Saturday Roundup: Lions bounce back at Watkins Glen with win over Groton; C-R boys, girls fall on road
WATKINS GLEN — After a difficult task against State-ranked Watkins Glen on Friday, the Lions of Wellsville fell into the Consolation round of the Senecas home tournament, where their biggest aim was to deliver a bounce back performance.
On Saturday, they did just that, as they saw both Liam McKinley and Eli Schmidt step up to the plate behind senior Max Jusianiec in crunch time, defeating Groton by a 64-54 count.
“This was a great bounce back win after a pretty poor performance the night before,” Lions coach Raymie Auman said. “We got great minutes out of Logan Dunbar and Noah Chaffee today doing a lot of dirty work. I also thought the kids took a big step forward today handling the ball, and pressure with Max sitting the bench for most of the second half with four fouls.”
While Jusianiec was inactive to begin the second half for the Lions (5-5), it allowed shooters like Schmidt and McKinley to step up in his place, as the two guards combined for 25 points through the evening. With a nine-point lead at the break, Wellsville did just enough in the third quarter by limiting Groton to their smallest effort with a 13-7 run.
Even though Groton came up with the night’s largest quarter in the fourth, the Lions, behind both Jusianiec and McKinley at the charity stripe, were able to hang on for the victory.
Jusianiec led all scorers on the court with a game-high 28 points for the Lions. McKinley and Schmidt followed in the scorebook with 13, and 12 points each. Logan Dunbar had six points to chip in.
Wellsville is now off until Wednesday night, when they return home to play host to their third Section IV opponent in their current four-game stretch, as they take on the Corning Hawks at 7:30 p.m.
“We needed a good team win coming into a huge test against Corning. They’re a team that’s very much improved from when we first played them at the beginning of the year.” said Auman.
Groton 10 13 7 24 – 54
Wellsville 19 13 13 19 – 64
GROTON: Kalib Manning 6 5-5 18, Garrett Vanbenschoten 6 0-0 12, James Lucey 5 1-3 11, Omari Riley-Isreal 2 0-0 4, Jackson Slade 2 0-0 4, Kade Eldred 2 0-0 5. Totals: 23 6-8 54.
WELLSVILLE: Tyler Sands 1 0-0 2, Max Jusianiec 10 6-7 28, Eli Schmidt 5 0-2 12, Liam McKinley 4 3-7 13, Logan Dunbar 2 2-2 6, Noah Chaffee 1 0-0 2, Aidan Hart 0 1-4 1. Totals: 23 12-22 64.
3-point goals: Groton 2 (Manning, Eldred), Wellsville 6 (Jusianiec 2, Schmidt 2, McKinley 2).
Total Fouls: Groton 19, Wellsville 12. Fouled out: Lucey (GRO).
Holland 67, Cuba-Rushford 50
HOLLAND — The Rebels of Cuba-Rushford gave it all they had over the road in Holland, Saturday afternoon. With a big 21-point first quarter starting their game off quickly, it was a bigger finish by the Dutchmen that made the difference, as they held the Rebels down with a 22-11 doubling up in the last eight minutes of play to pull away toward a 67-50 victory.
“We started really hot from the perimeter in the first quarter, and we built a lead with it,” said Rebels coach Bryce Ryan. “But we settled for a ton of perimeter shots that didn’t fall in the second half. Holland switched things up defensively several times that got us out of a rhythm, and they got into a rhythm offensively. Credit to them, they played very well in the second half.”
Despite the hot start, the Holland defense shut the Cuba-Rushford (2-4) offense off in the second quarter, holding them to their lowest scoring quarter of the night by finishing the half with a 13-6 run to trail by one. In the second half, the Dutchmen took over as they outscored the visitors in each of the frames to go ahead, including a big 22-11 run in the last eight minutes to lock down the win for good.
Andrew Clement led all scorers with a game-high 18 points for the Rebels. Dan Emerson chipped in with eight points of his own, while Grady McCumiskey and Trent Chamberlain had seven, and six points respectively to add.
Cuba-Rushford is back home inside the Wighthouse on Monday, as they welcome in the Belfast Bulldogs for a 7:30 p.m. start.
Cuba-Rushford 21 6 12 11 – 50
Holland 13 13 19 22 – 67
CUBA-RUSHFORD: Zack Eddy 1 0-0 3, Ethan Brooks 1 3-4 5, Trent Chamberlain 2 1-4 6, Julius Korytkowski 0 1-2 1, Andrew Clement 6 3-5 18, Hunter Williams 1 0-0 2, Grady McCumiskey 0 7-10 7, Dan Emerson 3 1-2 8. Totals: 14 16-27 50.
HOLLAND: Nolan Perry 3 3-4 10, Jon Nellis 6 0-0 13, Noah Kirsch 2 2-2 7, Josh Ostrowski 6 1-1 14, Tyler Scheffler 4 0-0 8, Mark Lewandowski 4 4-6 13, Carter Pikett 1 0-0 2. Totals: 26 10-13 67.
3-point goals: C-R 6 (Clement 3, Eddy, Chamberlain, Emerson), Holland 5 (Perry, Nellis, Kirsch, Ostrowski, Lewandowski).
Total Fouls: C-R 14, Holland 22. Fouled out: None.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Canisteo-Greenwood 90, Cuba-Rushford 48
CANISTEO — Through the first seven games of the season, the Canisteo-Greenwood Lady Redskins are starting to become one of the area’s juggernauts in the girls basketball scene. With it, it came with a Top 10 ranking in New York State inside the Class C field.
With the likes on eighth grade phenom Lillian Mullen, as well as junior Savannah Ambuski, and their senior leader Elizabeth Roach down low, the Lady Redskins can bring it on any given night. On Saturday, they put up their highest total of the season thus far, as all three Lady Redskins shooters played a huge role in the team’s 90 points worth of offense in their 90-48 rolling of visiting Cuba-Rushford to remain unbeaten on the season.
Canisteo-Greenwood scored at least 20 points in all four quarters to pick up the win, as Mullen’s career evening paved the lane toward a game-high 35 points.
The Lady Rebels (2-5) on the flip side were led by their senior leader Kate Howe, who racked up a team-leading 26 points, including a 10-of-14 outing at the charity stripe. Taylor Searle provided eight points of her own, while Ella Jaffe had six points to contribute.
Cuba-Rushford is back in action Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m, as they travel to visit the Genesee Valley Lady Jaguars.
Cuba-Rushford 15 10 13 10 – 48
Canisteo-Greenwood 23 25 20 22 – 90
CUBA-RUSHFORD: Lillian Forward 2 0-0 4, Ella Jaffe 3 0-0 6, Macie Demick 1 0-0 2, Taylor Searle 3 1-2 8, Kate Howe 8 10-14 26, Cameron Shaw 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 11-16 48.
CANISTEO-GREENWOOD: Savannah Ambuski 6 2-4 14, Taegan Sharp 1 0-0 2, Lillian Mullen 15 2-3 35, Destiny Reese 3 0-0 6, Brooke Byrd 2 0-2 4, Skylar Sable 1 0-2 2, Elizabeth Roach 13 1-4 27. Totals: 41 5-15 90.
3-point goals: C-R 1 (Searle), C-G 3 (Mullen).
Total Fouls: C-R 10, C-G 12. Fouled out: None.
