Saturday Roundup: Unbeaten Fillmore, C-R boys set stage for colossal showdown next week with big wins at Genesee CC over ND-Batavia, O-A; GV/Belfast girls claim Consolation victory in Franklinville

BATAVIA — They haven’t met since last year’s Class C3 Semifinal round in Letchworth for a game where the Eagles of Fillmore nearly wiped out a nearly 20-point deficit in the fourth quarter to rally past Notre Dame-Batavia. Entering their first meet-up since that day at the end of last February on Saturday, the Eagles were destined for redemption.

On the grounds of Genesee Community College, they were presented with such an opportunity while keeping their incredibly hot start to their campaign ablaze in the same swing. Right from the start, they looked to one of their most fiery hands as of late to come through.

That being Jonah Bialek.

Directly in the first quarter, the Fillmore sophomore caught fire from the outside, as he ignited the twine around the opposing rim with three gigantic three pointers to take full advantage of the action, as they went on to keep Notre Dame-Batavia at a near standstill along the way on defense to establish a lead they never lost, remaining undefeated with their fifth consecutive win by a 59-38 count over the Irish.

“I was a little nervous about tonight. On paper, I felt like we had an advantage, but Notre Dame-Batavia always plays with energy and swagger,” Eagles coach Randy Crouch said. “I knew it would be a great test for where we are at as a team. Jonah got us off to an electric start with three deep threes and we ended up really owning the first four minutes. From there we got a little too casual, settling for jump shots and allowed them to come back into it. Thankfully, our defense was solid all afternoon to keep us out in front.”

Fillmore (5-0) brought a big hammer down in the opening eight minute sequence to set up shop against Notre Dame-Batavia. Behind Bialek’s hot hand, the Eagles were able to construct and cement together a gargantuan 17-5 run of the Irish to take that full sprint ahead into the driver’s seat.

But the Irish fought their way back by assembling their strongest outing of offense in the game, seeing five different contributors all pitch in towards a 15-point second quarter to close the gap behind the Eagles to seven when halftime approached. At that point, Crouch gathered his team around and offered them some crucial advice for the second half.

“At halftime, I reminded the guys to look to attack the rim and find open teammates. The first 12 minutes of the second half is really as well as we have played all season. Jonah and Cam (Mucher) get a lot of the attention, but guys like Jameson (Rhett), JD (Bialek), Isaiah (Sisson) and Carson (Sanasith) made huge plays for us this afternoon when we needed them. This was a game we needed to have, and we’ll enjoy it, but we will have to get focused and ready for a huge game on Thursday. Cuba-Rushford has been playing as well as anyone I’ve watched so far.”

The Eagles took the advice wholeheartedly and ran away with it, especially Cam Mucher who became a massive difference maker in the second half, posting 17 of his 19 points in the back 16 minutes of play — 10 of those points all in the third quarter alone to spark up a 19-point game-high frame that allowed them to maintain their advantage over the Irish permanently, fulfilling their quest for redemption while remaining undefeated on the campaign.

Finishing behind Mucher and his game-high 19 points was Jonah Bialek, who recorded one more triple in the second quarter to finish for four in the game, for 12 points. Jameson Rhett chipped in with 12 points of his own, while JD Bialek had nine.

The Eagles will now rest until they return to The Rock on Thursday for a mammoth Allegany County showdown of unbeatens, squaring off with the 4-0 Cuba-Rushford Rebels in a 7:30 p.m. contest.

Fillmore 17 10 19 13 – 59

Notre Dame-Batavia 5 15 11 7 – 38

FILLMORE: Jordan Bialek 1 0-0 3, Carson Sanasith 0 2-2 2, Isaiah Sisson 1 2-3 4, Jonah Bialek 4 0-0 12, Jameson Rhett 4 0-0 10, Cam Mucher 8 3-4 19, JD Bialek 4 1-1 9. Totals: 23 8-10 59.
ND-BATAVIA: Makyell Walker 3 0-0 8, TJ Cephus Jr. 4 2-3 11, Chase Antinore 4 4-6 12, Evan Fitzpatrick 1 1-2 3, Aiden Bellavia 1 0-0 2, Chance King 1 0-0 2. Totals: 14 7-11 38.

