Monday Sectionals: Fillmore rockets past A-P, punch ticket to Class D Finals behind Bialek’s unreal 1st half; And/Whi boys fall in waning seconds to J-T, B-R boys capture first Finals berth since ‘07
WAYLAND — There was a very real possibility that Allegany County could take Blue Cross Arena by storm to start the afternoon this Saturday. There was also a chance that Steuben County could do the same thing themselves. And there was also an opportunity for the neighboring counties to go toe-to-toe for the coveted Class D Championship brick.
Only one of those scenarios was going to happen. It was a matter of where the course of time would take Monday night at Wayland-Cohocton.
Starting the two-game night were the Fillmore Eagles, the Class D bracket’s top seed. They have not only been Allegany County’s top team since the beginning of the season, but they’ve surfaced as one of New York State’s elites. No matter what the forecast indicated, no matter the opponent nor the result, the Eagles have emerged an even stronger team every time.
In fact, they are more than dialed in to the objective at hand, than ever. Just ask head coach Randy Crouch.
“I told the guys right up front coming into this year that the goal is the Sectional Finals, and then make a run to the State Tournament,” he said. “I put the most brutal schedule that I could together for them to play. We learn from the losses, we become prepared and we’ll be ready for anything that comes our way. We felt sort of a quiet confidence, and one of our phrases is “Respect all, fear none.”. I think they’ve really bought into that. This game is just the next step. We talked a bit about when you travel to New York City, you see the Empire State Building. You get all excited about that, and when you get into Manhattan, you lose sight of it. I told them not to lose sight of what we’re doing.”
A long awaited trip to the War Memorial was well within sight. One more obstacle blocked their path there — the No. 5 Avoca-Prattsburgh Titans.
To do it, they would need an early bird special right out of the gate. The kind of start they have yet to experience all season. The kind of commencement that they saved for this moment.
At the ready was Fillmore’s ace in the hole: Jonah Bialek. The Eagles sophomore pushed the button and began lift off. He proceeded to have not only the biggest, tone-setting game of the season, but maybe even perhaps one of the best in his young career.
Did I mention that he did it in just the first half?
The Eagles wasted absolutely no time whatsoever making their presence known on both ends of the floor. With outstanding defense, comes even more tremendous offense. For Bialek, the numbers spoke for itself — seven three-pointers, 28 first half points and a bundle of defensive stops to help those around him on the floor. That combination spelled Class D Finals for the top seeds, as they navigated over the Semifinal hump to finally reach the grand stage at the War Memorial this weekend with an absolutely dominant 88-40 victory over Avoca-Prattsburgh.
“We’re notoriously slow starters, but this was by far the best start to a game we’ve had all season,” said Crouch. “Jonah is as good of a shooter as I’ve ever had, and it wouldn’t shock me if he went home tonight and got up some more shots. That’s the way he is. The thing that gets lost is the ball-handling and the defense. A lot of teams think that one of the things they do to get after us is by pressing. We don’t work a lot on press-break, because we have some stuff we run that allows us to get the ball in his hands. His defense, he was tasked with handling (JJ) Crowder. I don’t know what he had at the end of the game, but I thought Jonah did a really good job of containing him. Those are the things that often get overlooked. Those 25-foot three-pointers he hits are covering up what he’s able to do on defense to help us get set up on offense.”
You simply could not ask for a better beginning to come into complete and full fruition for the Eagles (19-3), as they soared to open the first couple of minutes of action. With Avoca-Prattsburgh bucketing their first from inside in the midst of all the activity, the top seeds went straight to work with their first three shots going down from long range — two from the hand of Bialek from outside in the parking lot, to jumpstart a 9-2 advantage.
Bialek’s reign of power progressed all throughout the first quarter when he contributed two more three-pointers along with some stalwart defensive efforts on the other end, swiping away possession and cashing in on the fastbreak down the other way to finish off a 14-point first quarter, and a 23-9 lead of the Titans.
