Tuesday Roundup: Scio outlasts Bolivar-Richburg in wild fourth quarter finish; Fillmore, GV boys triumphant on the road to keep streaks in tact

Written By Chris Brooks

BOLIVAR — 10 points. That was the difference of opinion when both Scio and Bolivar-Richburg last met a week ago over the road in Scio. The Wolverines had to fight their way behind when the Tigers got off to a rampant start in their first meeting. As a result, it was a game that ultimately got away from them.

It was a similar case of the same beginnings when the two foes met for the final time in the 2020 campaign, this time at Bolivar-Richburg on Tuesday. With two key pieces of their offense not present on the floor for the majority of the first quarter, the Wolverines succumbed to another quarter that saw Scio control the floor with a big run.

But Bolivar-Richburg quickly made up for lost time as the game went on, cooking up what eventually turned into a wild finish to witness in the game’s last quarter of play. The offenses were nearly deadlocked in scoring, with the Tigers gaining the slight upper hand. That was because Brendan Graves stepped up to the plate in the very last minute.

Graves, the team’s senior shooter, became the team’s recipient of a big forced turnover just past mid-court, as Cam Loucks forced the ball out to feed Graves on a breakaway run at the basket, sinking what was a clutch lay-in with an already five-point lead now growing to seven. Bolivar-Richburg had one last chance after the foul game came to a close, dishing the ball inside for a potential game-tying lay-in, but Loucks provided stand-up defense to deny the opportunity to keep the Tigers ahead at the final buzzer with a 52-50 victory in a thriller.

“He’s a senior, and he’s been here for four years. He should be doing something like that,” Tigers coach Dillon McFall said of Graves. “It’s not really rocket science when you watch us. We rely on Cam and Brendan to score big buckets for us. Normally, they come through and we really look for them, along with Jake (D’Arcy) too when we get into crunch time. It could have went two ways — if we folded or if we didn’t, but we did just enough to win this game.”

Right from the start, the Tigers (7-1) got off to the biggest of starts by scoring the night’s first 12 points consecutively. Loucks started the scoring just seconds after the opening tip-off with a lay-in from the right side. After a few back-and-forth transitions on the floor, Scio continued their run with two big threes from Graves and Loucks, along with some help at the charity stripe to continue their 12-0 run until it saw its end from Landon Danaher at the line to get Bolivar-Richburg on the board.

In all, it was a 19-6 run for the Tigers through the opening quarter.

“We got behind in the beginning, and we always talk about the bad quarter all the time. It hit us right from the start, and Scio really put it to us,” Wolverines coach Jeff Margeson said. “It was a much cleaner game. We were talking before the game how ugly the first game against Scio was. It wasn’t as much of a basketball game, it was more of a track meet. This time, both teams played much better fundamentally.”

In the next two quarters of action, the Wolverines (4-7) offense provided a bit of steam despite the quiet opening through the first three minutes. After a timeout was taken by the Tigers, the hosts hunkered down and cashed in on a couple of missed opportunities in the defensive zone, going on to net six of the next eight points to force the deficit down to seven with under a minute left in the half.

Scio went on to score four points in a row before Brayden Ellis gave the Wolverines some momentum heading into the break with one of his two three-pointers in the waning seconds to trail by a 28-20 count after a 14-9 second quarter run.

Upon both teams exits from the locker room, there wasn’t a lot of offense showcased through the first five minutes of the third quarter. Fouls and missed opportunities littered the floor and scoresheets, but through the thick and thin of it, Bolivar-Richburg managed to keep chipping away at Scio to come within a single possession for the first of multiple times throughout the second half behind some Riley Danaher shots at the stripe, and a Wyatt Karnuth lay-in both paying some dividends.

Although they were inching their way closer from taking their first lead of the night, the action boiled to a head right at the end of the quarter after Jason Greeson battled the Wolverines back to within a single possession of the Tigers with four straight points on breakaway lay-ins. They would get to within one from Camdyn MacDonell by beating the third quarter buzzer with a wide-open basket inside the paint to enter the fourth on a high note.

Altogether, it was a 16-9 run the Wolverines made, despite foul trouble glaring directly at them.

“It was a bit of a letdown, and we got them into foul trouble with their best player Landon Danaher sitting most of the time,” McFall said. “You would have thought that we would have been able to extend our lead with him there, but we didn’t. We made too many defensive breakdowns, and we were a little hectic on offense. I’ll give their role players a lot of credit, Greeson and (Isaac) Scott had some big moments that kept them in it.”

Margeson added on Bolivar-Richburg’s third quarter, saying “I’m proud of the way the kids fought their way back into the game. Being down as much as 14, or even 16 at one point is really tough. I know it’s not really showing as far as the results, and getting into the win column, but this is two great efforts now that these kids have played against Genesee Valley, and this second time with Scio. They don’t give up, and I told them that this will battle test them for Sectionals.”

