Friday Roundup: Loucks catches fire, Wolverines get ready for colossal clash with C-R at Bonaventure with win over Portville; B-R girls win at Olean, C-G girls drop close battle with Dansville

BOLIVAR — One busy Saturday afternoon will be in store for the Reilly Center at St. Bonaventure University, with the red hot Bonnies hosting Niagara to open the docket before the floor clears completely to make room for two more local products to take the Division-I stage before the holiday break — that being Bolivar-Richburg and Cuba-Rushford.

But before that happens, the Wolverines started a brief search to build some momentum heading into that colossal clash with their longtime rival on the college floor, as they welcomed in their next door neighbors off to the west in Portville for battle on Friday.

Almost immediately out of the gate, the two teams were tied at the hip, with the visiting Panthers jumping out in front before the Wolverines made up for lost ground right behind them to close out the opening eight minute frame.

Then, a flip was switched. Kingston Loucks became engulfed in flames.

Across the next eight-minute sequence before halftime, the Bolivar-Richburg junior captained an outstanding breakaway stand of offense, scoring a vast majority of his points from within the frame while the defense in turn froze Portville in place to claim a massive advantage, never looking back in the rearview mirror to finish off what was a 63-51 home victory.

“We got a really good jump early behind a couple of threes and then we let Portville take an early lead after that. We dug in for the rest of the quarter and then went on a really nice run,” Wolverines coach Justin Thomas said. “It was a huge response to get to the basket. Especially for Kingston, he took over the offense for us. He got hot, knocked down his free throws, his other shots inside and out. That was really a big welcome back party for him. We maintained the status quo along the way and got a really nice team win to carry into Saturday.”

Following a first quarter battle that Bolivar-Richburg (5-3) circumnavigated into the lead over Portville, they would then kick the tires on a big run. How big? — How about a 24-5 half-ending jaunt of the Panthers, with Loucks spearheading the divine efforts with 14 of his season-high 29 points to flip the momentum of the game inside out and upside down.

The Panthers were granted one final opportunity to chip away and cut their deficit down in the last eight minutes of play, as they held Bolivar-Richburg to a game-low five points in the midst of their 16-5 run on the attack. But the second quarter deficit ultimately proved too much for them to overcome, as the Wolverines bolstered their momentum in full for this weekend’s trip to St. Bonaventure.

In addition to his 29 points, Loucks grabbed seven rebounds off the glass to finish his brilliant day on the offense. Right behind him was Landon Barkley, who chipped in with 16 points, seven rebounds and six steals of his own. Brayden Zilker had 11 points to pair with four steals, while Waide Karnuth was strong down low with the team’s remaining seven points alongside a team-high 13 rebounds.

The Wolverines are now set to square off with the Rebels of Cuba-Rushford immediately following the Bonnies’ afternoon matinee against Niagara today, as they tip off for action at the Reilly Center, at 5 p.m.

Portville 14 5 16 16 – 51

Bolivar-Richburg 17 24 17 5 – 63

PORTVILLE: Kaleb Foster 1 0-0 3, Braeden Carter 3 0-2 8, Reese Benson 3 1-2 7, Luke Edwards 1 2-3 4, Chase Armstrong 4 4-7 13, Zach Green 4 0-1 10, DJ Fowler 1 0-0 2, Ryan Loncher 2 0-0 4. Totals: 19 7-15 51.

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Landon Barkley 4 7-11 16, Brayden Zilker 4 1-3 11, Waide Karnuth 2 3-5 7, Kingston Loucks 9 8-12 29. Totals: 19 19-28 63.

3-point goals: Portville 6 (Carter 2, Green 2, Foster, Armstrong), B-R 6 (Loucks 3, Zilker 2, Barkley).
Total Fouls: Portville 20, B-R 17. Fouled out: Green (PORT).

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Bolivar-Richburg 47, Olean 28

OLEAN — It was close quarters to start a snowy Friday night in Olean, as Bolivar-Richburg and the host Lady Huskies were stride for stride with one another across the opening 16-minute sequence.

With the Lady Wolverines continuing to hold their own entering the second half, the pressure was mounting along with it. But in the last eight minutes of play, all of that was fended off and much more, as they held Olean absolutely scoreless on the floor to provide a dominant finish to their final road trip before Christmas, as they returned home from the west victorious with a 47-28 victory.