Fillmore went on to stomp back down on the gas in the second quarter, more than ever before to keep all the momentum retained in their favor, with a circus-esque pass play set up by Bialek, JD Bialek and Isaiah Sisson — the latter of the trio finishing off the play that helped start a 30-point second quarter.
With a 35-18 lead in hand, the Eagles coasted straight to the locker room off an 18-6 run of Avoca-Prattsburgh in the last five minutes of the half.
While in possession of a lead they never looked back on, the Eagles saw 10 different scorers all make their mark on the floor from start to finish. The scoring depth is an element to the game that Crouch absolutely covets as one of his biggest assets.
“This has been a luxury of riches for me, and I’m more than blessed to coach these guys,” he said. “When you have the other guys, they don’t play second fiddle. Isaiah is playing aggressive, getting up to the rim and off the offensive glass, Jameson (Rhett) shoots confidently, JD (Bialek) is getting touches in the post, and then guys like Carson (Sanasith) and Jordan (Bialek) who come off the bench and knock it down. Late in the game, we had a couple of JV call-ups that also played their role in our practices, and one of them went up against Crowder a little bit in the fourth quarter. They all did great.”
When the book closed, Bialek emerged as Fillmore’s leading scorer at the end of the night, posting a game-high 30 points. Isaiah Sisson recorded 13 points. JD Bialek posted 11 points, while Cam Mucher chipped in 10 points of his own into the mix.
Avoca-Prattsburgh was powered by Austin Swift and his team-leading 14 points. JJ Crowder was not far behind him, bucketing 13 points. Bryan Heale had four points.
Now half of the Class D dinner table was set for this weekend. Not long after the conclusion of game one, the nightcap then settled in.
No. 3 Jasper-Troupsburg and No. 2 Andover/Whitesville assembled an epic battle that came straight down to the wire through a close battle that saw the pendulum shift each and every direction. With the two-seeds looking to overcome one of their many deficits of the game in the final homestretch, the Wildcats were searching for a way to hold them back.
With absolutely zero room for error, the path ahead had to be cleared in some way.
Enter James Ainsworth and Gage Hall.
In the game’s waning moments, it was Ainsworth that aided the team’s propelling over the top with what served as the final lead change of the game, as he finished off an absolutely immaculate outing at the charity stripe with his last two shots before swiping an Andover/Whitesville inbound to airmail a pass straight down the court to the former Andover/Whitesville product in Hall, who went on to score four straight points off back-to-back runs to the rim with a minute remaining to branch out Jasper-Troupsburg’s lead in crucial fashion.
As a result, the Wildcats went on to hang on by the skin of their teeth to claim the final vacancy in this weekend’s Finals at Blue Cross Arena with a 57-53 victory.
“I knew going in that we could play 100 games against them and we would both come out 50-50. It’s two teams that are fairly similar in build and skill levels. Jimmy (Joyce) and his coaching staff do such a great job getting them prepared,” said Wildcats coach Louis Zver. “They worked really hard to get where they are now, and I could tell. If we could go man-to-man with them, we could disrupt their three-point shooting. Sometimes in situations like this, we just had to buckle down and play man-to-man.”
The back-and-forth trade of jaunts between the two clubs settled in fairly quickly in the opening frame, with Andover/Whitesville connecting on the first with six straight points following a 6-5 lead for the Wildcats, to spring out ahead. Jasper-Troupsburg eventually navigated their way out ahead with an 8-0 run of the No. 2 seeds during the second quarter behind Ainsworth’s guidance from the free-throw line.
The dry spell for Andover/Whitesville reached its end after what was a 10-0 run by the Wildcats, with James Miller-Young’s three-pointer helping cut the deficit down to a pair of points before Hall and Nolan Vallieres put a cap on a strong 17-9 second quarter advantage for Jasper-Troupsburg to take a three-point lead into the locker room.
The momentum was held in their hands. Zver said all his guys had to do was run with it.
