Friday Roundup: Lions mount late rally, but Hornell staves off pressure to come away with 68-64 win in thriller; Hall nets game-high 31 in And/Whi’s home rolling of B-R

Wellsville senior Alex Perkins (3) goes up for the fadeaway jumper while under pressure from the Hornell defense during Friday night’s home contest in Wellsville. [PHOTO BY JOHN ANDERSON/WELLSVILLE SUN]

Wellsville senior Eli Schmidt, middle, makes a pass to the outside while under pressure from the Hornell defense during Friday night’s home contest in Wellsville. [PHOTO BY JOHN ANDERSON/WELLSVILLE SUN]

Wellsville junior Logan Dunbar (23) goes up for a jump shot while facing pressure from the Hornell defense during Friday night’s home contest in Wellsville. [PHOTO BY JOHN ANDERSON/WELLSVILLE SUN]

*STORY BY JOHN ANDERSON/WELLSVILLE SUN*

WELLSVILLE — Playing on the road without a student section, the Hornell Raiders basketball team took a 15-point second half lead then held on to defeat Wellsville, 68-64 on Friday night.

The rivalry always brings out the best in players, but what makes the rivalry even better is the unsung heroes. In 1993, guard Andy Gee came off the bench and drained a 3-pointer in Hornell to force a second overtime. Hornell did not have him anywhere on their scouting report.

Enter P.J. Picco from Hornell.

Last week, the 8th-grader was on the JV team. Friday night, he played in his first varsity game and scored 11 points.

And the big-time performance? His brother Gennaro Picco, just a 10th-grader, who scored a game-high 31 points.

"The whole group stepped up and made a lot of plays. Gennaro got us going, he had a feel all night long and shot the ball incredibly well," said Hornell coach Kirk Scholes. "We needed that performance tonight because winning over here in Wellsville is not easy. A lot of kids stepped up and played well. It was a team effort, you had guys taking charges, we were undersized like crazy, they were getting rebounds, we have a lot of fighters, they will give you everything they got."

With the game appearing to be out of reach, Wellsville scored 25 points in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to two with 1:30 left. Eli Schmidt (21 points) hit a couple 3-pointers, then Logan Dunbar (24 points, 14 rebounds) took over, scoring 14 of his team-high 22 with two 3-pointers.

However, Gennaro Picco's buzzer-beater 3-pointer to end the third quarter seemed to be the points Wellsville was chasing the last eight minutes. Picco also blocked a shot despite Wellsville running a nifty two-on-one fast break against him.

Hornell's Colin McCumiskey's two free throws with 15.4 seconds left extended the lead to four, which was the difference.

Cody Costello had 10 points and five assists for Wellsville while Aidan Riley had four points, four assists and three steals.

With a loud Wellsville student section and both benches cheering, the game had a Sectional feel. It was also technically the Sheriff’s Classic game of the Barkley Showcase, which was canceled because of COVID concerns.

"We always talk about these atmospheres and big games, rivalry games," Scholes said. "These kids have been around Hornell basketball long enough to know this was a big game and not easy to come in and win. We had to play well on defense and share the ball on the offensive end."

If this was the Barkley Showcase, Gennaro Picco would have been at half court receiving his MVP award from members of the Allegany County Sheriff’s Office, who put on the event. The event raises money for scholarships for students in Allegany and Steuben Counties and will continue to do so, despite no games this year.

"Gennaro, he's a basketball player, he loves hoops. He puts so much time in numerous camps," Scholes said. "His IQ as a 10th grader is through the charts. The work he puts in shows in the games and I'm glad I have him for a few more years."

The two teams will meet once again for the final time this season next Saturday night in Hornell, in a contest that is set to begin at 7 p.m.

Hornell 15 20 16 17 – 68

Wellsville 17 8 14 25 – 64

HORNELL: Christian Babcock 2 2-2 8, P.J. Picco 4 3-3 11, Gates Miller 2 0-0 5, Shawn Rose 0 0-2 0, Gennaro Picco 9 8-10 31, A.J. Hoyt 2 0-0 6, Colin McCumiskey 1 2-2 4, Noah Kraatz 1 0-0 3, Dylan Harwood 0 0-2 0. Totals: 31 15-21 68.

WELLSVILLE: Cody Costello 2 5-9 10, Alex Perkins 1 2-4 4, Cooper Brockway 1 0-0 3, Eli Schmidt 7 4-9 21, Aidan Riley 2 0-1 4, Logan Dunbar 8 4-4 24. Totals: 21 15-27 64.

