Monday Roundup: Lions survive thrilling 2nd set with Fillmore, push forward towards straight-set victory; C-R endures 1st loss to Ark/Can in rematch of County Title game, A-L tops B-R in 4 sets

WELLSVILLE — It may have been a straight-set win in the end, but it was one that had to be earned through a hard-fought battle.

The Fillmore Eagles made host Wellsville work for every point they could muster all throughout their Monday night contest in what was deemed the penultimate in the Lion’s Den for the year 2022, but the Lions would survive a thrilling second set filled with extra serves to push and navigate their way towards triumph, unlocking the 3-0 sweep of the Eagles in a 25-17, 29-27, 25-22.

“They really played quite well together. They had a lot of fun,” said Lions coach Adam Kellogg. “We had enough of a lead to work with, and I was able to let all of my players get some time on the court tonight. The kids were covering well, and being aggressive at the net. We will try and use this to get geared up for a big game on Wednesday.”

It would start with an early jump for the Eagles that was soon foiled by a long run of points for the Lions (2-3) shortly after. With a 3-1 lead under wraps for the visitors in black and green to begin, the hosts would counter with a scoreless response — an 8-0 run to overtake the lead, ultimately for good, despite some late digging by Fillmore down the stretch.

The Eagles would come no closer than four points, as the Lions held on to record the first set win.

But the fight from the Eagles (1-6) would become a main focal point throughout the battle, with the night’s second set becoming the prime example. Each team would go back and forth with exchanges in the early sequences led by excellent service on both sides of the net.

Through the second set fight, Wellsville found their way into a brief lead before Fillmore worked their way back from behind to tie the match at the midway point, at 16, fronted by a pair of aces on back-to-back serves from the Eagles.

Since the deadlock, Fillmore would go on to account for five of the next seven points to take their first lead of the match, but would not hold it for much longer, as key service from the Lions would force extra serves, where they would wind up closing out the set with the pair of consecutive points required to capture the victory.

The momentum would carry into the final set, where both squads battled one final time with near-even exchanges, with the win ultimately falling in Wellsville’s favor, as they recorded the sweep to return to the win column.

Xavier Scott and Riley Graves both led Wellsville on offense with five kills each, with Scott pitching in three blocks and three aces, while Graves had four digs and four aces. Brody Heaney rounded off with three kills, three aces, two blocks and two digs of his own.

Individual statistics for the Eagles were not made available to report upon publication.

Both teams will have Allegany-Limestone up next on their schedule, with Wellsville making their final road trip of the 2022 calendar year to the Swamp on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. contest. Later, Fillmore will welcome the Gators to the Rock after break on January 3 for a 6 p.m. battle.

Arkport/Canaseraga 3, Cuba-Rushford 1

CUBA — A day that both teams who occupied the County’s Championship game on the court last year, was one that provided an huge, early-season circle on the calendar come Monday night, in the Wighthouse.

In their first meeting since that big game, the Arkport/Canaseraga Wolves had one goal in mind - to seek out redemption.

All roads must end somewhere down along the line, and for the County’s runners-up, they made sure the undefeated run that the Rebels have been marching on to start the season, would meet its ultimate conclusion.

Spanning across last season and into the second week of action one calendar year later, Cuba-Rushford had built a string of victories one game after another until there was no more to be had. But the Wolves would deliver a payback punch to the Rebels after they fell to their opposition to begin the night, as they proved the bounce back was much greater than the early setback, winning each of the next three sets in a row to snap the 20-game win streak with a four-set, 18-25, 25-17, 27-25, 25-23 win of their own.

The Wolves would have to work their way through an early deficit to begin the night, turning the ship around beginning in the second set with a 25-17 bounce back win landing into their wheelhouse. In the remaining two sets to close out the action, both teams would trade back-and-forth points through and through, with the third set witnessing a brief glimpse at extra serves, while the visitors in teal locked up the win with the very last two points in a row to claim the 25-23 fourth set win.

