Monday Roundup: Danaher ties game with seconds left, but Delahunt provides final word at buzzer for Wellsville to edge past Bolivar-Richburg in 59-57 thriller

WELLSVILLE — Two teams playing at a new level of basketball met on a collision course on Monday in the Lion’s Den. Bolivar-Richburg and Wellsville have started to raise the bar as the shortened season goes on.

Both teams went back and forth all night long, especially in the second half after both teams exchanged runs in the first half. It would come down to the game’s last 10 seconds, and the last two possessions that time would see.

The Wolverines would find a way to tie the game up on a clutch three-pointer, but after a timeout, the Lions had the last say, as Brayden Delahunt gathered up a pass directly off the inbound from past mid-court from Logan Dunbar, settling underneath to put it away right at the buzzer to give the hosts in white and orange the final edge - a 59-57 victory, their fifth straight.

“We will take wins any way they come,” Lions coach Raymie Auman said. “Our guys did a great job responding to every big play they made. Even at the end, there was a great pass inside and Brayden provided the great finish to win the game. Turnovers were the tale of the night for us. We did a poor job of taking care of the ball, and Bolivar capitalized on those mistakes.”

The Lions (5-1) started the game on a 17-9 run of the Wolverines, nearly shutting out the visitors in black and red from the field, with just two field goals allowed while a slew of Lions ignited the offensive fire.

In return, Bolivar-Richburg (2-4) responded with a big run of their own, recording their best outing offense of the night to cut their deficit behind Wellsville to a single point. That help was sought by Landon Danaher’s hot quarter - netting eight of his 16 points inside the frame to go with a pair of three-pointers that were also netted by Brayden Ellis and Evan Pinney.

It resulted in a 31-30 lead for Wellsville at the break.

“Bolivar is really much improved, and they really pushed us to the limit tonight. I’ve got to give credit where credit is due for Coach (Jeff) Margeson. He has those kids playing well,” Auman said. “Their increased confidence was certainly noticeable tonight. It’s good for our players and coaching staff to get experience in close game situations. We certainly have learned a lot over the last two games.”

The game would get closer and closer right down to the end, with the Wolverines tying up shop at 46 heading into the final eight minutes. Wellsville would find a way to spring out front by as much as six at one point during the fourth quarter, but the Wolverines would remain vigilant, staying right on their coattails until the final minute when they saw an opportunity to strike.

That was delivered by Danaher, and his big three-pointer with 10 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 57. Shortly after a Lions inbound, Wellsville would call time to advance the ball for their final possession with seconds remaining.

Then soon came Delahunt and his buzzer-beating heroics, as he gathered the ball shortly after a couple Liam McKinley dribbles outside, putting the ball away underneath of the right side of the basket as time expired to give the hosts the victory in what was a tough battle.

McKinley led all Wellsville scorers with four of the team’s seven three-pointers, en route to a team-high 19 points. Logan Dunbar and Sam Schmidt each chipped in with 12 points, while Delahunt and Alex Perkins both had six to add.

Camdyn MacDonell led the Wolverines on the offensive front with a game-high 20 points, including a near-perfect 6-for-7 outing at the free throw line, four of those shots coming in the first quarter. Wyatt Karnuth added eight points.

Both teams are back on their home floors for action Wednesday night in a pair of 7:30 p.m. contests, with Wellsville going for six in a row when the Cuba-Rushford Rebels come into town. Auman says there’s a lot to clean up to be ready in time for Cuba-Rushford, despite the quick turnaround.

“That’s the tough part of the season,” he said. “We have these quick turnarounds, and it makes it that much more difficult to develop and get proper rest for these guys. Cuba feeds off turnovers, and we will need to bring a much more focused mindset on taking care of the ball if we want to win this game.”

As for the Wolverines, they head back home in search of the right side of the tracks against incoming Genesee Valley.

Bolivar-Richburg 9 21 16 11 – 57

Wellsville 17 14 15 13 – 59

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Landon Danaher 6 3-4 16, Brayden Ellis 2 0-0 6, Evan Pinney 3 0-0 7, Camdyn MacDonell 7 6-7 20, Wyatt Karnuth 3 2-2 8. Totals: 21 10-12 57.
WELLSVILLE: Alex Perkins 3 0-0 6, Sam Schmidt 5 1-2 12, Liam McKinley 7 1-1 19, Logan Dunbar 4 2-2 12, Aidan Hart 1 2-2 4, Brayden Delahunt 3 0-0 6. Totals: 22 6-7 59.

