TIME OF THE SEASON: An Allegany County glimpse at the 2019-20 Sectional field as first round action begins on Tuesday
Tuesday will officially mark that time of the season. There’s no other exciting time quite like the area’s version of March Madness — Sectionals. After the regular season came to a conclusion this past Wednesday, seedings between all Section V teams in both divisions of basketball were determined through the next 48 hours, and brackets were officially released as soon as Friday night.
The hunt for a championship brick to add into their school’s trophy showcase has begun. For some teams, their wait will have to be a little longer until next weekend after earning first round byes. But for some, the competition will reach a boiling point when the first round of action begins right after the mid-winter break.
Here now is a complete class-by-class look at the Sectional field:
CLASS B2
Within each division of basketball, the Wellsville Lions boys and girls basketball teams have earned their spots within the top three in the Class B2 bracket, both garnering No. 3 seeds that came with an additional bonus in the form of a first-round bye.
The Wellsville boys, after finishing the regular season with a record of 10-10 under the leadership of their senior star forward Max Jusianiec, will not take the floor to begin their Class B2 title defense until next Saturday when they step into the Lion’s Den for the final time this season with a 4 p.m. Quarterfinals matchup against either No. 11 Early College (4-16) or No. 6 Mynderse (9-11).
“I think 10-10 is a little deceptive. Most teams play eight to nine tough games, and win half of them leading to a 15 or 16 win season,” said Lions coach Raymie Auman. “We had more like 15 really tough games, a lot of them we lost early on in the season, which is the sign of an inexperienced group. By the end of the season, we were just a few plays away in our losses. Hopefully this will lead to great experiences that will get us ready to make a run again.”
On the opposite side of the lower bracket, No. 10 Rochester Prep battles No. 7 Wayland-Cohocton on Wednesday, with the winner facing No. 2 LeRoy in the Quarters. But as for his main goal for the tournament, Auman says that the team has to be as consistent as ever if they want to make a return trip back to the Class B2 Finals at Blue Cross Arena.
“Consistency will be what it takes for us,” he said. “We have to have a consistent level of high-focused energy, consistent execution, and a consistent commitment to our individual roles. We aren’t young, and inexperienced anymore at this point.”
In the girls bracket, the Lady Lions have put on an impressive display of basketball all season long behind a starting five of four sophomores and one senior, not only on defense, but as well as putting together an offensive uprising that head coach Michelle Alvord says, has really taken off with thanks to the team spending time crafting their game as a group.
“I’m really impressed and pleased, and I’ve been talking about this for the past couple of weeks. I’m not surprised by it as some other people are,” she said. “I knew what we had coming into the season defensively, but the surprise is how well we’ve come along offensively. These girls have spent a great amount of time together during the off-seasons. Credit to them, they stepped up, they put in all the time to become really fond of working together, and they’ve made it easier for me to coach them.”
As a result, the Lady Lions have garnered a No. 3 seed themselves in the competitive field in Class B2, where they will take the floor one day earlier than the boys, on Friday, taking on either No. 11 Wayland-Cohocton or No. 6 Williamson — a team that has made the move up from Class C1 to B2 this season. That outcome will be determined on Tuesday, with the winner traveling to Wellsville for a 6 p.m. tip-off in the Quarterfinal round.
Alvord says if the team hopes to make a push, they’ll have to be as confident as they have ever been before.
”The biggest thing is confidence, and believing that we can do this,” she said. “The kids always have a game plan, and the girls have bought into it. For me, I don’t want them to look at it as icing on the cake. Our bracket is wide open this year. If we can take things one game at a time, we’ll do fine. We have as much of a chance as everyone else, and we’re in a great position with this No. 3 seed to go 3-0 over the next couple of weeks. We’ll just have to see how far the road takes us.”
CLASS C
It will be a different Sectional point of view for the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford, as they mark their first appearance in the Class C1 bracket in the girls basketball realm beginning in opening round festivities after the mid-winter break concludes, on Wednesday.
Cuba-Rushford has put together another strong season, netting at least eight wins or more in the last three seasons after finishing the regular campaign with an 8-10 record under first-year head coach Aaron Wight, and their senior leader Kate Howe, who ranks second in scoring within the County, only behind to Whitesville’s Vanessa Hall, with nearly 20 points per game.
All of the success saw the road lead to a No. 9 seed for the Lady Rebels, which will see them go over the road in their first round matchup against No. 8 Warsaw (10-10) at 7 p.m. The winner will likely have a Class C1 Quarterfinals matchup next Saturday against the top-seeded Pembroke Lady Dragons (19-1).
