Saturday Basketball: Rebels set off 4th quarter detonation, Smith records game-high 29 to fuel team’s 9th win in last 10 at C-S; Fillmore girls hand And/Whi 1st loss of season

CAMPBELL — The Rebels of Cuba-Rushford are flying above big heights this season. From just about anywhere on the floor, they can strike with ease whether it be from inside or from the outer perimeter. They can do it all, and as a result, they’ve come away with victories in eight of their first nine games

A quick turnaround would happen again Saturday afternoon for the Rebels, as they took their hot streak over the road to Campbell-Savona to meet a tough Panthers team that issued a big first half challenge right away.

The Rebels would soon find themselves in a narrow hole going into the last eight minutes of play. But it wasn’t long after until they found their groove again.

Behind some clutch three-point shooting all day long, Braeden Wight and Jacob Smith helped knock down two big fourth quarter shots to get Cuba-Rushford’s tires kicked into gear, allowing them to run off with a massive 25-8 run of the Panthers to overtake the lead permanently, garnering their fifth straight win and ninth in the last 10 games by a 58-45 count, Saturday afternoon.

“We really struggled to deal with Campbell-Savona’s shooters, and athleticism on the offensive end. Luckily, we were able to garner a nice start from our three-point game to keep us in it. When we buckled down defensively and got more active, it seemed like we couldn’t knock down a big shot,” said Rebels interim head coach Rob Wight. “Finally in the fourth, Braeden and Jacob were able to knock down a couple of threes to put it all together. The effort was there all night, we just couldn’t combine the stops with buckets until then. They earned this win, because Campbell-Savona plays hard.”

The three-point game displayed by both teams took effect starting in the first eight minutes of play, when Cuba-Rushford’s Finn Ricketts and Campbell-Savona’s Jackson Kibler went back and forth throughout, combining for a six-pack of treys — three each, through a period that saw the Panthers take the early edge after its completion.

In the second, the defenses would begin to buckle down to close out the half while the three-point game for the hosts in white and blue continued to mount up, as they successfully extended their lead from it.

After another back-and-forth battle through the third quarter, the Rebels (9-1) finally provided massive cracks against the Campbell-Savona defense, as Jacob Smith began to heat up his game along with a pair of three-pointers from downtown by Braeden Wight. The two joint efforts mixed together would concoct a 25-8 run of the Panthers in the last eight minutes to officially take the lead, and stride away with it in the end to wrap up a fifth straight win.

Smith would finish leading all scorers on the floor with a game-high 29 points, 21 of those points coming in the second half alone for the Rebels. Following behind was Ricketts, who concluded with 12 points off his four threes, while Wight finished with eight points. On special teams, Luke Brooks was dominant off the glass, especially in the second half, garnering 12 rebounds in all. 10 of them helped provide a second half spark to fire up the offense.

Cuba-Rushford now heads back home to welcome in the Eagles of Fillmore for a midseason County showdown in the Wighthouse, which is slated to begin on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

Cuba-Rushford 17 6 10 25 – 58

Campbell-Savona 18 8 11 8 – 45

CUBA-RUSHFORD: Braeden Wight 2 2-2 8, Jacob Smith 12 2-3 29, Luke Brooks 1 0-0 2, Jack Frank 0 0-2 0, Hunter Scott 1 0-0 3, Dom Bello 1 0-0 2, Finn Ricketts 4 0-3 12, Peyton Joy 1 0-0 2. Totals: 22 4-10 58.
CAMPBELL-SAVONA: Ethan Ribble 3 2-4 9, Mitchell Nichols 1 2-5 4, Blake Ryan 5 0-0 12, Jackson Kibler 7 0-0 20. Totals: 16 4-9 45.

3-point goals: C-R 10 (Ricketts 4, Smith 3, Wight 2, Scott), C-S 9 (Kibler 6, Ryan 2, Ribble).
Total Fouls: C-R 10, C-S 14. Fouled out: Ribble (C-S).

