Saturday Roundup: Despite a 57-52 loss to visiting B-R, Scio’s Loucks makes history, joins the 2K-Point club on last day of regular season action

The Tigers gather for a team photo with senior Cam Loucks (34), as he eclipsed the 2,000 point mark in his high school career on the last day of regular season action Saturday afternoon at home against Bolivar-Richburg. Loucks finished with a game-high 36 points, bringing his career point total to 2,020 points. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Scio senior Cam Loucks (34) drives down the sidelines under pressure from the defense of Bolivar-Richburg junior Wyatt Karnuth (3) during Saturday afternoon’s contest in Scio. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Bolivar-Richburg junior Landon Danaher (2) drives his way to the basket, as Scio junior Nate Ford (24) applies the defense in front of the basket during Saturday afternoon’s contest in Scio. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Bolivar-Richburg sophomore Camdyn MacDonell (32) goes up for the basket, as Scio senior Cam Loucks, off-center, flies in on defense in effort to provide a stop during Saturday afternoon’s contest in Scio. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

SCIO — In the early stages of Dillon McFall’s basketball coaching career, he pulled aside two players for a brief talk about the future, and what lied ahead. Those two players? — Brendan Graves and Cam Loucks.

The conversation was centered around the possibility of becoming a pair of 1,000 point scorers in their careers. Cam was the first to do it for Scio when he was a sophomore passing Theron Mong as the last Tiger to record 1,000 career points. As an added bonus, he also recorded 1,000 rebounds in his career as well, along the way. Brendan was next, recording 1,000 career points in his very last season as a member of the Tigers.

McFall says the time he has spent with them, he is very fortunate to have coached them.

“This is my fifth year of varsity, and Cam came us as an eighth grader, and Brendan Graves came up as a ninth grader,” he said. “We were talking, and there was a great chance we could have two 1,000 point scorers. Come to find out, we've got Brendan who scored 1,000 last year, and we worked toward Cam to get toward 2,000 this year. I'm pretty lucky that I've gotten to coach those two guys. Not many coaches can say that.”

When 2021 came around, the possibility of Loucks taking it one step further? It became very real, as he entered his final season on the basketball court for the Tigers. After finding a great amount of success through the season, Loucks found himself needing just 16 points to reach that historic mark.

To do it, Loucks had to fight his through a Bolivar-Richburg defense that has been battle-tested all season long. The visiting Wolverines made Loucks work down low for every bit of offense he could find, but right before the end of the half, the Scio senior was able to reach that historic mark.

Despite the eventual 57-52 loss to the hands of the Wolverines, Loucks was able to crack 2,000 career points on the very last day of the regular season for the Tigers, knocking down a big shot at the charity stripe to do so, as he finished the game with 2,020 career points after a game-high 36 point effort against the Wolverines, Saturday afternoon.

McFall reflected on his time with Loucks, saying that he’s become a well-rounded basketball player.

“That was awesome to see Cam get his 2,000. I'm really proud of him for getting that,” he said. “The other thing about Cam is, nothing is really flashy about him. He just gets to the point where he needs to go on the floor, and gets it done. He's been awesome this year, and you hear other people around the area asking about his validity, if he's really that good. If they don't think he is, they know nothing about basketball. He works hard every time he's on the floor. He's a workhorse, especially this year, he's been asked to do a lot more with the younger kids, and he's stepped up.”

Like Loucks, the Tigers (8-3) had to work for all of their points against a tough Wolverines defense that has continued to get stronger and stronger since their mid-season matchup with the Olean Huskies back in the middle of February. Since then, they recorded wins in five of their last six games entering their matchup with Scio.

But it was the Tigers that started the game out on the right foot, despite the Wolverines (7-4) beginning the game with the opening basket, as they accounted for the next 10 points right in a row to take the early advantage. But Bolivar-Richburg was able to gain ground quickly from that point, as they scored the last eight points of the first quarter behind the guidance of Camdyn MacDonell down low with half of those points.

