing out 23 assists.

Up next, Genesee Valley/Belfast prepares for a 6 p.m. bus ride off to the west, meeting the Portville Panthers on Wednesday.