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Fillmore 44, Andover/Whitesville 28

WHITESVILLE — For the first time this season, Andover/Whitesville met their match on Saturday.

That came from the Lady Eagles of Fillmore, who started the first half on a red hot streak with a big lead. But along the way, a comeback was mounted by the unbeatens later in the second half, posting a big third quarter to draw within a stone’s throw coming down the homestretch.

In the last eight minutes, Fillmore saved their big finale for last, as they came up with five big points while shutting the Andover/Whitesville offense completely down without a score, as they went on to work their way towards a 44-28 victory in Whitesville, handing their opposition their first loss of the season.

“As a team, the girls worked hard and played together, which is what we need all season if we are to be successful,” said Lady Eagles coach Tom Parks. “Defensively, you cannot hope for a lot more than what we were able to do tonight. Madi (Geertman) along with Amelia (Rose) and Rachel (Hatch) logged some good minutes trying to stay with Vanessa (Hall), but really it takes all five. They obviously have a star in Vanessa, but they have good size, terrific complimentary players and a great coaching staff. Not to mention, they’re the defending champions.”

The Lady Eagles (4-2) came out swinging in the first half to counter Andover/Whitesville’s red hot attack, providing sound efforts on both ends of the floor to create a 14-8 lead behind the guidance of both Rachel Hatch and Hope Russell, with each Lady Eagle scoring five points to help set an early tone in the opening quarter. In turn, the defense would hold their opposition to just two shots from the field — both by Kennedy Bledsoe inside.

That lead was branched out right before the first half’s closure, as Fillmore used a balanced attack across the board to keep Andover/Whitesville (5-1), led by Mattie McCumiskey and her six second quarter points, as well as a strong presence from Preslee Miller down low under the glass.

“I thought Rachel gave us a big boost in the first quarter with her start to the game. She had a lot of energy and was in rhythm on offense that we kind of fed off of. Preslee also had a very strong performance through the game as well.” said Parks.

Andover/Whitesville would not go down without one final fight however, as the team powered up a balanced attack of their own led by Vanessa Hall and Zoe Baert inside, as well as a Gabbi Hall three-pointer from outside along the way. Altogether, the hosts in white would record a 13-6 third quarter run to close the gap to 11.

But in the last eight minutes, the Lady Eagles glued together their strongest defensive outing in the game by holding Andover/Whitesville scoreless, concluding with the last five points to maintain and distance their lead, finishing off their biggest win of the season in the process.

Fillmore was led by Miller on the attack, as she posted a game-high 13 points. Hope Russell followed behind with 10 points of her own, while McCumiskey wrapped up shop with eight.

Vanessa Hall fronted the Andover/Whitesville attack with 12 team-high points. Kennedy Bledsoe chipped in with nine points of her own. The team will be back in action Tuesday night, as they look to rebound in a 6 p.m. battle against Houghton Academy in Whitesville.

Fillmore will look to keep the momentum rolling into their next battle, also slated for Tuesday evening, visiting Cuba-Rushford for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.

Fillmore 14 19 6 5 – 44

Andover/Whitesville 8 7 13 0 – 28

FILLMORE: Hope Russell 4 2-4 10, Grace Russell 2 0-0 4, Rachel Hatch 3 1-2 7, Amelia Rose 1 0-0 2, Mattie McCumiskey 4 0-0 8, Preslee Miller 6 1-4 13. Totals: 20 4-10 44.
ANDOVER/WHITESVILLE: Vanessa Hall 5 2-4 12, Zoe Baert 2 0-2 4, Gabbi Hall 1 0-0 3, Kennedy Bledsoe 3 1-1 9. Totals: 11 3-9 28.

3-point goals: A/W 3 (Bledsoe 2, G. Hall).
Total Fouls: Fillmore 10, A/W 7. Fouled out: None.