Leading the attack for Cuba-Rushford was Max Hinckley, who had a team-high eight kills. Maddox Keller followed behind with five kills and three aces, while Anderson Siegel provided four more kills on the attack, and three aces of his own.

The Rebels are now off until after the Christmas/New Year break, as they step back onto their home floor on January 3 with a 6 p.m. first serve against Friendship/Scio.

Allegany-Limestone 3, Bolivar-Richburg 1

ALLEGANY — In a back and forth battle that formed in the night’s opening stages, both Bolivar-Richburg and Allegany-Limestone started by taking one set each to force a tie.

The deadlock, which was forced by the Wolverines initially, would not stand very long however.

Despite a dominant finish to jump ahead into the lead, the Gators had to work at their absolute hardest to make sure they were the team that came out on top victorious at the end of the night, as they went on to outlast Bolivar-Richburg in an extra serve session in the fourth and final set of action, taking the decision in the process by a 25-14, 20-25, 25-12, 28-26 count on Monday in the Swamp.

Individual statistics for the Wolverines (3-2) were not made available to report upon publication.

Bolivar-Richburg is now off until after the New Year, when they return home to host Genesee Valley/Belfast in a 6 p.m. first serve on January 3.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Arkport/Canaseraga 49, Friendship/Scio 40

CANASERAGA — It was a wild start for the Arkport/Canaseraga Wolves, as they showed a vast amount of explosiveness right out of the gate with their defensive pressure to hold Friendship/Scio at a complete standstill.

The visitors in blue and gold would then find themselves in an early deep hole. One that, as time went on, they nearly climbed their way out of.

Despite two large runs, including in the final eight minutes, a late comeback bid posed by Friendship/Scio was not enough to overcome, as Arkport/Canaseraga’s 30-point first quarter held up as the game’s biggest difference maker in what was a 49-40 win on Monday in Canaseraga.

“The last three quarters tonight were the best three quarters we’ve played all year. We started to take care of the ball a little bit,” said Friendship/Scio co-coach Dillon McFall. “Their pressure gave us fits in the first to start, but we started to handle it much better as time went on. We were down 21 in the half, but I was happy with how we kept handling them. They didn’t change anything, and we did a great job of keeping with what we were doing. I give all the credit to my guys for keeping fighting.”

Arkport/Canaseraga trailed a blaze of first quarter glory on both ends of the floor, with their defense holding Friendship/Scio (1-4) in check to just a single basket from the field, while the offense syphoned a ton of momentum in return to produce a massive 30-point quarter, led by their three-point game which saw 10 in total fall through the twine across the entirety of the battle.

With an enormous lead in hand, Friendship/Scio was behind the eight-ball early. But from the second quarter on, they would jump back into it after cutting their deficit at halftime with a 14-7 doubling up of the Wolves in the second quarter, and then, a big run in the last eight minutes to inch closer to the hosts in white and teal.

Friendship/Scio had saved their best quarter for last, as they went on to outscore Arkport/Canaseraga by a 17-5 count to close the gap, but it was not enough in the end.

Leading the efforts within the team’s late comeback bid was Ethan Davenport and Brenden Loucks, as they two combined for 36 of the team’s 40 points. Davenport was Friendship/Scio’s leading scorer with a game-high 22 points, while Loucks followed behind with 14 points to pair with his 12 rebounds, completing his double-double. Taylor Moore would round off the scoring with the remaining four points.

Friendship/Scio will return home to welcome in Andover/Whitesville for their final game of the calendar year on Thursday, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Scio.

Friendship/Scio 2 14 7 17 – 40

Arkport/Canaseraga 30 7 7 5 – 49

FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Brenden Loucks 3 8-10 14, Taylor Moore 1 1-4 4, Ethan Davenport 9 3-3 22. Totals: 13 12-17 40.

