Saturday Basketball: Lady Lions capture Coaches v. Cancer title with clutch 49-43 win over Newark Valley; Wellsville boys outlast State F4 Finalist Salamanca in waning seconds at DeCerbo Showcase

[PHOTOS PROVIDED]

BATH — It has been four years since the Wellsville Lady Lions last had a glimpse of glory at the Coaches v. Cancer Tournament in Bath. After finding their groove straight out of the gate to spearhead into their annual visit to the Christmas tournament red hot, the Lady Lions were in contention once again to break that five-year streak with a Championship battle on the docket against Newark Valley on Saturday.

The Lady Lions were challenged out of the gate by Newark Valley, surviving an early battle to establish a strong lead going into the break. The Lady Cardinals remained hot on their trail all the way down the stretch, and when the action transitioned to the fourth quarter, Wellsville needed a spark.

Enter Jaden Dunbar.

With the JV Lady Lions having won their third straight Coaches v. Cancer Tournament right before the night’s main event, the Wellsville junior made sure they went on to provide a clean sweep of both titles when it was all said and done, as she ignited the offense’s fuse to keep the team’s lead intact, staving off one final burst of pressure from Newark Valley along the way to become champions for the first time since the 2019-20 season behind a 49-43 victory.

“We got off to a good start and then we sustained it for a great first half,” Lady Lions coach Michelle Alvord said. “The third quarter, Newark Valley switched things up and started to make a run. They kept us loose and sped up our game a bit, but I thought we did a nice job calming back down to finish things off. Jaden really propelled us in the fourth quarter to get us over the top. This group is wonderful. What impresses me the most is that they have brought the energy, they support each other and they are all unselfish.”

The Lady Lions (6-1) brought the fire right after a close first quarter saw them come away with a narrow advantage over Newark Valley, as they settled in for a strong first half finish behind a massive 17-9 run through the second quarter to extend their lead out into double-digit territory going into the halftime recess.

The deficit was not completely out of reach for the Lady Cardinals, as they kept their foot down on the gas to pressure the Lady Lions going down the stretch into the fourth quarter. But when the team in black and orange needed it the most, Jaden Dunbar was there to deliver with an absolutely clutch performance in the waning stages, as she bucketed seven of her 14 points all within the last eight minute period to ensure Wellsville’s lead would remain frozen in place to secure the Coaches v. Cancer Tournament crown.

Dunbar also handed in a strong special teams effort, recording six assists and five rebounds.

Leading the way in the scoring for the Lady Lions was the Tournament’s MVP, Makenna Dunbar, as she collected a game-high 17 points to pair with seven rebounds. Natalie Adams earned an All-Tournament nomination with a 13-point performance, pairing them along with six steals and three rebounds.

Adding more special teams aid was Alexa Hennessy, who led with a team-high 10 rebounds off the glass alongside three assists.

The Lady Lions are now off until Thursday night back home in the Lion’s Den, hosting the Olean Lady Huskies in a 7:30 p.m. contest.

Wellsville 11 17 11 10 – 49

Newark Valley 8 9 12 14 – 43

WELLSVILLE: Caelyn Stevens 1 0-2 2, Natalie Adams 5 1-2 13, Emily Stuck 1 0-0 2, Makenna Dunbar 7 3-5 17, Jaden Dunbar 5 2-2 14. Totals: 19 7-13 49.
NEWARK VALLEY: Anika Smith 3 0-2 6, Aubrey Kwiatkowski 3 0-0 6, Adrianna Finta 7 1-2 16, Kam Short 3 2-4 8, Liv Short 1 0-0 2, Adriana Rich 2 0-0 5. Totals: 19 3-8 43.

3-point goals: Wellsville 4 (Adams 2, J. Dunbar 2), NV 2 (Finta, Rich).
Total Fouls: Wellsville 5, NV 16. Fouled out: None.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Joe DeCerbo Showcase: Wellsville 66, Salamanca 65

ALLEGANY — The final game of the Joe DeCerbo Showcase at Allegany-Limestone was one to behold, Saturday night.

It was also a game that the Lions of Wellsville looked to turn the corner entering the second half of their season when the calendar flips to January next week. Looking to rebound off their first game of the weekend in the Swamp against Warren, the road ahead was not going to get any easier for the Lions with defending State Final Four Finalist Salamanca waiting patiently in the wings.

