Tuesday Roundup: B-R boys hold off late charity stripe push from GV/Belfast to secure 55-53 home victory; And/Whi boys explode over road at Houghton, GV/Belfast girls rebound

BOLIVAR — The back-and-forth game was on during a Tuesday night in the Wolverine Den, where runs aplenty were exchanged amongst Genesee Valley/Belfast and Bolivar-Richburg across all 32 minutes of regulation play.

After a quick recovery in the first quarter for the host Wolverines led to the teeter-totter battle all throughout the remainder of the night, the final eight minutes provided one final opportunity to create some separation. What momentum that was still harnessed, was unleashed in full for the team in white and black to capitalize upon, as they engineered an advantage that eclipsed as much as 12 during the frame to take the upper hand.

Despite some late foul shots from Genesee Valley/Belfast to help close the gap right back to within striking distance one more time, the Wolverines were able to fend off the very late pressure from their opposition to close out the night on top with a 55-53 victory.

“We got off to a terrible start and then, we dug in to finish strong and take the lead. Later on, it was pretty even across the board,” Wolverines coach Justin Thomas said. “We didn’t do too much damage to them, they didn’t do too much damage to us. It was kind of the same at the start of the second half too. We built a lead and then we let them back into it. We played pretty well in the fourth and then GV/Belfast hit their stroke and came back again. Instead of keeping pace, they got hot and we cooled down. Thankfully, we were able to stave it off.”

Genesee Valley/Belfast kicked the tires on an early lead straight out of the gate, scoring seven of the first eight points before the Wolverines (4-3) countered right back with a big punch of their own to close out the frame, leaving their opposition frozen in their tracks with 12 of the quarter’s last 14 points in their own right.

From the second quarter onwards, the pendulum could have tilted either way, with no degree of separation at the end of each frame eclipsing over three points. That included a monster 20-point second half debut for the Wolverines to push their lead to five going into the last eight minute session.

Bolivar-Richburg would go on to use every bit of momentum they created after their strongest outing of offense in the contest, posting a 15-point frame of attack that would see their advantage blossom to as large as 12 point during a particular juncture of battle. Despite some late special teams play from Genesee Valley/Belfast (3-2) down the stretch, the hosts were able to hang on tight to secure the victory that awaited at the final buzzer.

When the action wrapped up completely, Landon Barkley emerged as the night’s leading scorer for the Wolverines, as they recorded a game-high 22 points, including four of the team’s seven three-pointers. Brayden Zilker followed with the remaining three triples from outside, putting them towards a 15-point effort of his own. Kingston Loucks collected 11 points.

For the visitors, Ian McKenzie led the way with a team-high 17 points. Ethan Davenport contributed 11 points, including a trio of Genesee Valley/Belfast’s eight total triples from downtown, while Cane Treusdell had eight points. Genesee Valley/Belfast is now off until the calendar flips to January, as they get set for a road trip to Honeoye on January 7 beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Bolivar-Richburg has two more games remaining in their 2024 portion of the docket, with action recommencing on Friday with a 7:30 p.m. visit from Portville before heading to St. Bonaventure the following day to take on archrival Cuba-Rushford, Saturday night.

Genesee Valley/Belfast 9 8 18 18 – 53

Bolivar-Richburg 13 7 20 15 – 55

GV/BELFAST: Will Guilford 1 0-0 2, Cane Treusdell 3 0-0 8, Ian McKenzie 6 5-6 17, Brayden Cooper 2 0-0 4, Ethan Davenport 4 0-0 11, Lannden Tilton 2 0-0 6, Kenton Shultz 1 0-0 2, Riley Rogers 1 0-0 3. Totals: 20 5-6 53.

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Maddox Davison 0 2-2 2, Landon Barkley 7 4-6 22, Brayden Zilker 6 0-0 15, Dylan Abdo 1 0-2 2, Waide Karnuth 1 1-2 3, Kingston Loucks 3 5-11 11, Shawn Murphy 0 0-2 0. Totals: 18 12-25 55.

3-point goals: GVB 8 (Davenport 3, Treusdell 2, Tilton 2, Rogers), B-R 7 (Barkley 4, Zilker 3).
Total Fouls: GVB 17, B-R 5. Fouled out: None.

Andover/Whitesville 78, Houghton Academy 46

HOUGHTON — Every single Andover/Whitesville scorer all registered at least a point to set the offense ablaze over the road at Houghton Academy on Tuesday, with Brody Vance and Vinny Joyce headlining the efforts with a pair of 20-point outings, as they rolled past the host Panthers with a strong, rebounding 78-46 victory.