ARKPORT/CANASERAGA: Alex Vilku 3 0-0 6, Pete Patrick 4 0-0 12, Tim Vilku 4 2-4 12, Alex Preston 0 1-2 1, Emory Watkins 3 0-0 8, Landon Swain 3 0-0 8, Dan Clark 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 3-6 49.
3-point goals: F/S 2 (Moore, Davenport), A/C 10 (Patrick 4, T. Vilku 2, Watkins 2, Swain 2).
Total Fouls: F/S 9, A/C 15. Fouled out: None.

Oswayo Valley 61, Hinsdale 39

SHINGLEHOUSE, Pa. — The Oswayo Valley Green Wave was at the top of their game on Monday, as they welcomed in the visiting Bobcats of Hinsdale, and took advantage of everything they would garner, rolling towards a 61-39 win over the road.

Statistics and a complete box score were not made available to report upon publication.

Hinsdale (0-8) is now off until January 3, as they head back home to host the Fillmore Eagles in a 6 p.m. tip-off.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Canisteo-Greenwood 55, Hornell 44

HORNELL — Separated by just a 10-minute drive down the road, some early high stakes were on the table between neighbors Hornell and Canisteo-Greenwood on Monday.

A high-octane and ferocious offensive clinic possessed by the Lady Red Raiders against one of the area’s most stout, stalwart defenses all under one roof at one time for a massive collision.

Would you have wanted it any other way at the Seneca Street Zoo?

Although the Lady Redskins gave up 20 big points to Hornell to open the contest, they would counter with a near mirror image of offense themselves, trailing by one after the first eight minutes. Then, a complete flip of the script. Canisteo-Greenwood’s defense would come to life, beginning in the second quarter.

Down by a 20-19 count, the Lady Redskins defense would buckle down and deliver one of, if not, their finest performance of the season against the Lady Red Raiders, as the defense held their opposition in check to just 24 more points across the remaining three quarters while posting a trio of 12-point frames to outscore them along the way, en route towards their seventh straight win to open the season — a 55-44 win over Hornell.

“This was a big win from such a great opponent. Hornell is such a good all-around team with great shooters, great ball-handlers, and they’re just as good defensively as we are,” said Lady Redskins coach Les York. “Our girls have finally matured into tough Varsity players. This team started back when one was in seventh grade and the rest were on Varsity. Now they’re playing with a never-quick attitude, even when we went down at one point. The girls played a great, tough defensive game tonight, and I told them to tighten it up at halftime.”

It seemed as if Canisteo-Greenwood (7-0) had everything working in their favor. Offense, defense, and even on special teams. To go with a brilliant night off the glass with 41 team rebounds, the Lady Redskins would also have a hand on 17 of the team’s 20 baskets to keep the momentum maintained in their favor.

Although the back-and-forth battle ensued through the first eight minutes, the visitors in red and black went straight back to work with their defense against a fast and electric Hornell offense, holding them to under 10 minutes in the last three frames of play while adding punctuations themselves to seal their victory.

All four of Canisteo-Greenwood’s scorers recorded at least 10 points to propel the offense. Leading the scoring was Lillian Mullen, who had a team-high 18 points to pair with nine assists and five steals. Brooke Burd was absolutely dominant off the glass to help the cause, scoring 15 points and grabbing 20 massive rebounds. Peyton Peters finished with 12 points and five rebounds, while Bailey Mullen had 10 points to go with five more rebounds.

Adding some additional help on special teams was Elaine Roach, who had seven points.

Canisteo-Greenwood will now head back home to host their final game of the calendar season, as they welcome in the Addison Knights for a 7:15 p.m. contest on Wednesday.

“We play another tough game with Addison coming up,” York said. “We have started our toughest stretch with a win tonight, and hopefully we can do the same with the next three games that lay ahead. Hornell, Addison, Dansville, Andover/Whitesville in the Barkley Showcase. It’s going to be a tough four games in a row to try and contend with.”

