Saturday Roundup: Wellsville’s Layfield, B-R’s Sibble, Coleman advance to State Tourney in Albany with top finishes; B-R boys, C-R girls squads split Saturday twinbill in Cuba

BROCKPORT — The spotlight was on Brockport this weekend. Multiple wrestlers from Wellsville and Bolivar-Richburg made the trip up to earn the right to compete for one of the State’s highest prizes — a spot in the State Tournament at Times Union Center in Albany, two weeks from now.

At the end of the day, three local wrestlers will have the opportunity to climb their way to the top of the New York State mountain, as Wellsville’s John Layfield and Bolivar-Richburg’s Trent Sibble and Ethan Coleman will move on to the Empire State’s Capital to represent Section V in their respective weight classes.

The Lions will send their Senior in Layfield to the big event, as he moved to a magnificent 36-1 on the season with a big first place victory on the mat by taking it the complete distance, recording a pinfall win 46 seconds into the sudden victory session against Palmyra-Macedon’s Brett Rooks to claim his spot in the 189 pound bracket for the State Tourney.

Lions head coach Tyler Carman commended on his Senior’s performance in Brockport, as he gets set to become the second Wellsville wrestler to reach States in three seasons, with the last being former Lions phenom Hunter Kurtz back in 2019.

“It’s fantastic. He’s earned it and he was worked hard for this moment every day,” he said. “He works out on Sundays, he stays late to put that extra effort in. I’m proud of our program. It takes a team to build this success that we’ve had. He created a lot of action in his match, but it couldn’t have ended better. He dug deep, and he earned it. He scored a great takedown late, and what he did was a big reason why you get up Sunday mornings to work out. His work ethic is incredible.”

Layfield will be joined by Bolivar-Richburg’s Trent Sibble and Ethan Coleman on the trip to Albany, as the two Wolverines grapplers become the first duo since Hudson Evingham and Tyler Smith last made the trip two seasons ago in 2020.

Sibble remained perfect on the season with a 48-0 record overall, as he defeated Warsaw’s Connor Hare in the 215 pound Championship bout behind a 10-3 decision. As for Coleman, he claimed a spot in the 138 pound bracket despite falling the Championship bout to South Seneca’s Caleb Sweet via pin-fall with just 23 seconds left in the second period.

As for the other top finishers for the Wolverines, Gary McDowell (102 pounds) and Tavyn MacDonell (152 pounds) each collected third place finishes via decision, while Trey Buchholz (126 pounds) and Kadin Tompkins (145 pounds) placed fourth overall to conclude their extraordinary seasons.

As for the Allegany County grapplers getting their chance to shine on the biggest stage, Carman says it’s an incredible sight to behold.

“It’s great for our area,” he said. “Last weekend, out of 26 weight classes, there were 20 Sectional champs from the Steuben County conference. We’re becoming a hub from the Southern Tier, and now it’s continuing to the State level. It’s going to keep progressing. Hats off to everyone that has worked hard to get to this point in their seasons. It’s exciting to see all of these wrestling programs, including ours, grow.”

The New York State Tournament at Times Union Arena in Albany is set to begin February 25.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Bolivar-Richburg 71, Cuba-Rushford 50

CUBA — Just hours removed what was a season-high best performance against Fillmore in an absolute thriller, what exactly does Bolivar-Richburg Senior, Landon Danaher do to follow it up the next day? — A near mirror image of his incredible performance.

The Wolverines guard was all over the floor knocking down one shot after another, as he assisted in providing his team a red hot start through the first half that gave them a 46-21 lead to work with, netting 28 of his game-high 34 points to fuel Bolivar-Richburg’s bounce back victory on the road against host Cuba-Rushford with a 71-50 win in the Wighthouse.

It didn’t take long for the Wolverines (12-6) to establish their presence, as they doubled up the Rebels across the first eight minutes with a run that saw them end the frame by scoring 11 straight in the last three minutes, after getting their early lead taken away.

Bolivar-Richburg continued to make it rain on offense with their biggest frame of the night in the second quarter, as they rolled into halftime with a 24-10 run of the Rebels (9-8), ultimately pulling away in the end despite a late comeback by the hosts in the fourth quarter, who outscored the Wolverines by a 20-6 count.