With a balanced attack against the Lady Huskies settling in first and foremost in the opening frame, the Lady Wolverines (2-4) turned the page and unloaded their offense with the assistance of Carmen Crowley down low, along with a pair of triples from the hand of Nadia Baldwin outside, as the two scorers came together to score 15 of the team’s 18 total points to claim a 28-25 halftime lead to control.

In the second half, it was all Bolivar-Richburg straight to the end of the game, keeping Olean off the board all throughout to finish off the victory with a 19-3 second half run — all three points for the Lady Huskies stemming in the third quarter, as they dominated the final eight minutes of action with a 10-0 scoreless jaunt.

Crowley led all scorers for the visitors in black and red with a game-high 21 points. Raegan Giardini had 11 points of her own, while Baldwin totaled three of the team’s four triples, for nine points.

The Lady Wolverines are now off until the new calendar year, as they prepare to host Genesee Valley/Belfast on January 3 at 6 p.m.

Bolivar-Richburg 10 18 9 10 – 47

Olean 13 12 3 0 – 28

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Nadia Baldwin 3 0-0 9, Emma Sisson 2 0-0 4, Raegan Giardini 4 2-4 11, Sydney Faulkner 1 0-0 2, Kelsey Hogan 0 0-2 0, Carmen Crowley 9 3-4 21. Totals: 19 5-10 47.

OLEAN: Ava Finch 4 2-4 12, Alaina Hirliman 4 1-2 11, Anna Bates 0 2-2 2, Viktoriia Lazyska 1 1-2 3. Totals: 9 6-10 28.

3-point goals: B-R 4 (Baldwin 3, Giardini), Olean 4 (Finch 2, Hirliman 2).
Total Fouls: B-R 14, Olean 13. Fouled out: None.

Dansville 41, Canisteo-Greenwood 37

DANSVILLE — The Lady Chargers of Canisteo-Greenwood were in control of their own destiny in what was their final game before the Christmas holiday next week, Friday night.

After a back-and-forth exchange across most of the first half, the Lady Chargers found an opening and worked their way through it to jump out on top of host Dansville with a big lead going into the fourth quarter. But in the last eight minutes, the Lady Mustangs erased all the momentum their visiting opposition established and flipped the game upside down with a monstrous game-ending jaunt to swipe away a 41-37 victory at the Corral.

Although the Lady Chargers (6-1) were held to just three shots from the field, they used a big helping of special teams to get their offense off and running against the Lady Mustangs, as three different scorers combined to record a 5-for-7 outing at the charity stripe to claim an 11-8 advantage. A back-and-forth series of baskets through the second quarter then allowed the visitors to maintain their lead going into the break, leading up to a third quarter of epic proportions.

In that frame to open the second half, a massive burst of momentum was built by the Lady Chargers, who used three enormous three-pointers from Bailey Mullen, Paris May and Anna Mitchell to set up shop for a big finish down the stretch, holding an advantage that reached as large as 10 points going into the fourth quarter.

But in the last eight minute stanza, Dansville had drastically altered Canisteo-Greenwood’s plans to ride the momentum wave to victory, as they ran the table and bucketed a 16-8 doubling-up of their visiting opposition off a trio of triples out of five field goals made, along with three key shots from the charity stripe to help cement their advantage until the end to complete the rebounding victory.

Leading the scoring for the Lady Chargers was Mullen, who had a team-high 14 points to pair with 13 rebounds to complete a double-double performance. McKenna Ferris and Paris May each had six points, while Harlie McCaffery had five.

Canisteo-Greenwood will now break for the holiday and return to the hardwood next Friday afternoon with a 12 p.m. visit to Keshequa.

Canisteo-Greenwood 11 7 11 8 – 37

Dansville 8 8 9 16 – 41

CANISTEO-GREENWOOD: Kora Button 0 0-2 0, Bailey Mullen 4 4-6 14, MacKenna Mullen 1 0-0 3, McKenna Ferris 2 2-2 6, Paris May 2 0-0 6, Anna Mitchell 1 0-0 3, Harlie McCaffery 2 1-1 5. Totals: 12 7-11 37.

DANSVILLE: Morgan Ball 2 1-4 5, Emily Versluis 1 0-0 3, Taylor Hamsher 2 5-8 10, Megan Tyler 7 3-5 20, Kassidy Cole 1 1-3 3. Totals: 13 10-20 41.

3-point goals: C-G 6 (B. Mullen 2, May 2, M. Mullen, Mitchell), Dansville 5 (Tyler 3, Versluis, Hamsher).
Total Fouls: C-G 17, Dansville 14. Fouled out: None.