Wednesday Roundup: Cook hits game-winner in Andover’s Senior Night edging of Friendship; Lions bounce back on the road at B-R

ANDOVER — It all came down to one last shot in Andover on Wednesday.

With seconds remaining, the ball was on the Panthers side of the court. With a career-night in the making for senior Spencer Cook, he took the opportunity to win the game for the hosts in white and purple and ran with it, finding his way to the basket to give the Panthers a triumphant 59-58 decision over visiting Friendship.

“Spencer was lights out tonight. He hit the game winner with seconds left,” said Panthers coach John Dougherty. “You can certainly tell we’ve been practicing for seven days. We got into some bad early foul trouble and we were in a deficit at halftime. We came out much better in the second half. Our legs weren’t there, and we have more to work on, but the win was good. But even more so, I’m more happy that in this time of COVID, we are actually able to play. I never thought it would happen this season, but getting 11 games to play is great. Wins and losses don’t matter, it’s just having the ability to go out and have fun.”

Prior to their last second heroics, Andover (1-0) had to fight their way from behind early on in the first half. Under the hot hand of Ian Romero, the Golden Eagles were able to fight their way out to a double digit lead of the Panthers heading into the break.

But Cook started to heat up at the right time when he helped provide an enormous 19-9 run in the third quarter to tie the game up at 39 heading into the last eight minutes.

Cook continued his dominant performance on offense with 13 huge fourth quarter points including his game-winning shot with 4.4 seconds remaining to pull the Panthers ahead for good in their 20-point final frame. He would finish with a game-high 37 points. Greg Reilly and Kohler Niedermaier helped the cause with nine, and eight points respectively.

Romero led Friendship (0-1) with a team-high 35 points, including five of the team’s eight three-pointers. Jacob Golden bucketed nine points of his own, while Garrett Miller dropped two more threes en route to eight points.

On Friday, each team returns to the hardwood on the road with a pair of 6 p.m. first tips, as Andover looks to keep the momentum rolling into Hinsdale with a visit to the Bobcats, while Friendship continues their road swing into Scio and a visit with the Tigers.

Friendship 18 12 9 19 – 58

Andover 13 7 19 20 – 59

FRIENDSHIP: Taylor Moore 1 0-0 2, Ian Romero 13 4-8 35, Dekota Stewart 2 0-0 4, Garrett Miller 3 0-0 8, Jacob Golden 3 2-3 9. Totals: 22 6-11 58.
ANDOVER: Spencer Cook 16 4-5 37, Greg Reilly 4 1-2 9, Chris Walker 1 3-6 5, Will Kent 0 0-2 0, Richie York 0 0-1 0, Kohler Niedermaier 4 0-0 8. Totals: 25 8-16 59.

3-point goals: Friendship 8 (Romero 5, Miller 2, Golden), Andover 1 (Cook).
Total Fouls: Friendship 12, Andover 14. Fouled out: Walker (AND).

Wellsville 66, Bolivar-Richburg 40

BOLIVAR — The Wellsville Lions were on the rebound Wednesday night after falling to the hands of the Hornell Red Raiders on Opening Night, Wednesday evening, as they took their first road trip to Bolivar-Richburg to visit the Wolverines.

For the majority of the opening quarter, both teams engaged in a narrow battle that saw the Lions take the early lead at the end of the frame. But then, things kicked into high gear as the Lions kept the Bolivar-Richburg offense at bay while providing a game-changing shift in the second quarter to pull away toward a double-digit, 66-40 victory to earn their first win.

“I was very happy with how the kids came out in the first. We had a lead coming out, and we played with high energy, but then Coach (Raymie) Auman packed it in and took away both our big scorers,” said Wolverines coach Jeff Margeson. “We had to adapt and overcome from there, but we needed a better scheme to do that. They double-teamed both of our guys when they could, and that was the game after the second quarter. The changes they made on defense led to a lot of fastbreak points. They tried, but they were winded at the end after the pressure on our front.”

The Lions (1-1) saw four different scorers record at least 10 points in the victory, including the season debut of Logan Dunbar who dropped three of the team’s five triples to put toward a 13-point effort. Liam McKinley led all scorers on the floor for the visitors in black and orange with a game-high 15 points. Aidan Hart chipped in with 12 points of his own, while Alex Perkins had 10.

