Massive 3rd quarter sparks Holiday Tournament championship crown for Vikings over Genesee Valley

Genesee Valley senior Cody Schneider (35) looks to split the Prattsburgh defense on his way to the basket during Saturday’s championship game in Prattsburgh. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Genesee Valley senior Evan Windus (21) drives down the court with the Prattsburgh defense racing back to defend during Saturday’s championship game in Prattsburgh. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Genesee Valley junior Brock Ellsessor, middle, looks to make a pass near the sidelines, as Prattsburgh defends during Saturday’s championship game in Prattsburgh. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Genesee Valley junior Riley Gordon (31) drives his way down the court as Prattsburgh senior Mason Putnam (13) gives chase during Saturday’s championship in Prattsburgh. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

PRATTSBURGH — The sixth annual Dan Barkley Showcase might be a little under a month away at Alfred State, but for some lucky fans inside a packed gymnasium in Prattsburgh on Saturday, they got a chance to witness a preview of the headlining act at the annual Allegany County vs. Steuben County clash.

After garnering wins over Wayland-Cohocton and Naples respectively the previous night, Genesee Valley and Prattsburgh renewed their yearly rivalry inside Prattsburgh’s first annual Holiday Tournament. Through most of the first half, both the Jaguars and Vikings fought their way to halftime in a back-and-forth fashion that saw the hosts go up by three.

In a close, one-possession game such as this, it would come down to a single quarter. That being the third quarter, where both sides of the floor for Prattsburgh were clicking.

From their astonishing offense to their overwhelming defense, the Vikings could not be stopped as they capitalized on everything they put their hands on to form a 24-10 game-changing run of Genesee Valley to essentially put the game on ice, rolling to become their tournament’s first champion with an 82-60 win over the Jaguars.

“I thought we were going to win 82-60. I didn’t expect our butts to be handed to us by 22 points,” Jaguars coach Lintz Bliven said. “We just did not play like we wanted to win this game. We go over our press break for at least 20 minutes every time we have practice, and those guys dribbled the ball more tonight than in the last two months. All we needed to do was relax, and run the press break. We try to run a play, and they went back out there like we never talked to them during the timeout. I don’t think we ran an offensive set all game.”

Initially before the third quarter fireworks by Prattsburgh took effect, both teams were wheeling and dealing after the Vikings got off to a 10-4 lead in the first 3:30 of the opening quarter. Genesee Valley (5-2) sprung into the game with assistance from both Evan Windus and Riley Gordon, each nailing back-to-back threes on two consecutive possessions to tie the game at 10.

From that point until the end of the quarter, it became a back-and-forth affair that saw the Jaguars take the 19-18 lead, which was cut down to one at the buzzer by one of Mason Putnam’s four triples for the Vikings. After launching another to start the second quarter, the game found its way toward a pair of ties within the stanza. The latter of the pair saw Cody Schneider put away a big basket before being called for a technical foul which became his third foul of the first half.

“We play them again at the Showcase again later in January, and I wish we could play them twice over again, but hopefully we can give them a better showing,” said Bliven. “They play hard, they play clean, and they have fun doing it. We didn't have fun. We were pouting, bickering, and they expected everything on a golden platter. You don't get golden platters in this life.”

The first half came to a close with the Vikings netting the last four points from the field, as each team spent the remaining minute at the charity stripe. When it was said and done, Prattsburgh took the 36-33 lead into the break.

As the Vikings took the momentum into the locker room, they came back out with a full head of steam. In the first 1:30 back on the floor, Prattsburgh, behind their relentless defensive press, sank six straight points to the basket, whether it be from the offensive glass or a turnover on the opposite end of the floor, the Vikings put away everything they could find.

It was a 6-0 run that eventually evolved into 11 straight over the course of three minutes, after Putnam drilled his third trey to force a timeout on the floor.

“It was one of those games where we didn’t have it,” said Bliven. “We have Cody and Evan, two remarkable guys that just didn’t have their best tonight. Those kids were outrebounding the both of them, and they’re undersized compared to them. It’s frustrating, but Mason Putnam is going to be the best player we see all year, no question. Prattsburgh plays hard and Brian (Putnam) does an outstanding job with those boys.”

The Jaguars would find their way onto the board at one point through the midway mark, but the epic gamechanger of a third quarter came to a close for the Vikings when Henry DeVoe collected the team’s second buzzer-beating shot, this time from underneath the basket off a James Crowder pass from the right wing to enter the final eight minutes with a 60-43 lead in hand, and a 24-10 third quarter run in their back pocket.

Genesee Valley showed some life with a deep three from Trevor Clark with under two minutes removed from the clock, cutting Prattsburgh’s lead to 12. But Kris Johnson dominated the fourth quarter offense for the host Vikings, dropping 12 of his 17 points within the frame, including a pair of back-to-back baskets off a Jaguars turnover just out front of their basket to extend their lead back out to 16, and for good.

Schneider led all Genesee Valley scorers with a team-high 19 points upon being fouled out of the contest near the halfway mark of the fourth. Evan Windus chipped in with 14 points of his own, while Clark and Brock Ellsessor garnered eight, and seven points respectively.

“It wasn’t Cody’s mentality tonight, and he knows that. From him on down, we have to own up to our mistakes,” Bliven said. “This is a young man’s game. It’s physical, fast-paced, and our kids have to play like that. He’s the real deal, and it’s one of those games where we have to move forward, and forget about it. We came to this tournament for one reason: to get better against tough competition. We will be better.”

The big storyline heading into the championship game was Mason Putnam’s quest toward 2,000 points in his storied career with Prattsburgh. The Vikings star senior had a big night with four of the team’s eight treys in all to put forth toward a game-high 25 point performance. Putnam needs just five more points to eclipse the historic mark. He will likely reach that plateau in the team’s next contest next Monday, as they travel to Arkport/Canaseraga.

At game’s end, the Jaguars were awarded with a pair of All-Tournament selections, as Schneider and Windus both received the nods along with accepting the second place trophy alongside their fellow senior Trevor Clark.

Genesee Valley will return home to regroup in time for their next game coming up next Thursday, as they look to bounce back with the Bolivar-Richburg Wolverines in town for a 7:30 p.m. start in the Jungle.

“We’ll be okay,” Bliven said. “We have Bolivar, and then we take a trip to North Rose-Wolcott coming up next week. We've been taking things one game at a time all year. We got ahead of ourselves the past few years, and we can’t let that happen again. We’ve got these next two games circled on our schedule. If we can get these wins, we’ll be fine.”

Genesee Valley      19 14 10 17 – 60

Prattsburgh             18 18 24 22 – 82

GENESEE VALLEY: Christian Tuttle 1 0-0 2, Jon Rizzo 1 0-0 3, Trevor Clark 3 0-0 8, Evan Windus 6 0-0 14, Brock Ellsessor 3 1-3 7, Riley Gordon 2 0-0 5, Keegan McKnight 0 2-2 2, Cody Schneider 8 3-8 19. Totals: 24 6-13 60.
PRATTSBURGH: Kris Johnson 8 1-5 17, Mason Putnam 8 5-6 25, James Crowder 8 0-0 19, Henry DeVoe 4 0-0 8, Ammon Anderson 3 0-0 6, Chris Hively 3 0-0 7. Totals: 34 6-11 82.

3-point goals: GV 5 (Clark 2, Rizzo, Windus, Gordon), Prattsburgh 8 (Putnam 4, Crowder 3, Hively).
Total Fouls: GV 11, Prattsburgh 14. Fouled out: Schneider (GV), Clark (GV).