But it was also a challenge they accepted at the absolute maximum.

Behind in the first half to the Section VI superpower Warriors, the Lions went full speed ahead in the second half for a massive comeback beginning in the third quarter to inch back within range. In the last eight minutes, the fireworks show was put on full display for the race straight to the finish line.

After finding one final basket to jump ahead, all Wellsville had to do was survive. When the final buzzer rang out, they did just that to come away with one of, if not, their biggest win of the campaign thus far to eclipse the .500 mark, staving off the Warriors at the very last second to secure a massive 66-65 victory.

“I feel like this one could be a turning point to the season. This was a huge win,” said Lions coach Tom Muska. “The whole team came through. We had Aiden (Cowburn), Karson (Grover) and JJ (Howard) all with three fouls early, and it was a complete team effort to come back and cut this lead. I’m really proud of our response tonight to the adversity we faced. Time will tell ahead. We need to be able to play at that speed and pace even when our competition cannot. But it certainly showed that we can play with anyone and win a close game against a strong program like Salamanca.”

The Lions (4-4) had to fight their way back from behind early on in the opening eight minute session with Salamanca, as a massive first quarter bombardment from Avery Brown helped charge a 22-11 doubling-up of Wellsville right away. After maintaining their advantage through the second quarter and into the locker room, the Lions then provided a resurgence of their own when the second half settled in.

With six different contributors all pitching in, including Ty Vogel, who posted his best night of the season for the Lions on the attack, the team in white and orange amassed a gargantuan 26-point frame to take a double-digit deficit and carve it down to a single point going into the last eight minutes.

The two teams went back-and-forth in the final stanza, with the Lions looking to Trent Green to keep the engine roaring on all cylinders for the offense by scoring eight of his 12 points within the frame of action. After maintaining their lead entering the game’s final minute, Wellsville was able to stave off one last push from the Warriors in the waning seconds to score one of their biggest wins of the season.

Vogel led all scorers for the Lions with a game-high 25 points. Following Green and his 12 points was Karson Grover, who had 11 points. JJ Howard had 10 points.

Wellsville is back on the floor after the New Year, hitting the road Friday night for a 7 p.m. visit to Bath-Haverling.

Salamanca 22 13 17 13 – 65

Wellsville 11 14 26 15 – 66

SALAMANCA: Jake Herrick 7 5-5 19, Payton Bradley 3 1-2 7, Maddox Isaac 2 1-2 6, Jaxon Crouse 0 3-4 3, Avery Brown 9 1-2 20, Cory Holleran 5 0-2 10. Totals: 26 11-17 65.

WELLSVILLE: Aiden Cowburn 2 0-0 5, Karson Grover 5 0-0 11, JJ Howard 5 0-2 10, Ty Vogel 9 6-9 25, Nick Germain-Tardieu 1 0-0 3, Jack Davis 0 0-2 0, Trent Green 6 0-0 12. Totals: 28 6-13 65.

3-point goals: Salamanca 2 (Isaac, Brown), Wellsville 4 (Cowburn, Grover, Vogel, Germain-Tardieu).
Total Fouls: Salamanca 15, Wellsville 17. Fouled out: None.

Otto-Eldred 77, Cuba-Rushford 46

ALLEGANY — One of the strongest superpowers from below the border put together an incredible final showing at the Joe DeCerbo Holiday Showcase at Allegany-Limestone, as the Otto-Eldred Terrors assembled a complete performance across the board to stymie the Rebels of Cuba-Rushford on Saturday with a 77-46 victory.

“Otto-Eldred really spread us out and attacked. Defensively, they forced us into taking some tough shots. We didn’t have our best night shooting, but we competed for the most part. We scheduled tough and these two days hopefully made us better in the long run.” Rebels coach Pat Wight said.

The Terrors came out and put their foot down early against Cuba-Rushford (5-3), as Manning Splain hammered down the offense with 10 of the team’s 18 points from all angles of the floor to help produce an 18-7 lead that they continued to build on as time went on. With a 31-18 lead at the break, Otto-Eldred proceeded to string together their two strongest frames of attack in the contest — that included a 21-8 third quarter run to officially pull away from the Rebels.