Following behind Danaher’s 34-point performance was Evan Pinney, who recorded 12 points. Cam MacDonell and Wyatt Karnuth pitched in with eight points. For the Rebels, Jack Frank and Luke Brooks led the way with a team-high 10 points each. Will Sharp recorded eight points.

Both teams will have Hinsdale up next on their schedules after the weekend, with Cuba-Rushford having first dibs on Monday in a 6 p.m. home tip-off, a day before Bolivar-Richburg travels to visit the Bobcats in a 6 p.m. contest of their own on Tuesday.

Bolivar-Richburg 22 24 19 6 – 71

Cuba-Rushford 11 10 9 20 – 50

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Landon Danaher 14 1-1 34, Wyatt Karnuth 4 0-0 8, Ian Unfus 0 0-4 0, David Baldwin 1 0-0 2, Reiss Gaines 3 1-2 7, Evan Pinney 5 0-0 12, Cam MacDonell 4 0-0 8. Totals: 31 2-7 71.
CUBA-RUSHFORD: Braeden Wight 2 0-0 6, Jacob Smith 1 0-0 2, Jack Frank 4 0-2 10, Will Sharp 2 4-4 8, Dom Bello 3 0-0 6, Finn Ricketts 3 0-0 6, Caden Murray 1 0-0 2, Luke Brooks 5 0-0 10. Totals: 21 4-6 50.
3-point goals: B-R 7 (Danaher 5, Pinney 2), C-R 4 (Wight 2, Frank 2).
Total Fouls: B-R 10, C-R 6. Fouled out: None.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Cuba-Rushford 51, Bolivar-Richburg 25

CUBA — Right before the Bolivar-Richburg boys took care of business to end the day on Saturday, the Lady Wolverines and host Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford settled the score one last time before the end of the regular season started to approach upon the horizon.

Through the first three quarters of play, both teams were just about side by side through the action. But fortunately for the Lady Rebels with a eight-point lead in hand already, saved their best quarter for last after building momentum to end the third quarter, as Cuba-Rushford built a massive 20-2 fourth quarter run that saw them pull away from Bolivar-Richburg and towards a 51-25 home victory.

“I thought it was a solid game overall,” Lady Rebels coach Aaron Wight said. “(Kayli) Giardini gave us fits in the first half especially. She’s a great player. But we had some big shots in the third to start opening things up, and that’s when we really started to take over. They were active on defense, especially Taylor (Searle), and it opened a lot of transition points for her.”

After falling behind by six after a 10-4 Lady Rebels lead through the first eight minutes, Bolivar-Richburg (3-15) began to close the gap to as small as two at the half with Kayli Giardini rising to the occasion with nine of the team’s 11 points, including both three points that the Lady Wolverines would scavenge in the contest.

Despite some pressure brought on by the Lady Wolverines to end the first half, the Lady Rebels (7-11) would enter the picture in the second half, with some heat of their own coming in the late stages of the third quarter, ending a 14-8 run that would branch their lead to eight, led by some clutch shots off the hand of Brynn Lavery, who had six of her 10 points within the frame.

Cuba-Rushford would run the table in the last eight minutes, led by Searle’s emergence from all angles, as she scored 15 of the team’s 20 points, including a pair of deep threes, in their 20-2 outburst to end the game. Searle would lead the Lady Rebels with a game-high 30 points.

The Lady Wolverines were paced by Giardini, who finished with 15 points. Destiny Cantrell added in four more points.

Both teams are back in action Tuesday night in a pair of 7:30 p.m. contests, with Cuba-Rushford remaining pat at home to face the undefeated Fillmore Lady Eagles, while Bolivar-Richburg hits the road to face the Wellsville Lady Lions.