The Wolverines (0-1), after their close first quarter battle, were held in check to their lowest offensive quarter right before the half, as Wellsville provided a big 18-6 second quarter run to end the first half on the strongest note that saw them pull away. Landon Danaher and Camdyn MacDonell each had 14-team high points to lead the scoring. Evan Pinney provided five points of his own.

Both teams are back on the floor over the road Friday night, as the Lions hit the road for a 7:30 p.m. contest against the Cuba-Rushford Rebels, while the Wolverines look to rebound with a 7 p.m. contest at Genesee Valley against the Jaguars.

Wellsville 14 18 16 19 – 66

Bolivar-Richburg 13 6 11 10 – 40

WELLSVILLE: Tyler Sands 2 0-0 4, Alex Perkins 4 2-2 10, Sam Schmidt 2 2-3 6, Liam McKinley 6 1-2 15, Logan Dunbar 5 0-0 13, Connor Ferguson 1 0-0 2, Aidan Hart 5 2-2 12, Kalob Phelps 1 0-0 2, Tim Jones 1 0-0 2. Totals: 27 7-9 66.
BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Landon Danaher 4 5-8 14, Brayden Ellis 1 0-0 3, Matt Mitchell 1 0-0 2, David Baldwin 0 2-4 2, Evan Pinney 2 0-0 5, Daniel Baldwin 0 0-4 0, Camdyn MacDonell 6 2-4 14. Totals: 14 9-20 40.

3-point goals: Wellsville 5 (Dunbar 3, McKinley 2), B-R 3 (Danaher, Ellis, Pinney).
Total Fouls: Wellsville 18, B-R 10. Fouled out: None.

Belfast 45, Scio 42

BELFAST — Despite a massive season opening effort from last season’s leading scorer in Allegany County, Cam Loucks and the Scio Tigers, it was a duel straight to the end in Belfast that saw the host Bulldogs manage to stay one step ahead until the final buzzer to pick up victory, starting the season strong with a 45-42 edging.

The Bulldogs (1-0) played to their strengths by using their three-point game to their advantage, sinking nine of them in all to account for nearly half of their 45 points. Devin Harriger was responsible for providing the most production from beyond the arc, nailing five of them in all to put toward his team-high 16 point effort.

Even though the hosts in white and red were held to just three points at the end of the first half, they bounced back in a big way to spring forward into the driver’s seat for good with a pair of second half outscorings of the Tigers (0-1). Loucks led all scorers on the floor despite the defeat for Scio, netting a game-high 34 points. Ayden Faulkner and Cory Bolzan rounded off the scorebook with five, and three points respectively.

Both teams will return to the floor on Friday with a pair of 6 p.m. contests, with Belfast continuing their home swing with a meeting against the Whitesville Blue Jays, while Scio returns home to open up their home slate against the Friendship Golden Eagles.

Scio 6 9 14 13 – 42

Belfast 10 3 17 15 – 45

SCIO: Ayden Faulkner 2 0-0 5, Cory Bolzan 1 0-0 3, Cam Loucks 13 8-12 34. Totals: 16 8-12 42.
BELFAST: Jason Drozdowski 1 1-2 3, Nick Ellison 2 0-0 6, Tony Logue 2 0-0 5, Devin Harriger 5 1-2 16, Matt Weaver 4 0-0 9, Stephen Struckmann 3 0-0 6. Totals: 17 2-4 45.

3-point goals: Scio 2 (Faulkner, Bolzan), Belfast 9 (Harriger 5, Ellison 2, Logue, Weaver).
Total Fouls: Scio 10, Belfast 15. Fouled out: None.

Fillmore 51, Genesee Valley 33

FILLMORE — In their first game of the season, both Genesee Valley and Fillmore battled back and forth through the first eight minutes of play which resulted in a 10-10 tie. In the second, the host Eagles ran the table on defense to hold the Jaguars to a single basket while in the midst of a 10-2 half-ending run that kept them in the lead for good to collect a 51-33 victory on Wednesday.