3-point goals: Fillmore 7 (Jon. Bialek 4, Rhett 2, Jor. Bialek), ND-B 3 (Walker 2, Cephus Jr.).
Total Fouls: Fillmore 13, ND-B 17. Fouled out: None.

Cuba-Rushford 61, Oakfield-Alabama 57

BATAVIA — It is a big week ahead for the Rebels of Cuba-Rushford, beginning on Friday with a tough victory over Andover/Whitesville in their home opener. Not even 12 hours later, they were back at it again with an early afternoon up north to Batavia, where they were challenged by the Oakfield-Alabama Hornets at Genesee Community College.

The Rebels had to overcome a slow start out of the gate. But when they did, it was a back-and-forth battle all the way to the finish line, with no lead between either side ever eclipsing larger than five points. Through it all, Cuba-Rushford found a way to prevail, as they leaned upon their defense to keep the Hornets silenced during their final possession to claim a humongous 61-57 victory to remain unbeaten with their fourth consecutive win.

“We looked flat and tired at first, but we sure locked in the second half. It was a great, back-and-forth game. We really settled in defensively in the fourth quarter, really the second half as a whole. We didn’t give up any crucial turnovers and because of it, we ended up playing some really good basketball,” Rebels coach Pat Wight said. “Guys made some big time shots, including Zach (Deck) and Donovan (Breckenridge) from outside. Those were huge shots. We had missed a couple free throws with under 10 seconds left, but our defense kept them out with some great rebounding off the glass to put towards a big finish at the other end.”

Before both teams settled into a long back-and-forth duel to the end, Oakfield-Alabama was able to lock in early and deliver a big offensive punch in the first eight minutes, with five different scorers all contributing towards a 20-point frame that allowed them to claim a 20-15 advantage. The Rebels (4-0) fought right back and ended the first half with a monster frame of their own — a 19-point second quarter led by the inside games of Donovan Breckenridge and Adam Roe, who combined to score 11 of the team’s points.

Although they trailed 27-24 going into the break, they flipped the script one more time in the second half to tie the game in the third quarter with triples from the hands of Breckenridge, Brown and Zach Deck propelling the Rebels attack. In the fourth quarter, the team in blue and maroon buckled down and hung on for a big finish, as they looked to Breckenridge and Deck once again from the outside, each knocking down a gargantuan three-pointer to further the team’s cause.

Oakfield-Alabama foresaw another opportunity to close the gap with under 10 seconds left to play with Cuba-Rushford occupying the charity stripe. After a pair of misses, the fight for the basketball was on, but it was recovered by Roe for the Rebels, who shifted a pass right to a waiting Breckenridge next to the rim for the wide-open lay-in to push the lead to four, ultimately for good.

“I was very happy with the overall effort today after a tough one last night,” Wight said. “We were tired and could have easily made excuses, but the kids dug deep and they gutted it out. Eli (Sleggs) played a big role off the bench. He doesn’t really score a lot of points, but he makes a big difference with rebounding and his defense. He worked his butt off, which is what we needed today. We’ll need a similar game like this on Thursday against Fillmore. They have everything working for them right now.”

Roe led all scorers for Cuba-Rushford with his game-high 19 points, pairing them with eight rebounds off the glass. Breckenridge finished with 14 points to pair with seven rebounds, while Finn Ricketts continued the efforts off the glass with seven more boards of his own.

The Rebels are back on the road Thursday night, visiting the undefeated Eagles of Fillmore in an early December showdown beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Cuba-Rushford 15 19 15 12 – 61

Oakfield-Alabama 20 17 12 8 – 57

CUBA-RUSHFORD: Dean Frank 1 0-0 2, Adam Roe 9 1-1 19, Donovan Breckenridge 6 0-0 14, Eli Sleggs 1 0-0 3, Zach Deck 3 0-0 9, Carter Brown 3 0-0 8, Finn Ricketts 3 0-2 6. Totals: 26 1-3 61.
OAKFIELD-ALABAMA: Carson Warner 5 0-0 10, John Cianfrini 2 1-2 6, Mason Watterson 3 1-2 8, Avery Watterson 6 4-8 16, Brady Williams 2 0-1 4, Gabe Smith 6 0-1 12, Liam Gibson 1 0-0 2. Totals: 25 6-14 57.