The other top seeds in the Class C1 bracket are No. 2 Byron-Bergen (16-4), No. 3 Canisteo-Greenwood (17-3), No. 4 Red Jacket (15-5), and No. 5 Marcus Whitman (14-6).
Down in Class C2, there has been a resurgence going on at Bolivar-Richburg under third-year head coach Justin Thomas, as the Lady Wolverines helped provide the program’s first winning season under his guidance, finishing the regular season with a record of 11-9. The Sectional hunt will now begin on Wednesday for Bolivar-Richburg when they travel to Bath-Haverling to take on No. 7 Dundee (12-8) at 6 p.m. The winner will likely have an early afternoon Quarterfinal battle with No. 2 Keshequa (17-3).
Among the top seeds in Class C2: No. 1 Lyons (17-3), No. 3 Red Creek (14-6), No. 4 Wheatland-Chili (15-5), and No. 5 Clyde-Savannah (13-7).
On the boys side, just three first round matchups will occur in Class C2 with the Rebels boys squad partaking in one of them beginning on Tuesday, but it will be on their home floor. After a strong finish to the regular season with a double-digit victory over Fillmore, Cuba-Rushford, under third-year coach Bryce Ryan, have earned themselves one last home game for the Sectional tournament, as they host No. 10 Warsaw (3-17) with the No. 7 seed in their possession, with the winner facing No. 2 Perry (15-5) on Friday.
Tip-off for Cuba-Rushford’s first rounder on Tuesday will begin at 7 p.m.
Further down the Class C field sits the Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg boys squad. Despite a 6-14 record on the season under second-year coach Jeff Margeson, Bolivar-Richburg have been in contention inside the majority of their games on the schedule, which has resulted in garnering the No. 8 team to serve as the home team for their first round matchup. But due to traveling restrictions during the school weekdays, the Wolverines will not host their matchup against No. 9 Wheatland-Chili (5-15).
Instead, that matchup will be played further down the road at a more neutral site in Fillmore at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, with the host Eagles taking the floor immediately following the conclusion of the Class C3 battle (More on Fillmore can be read below in the Class D1 outlook). The winner will face defending Sectional champion, and top-seeded Caledonia-Mumford in the Quarterfinals round later in the week.
CLASS D1
In Class D1, the Lady Eagles of Fillmore will hold the highest seed out of all Allegany County teams across both divisions entering the Sectional tournament, picking up the No. 1 seed for a second straight season under longtime head coach Tom Parks, marking the start of their journey to defend their first-ever Class D1 championship from a year ago.
This season also marked the fourth time in the last five seasons that Parks and his Lady Eagles squad have earned at least the first or second seed in the Sectional Tournament. For Parks, it’s a simple reflection of how the girls have performed over the years.
“It’s a product of what we have come to expect for our program,” he said. “Achieving those high seeds falls directly to the kids. They set their goals high, and we changed our expectations the last several years. It’s a reflection of how we’ve been able to finish the season. The girls have really earned those high seeds through brilliant regular seasons that we’ve been able to have here.”
But it’s a brand new ballgame for the 18-2 Lady Eagles, as seven of the 12 seeds in all possess winning records, providing a much more competitive field to navigate through in hopes of working their way back to the Class D1 Finals, which will be right back at Letchworth in two week’s time. Fillmore will have either No. 9 Jasper-Troupsburg (8-12) or No. 8 Eugenio Maria Charter (7-11), who is serving their first official term in the competitive field this season, next Saturday on their home floor, at 7 p.m.
Sitting behind the Lady Eagles in a crowded D1 field are: Class D1 Finalist and No. 2 seeded Avoca/Prattsburgh (15-5), No. 3 C.G. Finney (14-6), No. 4 Bradford/Hammondsport (13-6), and No. 5 Notre Dame-Batavia (13-7), with potential sleepers such as No. 6 Arkport/Canaseraga (11-9), and No. 7 Pavilion (10-10), who served as a Cinderella story not too long ago in the Sectional tournament.
“Our bracket is really tough this year,” said Parks. “Those teams will bring everything they have to the table. It’s a strong field, and it will also be a competitive field. We try not to look too far ahead in the picture, but we have some homework on the other teams. When the time comes, we’ll be prepared for each game. It’s a time where you can’t really take for granted, and they know that from soccer already. They’ve been the Finals two years in a row, and then the Finals here last year. It gives the girls experience and confidence. They know what they can do, and what they’re capable of.