The Wolverines would trail by a 15-12 count heading into the second, but they would eventually take the lead back with another basket extending their scoreless run to 10 straight before Loucks hit his lone three-pointer to end the drought. A back-and-forth battle ensued right up until the first half buzzer, when Landon Danaher nailed a big three-pointer right before the horn sounded to tie the game at 25 heading into break.

“I'm proud of our team today. We lost, but we played hard,” McFall said. “This was a great test for us going into Sectionals. My guys proved something to me today, and if anything, they should believe in themselves after today. This B-R team lost to Wellsville by two, went to Olean and lost by 10 or so. They're a great team, and Margey (Jeff Margeson) is a great coach.”

In the third quarter, the Wolverines would be the first to jump out to a second half lead with an early 12-6 run of Scio, but it would evaporate quickly as the Tigers rebounded to come back to within two of the visitors in black and red. Ultimately, Bolivar-Richburg ended the third quarter with seven of the last 10 points scored to take a 47-39 lead that they never lost again.

Although the Wolverines had possession of the lead for much of the fourth quarter, the pressure was turned up late when Scio began to apply their full-court press on the Wolverines deep in the defensive zone, down 11. As a result, it would cut the Bolivar-Richburg lead down from 11 to five with a minute left to play.

It would decrease down to as much as a single basket, with dividends being paid in the form of back-to-back turnovers by the Wolverines, which were cashed in by the Tigers to cut the deficit to three. With a chance to tie it with 11 seconds left, Loucks last-chance heave at a game-tying three rimmed out, and landed into the hands of the Wolverines defense, as they managed to lock up the victory with a pair of 1-for-2’s at the line from Evan Pinney and Matt Mitchell.

MacDonell was an enormous difference maker for the Wolverines, as he came away with a massive team-leading 32-point performance down low. Danaher followed behind with 19 points of his own, including both of the team’s three-pointers. Pinney finished with three points.

Scio was led by Loucks, who had a game-high 36 points, and for McFall, he said that his senior’s evolution as a player has been outstanding to witness over the years, including this season.

“It shows his evolution as a ball-player,” he said. “When he was younger, it was all athleticism, especially the last two, three years. He's gotten better and better, but this year, he's a better shooter than he gets credit for. He still gets his work done around the rim, but this year, he's had to really rely on pull-up jumpers more, just because teams are going to collapse the paint on us. He had a bunch of contested jumpers tonight, at least five of them were really tough to make, and he made them.”

Finishing behind Loucks in the Scio scorebook was Brendan Loucks, who added in eight points. Cory Bolzan and Nate Ford each added a three-point basket respectively.

Both teams will now await their Sectional fate over this weekend, as Bolivar-Richburg finishes winning six of their last seven, with all six wins coming in a row to close out their regular season with a record of 7-4, while Scio will await one of the top seeds in the Class D2 tournament after finishing with a record of 8-3.

Bolivar-Richburg 12 13 12 20 – 57

Scio 15 10 14 13 – 52

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Landon Danaher 8 1-3 19, Brayden Ellis 1 0-0 2, Matt Mitchell 0 1-3 1, Evan Pinney 1 1-2 3, Camdyn MacDonell 15 2-4 32. Totals: 25 5-12 57.
SCIO: Brendan Loucks 4 0-2 8, Ayden Faulkner 1 0-0 2, Cory Bolzan 1 0-0 3, Nate Ford 1 0-0 3, Cam Loucks 12 11-14 36. Totals: 19 11-16 52.
3-point goals: B-R 2 (Danaher), Scio 3 (Bolzan, Ford, C. Loucks).
Total Fouls: B-R 13, Scio 13. Fouled out: Bolzan (SCIO).

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Belfast’s Tony Logue (11) makes a pass into the open wing while under pressure from the defense of Genesee Valley senior Brock Ellsessor (23) during Saturday afternoon’s contest in Belfast. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Genesee Valley junior Austin Murphy, middle, looks to work his way around the Belfast defense of senior Stephen Struckmann, back, and Jason Drozdowski (2) during Saturday afternoon’s contest in Belfast. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Belfast’s Nick Ellison (3) lets one of his five three-point shots sink into the basket, as Genesee Valley senior Cody Platt (45) looks to contest the shot during Saturday afternoon’s game in Belfast. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Genesee Valley senior Riley Gordon (31) dribbles under pressure from the defense of Belfast’s Jason Drozdowski (2) during Saturday afternoon’s contest in Belfast. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Belfast 36, Genesee Valley 30

BELFAST — Saturday afternoon provided a chance for one of the county’s hottest teams to finish the regular season red hot, and enter Sectionals with nine straight wins in their back pocket. That team is the Belfast Bulldogs.