The Rebels kept chipping away at the Terrors in the last eight minutes though, led by the spark of Carter Brown off the bench, as he posted 12 of the team’s 20 fourth quarter points. Brown finished as Cuba-Rushford’s leading scorer with a team-high 22 points.

Following behind for the Rebels was Finn Ricketts, who had six points. Adam Roe and Donovan Breckenridge each had five points, with the two Cuba-Rushford scorers combining for 13 rebounds off the glass.

Up next for Cuba-Rushford is a 7:30 p.m. visit to Oswayo Valley, as they look to get back on track next Friday night.

Otto-Eldred 18 13 21 25– 77

Cuba-Rushford 7 11 8 20 – 46

OTTO-ELDRED: Manning Splain 10 3-3 25, Davey Schenfield 1 1-2 3, Landon Francis 6 9-9 25, Hunter App 2 0-0 6, Shene Thomas 7 3-4 17, Jared Obenrader 1 0-0 3. Totals: 27 16-18 77.

CUBA-RUSHFORD: Carter Getz 1 0-0 3, Adam Roe 2 1-2 5, Donovan Breckenridge 2 0-0 5, Eli Sleggs 0 3-4 3, Zach Deck 1 0-0 2, Carter Brown 7 6-7 22, Finn Ricketts 1 4-6 6. Totals: 14 14-17 46.

3-point goals: O-E 9 (Francis 4, Splain 2, App 2, Obenrader), C-R 4 (Brown 2, Getz, Breckenridge).
Total Fouls: O-E 18, C-R 16. Fouled out: Breckenridge (C-R).

Hammondsport Tournament Consolation

Friendship/Scio 34, Campbell-Savona 29

HAMMONDSPORT — Saturday evening brought an opportunity for Friendship/Scio to end their tournament tenure in Hammondsport on a strong note. With a prior contest against Campbell-Savona slipping through their grasp earlier in the month, they were seeking redemption to level the playing field.

Both teams fought through thick and thin across their close quarters battle all game long, but with the lead in their possession, Friendship/Scio was able to hang on and ward off a late Panthers rush in the fourth quarter to secure an even split of their two-day twinbill with a 34-29 Consolation round victory.

“We were able to pull out this win, and the big thing was our toughness and grit that we had last night, we had it tonight,” Friendship/Scio coach Dillon McFall said. “We left some points out there on the court that we would have loved to have, but we found a way to win and pull this out. Jerome (Harmon) guarded the other team’s best player last night and tonight, and did a great job defensively to keep them both in check.”

After a back-and-forth exchange through the first half that witnessed Friendship/Scio (2-4) jump out on top, the lead was held intact after a brilliant start to the second half to keep Campbell-Savona in the rearview mirror, as they rolled off on a run that saw them bucket seven of the quarter’s nine points to take a lead that reached as large as seven points in the third quarter.

Down the stretch, Friendship/Scio was able to hold off a late Panthers push that consisted of some aid coming from the free throw line, as they finished their weekend trip to Hammondsport even.

Friendship/Scio was led by Jerimiah Brown and his 11 team-high points, with Deacon Brown following right behind with 10 points of his own. On special teams, Jerome Harmon collected nine rebounds, four assists and four steals on his way to an All-Tournament selection.

After the New Year, Friendship/Scio will return to their home floor in Scio for a 2:30 p.m. tip-off against Northern Potter, next Saturday afternoon.

Friendship/Scio 9 8 13 4 – 34

Campbell-Savona 6 6 12 5 – 29

FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Jerome Harmon 2 0-0 4, Connor Blouvet 3 0-3 6, Aiden Golden 1 1-7 3, Jerimiah Brown 5 1-2 11, Deacon Brown 5 0-0 10. Totals: 16 2-12 34.

CAMPBELL-SAVONA: Dawson Shoemaker 4 0-0 10, Devin Ogden 0 0-2 0, Tavion Mathis 1 1-2 3, Easton Fuller 1 1-2 3, Jackson Payne 0 0-2 0, Dakota Ogden 2 1-2 5, Chance Miller 4 0-2 8. Totals: 12 3-11 29.

3-point goals: C-S 2 (Shoemaker).
Total Fouls: F/S 14, C-S 15. Fouled out: None.