After the limitless effort through that third quarter, the Wolverines would be rewarded with their first lead of the night right in the opening two minutes. Behind some brilliant passing in the offensive zone led by Riley Danaher, he is returned the ball on a drive inside, shimmying his way past a pair of Tigers defenders untouched for a 38-37 lead, one of many lead changes in the frame.

Three more lead exchanges would go down in the book, with Scio getting the next from Graves after the Danaher basket, as he went to his three-point game to launch a shot from deep after Loucks pickpocketed a turnover at half-court to dish off the ball to his senior teammate for the trey. The Wolverines responded with another game-tying basket from Isaac Scott down low, as he found nothing but net on a clean lay-in from within the paint.

Honing in on the final three minutes of the game, Scio took charge for good, as they regained traction on the lead behind five straight points off the hands of Loucks, three of those points were collected off a big and-one to issue a 45-40 Tigers lead.

Then, Graves came through in the clutch as the Wolverines narrowed the lead to three with under two minutes left, garnering a breakaway lay-in off another half-court turnover to extend their lead to five, and then to seven after a foul sent him to the line for a pair of successful free throws. The Wolverines did not quit however, as they cut the Tigers lead down to as little as one once more with a foul drawing an and-one opportunity with Landon Danaher completing the basket.

That all came with 10 seconds left to play.

Bolivar-Richburg would go on to tack on one last foul, this to Jake D’Arcy, who successfully hit one of two at the stripe to give Scio a two-point lead. His last shot however, did create a rebound for the Wolverines to gather with just under eight ticks on the clock. Riley Danaher took control of the ball, and then completed a pass inside to Scott, where he looked to maneuver around the defense of Loucks underneath. His initial shot missed, but his follow-up would be denied by the Scio junior as time expired, allowing the visitors in blue and gold to hang on for the thrilling victory.

“This is a big win for us, and this is only our second road game of the season,” McFall said. “We’ve been lucky enough to be within the confines of our house for the majority of the season so far, and to come over the road and do this again, it’s big. It’s hard to win games here. Bolivar-Richburg might be 4-7, but they are better than their record indicates. You look at their schedule, and it’s a tough gauntlet between league and non-league games.”

Margeson added, “Kudos to Dillon, they made all the right adjustments. We wanted to take both Cam and Brendan away, but they wouldn’t let us. With a couple of foul outs that hurt us, we still found a way to step up and battle with them. It was a fun game to be a part of, and it’s games like this that you can learn a lot from. The kids don’t realize how good they can actually be, and they don’t know how much potential they have within themselves.”

The Wolverines coach continued, saying “They get caught up in the moment a little bit, and that’s normal. It’s all a matter of putting a governor on those emotions. They put themselves behind the eight-ball a few different times tonight, and they worked their way around it. I have all the faith in the kids to bounce back, and they’re more than capable of doing that.”

Loucks finished as the night’s leading scorer with a game-high 24 points for the Tigers, while Graves followed with 19 of his own, including a 7-of-9 outing at the stripe. D’Arcy finished with five points.

The Wolverines were led by Landon Danaher, who fought through foul trouble all night to finish with 15 points. Jason Greeson and Isaac Scott each finished with eight points, while Brayden Ellis had six points on two three-pointers.

Both teams are back on the floor Thursday night at 7:30 p.m, with Scio continuing their road swing into Andover for a meeting with the host Panthers, while Bolivar-Richburg stays home to look for a bounce back game with longtime rival Canisteo-Greenwood in for a visit.

“When it comes down to the end, it’s the little things and we have to start putting the pieces to the puzzle together,” Margeson said. “These are games that we can win, and we need to do that if we want to do damage, and go deep into Sectionals. I know it sounds a little like Bill Belichick, but we’re focused on Canisteo-Greenwood now. Hopefully we can give them a battle, and pick up some much needed Sectional points.”

Scio                          19   9  9 15 – 52

Bolivar-Richburg       6 14 16 14 – 50

SCIO: Jake D'Arcy 1 3-6 5, Alex Field 0 0-1 0, Brendan Graves 5 7-9 19, Cayden Nickerson 1 0-0 2, Cam Loucks 10 3-9 24, Carl Finnemore 0 2-4 2. Totals: 17 15-29 52.
BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Riley Danaher 2 1-2 5, Landon Danaher 5 4-8 15, Wyatt Karnuth 1 0-0 2, Brayden Ellis 2 0-0 6, Jason Greeson 4 0-2 8, Isaac Scott 4 0-0 8, Camdyn MacDonell 3 0-2 6. Totals: 21 5-14 50.

3-point goals: Scio 3 (Graves 2, Loucks), B-R 3 (Ellis 2, L. Danaher).

Total Fouls: Scio 9, B-R 21. Fouled out: Karnuth (B-R), Greeson (B-R).

Fillmore 59, Belfast 40

BELFAST — Almost every member of the Fillmore Eagles made a contribution over the road in Belfast on Tuesday. Overall, it was Will Valentine that dominated all fronts for the Eagles, helping the team ignite a large first half run behind his game-high 22 points, 11 rebounds, six steals and five assists in Fillmore’s 58-40 win over the host Bulldogs to tally their fifth consecutive victory.