“It’s always fun to play against Jeff’s (Prentice) teams. He’s a class act along with his program. I was really pleased with our overall effort tonight,” said Andover/Whitesville coach Jimmy Joyce. “We got contributions from everybody across the board and each of our guys was able to show up on the stat sheet. It was nice having Brody back, he played very well in his return game. Vinny was great on the offensive end and off the boards, Colt and James (Miller-Young) were very heavily involved on both ends. The (Jack) Prentice and (Josh) Davidson kids are very gifted offensive players, and it was virtually impossible to keep them in check, but we did a fairly decent job in limiting what we could against them.”

The first half told the entire story for Andover/Whitesville (3-3), as Vance and Joyce electrified the offense on all fronts, combining for 14 of the team’s 18 points in the opening eight minutes to get the engines rolling before spreading the wealth amongst six different scorers across a mammoth 24-9 run of Houghton Academy to close out the half with an advantage they proceeded to never lose from their grasp again.

In all, four different scorers all eclipsed the double-digit plateau for the evening, with Vance leading all Andover/Whitesville scorers with his team-high 21 points. Behind him, Joyce followed with a dominant presence down in his 20-point performance. James Miller-Young chipped in 14 points, while Colton Calladine had 13 points.

The Panthers (3-2) were led by Jack Prentice and Josh Davidson, as the two combined to record 44 of the team’s 46 total points, with Prentice’s 24 leading the way. Davidson finished with 20, including four of the offense’s six shots from outside. Arthur Wang had two points to round off the scoring. Houghton Academy is now off until the new calendar year, as they hit the road for their return on January 10 with a 7:30 p.m. visit to Friendship/Scio, in Friendship.

Andover/Whitesville will close out the 2024 section of their slate Thursday night with a 7:30 p.m. trip to Avoca-Prattsburgh.

Andover/Whitesville 18 24 18 18 – 78

Houghton Academy 9 9 11 17 – 46

ANDOVER/WHITESVILLE: Gage Putnam 1 0-0 2, James Miller-Young 7 0-0 14, Trey Kent 1 0-0 2, Ethan Warriner 0 1-2 1, Vinny Joyce 10 0-0 20, Brody Vance 9 1-2 21, Jon Vallieres 2 0-2 5, Colton Calladine 4 5-7 13. Totals: 34 7-12 78.

HOUGHTON ACADEMY: Josh Davidson 9 2-2 24, Jack Prentice 9 0-0 20, Gavin Martino 0 0-4 0, Arthur Wang 1 0-0 2. Totals: 19 2-6 46.

3-point goals: A/W 3 (Vance 2, Vallieres), HA 6 (Davidson 4, Prentice 2).
Total Fouls: A/W 7, HA 9. Fouled out: None.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Genesee Valley/Belfast 44, Warsaw 30

BELFAST — Jenna Hill served as the firestarter in the first half while Bayleigh Tallman provided a big amount of gasoline in the last 16 minutes of play for the Genesee Valley/Belfast ladies on Tuesday, as the two shooters reversed the momentum against visiting Warsaw down the stretch to hold them at bay, warranting a hard-earned 43-30 victory over the Lady Tigers.

“Warsaw played hard the whole night. Credit to them and their coaching staff, they pressed from start to finish and simply had no quit,” GV/Belfast coach Raegan Ryan said. “We came out to a slow start but we found a better rhythm against the pressure in the second half. I am really proud of the team for their resilience in the face of persistent pressure. There’s a lot of growth happening within them, and we have one more opportunity to build on it before we head into break.”

The Lady Tigers were able to put their stamp on a strong first quarter start to set up shop against Genesee Valley/Belfast (4-2) out of the gate, as the hot hands of Emily Klump and Veronica Streamer from outside helped jump-start a 14-8 advantage behind their trio of triples combined. To formulate their response, Hill assembled a strong eight-point first half in its entirety, along with four big points from Ava Aronson in the second quarter to close their halftime gap to 21-18 behind Warsaw.

In the second half, Genesee Valley/Belfast would see the eruption of Bayleigh Tallman come to life, as the sophomore pieced together a dominant 13-point stand of offense, helping finish off a 15-4 third quarter run to propel ahead of the Lady Tigers with a strong end to her night in the last eight minutes with eight big points, ending the night in victorious fashion.

Tallman would conclude as Genesee Valley/Belfast’s leading scorer with a game-high 17 points. Hill finished with nine points, while Ava Aronson had six points.

Genesee Valley/Belfast will mark their return to action one last time before the holiday recess on Thursday, as they welcome in Friendship/Scio for a 7:30 p.m. visit right back in Belfast.

Warsaw 14 7 4 5 – 30

Genesee Valley/Belfast 8 10 15 10 – 44

WARSAW: Emily Klump 5 0-2 13, Kaitlyn Treutlein 0 0-2 0, Veronica Streamer 2 2-2 7, Izzy Carmichael 0 1-4 1, Maddie Schurr 2 0-0 4, Zoe Kaminski 2 1-2 5. Totals: 11 4-12 30.
GV/BELFAST: Bayleigh Tallman 7 2-3 17, Sophie Zillgitt 2 0-0 4, Whitney Young 1 1-2 3, Addisyn Ely 2 1-2 5, Ava Aronson 3 0-0 6, Jenna Hill 4 1-2 9. Totals: 19 5-8 44.