“That’s something we usually try to preach in the locker room,” he said. “This was an opportunity to get that little edge when we need it the most. A lot of times, teams will come out a little complacent, but I thought if we had some open chances, we’d run with it. Landon (Zver), for the most part, connected on a two and a three to start the second half. That was big, and it propelled us for a bit, even with the mental lapses at times.”
Landon Zver guided the way for the Wildcats, as the team showed no signs of slowing down while picking up where they left off from the first half, registering the quarter’s first seven points — five of them belonging to the Wildcats junior to branch their advantage into double-digit territory for the first time in the evening.
Andover/Whitesville was able to shake it off later on to develop a rhythm themselves, beginning with a feisty right hand from Brody Vance to knock the ball loose from the Wildcats and cash in on a breakaway run to the rim. Colton Calladine ensued a short time later with a hard-fought basket down low to keep trimming away at their deficit.
They would climb to within three down the stretch of the frame with a phenomenal two-part sequence taking shape from Gage Putnam, as he stepped in to take a charge on the defensive end before being rewarded for his efforts on the other end on the very next play with a nice jumper from the inside. After a couple of more exchanges, the Wildcats were able to stay out on top with a 41-39 third quarter lead going into the last eight minutes.
After both teams came together to procure a 41-41 deadlock in the early stages of the final frame, the Wildcats asserted control with a clutch 8-0 run against Andover/Whitesville consisting of a Xavier Remchuk three and five more points from Ainsworth on special teams with a three-point play and two individual shots at the line later on.
Despite falling behind with another deficit again, Andover/Whitesville reversed the propulsion to spearhead a 7-0 run to close the gap behind Jasper-Troupsburg once again, this time to a single point with 2:36 remaining in regulation.
With time running out, the Wildcats then used a late burst of momentum to speed back ahead, this time out of reach, with Ainsworth putting the finishing touches on what was an 11-for-11 outing at the charity stripe, all before Gage Hall took over the spotlight in the last minute with the conversion of two straight runners to the basket, branching the Wildcats lead out to five where it ultimately withstood the test of time to help them clinch a spot in this weekend’s Class D Finals at the War Memorial.
As for Hall, Zver says that ever since his arrival from Andover/Whitesville, he’s become a refreshing presence on the floor for the Wildcats.
“Gage has been a breath of fresh air for us. He’s a different player, and he plays hard. I saw when he got his first chance to score, he was going to make it in. He’s such a big kid, and as a senior who had to sit out a year after transferring to us, he did a very good job. I’m very proud of him.” he said.
Ainsworth’s perfect night at the charity stripe helped lead Jasper-Troupsburg in scoring, as he posted a game-high 17 points. Zver concluded with 15 points of his own, while Hall and Jackson Hayes both had eight points.
Andover/Whitesville was led by Brody Vance and his 14 team-leading points. Colton Calladine chipped in 13 points of his own, while Vinny Joyce had 11. The 2024-25 campaign for the team has officially reached its conclusion, as they wrap up with a record of 15-7 overall. Andover/Whitesville will graduate just one senior in Ethan Warriner when Graduation arrives this June.
“This was a battle tonight. I thought we had some early opportunities to really take charge and we just couldn’t do it,” Andover/Whitesville coach Jimmy Joyce said. “We will regroup and be even better next year, I promise you that. This hurts, and the emotions after the game were pretty tough to handle. These guys poured everything into this team both during the season and in the off-season. I’m so lucky to coach these young men. I want to thank our lone senior Ethan for all of his hard work. He’s a true leader on and off the court, and we will miss him dearly.”
Joyce continued, saying “Colton was tough tonight, he took a bad fall but he made it through the game. But congrats to Lou, Brian (Adams) and everyone at Jasper-Troupsburg. Well done and well deserved. Congratulations go out to Randy (Crouch) and everyone at Fillmore on their Finals trip as well.”
Jasper-Troupsburg has now earned the right to main event one of the many hoops contests going on at Blue Cross Arena on Saturday, as they get set to battle top-seeded Fillmore for all the marbles and a direct trip to the Class D Far West Regional in two week’s time.