“The guys really came out focused defensively tonight,” said Eagles coach Randy Crouch. “Will and Luke (Cole) did a great job of battling their bigs inside, and limiting their chances. Will had a great game offensively, and he really carried us early on. Phil Hess, Isaiah Voss, and Hayden Rust hit some huge threes late in the middle quarters to help us get some much needed breathing room to work with.”

Fillmore (7-1) battled their way to an 11-5 lead of Belfast through the opening quarter, but it was the second that saw things begin to break open when Valentine dug in with nine of the team’s 17 points within the frame to jumpstart a 17-6 run of the Bulldogs that set the tone for the remainder of the game.

Finishing behind Valentine in the scorebook was Luke Cole, who recorded seven points. Phil Hess, Isaiah Voss and Dylan Valentine each had six points to pitch in. The Bulldogs (2-8) were led by a team-leading 12 point night from Devin Harriger. Stephen Struckmann tallied 10 points inside, while Carter Guilford returned to action with five points.

Fillmore will go for six straight wins in Friendship on Friday, while Belfast looks to rebound after a week away from action next Wednesday with the Scio Tigers paying a visit. Both games will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Fillmore        11 17 21 10 – 59

Belfast            5   6 11 18 – 40

FILLMORE: Dylan Valentine 2 1-1 6, Luke Cole 3 0-0 7, Levi Webb 1 0-0 2, Isaiah Voss 2 0-0 6, Hayden Rust 1 0-0 3, Tobias Webb 1 0-0 2, Colby Wolfer 1 0-0 3, Aaron Buck 0 0-1 0, Will Valentine 9 5-9 24, Phil Hess 2 0-0 6. Totals: 22 6-11 59.
BELFAST: Nick Ellison 0 2-2 2, Jason Drozdowski 1 2-3 4, Melvin Hamer 1 0-0 3, Matt Weaver 0 4-8 4, Devin Harriger 3 4-5 12, Stephen Struckmann 4 2-3 10, Carter Guilford 2 1-4 5. Totals: 11 15-25 40.

3-point goals: Fillmore 9 (Voss 2, Hess 2, D. Valentine, Cole, Rust, Wolfer, W. Valentine), Belfast 3 (Harriger 2, Hamer).
Total Fouls: Fillmore 17, Belfast 12. Fouled out: None.

Genesee Valley 98, Arkport/Canaseraga 45

CANASERAGA — Genesee Valley very nearly eclipsed the century mark for the second time this season over the road Tuesday night, as they scored a trio of 20-point quarters on offense to roll their way toward their eighth triumph in the first 10 games behind a 98-45 decision of the host Arkport/Canaseraga Wolves.

“Arkport/Canaseraga plays really hard, and coach (Steve) Sleight does a great job with his kids,” Jaguars coach Lintz Bliven said. “They never gave up, they kept plugging away. For that team, they provide some great competition. They’re a well-respected team, and they play the game the right way. You have to love that.”

Four different scorers cracked double figures for the Jaguars (8-2), with Cody Schneider leading the way with a season-high performance of 37 points to go with 22 rebounds. Evan Windus followed suit with the second Genesee Valley double-double of the evening, scoring 24 points to go with 12 rebounds. Trevor Clark and Brock Ellsessor each added 11 points along the way, while Riley Gordon had seven.

Genesee Valley now returns home to the Jungle on Friday, as they look to keep their hot streak going with the Perry Yellowjackets in town for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.

“It will be a tough test. Way-Co edged out Perry on Monday. They have a kid that’s the real deal in (Michael) Grover. We should have won last year’s game, and it was one of our best games of the season even though we lost. We’d like to repay the favor by all means, and we’ll look to give it our best shot.”

Genesee Valley              26 26 29 17 – 98

Arkport/Canaseraga       11 14  6 14 – 45

GENESEE VALLEY: Christian Tuttle 2 0-0 5, Jon Rizzo 1 0-0 3, Trevor Clark 4 0-0 11, Evan Windus 9 5-5 24, Brock Ellsessor 5 1-1 11, Riley Gordon 3 0-0 7, Cody Schneider 15 7-11 37. Totals: 39 13-17 98.
ARKPORT/CANASERAGA: David McIntosh 1 2-2 4, Noah Sleight 4 0-0 11, Justin Cull 0 0-1 0, Michael Gilbert 7 1-3 16, Nate Herman 3 0-0 6, Jace Cassata 3 0-0 6, Evan Reynolds 1 0-2 2. Totals: 19 3-8 45.

3-point goals: GV 7 (Clark 3, Windus, Gordon, Tuttle, Rizzo), A/C 4 (Sleight 3, Gilbert).

Total Fouls: GV 12, A/C 16. Fouled out: None.

Chris Brooks
Previous

Wednesday Roundup: Lions keep pace with C-R atop County standings, defeat Scio in four sets; Wellsville hoops falls at Whitman
Next

Monday Roundup: Houghton Academy staves off late Andover rally to secure 51-48 victory; Whitesville, C-R, Andover among girls hoops winners