It was a slow start they had to overcome early, but when the second half came around, it was a completely different game. But when the fourth quarter came around, the Bulldogs put together a strong final eight minutes to their regular season to go back ahead for good, taking the 36-30 victory.

Genesee Valley grabbed the upper hand in the first quarter, as they strung baskets together to formulate an 11-4 run of Belfast. But, the Bulldogs (11-1) came together to take the lead away going into halftime, recording eight straight points to start the second quarter with the lead in their hands. But it would set up a back-and-forth battle that would settle in at the start of the second half.

In the third quarter, the Jaguars (0-9) provided enough momentum to tie the game back up at 26. But the Bulldogs managed to pull away late in the fourth, as they provided one last run - a 10-4 jaunt that shut the door for their ninth straight victory.

Nick Ellison led the way for Belfast with a game-high 15 points, all stemming off of five three-pointers. Stephen Struckmann recorded six points down low, while Jason Drozdowski had five.

The Jaguars were led by Austin Murphy, who scored a team-high 13 points. Riley Gordon had six points, while Brock Ellsessor had four to add in.

Belfast will now await Sectional seeding, which will take place over the weekend after they finished their regular season with a record of 11-1. As for the Jaguars, their 2020 shortened season is over, as they finish with a record of 0-9.

Genesee Valley 11 6 9 4 – 30

Belfast 4 14 8 10 – 36

GENESEE VALLEY: Christian Tuttle 1 0-0 3, Austin Murphy 4 5-8 13, Brock Ellsessor 1 2-4 4, Morgan Torrey 1 0-0 2, Riley Gordon 1 3-6 6, Cody Platt 1 0-2 2. Totals: 9 10-20 30.
BELFAST: Jason Drozdowski 2 0-0 5, Nick Ellison 5 0-0 15, Max Miller 2 0-1 4, Tony Logue 2 0-1 4, Matt Weaver 1 0-3 2, Stephen Struckmann 3 0-2 6. Totals: 15 0-7 36.
3-point goals: GV 2 (Tuttle, Gordon), Belfast 6 (Ellison 5, Drozdowski).
Total Fouls: GV 13, Belfast 13. Fouled out: None.

Andover 55, Hinsdale 31

ANDOVER — Across almost every quarter, Andover was one step ahead of Hinsdale in their regular season finale on Saturday. As a result, the Panthers were able to move back up over .500 on the season, rebounding from their loss to Belfast on Thursday with a 55-31 finish over the visiting Bobcats.

The Panthers (6-5) held Hinsdale to single digits on offense from the start to the third quarter, as they came up with their biggest run of the Bobcats immediately after halftime, rolling toward a 17-5 with Spencer Cook leading the charge all game long. Cook finished with a game-high 26 points to lead the hosts in white and purple.

Greg Reilly added in 10 points, while Chris Walker and Kohler Niedermaier added in seven. For Hinsdale (1-11), Sam Cashimere netted a team-high 12 points. Jake Elliott sank all three of the team’s six triples, for nine points. Ethan Cashimere had seven points.

The Panthers will now await Sectional placing this weekend, as they finish with a record of 6-5. Hinsdale’s shortened 2020 season is over, as they conclude with a record of 1-11 overall.

Hinsdale 7 7 5 12 – 31

Andover 11 15 17 12 – 55

HINSDALE: Ethan Cashimere 3 0-2 7, Sam Cashimere 4 2-2 12, Cody Barton 1 1-2 3, Jake Elliott 3 0-0 9. Totals: 11 3-6 31.
ANDOVER: Spencer Cook 7 11-17 26, Cormac Brown 1 0-0 2, Brody Carlin 1 0-0 3, Greg Reilly 4 2-2 10, Chris Walker 3 1-4 7, Kohler Niedermaier 3 0-0 7. Totals: 19 14-23 55.