“They are a handful. A big handful. They have five really good players and a couple more that come off the bench. I paid attention a little bit with them and tried to gauge who we might play during Sectionals,” Zver said. “We got some ideas to try and slow things down, but it's going to come down to who plays their best basketball that day. We were there two years ago against a very strong Mount Morris team. They were 12 deep. I don't take any of this for granted, so I told the guys to enjoy tonight and we'll get back to work tomorrow.”
Eagles coach Randy Crouch added on their Finals battle with the Wildcats, saying that “I'm happy we're having the opportunity to play in the Finals. I couldn't be prouder of the guys. Jasper-Troupsburg has pretty good depth of size and I know they have a bunch of guys that can shoot the ball. I've been very conscientious about not getting ahead of myself. I've accumulated the data, but haven't read anything. We'll take tomorrow off from the grind to enjoy this, and then we'll be back in the gym preparing for this weekend.”
Avoca-Prattsburgh 12 12 4 12 – 40
Fillmore 23 30 22 13 – 88
AVOCA-PRATTSBURGH: JJ Crowder 4 5-6 13, Austin Swift 6 0-0 14, Noah Hoffman 0 2-2 2, Carter Button 1 0-0 2, Colin Zurlick 1 0-0 3, AJ Underhill 1 0-0 2, Bryan Heale 2 0-0 4, Julian Frings 0 0-2 0. Totals: 15 7-10 40.
FILLMORE: Jordan Bialek 1 0-0 2, Carson Sanasith 1 1-1 4, Isaiah Sisson 5 3-3 13, Jonah Bialek 11 1-1 30, Tyler Voss 2 2-4 6, Jameson Rhett 4 0-0 9, Cam Mucher 5 0-0 10, JD Bialek 5 0-0 11, Liam McCumiskey 0 0-2 0, Connor McCumiskey 1 1-2 3. Totals: 35 8-13 88.
3-point goals: A-P 3 (Swift 2, Zurlick), Fillmore 10 (Jon. Bialek 7, Sanasith, Rhett, JD Bialek).
Total Fouls: A-P 10, Fillmore 9. Fouled out: None.
Jasper-Troupsburg 9 17 15 16 — 57
Andover/Whitesville 14 9 16 14 — 53
JASPER-TROUPSBURG: Braylon Lawson 1 1-2 3, James Ainsworth 3 11-11 17, Nolan Vallieres 1 1-4 3, Jackson Hayes 3 1-2 8, Landon Zver 6 0-1 15, Xavier Remchuk 1 0-0 3, Gage Hall 4 0-2 8. Totals: 19 14-22 57.
ANDOVER/WHITESVILLE: Gage Putnam 3 0-0 6, James Miller-Young 2 0-0 5, Vinny Joyce 5 1-4 11, Brody Vance 5 2-3 14, Jon Vallieres 2 0-2 4, Colton Calladine 5 3-4 13. Totals: 22 6-13 53.
3-point goals: J-T 5 (Zver 3, Hayes, Remchuk), A/W 3 (Vance 2, Miller-Young).
Total Fouls: J-T 12, A/W 20. Fouled out: Calladine (A/W).
Class C2 Semifinals
No. 4 Bolivar-Richburg 38, No. 1 Dundee/Bradford 35
DANSVILLE — It has been a long time coming for No. 4 Bolivar-Richburg. They were mere seconds away from snapping a long Finals drought last season, when they went straight down to the wire with eventual finalist Alexander. The heartbreak that settled in, more than devastating.
But after constructing some of the basketball of the season to close out their regular season campaign entering Sectionals, the Wolverines were moving at full steam ahead. Now, just one more victory separated them from ending a drought that has lasted for nearly 20 years. Next in line: No. 1 Dundee/Bradford.
And they brought every bit of it to the table.
From start to finish on Monday, there was no degree of separation after every quarter that eclipsed more than four points, with the first three stanzas all being determined by no larger than a two-point basket. To say that it was a true defensive battle right to the end, would be a massive understatement. After forcing a lead change across the fourth quarter, the Wolverines had to hang on.
