Saturday Basketball: GV/Belfast downed by Section V stalwart Honeoye after two strong finishes by Bulldogs; Wellsville boys finish 6-game roadstand strong at Byron-Bergen, Fillmore rebounds at RACS

[PHOTOS BY TRICIA DAVENPORT]

BELMONT — On Saturday, an opportunity to ascend on the bounce back for the Genesee Valley/Belfast boys arose bright and early, as they looked to beat out a massive snow storm that held Allegany County and the rest of the surrounding area under hostage for much of the afternoon.

Their task at hand was not a simple one — Class C3’s No. 1 seed, the Honeoye Bulldogs, who already have one game on Genesee Valley/Belfast from earlier this season. After a close battle that started the game in Belmont, the Bulldogs cemented their series-sweeping victory behind two strong finishes in each half of battle, pushing their lead into double-digit territory where it would remain for the rest of the game, as they locked up what was a 70-47 road win.

It began for Honeoye right away in the midst of a back-and-forth exchange in the first quarter alongside Genesee Valley/Belfast (9-10), with no degree of separation eclipsing higher than four points through the majority of the action. In the final minute of the quarter however, the Bulldogs managed to work their way free, scoring five of the frame’s last seven points to come away with a 21-15 advantage.

The momentum remained in the favor of the Bulldogs, despite Genesee Valley/Belfast chipping away at the deficit, getting as close as three points following a quarter-opening three from Cal Tallman before Honeoye escaped once again and garnered a double-digit lead for the first time the contest with 3:21 left in the first half.

The Bulldogs offense caught fire with a 33-23 lead in the wagon, as they went on to close out the half on a clamorous note behind the capture of an 8-2 run of the hosts.

Honeoye’s strong end to the first half allowed them to push the momentum into the second half, where they kept one footstep ahead of Genesee Valley/Belfast with an advantage they continued to never relinquish from their possession, as the Bulldogs finished the game with a 17-9 outscoring of their opposition in the fourth quarter to pull away.

Despite the loss, Genesee Valley/Belfast saw Ethan Davenport and Kenton Shultz take care of business on the offensive with 14 team-high points each. Cal Tallman and Ian McKenzie each had seven points, while Ryan Daciw had five.

Genesee Valley/Belfast’s regular season will reach its conclusion on Wednesday, as they prepare for a 7:30 p.m. road trip up north to visit the Fillmore Eagles.

Honeoye 21 20 12 17 — 70

Genesee Valley/Belfast 15 10 13 9 — 47

HONEOYE: Dylan Washburn 5 0-0 13, Owen Cuba 8 4-5 20, Owen Reynolds 4 0-0 11, Landon Washburn 8 5-6 26. Totals: 25 9-11 70.

GV/BELFAST: Cal Tallman 3 0-2 7, Ian McKenzie 3 0-2 7, Ethan Davenport 6 0-0 14, Kenton Shultz 6 0-0 14, Ryan Daciw 2 0-0 5. Totals: 20 0-4 47.

3-point goals: Honeoye 11 (L. Washburn 5, D. Washburn 3, Reynolds 3), GVB 7 (Davenport 2, Shultz 2, Tallman, McKenzie, Daciw).
Total Fouls: Honeoye 5, GVB 8. Fouled out: None.

Wellsville 67, Byron-Bergen 58

BERGEN — The long road trip for the Lions of Wellsville has finally reached its conclusion, Saturday afternoon.

Although they had to fight the less-than-ideal conditions that Old Man Winter supplied for the day, it didn’t stop the Lions from putting an exclamation point on their six-game trek on the road, as they went on to survive a fierce challenge from the Byron-Bergen Bees to capture their fifth win in the roadstand in a 67-58 final tally.

It was neck and neck through the opening moments, with each team trading barbs resulting in an early 9-9 tie. The Lions (12-7) wedged their way free with less than three minutes left in the quarter, scoring nine of the last 12 points — a run that saw the Lions net seven in a row in the midst of it to claim an 18-12 lead.

Across the next two quarters, both Wellsville and Byron-Bergen continued along the same pace going into the second half where the visitors in black and orange created an early opening with an 8-0 lead in the first three minutes. But their 13-point lead of the Bees was soon cut down to as little as five following an 8-0 run from the hosts in return.

Despite Byron-Bergen working their way back into the fray, the Lions were able to keep their one step ahead of the Bees in the last eight minutes of play, surviving a back-and-forth exchange that saw them extend their advantage to as large as 10 to pull away towards victory — their fifth of the road trip to finish out their final roadstand of the regular season on the highest of notes.

