DECK THE HALLS: Paced by career night from Zach Deck, Rebels score 5-1 start to season behind mastodonic 2nd quarter, set up 77-56 win over archrival B-R at St. Bonaventure

ALLEGANY — The Reilly Center was the place to be on Saturday. Early on in the afternoon, before two of Allegany County’s biggest archrivals penned the next chapter of basketball on the hardwood, the red hot St. Bonaventure Bonnies had business to attend to.

Off to their best start in 55 years, the Bonnies paid homage to that famed 1970 Final Four team against Niagara by donning the same ensemble, featuring the signature “St. Bona” on the front that was adorned by the most legendary Bonnie of them all — Bob Lanier, on the hardwood that now bears his name.

After what was deemed a 71-52 win over the Purple Eagles to further advance their start to the third best in the program’s history before Atlantic-10 Conference play, the Reilly Center was cleared out. Soon after from the crowd down to the St. Bonaventure hardwood, the Bolivar-Richburg and Cuba-Rushford boys basketball teams emerged.

It was their turn to shine.

Right around 4 p.m. on the clock, the Wolverines and Rebels took center stage for warm-ups outside of Allegany County for the first time since their meeting at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, last December. Then after the National Anthem and player introductions by Bonnies public address announcer Adam Bennett, it was time.

And right from the get-go, the two teams traded back-and-forth runs across the opening eight minute sequence, with the Wolverines constructing the last of the pair to carry a burst of momentum into the second quarter. But instead, the Rebels shifted gears to a completely different level and went on a run of all runs.

Cuba-Rushford opened the floor completely against Bolivar-Richburg, navigating their way across all angles known to man. Inside, outside, off the glass, on defense. You name it, the Rebels did it all, allowing them to convert what was a 26-9 second quarter run to take what was a four-point first quarter lead and grow it instantaneously going into the break.

Then at the start of the second half, the Rebels re-assumed control of the steering wheel and slammed straight down on the gas pedal again, accounting for another massive spurt of offense.

Only this time, this was headlined by the hottest hand in the building — Zach Deck.

The Rebels junior simply did not miss a beat. With Christmas around the corner, Deck went on to deck the halls of the Reilly Center with perhaps his greatest performance of his young career, as he posted a game-high 27 points — 21 of them stemming from all seven of the team’s three-pointers from long range, as they rekindled their early flame after their first loss of the season to Fillmore with a destructive 77-56 victory over the Wolverines to enter the holiday freeze with a 5-1 start under their belts.

“I was very pleased with our energy and effort throughout. We limited Bolivar-Richburg to one shot most of the night, and I thought we really did well off the glass to limit them more. I didn’t know how we would perform in a big arena as far as shooting goes, but I guess Zach took care of those issues,” Rebels coach Pat Wight said. “He played great. Adam Roe had another double-double for us, Finn Ricketts really stepped up for another great effort, Eli Sleggs did his job again off the bench, as well as Carter Brown. Defensively we made (Landon) Barkley and (Kingston) Loucks work hard to get looks. They are both great shooters and our goal was to make them make tough shots. They did, we were just fortunate to make more. I’m very proud of the guys.”

Before the second quarter explosion from Cuba-Rushford (5-1) settled in rapidly, the two foes traded back-and-forth barbs through the first eight minutes of play, with the Rebels finding their edge early behind the captaincy of Deck, who was ravenous behind the three-point line early with three first quarter triples to help aid a big lead of their opposition.

In between his third triple of the frame, the Wolverines (5-4) responded by ending the quarter on one of their own runs, scoring five of the next eight points, including a big answer from Ryder Iantorno on the outside to counter Deck’s triple, trimming the deficit from six down to a pair with less than two minutes to go.

With the Rebels ultimately carrying a four-point lead into the second, they went back to work. And fast.

As time went on, the team in white and maroon dug in and started to feel very comfortable on Bob Lanier Court, beginning the next frame with a 7-0 run of Bolivar-Richburg that instantly grew larger and larger behind multiple contributions across the floor, as five different scorers down low and at the charity stripe all found their way onto the scoresheet to record a 26-9 first half-ending run and a 43-22 going into the break.