With the BraveScots quickly closing in right behind them, they needed a safety blanket. Who else better for the opportunity, than one of the all-time greats in Landon Barkley.
With seconds remaining until the final buzzer sounded, Bolivar-Richburg charted their course towards victory in clutch fashion behind the Wolverines senior and his two game-sealing shots from the charity stripe, pushing their advantage out to a trio of points with virtually no time remaining for Dundee/Bradford to formulate a response in return, as the No. 4 seeds stun the Class C2 field with an upset of the top seeds to move onto the Finals for the first time since 2007 with a defensive 38-35 victory.
“It was every bit of a donnybrook as I thought it would be. It feels pretty good after having a great shot these last couple of years to finally get over that Semifinal hump,” said Wolverines coach Justin Thomas. “To push those heartbreaks aside and get through to the big dance, it’s a chance that we will not take for granted. The defensive battle was on the entire way. When either team doesn’t break 40, you know it’s going to be one of those knock out and drag out games. One of the big adjustments was we weren’t handling their screens really well. We were slacking on the recovery portion of that, and we did a great job not giving them open threes or easy buckets from those. The defensive effort was impeccable, and Dundee/Bradford was really difficult to score against. But we did just enough offensively and at the line to squeak it out.”
Bolivar-Richburg (17-6) had some early fireworks to set off, opening with the game’s first monstrous lead over Dundee/Bradford with a 10-2 run — six of those points off two big threes from the hand of Mason Baldwin. After the BraveScots regained traction to close out the first quarter strong with the narrow lead, the Wolverines came right back with Baldwin’s help from outside again, as he nailed his third three of the half to become the difference maker going into the locker room.
In the second half, the offensive efforts from the first half were left in the rearview mirror at an instant, as both defenses buckled down and kept one another at bay through the first four minutes before recommencing their attack later on, with Dundee/Bradford carrying a one-point lead going into the final eight minutes.
The two foes weaved their way back-and-forth against one another all the way down to the wire, where the Wolverines forced one final lead change along the way. With Dundee/Bradford looking to make a game-saving move right behind them with minimal time remaining, Landon Barkley came to the rescue for the Wolverines with two outstanding free throws with nearly a second left to play to push the advantage out to three where it would remain solidified until the end of time.
Those efforts, sealing the envelope on a trip to the War Memorial for the first time in 18 years for the program.
Barkley finished as the leading scorer for Bolivar-Richburg, as he bucketed a team-high 14 points. Following Baldwin’s three first half triples for nine points, Kingston Loucks chipped in with eight points, while Braden Zilker and Waide Karnuth rounded out the scoring with five and two points, respectively.
The Wolverines have now punched their tickets to Blue Cross Arena coming up this Friday night, as they now prepare to go for championship glory against another stalwart in Section V — the No. 7 York Golden Knights, a team seeking their second title in the last four years, after they edged out No. 4 Notre Dame-Batavia to claim their spot in the Finals.
Thomas says York is as good as it gets.
“The pedigree is certainly there,” he said. “They’ve been there and they achieved glory in that setting. They know what to expect and the coaches are going to have them ready. Coach (Ed) Orman does a great job with those kids up there in York, and we’re going to make sure we leave no stone unturned. We should be in for another instant classic this weekend. We’re looking forward to this awesome opportunity.”
Bolivar-Richburg 10 12 6 10 – 38
Dundee/Bradford 11 10 8 6 – 35
BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Landon Barkley 4 5-6 14, Braden Zilker 1 2-3 5, Waide Karnuth 1 0-0 2, Mason Baldwin 3 0-0 9, Kingston Loucks 2 3-6 8. Totals: 11 10-15 38.
DUNDEE/BRADFORD: Aidan Webster 4 1-4 10, Jeremy Stiles 2 0-0 6, Chris Clancey 5 1-4 11, Alex Goltry 4 0-2 8. Totals: 15 2-10 35.