As for his hope in returning to the main stage, the longtime Fillmore coach says his girls must have the right mindset.
“We have to have the right mindset,” Parks said. “Last year, the girls were expecting that we were going to do, even though nothing is given. We have to put in the work that goes with it. We cannot afford to overlook anyone. We have to be ready for a wide variety of situations heading our way. No game will be easy at this stage.”
The Lady Eagles are joined by Genesee Valley in the Class D1 field, who garnered the No. 12 seed on the other side bracket, where they will compete in first round action on Wednesday, when they travel to No. 5 Notre Dame-Batavia for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
The Class D1 Semifinals will take place on March 3 at Wayland-Cohocton, with the Finals following a few days later at Letchworth on March 6.
On the boys side, the Jaguars of Genesee Valley have been on an absolute tear since defeating Prattsburgh at the Dan Barkley Showcase last month, as they finished the season with seven of their last eight games in the win column behind an overall record of 16-4, picking up the No. 2 seed in the Class D1 field along the way.
“The kids are playing very, very well. They are sharing the ball well, our defense has been amazing, and the offense is producing,” Jaguars coach Lintz Bliven said. “Beating Prattsburgh is nice, and don’t really play well at Cuba-Rushford. It still just doesn't sit well, but the kids are gelling well at the right time, and hopefully this time there won’t be any hiccups. I really want to see how much damage this team can do, no matter the opponent. Avoca, Notre Dame, Jasper-Troupsburg, it doesn’t matter. We’ll lock horns with whoever stands in front of us. With the schedule we had this year, we earned this No. 2 spot.”
The Jaguars will have one more home game this season in the Class D1 Quarterfinal round, where they will await the victor of No. 10 Eugenio Maria Charter (2-12) or No. 7 Hammondsport (11-9) next Friday night in the Jungle at 7 p.m. With solid performers all around the floor, whether it be on offense or defense, Bliven says his team is more than capable of making another deep run.
The fourth-year Genesee Valley coach says whoever wins Sectionals will be a team that plays with the most amount of heart, and he hopes that it will be his team.
“Class D1 is a loaded field, and it’s going to take heart and energy,” Bliven said. “It’s going to take team play, they’re going to have to pass the ball better, play outstanding defense. This team can do that, and there won’t be any cakewalks in this journey. It’s going to take dedication and teamwork to make everything happen. Whoever has the most heart at the end of the night will win each game, and win Sectionals.”
The Fillmore Eagles will also look to make a run through Class D1 inside the upper bracket of the picture, as they start their search after earning the No. 4 seed in the tournament after finishing with a record of 15-4 overall under first year head coach Randy Crouch. The team will look to get their leading scorer Luke Cole back into the lineup when their Sectional trek begins on Monday inside The Rock, hosting No. 13 Arkport/Canaseraga (0-19) at 7:30 p.m. with the winner likely facing No. 5 Honeoye (14-6) in the Quarterfinal round on Friday.
Among the top seeds in Class D1 are: No. 1 Avoca (19-1), No. 3 Notre Dame-Batavia (16-4), and No. 6 Jasper-Troupsburg (13-7).
CLASS D2
Over in Class D2, a bountiful of the remaining Allegany County teams all fall into the lower bracket in Class D with the Scio Tigers leading the way on the boys side of the spectrum after finishing another brilliant season of basketball under fourth-year head coach Dillon McFall with a 16-4 record, earning them the No. 2 seed along the way.
“It’s one of those things we’re excited about to have the number two seed,” McFall said. “We were up in the bigger league this year, and we managed second place out of it. We did what we had to do to earn the spot we got for Sectionals. We knew if we were going to be able to pull out of those games, we were going to get some great Sectional points out of it to help us in the long run.”
The Tigers, who have already become Sectional champions this past fall in the boys soccer circuit, are now looking to use the momentum to put toward yet another deep Sectionals run on the hardwood. McFall says it was a subject he was just speaking with his team about recently.
“The main thing for us in a big game, is how we will react in the big game, the big moments. For instance, soccer when we won Sectionals. A bunch of guys are here from that team, and hopefully their experience will help us in the long run to get things done on the hardwood. Us winning Sectionals in soccer helps us out for those kinds of moments. It wasn’t us panicking when we were down, we came back from all of that.”