In the third quarter, the Rebels did not stop. Instead, they looked to Deck to keep his hot hand ignited. What was a red hot flame through the first half, now quickly turned into a five-alarm fire in the third quarter, as the junior bolstered his resume with four more long shots from the parking lot outside the Reilly Center to help create a 63-34 advantage that was never looked back on from that point forward.

Wight credits Deck’s hard work for making that happen.

“Zach struggled early in the year. We talked a lot about staying the course and ramping up practices by shooting game-like shots,” the Rebels coach said. “He’s in the gym all the time, and it was only a matter of time before he caught fire. He works very hard all year around, and I’m glad it’s paying off for him with this big game tonight. He also didn’t turn the ball over, which was a great thing to see as well. The team kept the turnovers at a minimum after we forced it over a ton at Fillmore a ton on Thursday.”

The Wolverines were granted one final opportunity in the fourth quarter to chip away at their deficit, composing their strongest outing of offense with a 22-point frame off five different contributions. But the early second quarter hole proved to be too much for the team to overcome, as Cuba-Rushford locked down a dynamic, rebounding victory to get back into the win column for the fifth time in their first six games.

Finishing behind Deck for the Rebels was Finn Ricketts, who had 18 points to go with his six rebounds and two assists. Adam Roe had 11 points to pair with 12 rebounds to complete a double-double performance, while Carter Brown concluded with 10 points.

Bolivar-Richburg was paced by Landon Barkley, who scored a team-high 17 points. Right behind him was Kingston Loucks, who had 16 points. Braden Zilker had seven points.

If there’s a common denominator that both Wight and Wolverines head coach Justin Thomas share when the activity was all said and done Saturday night, a feeling of thankfulness and gratitude was the first thing that came to mind, as the two coaches came together to collectively thank both the Bolivar-Richburg and Cuba-Rushford communities for organizing the event to allow their players another phenomenal opportunity to play outside of Allegany County.

Something both coaches hope their kids will remember for a long time, no matter the outcomes on both the collegiate and professional playing surfaces.

“It’s always fun to play in a big arena and watch some college hoops before we get our chance to play. I was very happy JT and I could come together and give these boys an experience they hopefully will always remember,” Wight said. “Outcomes don’t matter in games like these. It’s more about the experience and the fun surrounding the game. My big thank you goes out to both administrations, the parents, especially Jason Sleggs, Katie Barkley and Tricia Feuchter, and my wife Elise for helping with all the fundraising to make this possible. Also for both communities for coming out to support us and our fundraising efforts.”

Thomas echoed the experience, saying “After the awesome experience in Cleveland last year, Pat and I said on the ride home that we had to try and get back there again next year. Unfortunately, things didn’t pan out for this year to find a date that worked for all parties involved. But Pat stepped up big time and used his connections at Bonas to set this game up here tonight. It’s nice to see our teams come together and enjoy these experiences. Hopefully, these are things they talk about after their playing careers are over.”

Both teams will now pause for the holiday recess, with the Rebels being the first to re-emerge from the break with a 7:45 p.m. contest on Friday against host Allegany-Limestone at their annual Joe DeCerbo Holiday Showcase. As for the Wolverines, they now wait until January 8 arrives on the calendar, as they hit the road for a 7:15 p.m. contest at Jasper-Troupsburg.

Bolivar-Richburg 13 9 12 22 – 56

Cuba-Rushford 17 26 20 14 – 77

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Julian Weekley 1 1-2 3, Landon Barkley 6 3-6 17, Braden Zilker 3 1-2 7, Ryder Iantorno 1 0-0 3, Karson Baker 1 2-2 4, Waide Karnuth 3 0-0 6, Kingston Loucks 5 3-4 16. Totals: 20 9-16 56.

CUBA-RUSHFORD: Carter Getz 2 0-0 4, Malakai Kreamer 1 0-0 2, Adam Roe 5 1-2 11, Eli Sleggs 1 3-4 5, Zach Deck 10 0-0 27, Carter Brown 4 2-2 10, Finn Ricketts 9 0-0 18. Totals: 32 6-8 77.

3-point goals: B-R 7 (Barkley 3, Loucks 3, Iantorno), C-R 7 (Deck).
Total Fouls: B-R 8, C-R 15. Fouled out: Deck (C-R).