“We started off a little slow, but we found a defensive rhythm,” said Eagles coach Randy Crouch. “That triggered our offense. Hayden Rust and Mason Cool really did a great job anchoring the defense, but we really got minutes from everyone one through 12 on the team. Genesee Valley did a good job attacking us from inside, but we were able to hold our ground. Hopefully, we can smooth out some of the rough edges as the season continues.”

With the defense, came the offense in a second quarter that paid dividends for Fillmore (1-0), as they held Genesee Valley in check with a big 10-2 run on offense to branch their lead toward double digit territory. They would ultimately eclipse that mark after the third quarter’s conclusion was met to pull away from the Jaguars (0-1) for good.

Zach Sisson led the offense for the Eagles with a game-high 12 points. Hayden Rust was not far behind, providing 11 points of his own. Carter Sisson had seven points. For the Jaguars, Brock Ellsessor recorded 12 team-high points. Cody Platt chipped in with seven.

Fillmore is back on the floor Saturday afternoon, as they head down the road to face the Belfast Bulldogs in a 2:30 p.m. contest. As for Genesee Valley, they will look to rebound back home to open their home slate in the Jungle on Friday with a 7 p.m. battle with the Bolivar-Richburg Wolverines.

Genesee Valley 10 2 12 9 – 33

Fillmore 10 10 15 16 – 51

GENESEE VALLEY: Christian Tuttle 1 0-0 3, Trent Scott 1 0-1 3, Austin Murphy 2 0-0 4, Brock Ellsessor 6 0-2 12, Riley Gordon 1 1-2 3, Keegan McKnight 1 0-0 2, Cody Platt 3 1-2 7. Totals: 15 2-7 33.
FILLMORE: Hayden Rust 5 0-0 11, Carter Sisson 3 1-4 7, Aaron Buck 1 0-0 2, Zach Sisson 5 0-0 12, Dylan Valentine 1 2-2 4, Colby Wolfer 1 0-0 3, Mitch Ward 1 0-0 2, Mason Cool 2 0-0 4, Luke Colombo 0 2-2 2, Will Roeske 2 0-0 4. Totals: 21 5-8 51.

3-point goals: GV 1 (Tuttle), Fillmore 4 (Z. Sisson 2, Rust, Wolfer).
Total Fouls: GV 11, Fillmore 12. Fouled out: None.

Whitesville 38, Hinsdale 22

WHITESVILLE — The Blue Jays of Whitesville started their shortened 2021 season off on the right foot on Wednesday with a hot first quarter start that ultimately set the tone for the rest of the game, holding visiting Hinsdale to a single point at the line to set up what came to be a 38-22 home victory.

Whitesville (1-0) provided a balance helping of offense to set up shop, with CJ Estep leading the way with a game-high 11 points, scoring eight of those points in the second half of play, after the team put together a collective effort to net a 12-1 run of the Bobcats in the first eight minutes to put the hammer down.

Colby Gaines and Chris Gullett helped the cause with eight, and seven points respectively. Spencer Mattison had five points.

For Hinsdale (0-1), Zach Byrne and Cody Burton each had five points to lead the offense.

Both teams are back on the floor on Friday with 6 p.m. contests, as the Blue Jays hit the road to take on the Belfast Bulldogs, while Hinsdale returns back home to face the Panthers of Andover to open their home slate.

Hinsdale 1 7 6 8 – 22

Whitesville 12 10 8 8 – 38

HINSDALE: Zach Byrne 1 2-4 5, Ethan Cashimere 1 1-4 3, Parker Keenan 2 0-2 4, Cody Burton 1 2-4 5, Jacob Elliott 2 0-2 4. Totals: 7 6-18 22.
WHITESVILLE: Chris Gullett 3 0-2 7, CJ Estep 4 2-4 11, Lucas Erdmann 1 0-0 2, Ian Middaugh 0 1-2 1, Colby Gaines 3 1-3 8, Justin Waters 2 0-0 4, Dylan Acor 0 0-2 0, Spencer Mattison 2 1-2 5. Totals: 15 5-10 38.

3-point goals: Hinsdale 2 (Byrne, Burton), Whitesville 3 (Gullett, Estep, Gaines).
Total Fouls: Hinsdale 15, Whitesville 18. Fouled out: Cashimere (HIN).