Thursday Roundup: Fillmore’s Bialek crosses 1,000-point plateau, but Lions grab season sweep of Eagles with big road win; Niedermaier’s big night paces And/Whi past Fri/Scio

[PHOTOS PROVIDED]

FILLMORE — The amount of motivation that both teams in Thursday night’s 2022 finale in Fillmore held, was through the roof.

For the host Eagles, after a tough double-digit defeat to the hands of Wellsville in the Championship game of the IAABO Tournament earlier this month, their final home game of the calendar season presented them with a chance to wipe the slate clean going into the Christmas/New Year’s break.

As for the Lions, they also looked for a rebound of familiarity themselves, coming off a contest that slipped away from their fingertips against Olean back on Tuesday — their first defeat of the young season after starting red hot through the first five games.

Something had to give in this second matchup between budding rivals. And through the course of time, a tale of two halves was told in the midst of a back-and-forth affair.

In the second half, an overwhelming spout of clutch resiliency was produced.

Wellsville had it.

In the second half, the Lions would take the narrow advantage of a back-and-forth exchange that would blossom larger as time wound down, as a clutch three-pointer from Asher Billings and some phenomenal inside play down low from Logan Dunbar helped give Wellsville a lead they would never relinquish again to seal up a season-sweeping victory of Fillmore over the road — a 57-44 edge in The Rock.

“My guys were really motivated after a lackluster performance against Wellsville two weeks ago. We really answered the bell and matched their intensity, and the game was a back-and-forth slugfest,” Eagles coach Randy Crouch said. “Unfortunately, we hit a lull on the offensive end towards the end of the third quarter, and they hit a dagger three that stretched the lead to 10 early in the fourth. That really took some of the life out of us. After that, Logan got some big finishes and putbacks in the post, and we couldn’t mount any kind of offensive run.”

It was a dead even sprint between both teams racing out of the gate in the opening quarter, as Dunbar and Fillmore’s Mitch Ward helped break open the scoring for their respective teams. After the early duel, the Eagles (3-2) would find themselves ahead.

Then the battle would then boil down to a defensive riposte, as Wellsville (6-1) continued to close in on the Eagles towards the end of the first half. As a result, a one-point deficit for the team in black and orange heading into the break.

One that they would make up for in a hurry.

The Lions fought tooth and nail with Fillmore one final time before they were able to find and exploit the opening that they had aimed for, as they saw clutch baskets go down through the twine off the hand of Logan Dunbar, who fronted an all-balanced 16-point third quarter that served as the predecessor to what would come to be in the last quarter of play.

With a 38-33 lead in hand, the chance to make a run was now for Wellsville. Serving it up were two components that Olean had used against them earlier in the week — clutch shooting from outside, and some big foul line help.

The Lions would take it, and use it to their fullest advantage, as Asher Billings hit an enormous three-pointer to extend the team’s lead to 10, serving as an early dagger against the Eagles. Along the way, the visitors were able to also cash in on a bonus prize at the charity stripe — a 6-for-9 outing at the stripe to cushion their lead down the stretch, hanging on to secure the season-sweeping win over Fillmore at the end of the night.

Dunbar would finish as Wellsville’s leading scorer, as his strong game down low served up a game-high 18-point performance. Following behind was Aidan Riley, as the defensive stalwart recorded 10 more points, including a perfect 4-for-4 outing at the stripe, to help the cause. Billings would conclude with seven points, along with Cooper Brockway.

For Fillmore, Jair Bialek would lead all scorers with a team-high 13-point performance — one that would see him become the newest addition into the school’s illustrious 1,000-point club in his first season with the Eagles. Mitch Ward would follow with 12 points, while Luke Colombo had eight to chip in. The Eagles are now off until after the New Year, as they now look to bounce back over the road with a 6 p.m. visit to Hinsdale on January 3.

Wellsville will take a break until the end of the Christmas holiday, as they now begin preparations for tournament action off to the west at Allegany-Limestone, which will begin Wednesday afternoon with a first-round battle against Otto-Eldred.

Wellsville 14 8 16 19 – 57

Fillmore 16 7 10 11 – 44

WELLSVILLE: Cody Costello 1 0-0 2, Aidan Riley 3 4-4 10, Cooper Brockway 1 4-6 7, Asher Billings 3 0-0 7, Ty Vogel 2 1-1 5, Ethan Bailey 0 2-3 2, Logan Dunbar 9 0-2 18, JJ Howard 3 0-0 6. Totals: 22 11-16 57.
FILLMORE: Brent Zubikowski 2 0-0 5, Jair Bialek 4 2-3 13, Luke Colombo 2 4-4 8, Mitch Ward 5 2-6 12, Zach Sisson 3 0-0 6. Totals: 16 8-13 44.
3-point goals: Wellsville 2 (Brockway, Billings), Fillmore 4 (Bialek 3, Zubikowski).
Total Fouls: Wellsville 13, Fillmore 17. Fouled out: None.