3-point goals: B-R 6 (Baldwin 3, Barkley, Zilker, Loucks), D/B 3 (Stiles 2, Webster).
Total Fouls: B-R 13, D/B 13. Fouled out: None.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Class B1 Semifinals
No. 8 Mynderse 51, No. 4 Wellsville 50
HONEOYE FALLS — After two strong quarters were pieced together by No. 8 Mynderse, the No. 4 Lady Lions of Wellsville were in the midst of a comeback on their own accord.
With a potential Finals matchup against the No. 2 Hornell Lady Red Raiders waiting in the wings this weekend in Canandaigua, the Lady Lions did everything in their power to make it happen on Monday.
The fourth quarter put everyone at Honeoye Falls-Lima on the very edge of the seats until the game was officially over. Wellsville was driving in the fast lane, with No. 8 Mynderse hanging on for dear life with the advantage in hand. The pressure began to boil over late, as the Lady Blue Devils lead closed down.
With the Lady Lions holding the final possession after two enormous free shots from the stripe, the future of their destiny was in their hands.
Makenna Dunbar came up at large for Wellsville with the sinking of a colossal three-pointer. But that only closed the gap behind the No. 8 seeds to just one point with less than two seconds remaining. After possession transferred over to Mynderse, the Lady Lions had run out of time, as the Lady Blue Devils went on and continued their Cinderella story into the Class B1 Finals this weekend with a stunning 51-50 upset win.
“I think we came out nervous and it took us a little while to settle in,” Lady Lions coach Michelle Alvord said. “When we did, things started to move along. We could get some stops, but we couldn’t capitalize off them. That helped them earn some momentum, and then we came out and made some adjustments that we should have made sooner. Our kids kept going at it and chipped away to try and win a game. But it ultimately became too late.”
Both Mynderse and Wellsville each traded a share of the lead across the first half of play, with Mynderse springboarding their way out to the front off the erasing of a 13-9 first quarter lead from the No. 4 seeds, as they unleashed their offensive balance in the second quarter with a lengthy 17-9 half-closing run to jump ahead.
The Lady Blue Devils remained in the driver’s seat at the start of the second half with their strongest outing of offense in the contest. But their advantage was threatened in the final stages of battle by the Lady Lions, who assembled a dominant 17-7 jaunt to close out the game with a monstrous amount of pressure to create one last tidal wave.
With Makenna Dunbar launching what would be the very last shot of her illustrious career for the white and orange, it trimmed the deficit down to a single point with less than two seconds remaining in regulation.
After a timeout, the Lady Blue Devils held onto the ball for dear life as time wound to the end, as they ended Wellsville’s stellar season on the hardwood.
Dunbar led all scorers on the floor for Wellsville with a game-high 24 points, pairing them with five rebounds to finish off another All-Tournament performance through Sectionals — an honor she has been graced with for a fourth straight year.
Jaden Dunbar chipped in with 10 points. Caelyn Stevens had nine points, while Emily Stuck had six rebounds to grab off the glass, and Natalie Adams had a trio of assists to hand out.
The season is now over for Wellsville, as they wrap up with a record of 15-7 overall. The Lady Lions will graduate three seniors at the end of the year in June, in Dunbar, Adams and Alexa Stuck.
For Alvord, she said that all three seniors will truly be missed.
“I cannot express what Makenna, Natalie and Alexa have brought to this team,” she said. “Honestly on and off the court, as far as their talent, it speaks for itself. The leadership, the comradery, especially with Makenna and Nat. Those two have been up on this program since they were in JV. I hate to see them all go out this way, but I’ve been very fortunate to coach them. I will dearly miss them. The future is definitely bright ahead, with a strong nucleus coming back to go with some really good JV players from this past season. I’m really excited to see where things will take us.”