3-point goals: Hornell 11 (G. Picco 5, Babcock 2, Hoyt 2, Miller, Kraatz), Wellsville 7 (Schmidt 3, Dunbar 2, Costello, Brockway).

Total Fouls: Hornell 24, Wellsville 20. Fouled out: Gates (HHS), Schmidt (WLSV).

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GIRLS BASKETBALL

Andover/Whitesville 62, Bolivar-Richburg 29

ANDOVER —With Genesee Valley/Belfast putting an end to their hot streak in a massive home win back on Wednesday, Andover/Whitesville was looking to navigate their way back into the win column, and fast on Friday.

Looking to end the week on a bright note, Andover/Whitesville returned home in hopes of providing that bounce back with Bolivar-Richburg in town for a visit. After being held to a season-low performance to the hands of the Lady JagDogs, the bounce back was also on for the team’s leading scorer in Vanessa Hall.

She would help provide that in a big way in order to do that, as she set the pace right in the first half of play for Andover/Whitesville, and allowed the team to never look back, as they ran off on the Lady Wolverines going into the locker room with a massive lead and ending with a 62-29 victory.

Andover/Whitesville (8-2) saw a wealth of scorers put forth their efforts to string together a five-point lead of Bolivar-Richburg in the early going to begin the night. But after establishing that 14-9 lead, soon came the opening of the floodgates.

Scoring only one basket inside during the team’s first quarter, Hall turned up the heat on the hardwood, recording 14 of the team’s 22 points in the midst of their 22-8 first half-ending run of Bolivar-Richburg (2-9) that allowed them to break it open completely with a 36-17 lead at the break, which gave them the room they needed to pull away for good.

Hall would rebound with another brilliant performance on the floor for the hosts, scoring a game-high 31 points. Maria Riloba continues to help the cause with another fantastic game inside for Andover/Whitesville, scoring 15 points, while Rachel Jackson had eight points.

For the Lady Wolverines, Giardini led all scorers with nine team-high points. Jessica Majot recorded eight points, while Carmen Crowley had seven.

Andover/Whitesville now hits the road next Friday night after a long reprieve, as they pay a visit to the Hinsdale Lady Bobcats for a 6 p.m. tip-off. For Bolivar-Richburg, they head back home to welcome in Friendship/Scio for a 7:30 p.m. visit of their own on Tuesday.

Bolivar-Richburg 9 8 5 7 – 29

Andover/Whitesville 14 22 17 9 – 62

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Destiny Cantrell 2 0-0 4, Kayli Giardini 3 2-2 9, Carmen Crowley 3 1-2 7, Kayley Keiser 0 1-2 1, Jessica Majot 3 2-5 8. Totals: 11 6-11 29.
ANDOVER/WHITESVILLE: Gabbi Hall 2 0-0 4, Vanessa Hall 12 4-5 31, Rachel Jackson 4 0-0 8, Addison Morgan 2 0-0 4, Maria Riloba 7 1-2 15. Totals: 27 5-7 62.

3-point goals: B-R 1 (Giardini), A/W 3 (V. Hall).
Total Fouls: B-R 10, A/W 10. Fouled out: None.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Wellsville 3, Scio 0

WELLSVILLE — After falling to the hands of Arkport/Canaseraga earlier in the week, the Lions of Wellsville looked to end the week on a high note going into the extended weekend. On Friday, they went on and did just that by bringing out the brooms, sweeping visiting Scio by a 25-17, 26-24, 25-22 count back on their home floor.

The Lions (5-4) offense came to life, headed by an excellent effort from Xavier Scott on the front line, tallying a game-high 10 kills to pair with nine aces from the service line, one dig and one assist. Not far behind was another excellent night of offense from Mason Parks, who provided nine kills of his own to go with two aces and a dig.

Rounding off was Matt Bittel, who handed out 15 assists to couple with three aces, two digs and one kill.

For Scio (3-5), Joey Nickerson led the way with nine service points, two kills and one ace. Max Morris added in two service points, two kills, one ace and one block.

Both teams are back on their home floors Tuesday night in a pair of 6 p.m. first serves, with Wellsville welcoming in Bolivar-Richburg, while Scio heads back home to play host with Arkport/Canaseraga.

Genesee Valley/Belfast at Arkport/Canaseraga — No Report.