Monday Roundup: Lady Rebels control the tempo, unload a leviathan 27-point 3rd quarter to stroll away from Olean; Shultz, GV/Belfast boys stave off And/Whi late in Cleveland on Sunday
CUBA — Tis the season once again. The calendar has now flipped to December, meaning the move indoors for the next couple of months has officially commenced.
It’s not quite like what the Southtowns up near Buffalo faced head on all through last week, but basketball has now taken Allegany County by storm, with the spotlight shining through the snow to illuminate the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford and their season-opener in the Wighthouse against the Olean Lady Huskies on Monday.
It was a quiet sequence through the first 16 minutes of action on the hardwood, with a hot start by the hosts in white and blue taking firm control of the tempo early on. With Olean attempting to dig their way back into the fray late in the second quarter, they were all of a sudden right on Cuba-Rushford’s trail.
In the third quarter however, the Lady Rebels caused an avalanche, as they took control of everything they gathered and saw against the Lady Huskies, posting a gargantuan 27-point frame to leave their opposition in the rearview mirror permanently and seal shut a 48-24 doubling-up to start their 2024-25 campaign on a resounding note.
“I thought we defended really well tonight, especially for how much size Olean has,” said Lady Rebels coach Aaron Wight. “Offensively, we came out in the third quarter and hit a couple of shots. After doing that, you could see how much the confidence started to grow. From there, we started taking control and got some easy buckets at the rim to run away with it. It’s a busy start to our season, six games in eight days, so this one was a nice one to have.”
With baskets becoming somewhat difficult to come by through the first half, it was the Lady Rebels (1-0) and their defense that took control early on. Across both frames of play, just two shots from the field managed to make their way through the twine — both of which from long range, as Alaina Hirliman and Jourdain Battle each nailed a three to aid Olean towards a six-point deficit entering the break.
With the Lady Huskies in range to try and tilt the balance, Cuba-Rushford had other plans in store. Instead, they came out of the gates engulfed.
The spark? — A dynamic tandem of Lily Tompkins and Brynn Lavery becoming unstoppable for the offense, with the two Lady Rebels combining for 23 of the team’s 27 total points in the frame to conduct what shaped into a 27-4 run of Olean to break away from their grasp once and for all.
Tompkins was Cuba-Rushford’s leading scorer with a game-high 16 points, while Lavery finished right behind her with 15 of her own. Lilly Farwell rounded off the Lady Rebels scoring with eight points.
A long week of games ahead for the Lady Rebels will continue on Thursday, as they return to the Wighthouse to welcome Friendship/Scio in for battle beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Olean 5 5 4 10 – 24
Cuba-Rushford 9 7 27 5 – 48
OLEAN: Ava Finch 1 3-8 5, Alaina Hirliman 2 1-2 6, Viktoriia Lazyska 1 0-0 3, Jourdin Battle 3 0-0 8, AJ Easton 0 2-6 2. Totals: 7 6-16 24.
CUBA-RUSHFORD: Aubrey Williams 1 2-2 4, Cloey Larabee 1 0-0 3, Lily Tompkins 6 2-4 16, Brynn Lavery 7 0-1 15, Mireya Rutkowski 1 0-1 2, Lilly Farwell 3 2-4 8. Totals: 19 6-12 48.
3-point goals: Olean 4 (Battle 2, Hirliman, Lazyska), C-R 4 (Tompkins 2, Larabee, Lavery).
Total Fouls: Olean 17, C-R 12. Fouled out: Lazyska (OLE).
BOYS BASKETBALL
Genesee Valley/Belfast 56, Andover/Whitesville 45 (Sunday)
CLEVELAND, OH — There’s not many teams in and around the county that can say that they opened up their season on a basketball court unlike any other.
It’s the kind of surface that every high school basketball player dreams of playing on. One that 30 different teams in the National Basketball Association hold. This one in particular has seen a King run across it a time or two back in the past. But now, guys like Mitchell, Garland and Allen all run the show in a place called The Land.
A place that just so happens to harbor and showcase the League’s best team — the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, home of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Genesee Valley/Belfast and Andover/Whitesville both woke up bright and early Sunday morning in the midst of some Lake Effect havoc holding Interstate-90 hostage the entire weekend, making it to their ultimate destination so they can take the floor first before heading up to the stands later in the evening to see the Cavaliers battle the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics.
As for their afternoon clash, it was a battle that Genesee Valley/Belfast controlled across the vast majority. But with time becoming of the essence late, Andover/Whitesville made one final push to pin their opposition against the wall with their best stand of offense. But after a strong end to their first half, Genesee Valley/Belfast was able to hang on and stave off Andover/Whitesville with a season-opening 56-45 victory.
“Obviously we knew playing at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse was going to be a completely different atmosphere than what we were accustomed to. That, along with a new regime at GV/Belfast certainly brought forth a lot of unknowns,” said Andover/Whitesville coach Jimmy Joyce. “I thought we actually came out and played well early, which we typically do not do. However, GV/Belfast’s size really took its toll and we never could climb out of the hole that we dug ourselves into after the first half. We made a nice run late to cut it to single digits, but we couldn’t find a way to handle it. We certainly have some things that are correctable. All we have to do is just go back to work.”
Both teams came out swinging for the fences early on across a 17-13 first quarter that favored Genesee Valley/Belfast (1-0), with Ian McKenzie’s hot start igniting the fire on the hardwood with eight of those points. Following up on the counter-attack was Brody Vance for Andover/Whitesville, who scored eight of his own points — two of those baskets from long range, out of the team’s 13 total in the frame.