Canisteo-Greenwood 19 12 12 12 – 55

Hornell 20 8 7 9 – 44

CANISTEO-GREENWOOD: Bailey Mullen 3 3-4 10, Lillian Mullen 5 4-6 18, Peyton Peters 6 0-0 12, Brooke Burd 6 3-4 15. Totals: 20 10-14 55.
HORNELL: Parker Graham 2 1-2 7, Jordyn Dyring 7 1-2 18, Lillian Hoyt 0 0-2 0, Payton Bentley 1 0-0 2, Selena Maldonado 2 2-2 6, Reagan Evingham 4 0-0 10, Madelyn Moore 0 1-2 1. Totals: 16 5-10 44.

3-point goals: C-G 5 (L. Mullen 4, B. Mullen), Hornell 7 (Dyring 3, Graham 2, Evingham 2).
Total Fouls: C-G 14, Hornell 19. Fouled out: None.

Genesee Valley/Belfast 58, Campbell-Savona 33

BELFAST — With a fast first quarter start now under the table, their test of time to maintain their lead, would begin.

After visiting Campbell-Savona fell behind early, it would allow Genesee Valley/Belfast to take control, despite distance on their lead being lost. It was regained later on as time wound down, especially in the endgame.

The offense pulled away.

Genesee Valley/Belfast would provide a fourth quarter eruption, as they went on to outscore the Lady Panthers by an insurmountable amount, turning what was a 37-29 lead into their largest lead of the night, as they rolled towards victory in Belfast on Monday by a 58-33 count.

The hosts in white and black would go on and score a big beginning, as well as a big ending, with Adison Grusendorf and Mary Hamer commencing the first quarter with 14 of the team’s 18 points combined to help start what would be an 18-8 lead of Campbell-Savona after the opening period for Genesee Valley/Belfast (4-3).

Later on, the Lady Panthers would trim down the deficit little by little. But in the end, Genesee Valley/Belfast used all points of attack in the last eight minute period — outscoring Campbell-Savona by a 21-4 count to pull away towards victory for the final time this calendar year.

Grusendorf and Hamer will ensure that Genesee Valley/Belfast’s entrance into the winter break was done on a huge positive to get back on track, as the duo combined for 35 of the team’s 58 points.

Leading the attack was Hamer, who finished with a game-high 21 points, while Grusendorf concluded with 14. Anna Drozdowski finished with nine points, while Abby Sullivan had eight.

Next up for Genesee Valley/Belfast will be a 7:15 p.m. road trip to Avoca/Prattsburgh on January 3.

Campbell-Savona 8 12 9 4 – 33

Genesee Valley/Belfast 18 10 9 21 – 58

CAMPBELL-SAVONA: Hollie DeMong 2 0-0 5, Ashlynn Stratton 2 0-0 5, Hannah DeMong 1 0-0 2, Karissa Campion 4 4-6 13, Jalynn Machuga 1 6-8 8. Totals: 10 10-14 33.
GV/BELFAST: Anna Drozdowski 3 2-6 9, Abby Sullivan 3 1-2 8, Harley Proctor 2 0-2 4, Adison Grusendorf 6 2-2 14, Mary Hamer 9 3-4 21, Kate Calanni 1 0-0 2. Totals: 24 8-16 58.

3-point goals: C-S 3 (Hol. DeMong, Stratton, Campion), GVB 2 (Drozdowski, Sullivan).
Total Fouls: C-S 12, GVB 14. Fouled out: None.

Bolivar-Richburg 68, Archbishop Walsh 17

BOLIVAR — The Lady Wolverines were simply unstoppable come Monday night, as they started the brand new week on the biggest of footsteps with a phenomenal first quarter start that automatically set the tone for the remainder of the game, rolling past visiting Archbishop Walsh with a 68-17 win on their home floor.

Almost every Lady Wolverine (4-3) managed to score at least a basket from the field to lead the offense towards victory. Among them was another solid effort from Caitlyn Steiner, who recorded a game-high 18 points. Behind her was Malayna Ayers, who tallied 16 points. Carmen Crowley chipped in with 12 more points of her own.

Bolivar-Richburg would start the festivities against Archbishop Walsh with a scorching hot run, flying their way towards a 22-3 outscoring of the Lady Eagles to take the game’s first lead.

