Saturday Roundup: Rebels offense handles Canisteo-Greenwood on the road; Genesee Valley coasts past Belfast to net 3rd consecutive Andover Lions Club title

Cuba-Rushford senior Dan Emerson, off-center, splits the Canisteo-Greenwood defense on his way to the basket during Saturday night’s road contest in Canisteo. [Photo courtesy of Steve Harrison}

Cuba-Rushford senior Grady McCumiskey, middle, looks to power his way past the Canisteo-Greenwood defense underneath the basket during Saturday night’s road contest in Canisteo. [Photo courtesy of Steve Harrison]

Cuba-Rushford senior Ethan Brooks, middle, is fouled while receiving a pass from his teammates during Saturday night’s road contest in Canisteo. [Photo courtesy of Steve Harrison]

CANISTEO — As of late, the Cuba-Rushford Rebels have had their fair share of offensive struggles in the past couple of games, playing in their third game in nearly three weeks on Saturday over the road at Canisteo-Greenwood, as they finished off their two-game set.

Right away, the Rebels started out engulfed in flames, especially outside with help from Andrew Clement and Ethan Brooks, who tag-teamed to net seven of the eight three-pointers the team recorded in the entirety of the contest against the Redskins, using it to fuel their way forward toward a rebounding 63-38 win.

“We have been struggling with making good decisions with the ball, but the boys were very disciplined today, and they took what the defense gave them,” Rebels coach Bryce Ryan said. “Ethan Brooks and Andrew Clement started out hot from the perimeter, and that really allowed us to open things up on the floor for us. We rebounded very well behind that, and that kept them to a single shot on most of their possessions. That’s always a big key for us.”

Altogether in the first half, the Rebels (5-7) shot lights out, as they welded together a pair of 20-point quarters while holding Canisteo-Greenwood to just 18 to take a massive and permanent double digit lead for good heading into the locker room.

Clement and Brooks were two Cuba-Rushford scorers out of three in all to record double digit numbers in their bounce back performance. Clement charged the efforts with a game-high 19 points, while Grady McCumiskey powered the inside game to full capacity behind his 15 points. Brooks finished with 10. On defense, the Rebels managed to hold all of the Redskins shooters to below 10 points in the game.

It’s a momentum builder that they will look to use to their full advantage when the weekend wraps up on Monday, as they return home to the Wighthouse to begin a back-to-back home set inside an Allegany County Division I gauntlet with the Genesee Valley Jaguars in town first for a 7:30 p.m. visit.

“I was happy with how focused we were defensively,” said Ryan. “We communicated much better, and had much more active hands. We hope we can build off this win, and play well for the upcoming matchups against Genesee Valley and Scio after the weekend.”

Cuba-Rushford               21 20 10 12 – 63

Canisteo-Greenwood       6  12   7 13 – 38

CUBA-RUSHFORD: Ethan Brooks 3 2-2 10, Joey Jablonski 1 0-0 2, Trent Chamberlain 1 1-1 3, Alex Tylor 1 0-0 3, Andrew Clement 7 0-0 19, Brayden Lavery 1 2-2 4, Grady McCumiskey 6 3-5 15, Dan Emerson 2 3-4 7. Totals: 22 11-14 63.
CANISTEO-GREENWOOD: Cole Ferris 2 0-0 5, Mike Knight 3 0-0 6, Roque Santiago 1 3-4 5, Hunter McCaffery 2 0-0 5, Corey Barker 1 0-0 3, Jose Alvarez 0 0-1 0, Nick Button 2 0-0 6, Blake Updyke 2 2-6 6, Owen Chaffee 0 2-2 2. Totals: 13 7-13 38.

3-point goals: C-R 8 (Clement 5, Brooks 2, Tylor), C-G 5 (Button 2, Ferris, McCaffery, Barker).
Total Fouls: C-R 14, C-G 11. Fouled out: None.

Andover Lions Club Championship

Genesee Valley 74, Belfast 37

ANDOVER — Just a day removed from becoming Genesee Valley’s all-time leading scorer, Cody Schneider was in the mood for another big outing in the championship game of the 30th Annual Andover Lions Club Tournament on Saturday. It was one that earned him an All-Tournament nod after posting the county’s first triple-double of the season by recording 25 points to go with 17 rebounds and 12 assists in the team’s 74-37 title-clinching victory over the Belfast Bulldogs.