3-point goals: B-R 5 (Ellis 2, Pinney 2, Danaher), Wellsville 7 (McKinley 4, Dunbar 2, Schmidt).
Total Fouls: B-R 7, Wellsville 11. Fouled out: None.

Belfast 48, Scio 43

SCIO — With a first half tiebreaker to settle when the second half arrived, one team made sure they had the upper hand. That, being the Belfast Bulldogs, as they scurried off on a big third quarter run of Scio to pull ahead in front, ultimately for good, in what became a 48-43 victory over the Tigers, Monday night.

“It was tied at the half, and then Belfast had a great start to the third quarter,” Tigers coach Dillon McFall said. “We came out flat in the second half, and we ended up getting down by double digits at one point. We battled back in the fourth quarter, and that was great to see and it gave us a chance to win. But we can’t have that little five minute lapse happen, otherwise it would have been a different game. It hurt us big time.”

Both teams exchanged runs in the first half, with Scio (2-2) grabbing the early lead. Belfast responded later on in the second with a small run, enough to tie the game at 22 going into the break.

But it was a run that built momentum, as the Bulldogs (4-1) came up with a scorching 18-6 run of the Tigers that saw a lead of double digits occur, keeping their lead in tact until the final buzzer.

But it came without a late Tigers rally in the last eight minute period, as the hosts held Belfast to just eight points in the midst of their 15-8 jaunt to close the gap to five. But it was not enough, despite another big Cam Loucks day, as he recorded a game-high 31 points to go with his 13 rebounds.

Brendan Loucks tallied 10 points, including a 4-for-5 outing at the line, while Aiden Faulkner had a two point basket.

Belfast was led by Stephen Struckmann and Devin Harriger, with Struckmann powering the game down low, while Harriger dished out some help from outside from three-point range, each finishing with 14 team-high points. Matt Weaver had seven points.

Both teams are back in action over the road Wednesday night in a pair of 6 p.m. contests, with Belfast paying a visit to Whitesville in search of their fifth win in their first six games, while Scio looks to rebound in Friendship.

Belfast 9 13 18 8 – 48

Scio 15 7 6 15 – 43

BELFAST: Jason Drozdowski 1 0-0 2, Nick Ellison 1 2-4 5, Tony Logue 3 0-0 6, Devin Harriger 5 1-2 14, Matt Weaver 1 4-6 7, Stephen Struckmann 6 2-4 14. Totals: 17 6-9 48.

SCIO: Brendan Loucks 3 4-5 10, Aiden Faulkner 1 0-0 2, Cam Loucks 13 4-10 31. Totals: 17 8-15 43.
3-point goals: Belfast 5 (Harriger 3, Ellison, Weaver), Scio 1 (C. Loucks).
Total Fouls: Belfast 14, Scio 13. Fouled out: None.

Fillmore 60, Genesee Valley 50

BELMONT — The Eagles of Fillmore have witnessed the emergence of Hayden Rust, who has become one of the team’s biggest defenders.

Recently, he’s become a two-way threat for the Eagles, and on Monday, he came through again, as he recorded the best night of his career, finding his groove from three-point range while delivering on the defense, leading Fillmore to their fifth win in last six games with a 60-50 decision.

The Eagles (5-1) gathered just enough room for their lead with their biggest outscorings coming in the middle quarters, beginning in the second to go up by five, and later by eight after three quarters.

Rust would play a big hand in the team’s success on offense, gathering up a game-high 26 points which would also mark a career best for the Eagles senior. Zach Sisson also had his best night of the season for the visitors in black and green, netting 19 more points. Dylan Valentine had seven points.

Genesee Valley (0-5) was led by Austin Murphy, who recorded a team-high 16 points. Riley Gordon dished in 13 points of his own, while Brock Ellsessor followed with 11.

“Shoutout to Austin, he’s been playing really well. He’s our junior powerhouse and he’s playing with a clear head to make this all happen. We missed a lot of opportunities overall. We tried to make up for it some foul shots, but we still could have played better.” said Jaguars coach Lintz Bliven.

Both teams will have the Bolivar-Richburg Wolverines up next on their schedules in a pair of 7:30 p.m. contests, with Genesee Valley having first dibs on Wednesday over the road, while Fillmore will take time off before having their turn back home in The Rock on Friday.

