After back-and-forth scrap, Eagles erupt into 2nd half inferno behind 3rd quarter spark in huge 63-43 home win over C-R to claim portion of County title

FILLMORE — Before almost every game in the locker room, Fillmore head coach Randy Crouch assembles and huddles his team around the whiteboard for a pregame pep talk.

The first thing that he writes up onto the board is a saying that has been established as one of the team’s creeds they’ve lived by, all season long. One that has sparked a stint of basketball that has become their best of the season to this point.

That motto goes by five words, in big lettering: Make plays for each other.

Because of it, the Eagles have gone on to win seven of their last eight games since the loss to Avoca/Prattsburgh at the Barkley Showcase nearly a month ago. Crouch admits that he was a bit worried back at the beginning of the season, but at the same time, he also advised his team to remain patient during the process.

Something they have more than bought into.

“I love being around this group, and that makes things easier,” he said. “We put together a challenging schedule, and I had some regrets early on because we played some ugly basketball and got away with it a couple of times. Other games like in Wellsville, or at Cuba-Rushford, the Barkley Showcase, but I've been preaching to them to be patient and find your roles. Focus, effort, attitude is something these guys have bought into, and it's been there since day one.”

Crouch continued, noting that “The brilliance is making plays for each other, and it's helped us find our offensive identity. This is my niche in what we do, and our shot selection is way better because of it, as well as our Help defense, it has tightened up as well.”

The Eagles, because of their latest stint of hot basketball, have now found themselves within a win of garnering at least a sizable portion of this year’s Allegany County crown in Division I play. But if the Rebels of Cuba-Rushford were to come into The Rock and deliver a knockout blow, they would wind up taking the seat all alone at the local high table as outright champions.

For both sides, it was not an easy battle by any means. It would see strong stints of defense, glimmers on offense, and even some big help on special teams in the midst of a near-even exchange across the first half.

Carrying a halftime lead into and out of the break, it was Fillmore that had control over charting their course. But little by little, the Rebels chipped away, getting to as close as a single point during another defensive stand between both teams in the third quarter. That’s when Crouch decided to take action with a timeout to regroup.

With it, would come a spark with under two minutes remaining. The Eagles rewound the tape back to the pep talk in the locker room before the game’s commencement. The message on the whiteboard.

They began to make plays for each other.

A ton of noise was produced in the last moments of the third quarter, as Fillmore retained control of the game against Cuba-Rushford, finishing with a 15-3 run of their opposition in the last four minutes of the frame, eight of those points coming consecutively to garner what was the largest lead of the night and secure it all the way to the end to tally a big 63-43 victory to officially lay claim on one portion of the Allegany County League Championship.

“What I’ve learned with this team is that I have to start being more patient,” Crouch said. “We weren’t knocking down shots early, but we were getting good looks. The other thing is that we were playing good defense but we were also giving up too many offensive rebounds, which gave them second chance points. As the second quarter wore on, Jair (Bialek) knocked down a couple of big shots, and I know once he knocks those down, he’s going to be a threat the rest of the way.”

Both teams came together to put together a first quarter that became anyone’s game. Multiple ties were exchanged, with Finn Ricketts and Zach Sisson collecting a vast majority of the scores. Sisson would wind up scoring the first 10 points of the game for the Eagles (13-5) before dishing out an excellent pass underneath the hoop for Jair Bialek to finish off with a 12-9 lead before the end of the half.

In the waning seconds, Cuba-Rushford (15-4) would respond in perhaps one of the biggest of ways. After Sisson converted three shots at the stripe, the Rebels hurried down court for one last drive with five seconds left. With it, Jacob Smith gained possession of the ball and made a heave just over half-court down the floor. The ball would sail straight into the breadbasket, sending the Rebels cheering section into madness with a 12-12 tie going into the second quarter.

The defenses would battle it out once more through the first two minutes and change before the scoring reboots again. With multiple deadlocks formulating across the way, the Eagles found a chance to create an opening against the Rebels with the game tied at 20. Jair Bialek would immediately provide it with back-to-back three-pointers, one of them stemming almost immediately after a Cuba-Rushford inbound from deep.

Jonah Bialek would chip in a three of his own to push the advantage back out to seven with a 9-0 scoreless run. Fillmore would go on to end the first half with nine of the first 11 points, with Cuba-Rushford’s basket coming towards the end of the half from Dom Bello straight underneath.

