Wednesday Basketball: In game-long battle of Tug-of-War, Eagles hang on until bitter end off big Mucher free throws to seal 59-56 win over C-R; Houghton boys, Fillmore girls also net victories

CUBA — Right at the tail end of the regular season in years past, Fillmore and Cuba-Rushford have assembled some of the most phenomenal games to put on display, no matter the location. The price of admission was worth every penny.

On the final night of regular season action Wednesday, the two Allegany County foes would deliver another performance of the same caliber in front of a packed crowd in the Wighthouse. For the Eagles of Fillmore, a lot was up for grabs before they cross into the second season in the near future ahead.

Perhaps the biggest prize that was waiting in the wings, was the top seed in the Class C3 bracket. In order to lay claim on it for themselves entirely, they would have to engage in the fight of their lives.

It was as close quarters of a battle as you could imagine between the Eagles and the Rebels, with each team swinging the pendulum in both directions across all four quarters. At one point, the biggest lead of the night reached 11 points, and as time went on, that degree of separation slowly diminished away in favor of a second half game of tug-of-war that saw both teams shift the momentum in every cardinal direction possible.

Something had to give way. But at the rate the contest was shaping out to become, nothing would budge. That was up until the last 60 seconds of play when the action was tighter than ever before.

With a one-point lead in their possession over Cuba-Rushford, it was now on Fillmore to hang onto it through each passing second that went by. The Rebels continued the pressure and nearly off of their direct application of it against the Eagles, it was close to boiling over. But with under 20 seconds left, Cam Mucher was awarded not one, but two gargantuan opportunities to perhaps give the team in green and black a bit more breathing room.

On those chances, Mucher helped the Eagles finish an absolutely immaculate night at the charity stripe with the last two successful conversions, both within the team’s perfect 12-for-12 outing in the game’s entirety, knocking both down to create a three-point lead and the clock winding all the way down to three seconds left.

The future of the game now rested solely in the hands of the Rebels to close it out.

After rapidly working the ball around to the open man following a timeout on the floor, it was Luke Brooks that provided the game’s final shot right before the buzzer, as he sailed his game-tying attempt in on the basket from downtown just outside the right wing. His shot would careen off the front of the rim before rolling off and away from danger, as the Eagles managed to hold steady just enough and complete a marvelous stretch of games in the win column for the 16th straight time to close the book on the regular season whilst picking up the No. 1 seed in Class C3 with a 59-56 thrilling victory.

“This was a great game heading into Sectionals. We fought and we battled. We just couldn’t hit the big shot when we needed to and had a couple of defensive lapses that we can’t have in those types of games,” said Rebels coach Pat Wight. "But all in all, I’m very proud of our effort and energy all night. All 10 guys were locked in, and you need that when you play against a team like Randy’s (Crouch). Fillmore is great over there, and I wish them all the best of luck going forward. I’m proud of my guys tonight, and we’re looking forward to building on this heading into Sectionals.”

The back-and-forth affair settled in almost immediately following the opening tip, with each team garnering a fair shake on offense to start the night. In the first quarter, an advantage that went no higher than five points came into fruition. That was held by Fillmore, who used back-to-back three-balls from Jonah Bialek and Zach Sisson to claim a 10-6 lead before the Rebels responded with six of the next eight points to springboard ahead.

But a big finish from Bialek inside right before the opening quarter’s buzzer sounded allowed the Eagles to swap places with Cuba-Rushford again, scoring the 15-14 lead. The momentum it had built, was transferred into the second quarter where the visitors in green and black found the smoothest of grooves to travel on, netting nine of the frame’s first 11 points to lay claim on a double-digit lead of their opposition in the early-going.

Just as soon as the Eagles were able to garner that much distance, the Rebels wasted no time supplying the response in turn with the efforts of Eli Sleggs entering the fray, as he posted seven of his nine points within the frame to set up shop — one of those baskets stemming from inside the paint to re-try the contest at 27 with two minutes remaining until the half.