3-point goals: C-R 8 (Deck 3, Breckenridge 2, Brown 2, Sleggs), O-A 1 (M. Watterson).
Total Fouls: C-R 11, O-A 5. Fouled out: None.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Rick Hughes Tournament at Franklinville

Consolation: Genesee Valley/Belfast 36, Chautauqua Lake 31

FRANKLINVILLE — The Genesee Valley/Belfast ladies battled tough alongside Chautauqua Lake in a battle for Consolation honors at the Rick Hughes Memorial Tournament in Franklinville on Saturday, as each team delivered an advantageous run across the first half before the second half had a different tale to tell in the time remaining ahead.

In that last 16 minute session the game offered, it was a key third quarter run, along with some clutch defense in the fourth quarter that helped pay massive dividends when the final buzzer sounded. Those elements were captured in essence by Genesee Valley/Belfast, who extended their lead at the right time, despite it being threatened by their opposition down the stretch, as they held on to secure a 36-31 win to split their tournament tenure.

Genesee Valley/Belfast (3-2) came out firing in the third quarter to place Chautauqua Lake on the heels of their feet right away, as they provided some big punctuations on offense while the defense held their opponent at bay in the process to hand-deliver an 11-3 first quarter run to set the tone right away.

As for Chautauqua Lake, they bounced back before the end of the half with a jaunt against Genesee Valley/Belfast of their own, with a couple of baskets inside along with a 5-for-8 outing at the charity stripe helping trim the deficit down at the break with a 9-2 second quarter run.

But the momentum ultimately reversed its course once again back in favor of Genesee Valley/Belfast, who collected a massive and quick start to their second half game behind a 12-6 run in the third quarter, led by Kate Calanni, Ava Aronson and Jenna Hill, as all three shooters combined to record the team’s 12 points within the frame — six of them off the hand of Calanni.

With a 25-18 lead in hand going into the last eight minutes, all Genesee Valley/Belfast had to do was hang on. Despite Chautauqua Lake formulating five different responses in the fourth quarter to pin against their opposition, the teams exchanged near dead even frames of offense to wrap up the night, allowing Genesee Valley/Belfast to remain in the driver’s seat for the eventual five-point victory to finish their weekend in Franklinville strong.

Jenna Hill led all scorers for Genesee Valley/Belfast with a game-high 10 points. Behind her was Whitney Young, who had eight points of her own. Calanni, along with Bayleigh Tallman, had six points.

Coming up on Tuesday, Genesee Valley/Belfast now makes their return home to Belfast to welcome in the Warsaw Lady Tigers for a 7:30 p.m. visit.

Chautauqua Lake 3 9 6 13 – 31

Genesee Valley/Belfast 11 2 12 11 – 36

CHAUTAUQUA LAKE: Anna Reyda 1 0-0 2, Grace Gerring 3 2-4 8, Kaylie Tarr 3 2-6 8, Eden Ludwig 3 3-6 9, Brina Jacobson 1 2-4 4. Totals: 11 9-20 31.

GV/BELFAST: Bayleigh Tallman 3 0-1 6, Sophie Zillgitt 1 0-0 2, Whitney Young 3 0-0 8, Kate Calanni 3 0-0 6, Ava Aronson 2 0-2 4, Jenna Hill 5 0-1 10. Totals: 17 0-4 36.

3-point goals: GVB 2 (Young).
Total Fouls: CL 13, GVB 12. Fouled out: Hill (GVB).

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Fillmore at Cuba-Rushford - No report.

INDOOR TRACK & FIELD

Oswald’s domination helps Wellsville open season at Houghton U

HOUGHTON — After another incredible season from the field filled with State Championship glory once again, Wellsville’s Kaylee Oswald picked up where she left off for the first day of Indoor Track and Field action at Houghton University, as she garnered top honors in both of her signature events to lead the way for the Lions with five Top-6 finishes, this past weekend.

Oswald assembled a strong performance from both throwing pits in the Shot Put and Discus events, advancing forward to claim gold with her winning distances of 40-3.75 and 42-9, respectively. Brooklyn Dahlgren accompanied her with a Top-6 finish of her own from the field, as she placed second in the High Jump.

As for the boys team, Collin Perkins came away with two strong performances of his own from the track, placing third in both the 1000 and 3000 runs.

For the complete results on this meet, you can view them by click this link.