Mynderse 9 17 18 7 – 51
Wellsville 13 9 11 17 – 50
MYNDERSE: Chelsea Korzeniewski 8 5-6 26, Danielle McDermott 0 0-2 0, Peyton Verkey 7 0-0 15, Alessandra Nigro 2 0-0 4, Reese Markel 2 1-2 6. Totals: 19 6-10 51.
WELLSVILLE: Caelyn Stevens 3 2-2 9, Natalie Adams 1 0-0 3, Emily Stuck 1 2-2 4, Makenna Dunbar 8 6-11 24, Jaden Dunbar 3 4-4 10. Totals: 16 14-19 50.
3-point goals: Mynderse 7 (Korzeniewski 5, Verkey, Markel), Wellsville 4 (M. Dunbar 2, Stevens, Adams).
Total Fouls: Mynderse 13, Wellsville 13. Fouled out: None.
Class B2 Semifinals
No. 1 Lyons 65, No. 4 Canisteo-Greenwood 53
CANANDAIGUA — Right in the first half of play, the top-seeded Lyons Lady Lions came out swinging on Monday against No. 4 Canisteo-Greenwood. After garnering the early edge in the opening frame, one switch of the knob went up in the second quarter, where the Lady Chargers could not overcome the major bump in the road, as they saw their season come to an end after a 65-53 defeat in the Class B2 Semifinals in Canandaigua.
Throughout the first half of play, the Lady Lions did not miss a beat, as they used multiple contributions across the first quarter to help lay the foundation down on one end while holding Canisteo-Greenwood to just three field goals along the way on the other to lay claim on a 16-9 lead. In the second quarter, a much bigger story.
With the momentum currently residing with the top-seeds, Lyons punched down on the gas one more time with an absolutely dominant finish to the half behind the efforts of four different scorers, all posting at least four points to help set the stage. When it was all said and done, the Lady Lions raced into the break on a 21-7 run that granted them a massive double-digit lead going into the recess.
Despite staring a 37-16 halftime deficit right directly between the eyes, the Lady Chargers still made the most of the opportunity behind the guidance of Bailey Mullen, who transformed a two-point first half into a 22-point second half on offense — 13 of those points in the third quarter alone. The second half also saw a three-point presence from Mullen and Paris May come to fruition, as the two combined to bury three of the team’s nine triples altogether to try and swap the momentum back in their favor.
The three-pointers served as a precursor into the last eight minutes, where Canisteo-Greenwood found the outside wing as much as they could by knocking down four more triples — two from the hand of May, to keep the pressure on. But in the end, the early first half deficit was ultimately too much to overcome, as the Lady Chargers drew their season to a conclusion.
Bailey Mullen led all scorers for Canisteo-Greenwood with a game-high 24 points, pairing them with 11 rebounds off the glass to complete a monster double-double. In addition, MacKenna Mullen chipped in with 12, while Paris May had nine points off all three of her shots from deep.
The Lady Chargers have officially closed the book on their 2024-25 campaign, as they finish with a record of 11-11 overall. The team will graduate just two seniors in McKenna Ferris and Lauren Markel when the time comes this June.
Canisteo-Greenwood 9 7 17 20 — 53
Lyons 16 21 11 17 — 65
CANISTEO-GREENWOOD: Bailey Mullen 8 6-9 24, MacKenna Mullen 4 1-4 12, McKenna Ferris 1 0-0 2, Paris May 3 0-0 9, Anna Mitchell 1 0-0 3, Harlie McCaffery 0 1-2 1, Lyla Greenfield 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 8-15 53.
LYONS: Kamryn Bonnell 4 4-7 12, Car’Mella Parker 6 0-2 12, Ja’Niyah Bell 4 0-0 8, Jayla Bell 9 10-14 29, Addison Jones 2 0-4 4. Totals: 25 14-27 65.
3-point goals: C-G 9 (M. Mullen 3, May 3, B. Mullen 2, Mitchell), Lyons 1 (Jay. Bell).
Total Fouls: C-G 25, Lyons 19. Fouled out: May (C-G), Parker (LYO), Ja. Bell (LYO).