But the team in black began to turn things sideways beginning in the second quarter, as they amassed a 12-5 run of Andover/Whitesville (0-1) that ultimately created the room they needed to continue occupying the driver’s seat going forward. Despite falling behind by double digits, the home team in white used every bit of the second half to try and claw back, with Colton Calladine taking over the offense with 10 of his 12 points coming in the last eight minutes of play.
But in the end, the early deficit wound up becoming too much for Andover/Whitesville to overcome, as Genesee Valley/Belfast solidified their victory to start their 2024-25 campaign on the right foot.
Leading the Genesee Valley/Belfast offense was Kenton Shultz, who provided an overwhelming presence down low with his team-high 20 points. McKenzie followed behind with a 14-point performance, while Cane Treusdell had seven points to add in.
For Andover/Whitesville, Vance led all scorers on the Cleveland hardwood with his game-high 24 points. Calladine followed up with his 12 points, while Vinny Joyce, Gage Putnam and Jake Mattison all had three points.
Joyce extended his most profound thanks to the Cleveland Cavaliers, as well as both Andover/Whitesville and Genesee Valley/Belfast communities for allowing them to grace the floor and create a memory they won’t soon forget.
“I certainly want to send a special thank you out to Scott MacDonald with the Cavaliers, as well as everyone with the Genesee Valley/Belfast and Andover/Whitesville programs. Fans, the Boosters clubs, administration. The list goes on. This could not have been done without everyone’s support. I know this is an experience the guys will never forget.”
As soon as action wrapped between the two teams, they made their return back to the FieldHouse just a couple of hours later in the evening to see the Cavaliers hang on tight to a 115-111 victory over the Celtics to close out their weekend trip to Cleveland.
As for what’s next? — Both teams could meet one another once again in just a matter of days, this time in the Belmont Rotary Club Tournament at Genesee Valley, which will begin Friday night. Andover/Whitesville will take the floor first to battle Hammondsport in a 6 p.m. tip-off, while Genesee Valley/Belfast follows with the first round nightcap at 7:30 p.m. against Alfred-Almond.
Genesee Valley/Belfast 17 12 10 17 – 56
Andover/Whitesville 13 5 11 16 – 45
GV/BELFAST: Will Guilford 2 1-2 5, Cane Treusdell 3 1-2 7, Callahan Tallman 1 0-2 2, Ian McKenzie 7 3-7 18, Ethan Davenport 2 0-0 4, Kenton Shultz 9 1-2 20. Totals: 24 6-15 56.
ANDOVER/WHITESVILLE: Colton Calladine 6 0-6 12, Vinny Joyce 1 1-1 3, Brody Vance 9 0-2 24, Gage Putnam 1 0-0 3, Jake Mattison 1 0-0 3. Totals: 18 1-9 45.
3-point goals: GVB 2 (McKenzie, Shultz), A/W 8 (Vance 6, Putnam, Mattison).
Total Fouls: GVB 10, A/W 14. Fouled out: None.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Wellsville 3, Genesee Valley/Belfast 1
BELMONT — It was neck-and-neck all the way through for Wellsville and Genesee Valley/Belfast across their first meeting of the new campaign on Monday.
With the Lions pushing the hosts occupying the Jungle towards the brink after two close victories out of the gate. Despite Genesee Valley/Belfast and their efforts to avoid straight-set defeat in the third set, the Lions were able to turn it back around to finish up a four-set victory by a 25-20, 25-20, 17-25, 25-21 count.
“These were some really close games, and I felt really good about how the team played even though it was a loss,” GV/Belfast coach Darren Bradt said. “We are only returning one starter and then three more on the court that have never played before. I felt as the game progressed, we were getting better and better. We had a lot of great plays from Noah (Miller) and Lawson (Ector), but Wellsville definitely brings a lot more experience. I think we showed a lot of heart and hustle mixed in with some newly found skills.”
Wellsville (1-0) saw their victory formulate around a strong offensive night from Xavier Scott, who posted a game-high 13 kills to go with a block at the net. Following up was Lucius Griggs, who chipped in three more kills, two aces and a denial. The team’s setter, Nolan Kozlowski, handed out 15 assists to couple alongside four aces and a duo of kills.
On the opposite side, Lawson Ector led the attack for Genesee Valley/Belfast (0-1) with seven kills, five aces, three helpers and a block. Tye Willard added in six more aces from the service line to pair with four kills, while setter Noah Miller had 14 helpers — a team-high, coupling them with six kills and four aces of his own.
Genesee Valley/Belfast is now off until next Monday night, when they hit the road for the first time for a 6 p.m. visit to Arkport-Canaseraga.
As for the Lions, they head home for their home opener on Wednesday, hosting the Bolivar-Richburg Wolverines in a 6 p.m. first serve.
Arkport-Canaseraga 3, Bolivar-Richburg 0
RICHBURG — Coming off an incredible season last winter that saw them land in the Allegany County title game with Allegany-Limestone, the Arkport-Canaseraga Wolves picked up where they left off to open their 2024-25 campaign on the road Monday night, as they assembled a dominant start of host Bolivar-Richburg and never looked back to deliver a 25-5, 25-10, 25-21 win over the Wolverines.
Anson Thompson paved the path forward for Arkport-Canaseraga (1-0) and their offense, as he compiled a team-leading seven kills to pair with four service points and a denial at the front of the net. Right behind him was some outstanding service provided by Aydan Button, finishing with eight aces and three additional kills.
For the Wolverines (0-1), Ayden Music led the attack with a pair of kills and two blocks. Owen Unfus chipped in with four digs on defense, three assists and a kill.
Bolivar-Richburg hits the road for a 6 p.m. visit to Wellsville on Wednesday.