Andover/Whitesville 58, Friendship/Scio 47

SCIO — Lightning struck quickly for Friendship/Scio on Thursday, when they saw Ethan Davenport and Brenden Loucks dominate the hardwood early with a wide range of attack from inside and out.

As for their opposition, it also saw Andover/Whitesville respond in a very similar fashion — with CJ Estep and a season-best night from Kohler Niedermaier in the middle.

After Friendship/Scio garnered the early advantage through what was their highest scoring quarter, Andover/Whitesville would answer back with theirs, seeing the emergence of both Estep and Niedermaier come to life to create a strong finish entering the break. With it, the visitors in purple would build, as they held Friendship/Scio still in the second half while capitalizing on a big third quarter run to pull away towards a 58-47 road win in Scio.

“This was a great win for our group, and a great way for them to go into the holiday break. We started out a little slow, as Davenport and Loucks really dominated the floor in the early going,” Andover/Whitesville coach Jimmy Joyce said. “Once we got the low-post game going with our guards dumping it down to Kohler, we really took off. Our guys really took care of the ball tonight, limiting turnovers which we hadn’t been doing recently. It was a big factor in coming away with a win in a solid, all-around effort by every single one of our guys.”

The presence of Davenport and Loucks was felt early on for Friendship/Scio, as the two offensive stalwarts delivered a 17-point punch through the first eight minutes, combining to record 14 of those points behind Loucks’ inside presence and a pair of threes from Davenport downtown. But later on, Andover/Whitesville (4-6) would respond in a big way themselves.

They looked to a pair of senior leaders to guide the way towards a strong finish to the first half, as Estep and Niedermaier set up shop for big things with 11 of the team’s 19 game-high points in the second quarter, led by Niedermaier down inside the paint.

Up by four at the break, it was the beginning of even bigger things for the visitors.

Everyone would help the cause in what was a momentum-shifting third quarter for Andover/Whitesville, as they saw balanced efforts across the board set the pace for a 14-7 doubling up of Friendship/Scio (1-5) that would ultimately see their lead branch far enough out of reach to secure the win heading into the holiday recess.

Niedermaier led Andover/Whitesville on the floor with a team-high 20 points. Estep would follow behind with 13 points of his own, while Colton Calladine had nine. For the hosts in white, Davenport led with five of the team’s six triples on his way towards a game-high 22 points, while Loucks contributed 21 of his own. Matt Donohue rounded off the scoring for Friendship/Scio with the remaining five points.

Andover/Whitesville is now off until the New Year, as they get set to take on Bolivar-Richburg back home in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off on January 5 in Andover.

Friendship/Scio will now prepare to open Christmas Tournament action back on their home floor Wednesday night, hosting Archbishop Walsh in a 7:30 p.m. contest of their own. Prior to the nightcap, Cuba-Rushford and Genesee Valley/Belfast will open the festivities in their first round battle, at 6 p.m.

Andover/Whitesville 13 19 14 12 – 58

Friendship/Scio 17 11 7 12 – 47

ANDOVER/WHITESVILLE: Will Kent 2 0-0 4, CJ Estep 5 2-4 13, Colton Calladine 4 0-1 9, Kohler Niedermaier 9 2-2 20, Derek Perkins 1 0-0 2, Gavin Cutler 1 0-0 2, Brody Vance 3 0-0 8. Totals: 25 4-7 58.
FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Ethan Davenport 8 0-0 22, Matt Donohue 2 0-0 5, Brenden Loucks 10 1-3 21. Totals: 20 1-3 47.

3-point goals: A/W 4 (Vance 2, Estep, Calladine), F/S 6 (Davenport 5, Donohue).
Total Fouls: A/W 9, F/S 12. Fouled out: None.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Bolivar-Richburg 3, Arkport/Canaseraga 0

ARKPORT — The Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg made sure their entrance into the holiday break would be of successful grandeur, as they went over the road to Arkport/Canaseraga and arrived home victorious with a straight-set sweep of the host Wolves, bringing out the brooms on what was a 25-15, 25-18, 25-20 win on Thursday.

Leading the charge for the Wolverines (4-2) was Jaeger Turybury on the offensive front, as he produced a team-high five kills to go with two aces and two blocks. Following up was Hunter Walp, who had four more kills to chip in, pairing them with three aces and two blocks, while setter Ian Unfus helped set everything up with his eight assists alongside five blocks and three more kills.

Bolivar-Richburg is back in action after the conclusion of the holiday break, as they head back home to host Genesee Valley/Belfast in a 6 p.m. first serve on January 3.