“It was a nice win, everyone got to see some time at some point in the game,” Jaguars coach Lintz Bliven said. “We passed the ball really well, and we’re always looking for that extra man to hand the ball off to. It was a great weekend for everyone involved, and Cody and Evan put everyone on their shoulders to get this tournament win again for us. The defense was outstanding again, and they really caused a lot of havoc down below. They really get after it, and it’s making us become better and better.”

The Jaguars (12-3) got after it almost immediately in the beginning stages, as the defense went to work by holding Belfast to their smallest quarter of action with a 19-6 run. But the Bulldogs would close the gap a quarter later after a near deadlock saw their deficit decrease heading into the locker room, trailing by a 33-18 count.

But the hammer was ultimately put down in the third quarter, as Genesee Valley went back to work with their highest producing offensive effort of the tournament, scoring a 26-point frame to put a bow on a 26-10 title-clinching jaunt of the Bulldogs (5-10).

Earning this year’s MVP honors was Evan Windus, for the Jaguars. After finishing with 27 points against Alfred-Almond the day before, he went a step further in the title game with a game-high 29 points to go with 14 rebounds off the glass, completing a double-double. Brock Ellsessor added in nine points, while Riley Gordon and Trevor Clark rounded off the scoring with seven, and four points respectively.

Belfast was paced by Devin Harriger, who sank a team-leading 11 points. Inside, Carter Guilford took charge with 10 points, while Nick Ellison and Matt Weaver each had six points to chip in.

Both teams are back on the floor Monday night over the road, as the Jaguars head to the Wighthouse to visit the Cuba-Rushford Rebels for a 7:30 p.m. contest, while the Bulldogs make their way down the road to Houghton Academy to take on the Panthers at 6 p.m.

Genesee Valley     19 14 26 15 – 74

Belfast                    6 12 10   9 – 37  

GENESEE VALLEY: Trevor Clark 2 0-0 4, Evan Windus 12 1-2 29, Brock Ellsessor 4 1-2 9, Riley Gordon 3 0-0 7, Cody Schneider 11 1-1 25. Totals: 32 3-5 74.

BELFAST: Nick Ellison 2 0-0 6, Jason Drozdowski 1 0-2 2, Matt Weaver 2 2-4 6, Devin Harriger 4 1-2 11, Hunter Enders 1 0-0 2, Carter Guilford 4 2-4 10. Totals: 14 5-12 37.

3-point goals: GV 7 (Windus 4, Schneider 2, Gordon), Belfast 4 (Harriger 2, Ellison 2).
Total Fouls: GV 13, Belfast 3. Fouled out: None.

Andover Lions Club Consolation

Alfred-Almond 71, Andover 65

ANDOVER — Both teams saw their three-point games come to life in the Lions Club Consolation round to finish off the 30th annual tournament in Andover, Saturday night.

Alfred-Almond made their first impression right away with nearly half of their points coming in the first eight minutes of play, while the host Panthers galvanized a strong finish to stay within reach of the Eagles. But in the end, the visitors managed to hold onto their first half lead to put toward their 71-65 edging.

“We gave them a 20-point lead as usual in the first half, but the guys fought their way back. We missed some open shots in the last 1:30 of the game, but they played together and never gave up,” Panthers coach John Dougherty said. “I’m super proud of them, and we played so much better than last night. I’m hoping this will be a sign that we will finish the season strong.”

Alfred-Almond’s Jonah Kays, and Andover’s Preston Ordway ran the floor from outside for their respective teams, as they combined for 14 of the game’s 21 three-pointers. In the opening half, Kays powered the Eagles offense with all six of his treys coming from within the stretch, scoring 23 points in all out of his team-leading 26-point effort to allow his team to take a 44-31 lead at the break.

In the back half, it was Ordway that fueled the team’s success from outside with a red hot night from downtown, scoring three clutch three-pointers in the fourth quarter to fuel the Panthers (4-10) biggest outing of offense with a 22-14 run of the Eagles to close the gap. But the deficit ultimately became too much to overcome.

Ordway finished with a team-high 26 points to head Andover, dishing out four assists along the way. Grady Terhune also had four assists to add with his 14 points, while Spencer Cook led the glass game with nine rebounds in part of his 12-point performance. Chris Walker added nine points and eight more rebounds.