Fillmore 10 18 22 10 – 60

Genesee Valley 9 13 19 9 – 50

FILLMORE: Hayden Rust 9 4-6 26, Zach Sisson 6 5-6 19, Dylan Valentine 2 2-3 7, Mitch Ward 0 2-6 2, Will Roeske 3 0-0 6. Totals: 20 13-21 60.
GENESEE VALLEY: Austin Murphy 7 1-2 16, Brock Ellsessor 4 3-4 11, Morgan Torrey 4 0-0 8, Riley Gordon 6 0-0 13, Cody Platt 1 0-0 2. Totals: 22 4-6 50.
3-point goals: Fillmore 7 (Rust 4, Sisson 2, Valentine), GV 2 (Murphy, Gordon).
Total Fouls: Fillmore 7, GV 22. Fouled out: Ellsessor (GV), Gordon (GV).

Whitesville 37, Hinsdale 25

HINSDALE — All Whitesville needed was a first half start to jump right into the driver’s seat. The Blue Jays took grip on the steering wheel and never let go of it, as they used their two runs of host Hinsdale to capture the 37-25 road victory, Monday night.

The Jays (3-3) were balanced up and down the offensive front, as they built up a 21-13 lead heading into the break. The lead grew insurmountably when they came back out in time for the third quarter, as they recorded a 12-7 run that gave them enough room to keep the lead in tact.

CJ Estep led all scorers for the visitors in blue and while with a game-high 12 points. Justin Waters provided nine more points, while Lucas Erdmann had eight behind a pair of three-pointers.

Hinsdale (1-2) was led by Cody Barton, who recorded a team-high 10 points. Zach Byrne added in five points.

Both teams are back on the floor Wednesday night, as Whitesville looks to continue their momentum shift back home against the Belfast Bulldogs in a 6 p.m. contest, while Hinsdale looks to get back on track on the road in Andover at 7:30 p.m.

Whitesville 12 9 12 4 – 37

Hinsdale 6 7 7 5 – 25

WHITESVILLE: Gavin Cutler 0 1-4 1, CJ Estep 4 4-6 12, Lucas Erdmann 3 0-1 8, Colby Gaines 2 1-3 5, Justin Waters 4 1-4 9, Dylan Acor 1 0-0 2. Totals: 14 7-18 37.
HINSDALE: Zach Byrne 2 1-6 5, Ethan Cashimere 0 2-4 2, Sam Cashimere 1 1-3 3, Parker Keenan 1 0-0 2, Nate Fowler 0 1-2 1, Cody Barton 4 2-6 10, Jacob Elliott 1 0-0 2. Totals: 9 7-21 25.

3-point goals: Whitesville 2 (Erdmann).
Total Fouls: Whitesville 17, Hinsdale 17. Fouled out: Byrne (HIN), E. Cashimere (HIN).

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Archbishop Walsh 42, Scio 40

OLEAN — It was a game that came down to the wire in Olean, but in the end, it was the host Lady Eagles of Archbishop Walsh that got the job done on Monday, as they made sure they had the upper hand to take the victory away from visiting Scio, capturing it by a 42-40 final count.

Emily Stilson and Camryn Wiech both led the Lady Tigers (0-6) in the scoring department with a team-leading 14 points.

A complete box score was not made available upon publication.

Scio will return to their home floor for a quick turnaround this evening for a 6 p.m. battle with the Belfast Lady Bulldogs.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Wellsville 3, Scio 0

WELLSVILLE — The Wellsville Lions have been perfect thus far this season in their first four games. On Monday, they kept it going with another straight-set sweep - the third in a row for the team, as they rolled to a 3-0 win over visiting Scio (25-10, 25-21, 25-18) to move to 5-0.

Walker Waldon led all Lions (5-0) attackers with a game-high 10 kills on offense to go with four aces and two blocks. Aiden Tucker provided six more aces from the service line and two more kills. Setter Matt Bittel was busy up front with his 15 assists to go with his 26 service points.

Scio (0-4) was led by Corey Fields, who had seven service points to go with two aces. Jordan White added in his six service points along with one kill and one ace.

Both teams will have Bolivar-Richburg up next on their schedules, with the Tigers heading back home to face them first on Wednesday in a 6 p.m. contest, while the Lions get them one day later on their home floor Thursday, also at 6 p.m.