With a 29-22 lead in hand, it was now on the Eagles to keep holding it.

Fillmore had troubles putting the ball away to start the second half, which at the same time, allowed Cuba-Rushford to pick up the puzzle pieces and re-enter the fray with nine of the last 12 points fueling a narrow comeback bid. Enough to force a timeout on the floor between both teams.

A timeout that Crouch used to his full advantage.

“I think the big difference maker in the second half was when I called for a timeout, and I sat the boys down and yelled at them,” the Eagles coach said. “I'm not a yeller and screamer by any means, but I figured this was the time to come out and present a challenge for them. I got after them and said to show some heart, get some rebounds and play some defense. The rest would take care of itself.”

Did it ever.

To wrap up the third quarter, the Eagles went on an absolute frenzy led by Jonah Bialek’s hot spurt with five of the team’s eight points through the middle of their 8-0 scoreless run of the Rebels, while entering dangerous territory at the same time with foul trouble abroad.

The action then began to get chaotic in the last 30 seconds of the frame, as Fillmore’s defense stymied Cuba-Rushford into multiple turnovers which resulted in some big points off turnovers, led by Jair Bialek and Zach Sisson — two guys that jump-started the offense back in the first half, as each went back-to-back with a pair of inside baskets to give the hosts their largest lead of the night. A 47-34 lead going into the last eight minutes.

“When we came back out, it was lights out,” said Crouch. “Zach was his usual, exceptional self, and it's a blessing to have a guy you can put in any position and work around him. All he does is create opportunities for everyone else, and the roll we're on is predicated on the fact that if we play off him, we can get much better. When we play like that, we're dangerous.”

Crouch added on the team’s efforts, noting that “I felt like Mitchell did a great job against Jacob Smith, who is a tough kid. When he got his fourth foul, Jack (Cool) came in and picked up where he left off guarding him. I'm really proud of those guys, as well as Brent (Zubikowski) who was brilliant on Jack Frank tonight. He really stuck with the assignment, and took it to heart. I'm proud of the guys for finding and accepting their roles, and playing at the level that I need them at.”

The fourth quarter was used by Fillmore as icing on the County Championship-winning cake, as they made sure they got a slice behind Sisson and Bialek’s guidance one more time to wrap up a 16-9 run. Right before the end of the game, Crouch went up and down the bench congratulating his boys. The words: County Champion, which was then followed by a high-five.

Sisson led all scorers on the floor for the Eagles with a game-high 28 points, as his second half of the season remained in full blast. Among his 28 points, was another immaculate outing at the charity stripe, going a perfect 13-for-13. Jair Bialek concluded with 18 points, while Jonah Bialek wound up finishing with eight. Brent Zubikowski provided a powerful presence off the glass with seven rebounds to fuel the special teams cause.

The Rebels were fronted by Jacob Smith, who tallied 13 team-high points. Kaden Bell and Finn Ricketts each chipped in with seven points each. Cuba-Rushford heads back home to host their final regular season game, welcoming in Genesee Valley/Belfast for a 7:30 p.m. battle.

Fillmore will remain at home one more time for Senior Night on Monday, as they now prepare for the C.G. Finney Falcons in their 6 p.m. battle.

Cuba-Rushford 12 10 12 9 – 43

Fillmore 12 17 18 16 – 63

CUBA-RUSHFORD: Jacob Smith 5 0-0 13, Kaden Bell 3 0-2 7, Luke Brooks 2 1-2 5, Jack Frank 2 1-3 5, Dom Bello 2 0-0 4, Finn Ricketts 2 2-2 7, Peyton Joy 1 0-0 2. Totals: 17 4-9 43.
FILLMORE: Eben Schilke 1 1-2 4, Jair Bialek 6 3-4 18, Mitch Ward 1 0-2 2, Zach Sisson 7 13-13 28, Jonah Bialek 3 0-0 8, Layton Sanasith 1 0-0 3, Jack Cool 0 0-1 0. Totals: 19 17-22 63.
3-point goals: C-R 5 (Smith 3, Bell, Ricketts), Fillmore 8 (Ja. Bialek 3, Jo. Bialek 2, Schilke, Sisson, Sanasith)
Total Fouls: C-R 19, Fillmore 15. Fouled out: None.