While the Rebels looked to maintain the burst of momentum they received from the run, Fillmore fired right back with four seconds remaining with the game’s upper-hand from Bialek downtown, nailing a silky smooth triple that hit nothing but the twine on the way down to allow the Eagles in claiming the 32-29 lead at the break.

Across the second half entirely, the back-and-forth pace that was originally established by both teams, showed no signs of slowing down, as the two foes delivered one haymaker after another to follow along in their respective footsteps the entire way down the homestretch.

The clock would approach halfway in the fourth quarter when the Eagles were the first to answer with four unanswered points, all from Zach Sisson before Cuba-Rushford fired right back with a long Kaden Bell three that put them back on top. It would aid in a quick 6-0 run against Fillmore, with a clutch inside basket from Peyton Joy after putting a stop to further danger from the Eagles on their last possession, helped reclaim a 54-51 lead.

There were two minutes that remained in regulation, but the pace of play was showing no signs of slowing down one bit.

It would enter crunch time territory, where a crucial missed opportunity for the Rebels in the offensive zone allowed the Eagles to take advantage of the opportunity back the other way, resulting in Mucher’s colossal free throws coming with just 20 seconds left in the game.

With a 59-56 lead in hand and 3.6 seconds remaining on the clock, they were granted with one final chance to flip the script entirely with the aid of Luke Brooks and his game-tying shot.

The attempt would ultimately find the front of the rim and go out of the way, as Fillmore scored victory by the skin of their teeth to officially put a wrap on Class C3’s top seed for Sectional play come next week.

Fillmore was propelled by four different scorers who all recorded at least 10+ points, with Zach Sisson leading the way with his game-high 17 points. Jonah Bialek finished with 14 points, while Cam Mucher had 13 to add in.

“I’m proud of the guys for not wilting,” said Eagles coach Randy Crouch. “Cuba-Rushford just kept fighting and they had a ton of energy. We had a bunch of guys step up and make plays at the end when they took the lead. Cam Mucher was huge at the foul line late, and Layton (Sanasith) was a difference maker. He can find a way to fly under the radar while defending most positions and the timely shot. Layton was a big difference tonight. He hit some big shots and slowed down Luke Brooks for as much as he could. We just had a bunch of guys step up and make plays at the end when they retook the lead.”

Leading the scoring for Cuba-Rushford was both Brooks and Joy, as the two Rebels each came together to record 14 points. Bell finished with 13 points, while Eli Sleggs had nine.

Both teams will now await Sectional play come next week, as Fillmore concludes a magnificent regular season with a record of 18-2, while the Rebels now await their same fate in the middle of the week ahead, as they finish the campaign with a record of 12-8.

Fillmore 15 17 11 15 – 59

Cuba-Rushford 14 15 12 15 – 56

FILLMORE: Cam Mucher 3 6-6 13, Isaiah Sisson 2 0-0 4, Layton Sanasith 3 2-2 8, Zach Sisson 5 4-4 17, Jonah Bialek 5 0-0 14, JD Bialek 1 0-0 3. Totals: 19 12-12 59.

CUBA-RUSHFORD: Braeden Wight 1 0-0 2, Kaden Bell 6 0-0 13, Luke Brooks 7 0-0 14, Eli Sleggs 4 0-0 9, Adam Roe 2 0-0 4, Peyton Joy 7 0-0 14. Totals: 27 0-0 56.

3-point goals: Fillmore 9 (Jo. Bialek 4, Z. Sisson 3, Mucher, JD Bialek), C-R 2 (Bell, Sleggs).
Total Fouls: Fillmore 12, C-R 15. Fouled out: None.

Houghton Academy 35, Hinsdale 31

HOUGHTON — There was plenty to go around in Houghton on Wednesday, with a first half lead held by the host Panthers of Houghton Academy vanish into the air in favor of a third quarter spark plug for visiting Hinsdale.

But despite the trials and tribulations that the Panthers would face all throughout their regular season finale against the Bobcats, they would work their way back through it all in a close battle down to the wire, holding what was a four-point lead all the way until the end of time from the midway mark to snap a six-game slide with a 35-31 edge.