3-point goals: Hinsdale 6 (Elliott 3, S. Cashimere 2, E. Cashimere), Andover 3 (Cook, Carlin, Niedermaier).
Total Fouls: Hinsdale 17, Andover 6. Fouled out: None.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Cuba-Rushford 37, Franklinville 27

CUBA — The Lady Rebels fell behind rather quickly through the beginning stages of their season finale against Franklinville back home inside the Wighthouse, Saturday afternoon. But it was a start they managed to shake off. When the second quarter came around, the hosts forced the Lady Panthers into shutdown mode, taking the lead away despite late pressure, as they finished their regular season strong with a 37-27 win.

Franklinville started off the day by holding the Lady Rebels in check through the first eight minutes of play with a 13-2 run, led by the three-point game propelled by Tarryn Herman, who had three of her four three-pointers right in the first quarter. But then, Taylor Searle kicked it up a notch for Cuba-Rushford (2-9).

The Lady Rebels sophomore got hot inside, accounting for nine of the team’s 13 points in what proved to be the run that changed the game for good, as they ran the table on both sides of the court with a 13-0 scoreless run for the Lady Panthers to pull ahead for good.

Searle led the way for the Lady Rebels with a game-high 20 points. Lillian Forward and Brynn Lavery added in six points.

Cuba-Rushford wraps up their shortened 2020 season with a record of 2-9.

Franklinville 13 0 6 8 – 27

Cuba-Rushford 2 13 9 13 – 37

FRANKLINVILLE: Sofia Bentley 1 0-0 2, Megan Jackson 3 0-1 6, Tarryn Herman 4 5-8 17, Olivia Frank 1 0-0 2. Totals: 9 5-9 27.
CUBA-RUSHFORD: Lillian Forward 2 2-4 6, Brynn Lavery 2 2-2 6, Ella Jaffe 1 0-0 2, Taylor Searle 7 5-8 20, Tara Duvall 1 1-2 3. Totals: 13 10-16 37.
3-point goals: Franklinville 4 (Herman), C-R 1 (Searle).
Total Fouls: Franklinville 15, C-R 11. Fouled out: None.

Friendship 46, Scio 21

SCIO — The Lady Golden Eagles of Friendship finished their regular season on the highest of notes, as they powered up a big time run of host Scio right in the first eight minutes of play, as they coasted their way toward victory on Saturday with a 46-21 triumph over the Lady Tigers.

Friendship (5-5) provided a big 18-0 run led by the inside game provided by Nevaeh Ross, and a pair of three-pointers from the hand of Logan Roberts, as both Lady Golden Eagles combined to record 13 of the team’s 18 total points in the first eight minutes of play, setting the tone for good.

Ross led the scoring for the visitors in purple and gold with a game-high 23 points. Kadence Donohue chipped in with 10 points, while Roberts and Aaliyah Harmon rounded off the scoring with eight, and five points respectively.

Scio (0-13) was led by Alexis Crossley, who scored a team-high eight points. Emily Stilson added in four points.

The Lady Golden Eagles will now await Sectional seeding this weekend, while the Lady Tigers season is over with an overall record of 0-13.

Friendship 18 6 15 7 – 46

Scio 0 3 10 8 – 21

FRIENDSHIP: Nevaeh Ross 10 0-0 23, Logan Roberts 3 0-0 8, Kadence Donohue 4 1-2 10, Aaliyah Harmon 2 1-2 5. Totals: 19 2-4 46.

SCIO: Alexis Crossley 4 0-0 8, Camryn Wiech 1 0-0 2, Emily Stilson 2 0-0 4, Sophie Bolzan 1 0-0 2, Celina Warboys 1 0-0 2, Brooke Crossley 1 0-0 2, Kiara Grover 0 1-2 1. Totals: 10 1-2 21.
3-point goals: Friendship 6 (Ross 3, Roberts 2, Donohue).
Total Fouls: Friendship 5, Scio 11. Fouled out: None.