Bolivar-Richburg 4 11 8 2 – 25

Cuba-Rushford 10 7 14 20 – 51

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Emma Sisson 1 0-0 2, Raegan Giardini 1 0-0 2, Kayli Giardini 6 3-4 15, Nadia Baldwin 0 2-2 2, Destiny Cantrell 2 0-0 4. Totals: 10 5-6 25.
CUBA-RUSHFORD: Lillian Forward 2 1-2 5, Brynn Lavery 5 0-0 10, Gabby Kranock 1 0-0 2, Aleah Demick 1 2-4 4, Taylor Searle 10 8-10 30. Totals: 19 11-16 51.
3-point goals: B-R 2 (K. Giardini), C-R 2 (Searle).
Total Fouls: B-R 14, C-R 12. Fouled out: Majot (B-R).

Genesee Valley/Belfast 37, Houghton Academy 18

BELFAST — After a stinging, hard-fought defeat to the hands of Andover/Whitesville back on Thursday, the chance to rebound came Saturday morning for the Genesee Valley/Belfast Lady JagDogs.

They made sure it was a success, as they took care of business back on their home floor in Belfast with a 37-18 victory over visiting Houghton Academy.

The Lady JagDogs (14-4) were led by a team-high 12 points from Anna Drozdowski. Alicia Borden posted 10 more points, while Mary Hamer chipped in eight of her own.

Stats for Houghton Academy (8-6) and a complete box score were not made available upon publication.

Both teams will meet again Monday for a 5 p.m. tip-off in Houghton.

Andover/Whitesville 83, Friendship/Scio 31

WHITESVILLE — A couple of nights removed from one the hardest fought games of their season to lock up their hopes of taking Class D2’s number one seed for this year’s Sectional tournament, Andover/Whitesville went back to work on ending a magnificent regular season on a strong note.

With two games left, including their Saturday evening contest back on their home floor against Friendship/Scio, they would begin their Thursday night follow-up with a season-best, with multiple scorers propelling the offense to big success, scoring a season-high 83 points to pace their 83-31 home win.

“Offensively, we did a very nice job of making shots, but also being willing to make the extra pass when it was necessary,” said Andover/Whitesville co-coach Jake Bannerman. “Vanessa (Hall) had her 30 points, but she spent the entire second half being a facilitator. When we are hitting as many threes as we have a game, it makes it very difficult to guard us. It puts the other team in a pick-your-poison situation. I’m very proud of the girls effort for the majority of the game, and we got all our girls some solid minutes for experience.”

All it took was the first eight minutes for Andover/Whitesville (15-3) to come out and make a statement right away, as they pounded the offensive zone with a game-high 30-point frame. The team’s three-point game was a headlining act across the contest, as the hosts dropped six of their 11 treys with Vanessa Hall leading the charge with three of the six from within her 33-point effort.

Hall was one of four different Andover/Whitesville scorers that cracked the double-digit plateau, as Serena Ainsworth and Maria Riloba added in 12 points respectively, with Ainsworth catching fire from outside with four threes of her own. Rachel Jackson tallied 10 points to help the cause even more.

Friendship/Scio (7-11) was led by a pair of 12-point team-high efforts from both Nevaeh Ross and Kadence Donohue.

Andover/Whitesville will wrap up their regular season back in Whitesville on Wednesday with a 6 p.m. contest against Hinsdale, while Friendship/Scio continues hitting the road with a 7 p.m. tip-off at Caledonia-Mumford on Monday.

Friendship/Scio 4 7 6 14 – 31

Andover/Whitesville 30 15 23 15 – 83

FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Nevaeh Ross 2 7-10 12, Sophie Bolzan 1 1-2 3, Kadence Donohue 5 2-5 12, Jenn Dickens 1 0-0 2, Morghyn Ross 0 2-2 2. Totals: 9 12-19 31.
ANDOVER/WHITESVILLE: Gabbi Hall 3 0-0 6, Vanessa Hall 13 2-2 33, Graci Lewis-Ellison 3 0-0 6, Serena Ainsworth 4 0-0 12, Rachel Jackson 4 0-2 10, Addison Morgan 1 0-0 2, Maria Riloba 5 2-2 12, Brynn Scholl 1 0-0 2. Totals: 38 4-6 83.

3-point goals: F/S 1 (N. Ross), A/W 11 (V. Hall 5, Ainsworth 4, Jackson 2).
Total Fouls: F/S 13, A/W 12. Fouled out: None.