Scio will look to fit inside the shoes of a team that the four-year coach has compared this year’s team under the guidance of the County’s leading scorer Cam Loucks, and his senior sharpshooting teammate Brendan Graves — last year’s Belfast Bulldogs, who made it all the way to the Class D Far West Regional with the County’s all-time leading scorer Adam Enders, and his senior sharpshooting partner Kevin McCumiskey.
McFall says that despite the tough field ahead, the right matchups have to fall into place in order to make that run.
“That’s been our goal, to make it farther than we did last year. We lost to Mount Morris in the Semifinals last year, and playing in that game should help us get back there again, if not, farther,” he said. “It’s going to take every game we play, and it all starts on Saturday. We have to be locked in for 32 minutes. We’re really good on defense, and we’ve been good on offense. You look at the bracket and see Elba and Prattsburgh, and hopefully we can sneak up on people like Belfast did last year.”
McFall added on the Bulldogs, “We’re relatively similar to Belfast. We don’t have an Adam Enders on our team, but we have a really, really good one-two punch with Cam and Brendan, and both of them are solid on defense as well. They had some role players step up behind Adam and Kevin, and we need to have that out of our guys as well. We can make it as far as we can, it’s just one of those things where it has to be the right matchup.”
The Tigers will face either No. 10 Andover (5-15) or No. 7 Romulus (7-13) on their home floor in the Class D2 Quarterfinal round on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Elsewhere in the Class D2 field, Houghton Academy has earned the No. 5 seed after finishing the regular season at 12-5 overall, as they face No. 12 Friendship (2-16) for a spot in the upper bracket Quarterfinals against either No. 13 Whitesville (2-17) or No. 4 Bradford (15-5) on Saturday. As for Belfast, this year’s Bulldogs have earned one last home game in Sectional play as the No. 8 seed after finishing 8-12 overall. They will face No. 9 Destiny Christian (5-14) for the right to take on top-seeded Elba (17-3) in the Quarterfinal round, also next Saturday.
On the girls side, the Hinsdale Lady Bobcats have put together their best campaign in recent seasons, allowing them to earn a No. 4 spot in the Class D2 tournament with a record of 15-5, earning a first-round bye in the process, where they will face the winner of either No. 12 Friendship (3-16) or No. 5 Lima Christian (13-5) on Friday at 7 p.m.
Above them in the top part of the upper bracket sits No. 9 Belfast (6-14) and No. 8 Houghton Academy (11-8), where they will do battle in first round action on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The winner gets defending three-time D2 champion, and top-seeded Elba (18-2) over the road on Friday in the Quarterfinals.
The Lady Panthers of Andover have picked up a No. 6 seed behind a 14-6 record, but will have to work their way through the field in full despite missing out on a bye themselves, as they take on No. 11 Mount Morris (3-17) in an opening round contest on their home floor Tuesday night at 7 p.m, where the victor will face No. 3 Romulus over the road on Friday.
Head coach Jake Bannerman says the sixth seed for his Lady Panthers team says a couple of things.
“Our seeding says a couple of things. We intentionally made our schedule more difficult in the hopes that it would prepare us come Sectional time. We played a lot of meaningful games this year, as opposed to last year where we had a lot of blowouts. Our seeding has been skewed with teams with the exact opposite of schedules as us.”
The Lady Panthers are at the very bottom of the lower bracket where they will look to pave their way through a Class D2 field toward a trip back to the Finals for the third time in the last four years. Joining them, is their County rival — the Lady Blue Jays of Whitesville, who earned the No. 7 seed with an identical record of 14-6, as they face newcomer Chesterton Academy of Rochester (3-13), who are No. 10 seeds in their first year of competitive action. The winner will face No. 2 Northstar over the road, also on Friday.
Bannerman says that to get there, he will look for his senior captain Emily Wahl to step up along with her supporting cast behind her, including junior center Kelsie Niedermaier and sophomore shooter Tess Spangenburg.
“We all know that Emily is going to set the tone for us as far as energy, and aggressiveness. The big key for us is having Kelsie, Tess and Livia (Simon) all playing with a big amount of confidence. When they all do that, I don’t think there is a team that will beat us. Defensively, we’ve had a great last week of the regular season to go into Sectionals with, but it’s hard to maintain that kind of focus with almost a two-week layoff. We will have to see how all of it turns out on Tuesday.”
The Class D2 Semifinals will be held right back in Dansville on March 2, and the Finals will return to Letchworth a few days later on March 6.
For a complete look at how the entire Sectionals field has been mapped out, you can pay a visit to the Section V Boys Basketball or Girls Basketball websites, and click on the ‘Sectionals’ tab near the top of the page!