3-point goals: Warsaw 4 (Klump 3, Streamer).
Total Fouls: Warsaw 16, GVB 10. Fouled out: Streamer (WAR).

Portville 33, Cuba-Rushford 23

CUBA — In what is now their ninth game of the season, the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford continue to keep on battling from start to finish. It was no different on Tuesday when they remained neck-and-neck with visiting Portville through the first three quarters of play in the Wighthouse.

But in the fourth quarter, the Lady Panthers changed the complexion of the game completely from the charity stripe, as they powered a 9-for-16 outing in the last eight minutes to pull ahead of the Lady Rebels down the stretch and secure what ultimately shaped into a 33-23 road victory.

“I’ve got to give some credit to our girls for the way they show up and work hard each game,” Lady Rebels coach Aaron Wight said. “Tonight was game nine for us this early in the season, and it’s certainly been a grind. You really wouldn’t know it by watching the effort from our girls. I thought we did a pretty good job defensively tonight, although we didn’t shoot well. Portville is a solid team and they don’t give up many easy looks. Hopefully, we can reset a little bit over break and bounce back from these last few losses.”

It was as narrow as advertised through the first half of play, with the biggest lead of the half being no bigger than four points across each frame. The Lady Rebels were able to score a 5-2 start out of the gate before Portville followed behind by wrapping up the first quarter with the last five points in a row to claim a 7-6 lead.

The two teams would exchange back-and-forth baskets across the second quarter until the Lady Rebels worked their way out front with a 11-10 halftime lead.

In the second half, the action began to tilt Portville’s way after two advantageous frames of offense allowed them to regain control, including a fourth quarter where they leaned heavily upon the charity stripe to officially lock up the victory, all while holding the Lady Rebels (5-4) to just seven points.

Lily Tompkins led the way for Cuba-Rushford with nine team-high points. Lilly Farwell bucketed eight of her own along the way.

The Lady Rebels now propel into the holiday break, as they return to the hardwood in the new calendar year with a January 7 contest against New Life Christian back inside the Wighthouse beginning at 6 p.m.

Portville 7 3 8 15 – 33

Cuba-Rushford 6 5 5 7 – 23

PORTVILLE: Ashley Carls 2 1-2 5, Emma Rhinehart 5 1-4 12, Ali Haynes 2 6-8 10, Ava Jo Edwards 1 4-6 6. Totals: 10 12-18 33.
CUBA-RUSHFORD: Aubrey Williams 1 0-0 3, Lily Tompkins 4 1-2 9, Brynn Lavery 1 1-2 3, Lilly Farwell 3 2-4 8. Totals: 9 4-8 23.

3-point goals: Portville 1 (Rhinehart), C-R 1 (Williams).
Total Fouls: Portville 16, C-R 21. Fouled out: Farwell (C-R).

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Wellsville 3, Portville 0

PORTVILLE — The Portville Panthers provided a strong showing out of the gate to set the tone against visiting Wellsville on Tuesday, as they used their first set momentum to set up a straight-set sweep of the Lions, claiming the victory by a 25-17, 25-16, 25-21 count.

The Lions (3-2) were paced by Terrence Benz on the attack, scoring three team-leading kills to pair with a duo of blocks. Xavier Scott had two more kills, one ace and a block to chip in, while Kamron Dodge finished with two kills and an ace of his own to add.

Wellsville is now off until the new calendar year, as they travel to visit Cuba-Rushford on January 6 at 6 p.m.

Fillmore 3, Bolivar-Richburg 1

FILLMORE — Despite the Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg fighting their way back to force a tie after the second set, the rebound provided by host Fillmore was much larger, as they recovered and countered with a strong finish to their battle on Tuesday to pick up back-to-back wins in a span of three days, squeezing towards a four-set, 25-20, 17-25, 25-12, 25-19 victory on their home floor.

The Eagles (2-3) were generated by Nathan Tanner on the attack, scoring nine kills to go with 14 digs on defense. Anderson Wiltsey (16 assists) pitched in six more service points along with two kills, while Skylar Freeman added in 25 assists at the front of the net, a team-high, to pair with 13 service points, 11 digs and four aces.

Bolivar-Richburg (1-4) was captained by Ayden Music on the attack with nine kills, two blocks, one ace and one helper. Right behind him was the team’s setter, Owen Unfus, who had 13 assists to hand out alongside two kills, two aces and a block of his own. The Wolverines are back on the floor January 3 with a 7 p.m. road trip to Portville.

Fillmore will now break for the holidays, marking their return to action on January 6 with a 6 p.m. visit to Genesee Valley/Belfast.