Andover will look to continue the rebound back into the win column on Tuesday, as they hit the road for a visit with the Bolivar-Richburg Wolverines at 7:30 p.m.

Alfred-Almond      27 17 13 14 – 71

Andover                 13 18 12 22 – 65

ALFRED-ALMOND: Blake McMichael 3 1-2 7, Carsen Hann 3 0-0 9, Ty Kenney 1 0-2 2, Isaac Little 7 2-3 17, Kevin Dunning 4 2-8 10, Jonas Kays 8 4-6 26. Totals: 26 9-21 71.
ANDOVER: Grady Terhune 6 0-0 14, Cormac Brown 1 1-2 4, Spencer Cook 5 2-4 12, Chris Walker 2 5-8 9, Preston Ordway 9 0-0 26. Totals: 23 8-14 65.

3-point goals: A-A 10 (Kays 6, Hann 3, Little), Andover 11 (Ordway 8, Terhune 2, Brown).
Total Fouls: A-A 13, Andover 15. Fouled out: None.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Andover 45, Avoca/Prattsburgh 35

PRATTSBURGH — The Lady Panthers of Andover took a massive hit in their last road trip outside of Allegany County which saw Emily Wahl get knocked out of action with an ankle injury. From that game forward, it’s been all hands on deck for the Lady Panthers, and on Saturday, they delivered with one of their most complete performances of the year.

In addition to defeating Fillmore early last month to hand the Lady Eagles their first loss, they now can add another enormous victory to that list. Behind a stout showing of defense, and a strong finish down the stretch, Andover was able to come away with a 45-35 win in Prattsburgh over the host Avoca/Prattsburgh Lady Vikings.

“The defensive effort by the girls was outstanding,” said Lady Panthers coach Jake Bannerman. “It was the best game we have played all year. Communicating, helping one another, closing out all of their shooters. Delaney Stowe killed us the last time we played them back home, but the girls managed to take a big step forward, and pick up the slack with Emily not being in the lineup.”

A solid outing of first half basketball jumpstarted Andover’s (11-5) night from the floor, starting off with a 15-7 lead that saw a narrow extension when the second quarter came around, as they were held to nine points. But it was a victory for Avoca/Prattsburgh, who then took charge in the early stages of the second half with their defense putting the pressure on the Lady Panthers with a 12-5 run, ultimately finding themselves down by four entering the last period.

At the same time, it was a third quarter that Andover was able to shake off, as they saved their best effort for last with a minor 16-11 run that proved to be critical with a handful of key free throws being successfully tallied down the stretch to help secure their victory.

“They outworked in the third quarter very easily,” said Bannerman. “They got down to within two at one point, but Kelsie (Niedermaier) kept us in it with some nice shots inside. Tess (Spangenburg) and Livia (Simon) hit some big free throws to give us that cushion that we needed to pull away. It was a great confidence booster for them, and they realize that they can do this. It was really nice to see all of them play with that confidence.”

Tess Spangenburg led the Lady Panthers in the scoring department with a game-high 18 points, pairing them with 10 rebounds off the glass. Livia Simon pitched in with 14 points, while Kelsie Niedermaier played a big role in special teams with 15 huge blocks, and 12 boards herself.

Up next for Andover is a return trip back home, as they now prepare for a final visit from the Lady Eagles of Fillmore on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

Andover                     15  9  5 16 – 45

Avoca/Prattsburgh       7  5 12 11 – 35

ANDOVER: Hayleigh Niedermaier 2 0-0 5, Tess Spangenburg 5 5-8 18, Katie Calladine 0 2-4 2, Livia Simon 5 4-6 14, Kelsie Niedermaier 3 0-4 6. Totals: 15 11-22 45.
AVOCA/PRATTSBURGH: Delaney Stowe 2 2-2 7, Kendra Pinckney 1 3-6 5, Emi Moore 2 0-0 4, Riley Stowe 0 1-2 1, Lucia D'Arpino 4 0-0 8, Alexis Weldy 4 0-0 10. Totals: 13 6-10 35.

3-point goals: Andover 4 (Spangenburg 3, H. Niedermaier), A/P (Weldy 2, D. Stowe).
Total Fouls: Andover 12, A/ P 18. Fouled out: D. Stowe (A/P), R. Stowe (A/P).