After both teams delivered back-and-forth strikes that elongated through the opening quarter, the Panthers began to create some wiggle room with the assistance of Jack Prentice coming into play, as he posted six of the team’s 10 points — including a perfect 4-for-4 trip to the charity stripe for some free shots.

With a 21-14 lead in hand, Hinsdale managed to come right back and deliver a big punch to close the gap behind three different scorers all furthering the team’s cause. The buckets all stemmed from a barrage of turnovers against Houghton Academy to open the start of the third quarter to allow them to gain the upper hand they wanted to have.

Among those scorers: Henry Schwartz, who dialed up seven points in the frame to pick up where he left off in the first half after a team-high 15 points. In addition to Schwartz’ scoring for the Bobcats, Cody Barton chipped in with eight points, while Tyler Richards and Robert Childs each had four to round off the scoring.

For Houghton Academy, Jack Prentice was the star of the show with his team-leading 15 points. James Adenuga tallied 10 points, while Josh Davidson and Jack Qi rounded off the scoring with eight and two points, respectively.

The regular season is now over for both teams as they now await Sectionals, with Houghton Academy finishing at 7-12 overall, while Hinsdale concludes at 5-8.

Hinsdale 10 4 13 4 – 31

Houghton Academy 11 10 9 5 – 35

HINSDALE: Henry Schwartz 6 1-2 15, Cody Barton 4 0-0 8, Tyler Richards 2 0-2 4, Robert Childs 2 0-2 4. Totals: 14 1-6 31.

HOUGHTON ACADEMY: Jack Prentice 4 5-6 15, Josh Davidson 3 0-0 8, James Adenuga 4 0-0 10, Jack Qi 1 0-0 2. Totals: 13 5-6 35.

3-point goals: Hinsdale 2 (Schwartz), HA 6 (Prentice 2, Davidson 2, Adenuga 2).
Total Fouls: Hinsdale 7, HA 7. Fouled out: None.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Fillmore 62, Andover/Whitesville 17

WHITESVILLE — Wednesday night, the very last night for regular season of action, the Lady Eagles of Fillmore bargained for a hot start straight out of the gate, as they used a big first half advantage to put the finishing touches on yet another Allegany County League crown in what was a 62-17 victory over host Andover/Whitesville, in Whitesville.

The direction that the Lady Eagles steered into was the offense bright and early. In the midst of what was an electrifying 24-point outburst against Andover/Whitesville allowed them to gain all the room they needed to work with on both ends of the floor, holding the hosts to just a pair of points to finish off the run.

The catalyst behind the early success: Hope Russell, who had been dominant game in and game out for the Lady Eagles, as she posted 12 of her game-high 22 points in the frame, all from within the arc. Russell would then flip the script and record the last 10 points of her night in the second half, nine of those off three triples to expand the offense’s success in insurmountable fashion.

Following behind for Fillmore was Amelia Rose, who chipped in with 10 points, while Mattie McCumiskey had eight to add.

As for Andover/Whitesville, the team was paced by a seven-point night from Olivia Waters.

Both teams will now await Sectional play next week, as Fillmore wraps up with an 18-2 record overall, while Andover/Whitesville stands at 3-16 overall.

Fillmore 24 10 17 11 – 62

Andover/Whitesville 2 5 5 5 – 17

FILLMORE: Hope Russell 9 1-2 22, Grace Russell 3 1-4 8, Rachel Hatch 1 0-0 3, Amelia Rose 4 0-0 10, Kylee Ellsworth 1 0-0 2, Mattie McCumiskey 3 2-4 8, Emalyn Mucher 1 0-0 3, Preslee Miller 3 0-0 6. Totals: 25 4-10 62.

ANDOVER/WHITESVILLE: Stella Bledsoe 1 0-0 2, Graci Lewis-Ellison 1 1-4 3, Grace Fry 2 1-2 5, Olivia Waters 3 0-0 7. Totals: 7 2-6 17.
3-point goals: Fillmore 8 (H. Russell 3, Rose 2, G. Russell, Hatch, Mucher), A/W 1 (Waters).
Total Fouls: Fillmore 13, A/W 9. Fouled out: None.