But the lead would continue to grow larger over time, including a second half spark with a 17-2 run, but their biggest margin of victory being determined was by 51 points.

The hope for Bolivar-Richburg is for the momentum to carry onward into the new year, as they get set to battle Andover/Whitesville over the road in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off in Andover on January 5.

Archbishop Walsh 3 8 2 4 – 17

Bolivar-Richburg 22 18 17 11 – 68

WALSH: Bobbi Kirkwood 1 0-2 2, Peyton Howard 3 0-0 9, Saba 2 0-0 4, Kana Iwata 1 0-0 2. Totals: 7 0-2 17.
BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Nadia Baldwin 2 1-2 5, Emma Sisson 3 1-2 7, Jaelyn Kinnicutt 1 0-0 2, Raegan Giardini 2 0-0 4, Carmen Crowley 6 0-2 12, Rylee Whiting 2 0-0 4, Malayna Ayers 7 2-3 16, Caitlyn Steiner 9 0-3 18. Totals: 32 4-12 68.
3-point goals: Walsh 3 (Howard).
Total Fouls: Walsh 12, B-R 3. Fouled out: None.

Friendship/Scio 49, Alfred-Almond 20

FRIENDSHIP — They were away for the last week. But for the final time this calendar year, the Friendship/Scio ladies made their last appearance on their home floor to close out the 2022 slate with Alfred-Almond in town for a visit.

For most of the opening eight period, it was one where both teams tangled up early, with Alfred-Almond gaining the first edge narrowly. But then, the Lady Wolverines came alive.

With the Lady Eagles up by one, Friendship/Scio went to work themselves in dominant fashion on both ends of the hardwood — with the offense remaining red hot while the defense pitched a complete shutout, making up a game-change run in its entirety to lay claim on victory by a 49-20 home win.

“We moved the ball really well tonight. We assisted on almost every basket, and we limited the turnovers,” said Friendship/Scio coach Ashleigh Lewis. “That's not too shabby for not being able to practice in a long while. It was a bit rusty to start, but the girls shook that off quickly after the first quarter. It was a nice team win to bounce back after having that time off.”

The big key for Friendship/Scio’s (4-3) success? — Almost every basket out of the 21 total that the team would score, would earn an assist. 17 assists were all gathered to put towards the victory, along with a massive 18-0 second quarter run of Alfred-Almond to propel the team forward and into the driver’s seat, ultimately for the remainder of the game.

Nevaeh Ross led all scorers with a game-high 14 points, pairing them with seven steals and four assists. Kadence Donohue tallied 11 points and four more steals, while Morghyn Ross had seven points and six rebounds.

Friendship/Scio is now off until next year, when they get to host Cuba-Rushford back in Friendship on January 5, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Alfred-Almond 10 0 8 2 – 20

Friendship/Scio 8 18 17 6 – 49

ALFRED-ALMOND: Chloe Hann 2 0-0 5, Chloe Bracken 0 0-2 0, Isabel Badeau 4 3-5 11, Sarah Eleshaky 2 0-0 4. Totals: 8 3-7 20.
FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Nevaeh Ross 7 0-0 14, Logan Roberts 3 0-0 6, Kadence Donohue 4 2-2 11, Morghyn Ross 2 2-2 7, Jenn Dickens 1 0-0 2, Kiara Grover 4 1-2 9. Totals: 21 5-6 49.

3-point goals: A-A 1 (Hann), F/S 2 (Donohue, M. Ross).
Total Fouls: A-A 6, F/S 8. Fouled out: None.

Mount Morris 45, Hinsdale 23

HINSDALE — Through the game’s opening sequences, visiting Mount Morris used the time to build up their lead against host Hinsdale. The construction would become insurmountable from start to finish, as the Lady Blue Devils rolled their way towards a 45-23 win over the Lady Bobcats, Monday evening.

Statistics and a complete box score were not made available to report upon publication.

The Lady Bobcats (0-8) will also see time off until the New Year, as they get set for a 7:30 p.m. road trip to Fillmore.