Leading a balanced attack across the board for Wellsville was Karson Grover, who posted a team-high 14 points. JJ Howard, Ty Vogel and Trent Green each recorded 12 points, while Aiden Cowburn had nine points.

The Lions will conclude their regular season coming up on Wednesday, hosting the Bath-Haverling Rams at 7:30 p.m.

Wellsville 18 16 13 20 — 67

Byron-Bergen 12 17 12 17 — 58

WELLSVILLE: Aiden Cowburn 3 3-4 9, Karson Grover 6 2-3 14, JJ Howard 6 0-0 12, Ty Vogel 5 2-5 12, Trent Green 5 2-4 12, Cole White 0 1-2 1, Derek Coleman 3 1-3 7. Totals: 28 11-21 67.

BYRON-BERGEN: Cody Carlson 5 2-4 13, Cole DiQuattro 4 0-0 11, Noah Clare 3 11-12 17, Craig DiQuattro 2 0-0 6, Andre White 4 1-4 11. Totals: 18 14-20 58.

3-point goals: B-B 8 (Co. DiQuattro 3, Cr. DiQuattro 2, White 2, Carlson).
Total Fouls: Wellsville 17, B-B 16. Fouled out: None.

Fillmore 75, RACS 38

ROCHESTER — After engaging in a high-scoring affair just 24 hours ago against C.G. Finney, the Eagles of Fillmore was on the mend in another trek back up north Saturday afternoon in the midst of some overwhelming wintery conditions.

But despite it all, the Eagles did not allow a single minute in the opening quarter go to waste, as the offense went full force with their strongest outing from the field to put the pressure on host RACS right away, using all the momentum to lay the foundation down on what was a dominant 75-38 victory in rebounding fashion.

“I’m really proud of how the guys bounced back today after a disappointing loss last night. I told the guys that it was important for us to learn from that loss and apply the lessons today,” said Eagles coach Randy Crouch. “We did a much better job of our help defense and held (Joe) Aiken, who is a really explosive scorer, to only 13 points. A lot of the credit goes to Jonah (Bialek) for doing the heavy lifting on defense against him. He also led us offensively, and really pushed the tempo like we needed to. I’m really proud of Ezra (Knapp), Carson (Sanasith) and Jordan (Bialek) for also providing us with some good minutes off the bench when we needed them.”

Fillmore (16-3) provided a rampant opening sequence to set the tone immediately, with four different scorers all contributing to the cause to produce a monstrous 24-5 first quarter lead that remained fully intact going forward. Among the contributors was Jonah Bialek, who assembled a dominant first half of play, netting 17 of his game-high 29 points for the Eagles in the first 16-minute sequence.

Following up behind him was Cam Mucher, who bucketed 19 points of his own. JD Bialek chipped in with 12 points.

The Eagles are back home Wednesday night to close out their regular season, as they welcome in Genesee Valley/Belfast for Senior Night beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Fillmore 24 23 20 8 — 75

RACS 5 11 5 17 — 38

FILLMORE: Jordan Bialek 1 0-0 3, Carson Sanasith 1 0-0 3, Isaiah Sisson 3 1-2 7, Jonah Bialek 10 7-7 29, Malcolm Nusbickle 1 0-0 2, Cam Mucher 7 2-2 19, JD Bialek 5 0-0 12. Totals: 28 10-11 75.
RACS: Joe Aiken 4 4-5 13, Jayden Mason 1 0-0 2, Ahmed Haji 3 1-1 8, Shah Hamilton 2 1-6 5, Apollos Davis 3 0-0 8, Kamerin Braden 1 0-0 2. Totals: 14 6-12 38.

3-point goals: Fillmore 9 (Mucher 3, Jon. Bialek 2, JD Bialek 2, Jor. Bialek, Sanasith), RACS 4 (Davis 2, Aiken, Haji).
Total Fouls: Fillmore 12, RACS 8. Fouled out: None.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Lima Christian 57, Hinsdale 22

HINSDALE — In the midst of the blustery conditions outside, the Lady Saints of Lima Christian went full throttle right from the start in Hinsdale on Saturday, using a 21-0 run through the second quarter to pull away from the host Lady Bobcats instantaneously and towards what formulated into a 57-22 victory.

Stats and a complete box score were not made available to report upon publication.

The Lady Bobcats (1-17) will return to their home floor on Monday, hosting Mount Morris at 5:30 p.m.

Lima Christian 20 21 10 6 — 57

Hinsdale 10 0 4 8 — 22