Wednesday Roundup: Rebels 1st to 10 wins, survive tug-of-war match with Fillmore behind clutch 3’s, free throws to seal win; Lions dominate C-G, B-R boys roll, Fri/Scio squads sweep at Hinsdale

CUBA — There are times in the game of basketball where certain circumstances force you to really dig in deep, in order to gut out a victory. Whether it be missed open looks, an amassment of turnovers, you have to find a way to navigate and overcome your way through all of the adversity.

In their first meeting against Fillmore since the IAABO Tournament in Wellsville back in December, the Rebels of Cuba-Rushford were looking to attempt an exacting of revenge against the Eagles with plenty on the line, as the season approaches the midway point.

Fast forward to Wednesday night, the time would arrive.

The midseason County showdown saw a little bit of everything between both teams throughout the night. But the action picked up as time progressed onward, especially in the game’s final minute where lead changes were being exchanged left and right. Something had to give however, the more time wound down.

With no lead eclipsing more than six points on either side all night long at that point, the last two minutes was where the most fireworks were set off at. That was provided by some clutch free throw shooting and a trio of Hunter Scott three-pointers, as the Rebels would go on to do just enough to squeeze ever so slightly through the grasp of Fillmore and towards a 62-53 home win in the Wighthouse to become the County’s first team to 10 wins on the season.

“This is just a product of all the guys really buying in to what we’ve wanted them to do. I’m really proud of every guy that stepped on the floor tonight,” said Rebels interim head coach Rob Wight. “We were locked in from guys one through 11, and it showed on the court. My underclassmen did a great job handling the pressure and atmosphere from Fillmore, and my seniors did a great job setting the tempo. Jacob (Smith) and Jack (Frank) were fantastic on both ends of the floor, and Hunter really stepped up when we needed some big shots.”

Both Fillmore and Cuba-Rushford (10-1) would begin the night with runs in the beginning and ending stages of the opening frame, with the Rebels forcing the first big crack into the ice with nine of the first 12 points, led by a strong transition game by Jacob Smith and a three-point presence ignited by Braeden Wight with his first of two from beyond the arc.

The Eagles (5-3) would respond a time later on in the frame with the help of Mitch Ward, who capitalized on a big forced turnover with a runner to the basket to help jumpstart a run that saw the team net the last nine points of the quarter to take a 12-9 lead.

The back and forth battle raged on through the second quarter, with no lead growing as large as five. Fillmore would hold that advantage when the end of the half came around, as Zach Sisson sank two of his three triples with under a minute left in the second quarter to push out the Eagles lead to 25-20 at halftime.

Behind the effort, a slight spark was created when the Eagles started the second half with back-to-back three pointers from both Sisson and Jair Bialek, blossoming the lead out to nine before the Rebels remained resilient to chip it away once more, closing the gap to a single point at the end of the third quarter.

The responses from both teams carried a back-and-forth pace into the fourth quarter, with the Rebels leading it off with five straight points off the first of three clutch treys from Scott and a Luke Brooks basket directly underneath the net. In quicker fashion, the visitors in green made up all the ground with a run of their own to tie the game at 39 before the lead was lost immediately following on a completed three-point play by Smith.

For much of the time spent battling in the last quarter, Fillmore remained one step behind Cuba-Rushford the majority of the time. But an opening was created by the hosts in white and blue, as they went back to their three-point game fronted by Scott and Smith, and their back-to-back shots right between the eyes that saw the advantage being pushed out ultimately, towards 10 points — the most lead cushion in the game.

With 90 seconds to go, the foul game would jumpstart for the Eagles in an attempt to keep pace with the Rebels. They would get back-to-back threes from Jonah Bialek and Eben Schilke to keep the pressure on down the stretch, but it would prove to be too much to overcome, as Cuba-Rushford finished off a stellar 28-point fourth quarter paced by Scott’s clutch three-pointers and an outstanding 10-for-13 outing at the charity stripe to lock it down.

Smith led all scorers on the floor with a perfect 5-for-5 outing at the stripe on special teams, recording a game-high 24 points in the process. Scott would conclude with his nine points off the three-pointers, while Wight finished with eight points.

On the flip side, Zach Sisson fronted the Fillmore attack with his team-high 21 points. Jair Bialek concluded with 13 points of his own, while Mitch Ward had nine to chip in. The Eagles will resume play on Saturday, when they get set for battle at the 7th Annual Dan Barkley Showcase at Bath-Haverling, facing off with the defending Class D State Champion Avoca/Prattsburgh Titans at 6 p.m.

Cuba-Rushford will look to keep their fire ablaze come Friday night, as they take aim at an eighth straight win in a 7:30 p.m. contest against Andover/Whitesville, in Whitesville.

Fillmore 12 13 10 18 – 53

Cuba-Rushford 9 11 14 28 – 62

FILLMORE: Eben Schilke 1 2-2 5, Jair Bialek 5 0-0 13, Mitch Ward 4 1-2 9, Zach Sisson 7 4-4 21, Jonah Bialek 1 0-0 3, Layton Sanasith 1 0-0 2. Totals: 19 7-8 53.
CUBA-RUSHFORD: Braeden Wight 2 2-2 8, Jacob Smith 9 5-5 24, Luke Brooks 3 1-2 7, Jack Frank 1 4-6 6, Hunter Scott 3 0-0 9, Dom Bello 1 0-2 2, Finn Ricketts 1 0-0 2, Peyton Joy 2 0-0 4. Totals: 22 12-17 62.
3-point goals: Fillmore 8 (Ja. Bialek 3, Sisson 3, Schilke, Jo. Bialek), C-R 6 (Scott 3, Wight 2, Smith).
Total Fouls: Fillmore 21, C-R 13. Fouled out: None.

Wellsville 69, Canisteo-Greenwood 38

WELLSVILLE — From a magnificent first half, to holding Canisteo-Greenwood to their lowest frame of offense, to recording a big finish at the end of the night. The Lions of Wellsville went on to do it all in their return to the court Wednesday night, as they strolled their way towards a 69-38 victory over the visiting Redskins to garner some early momentum to head into this weekend’s fierce battle with Hornell.

“This was a good win. We missed some open shots, but our defense really knows how to keep things alive,” said Lions coach Tom Muska. “We can still be better on the defensive end to close it out. I don’t much like the 14 points in the fourth, but Cooper’s (Brockway) game really shined for us. I hope he walked away as proud of his performance as I did. He is so reliable for us and plays exactly how I want our program to. He brings it on the defensive end and every possession, and plays team first on offense.”

The first crack that the Lions (8-3) would deliver came in the midst of an opening quarter that witnessed them use an all-balanced attack from seven different scorers, all pitching in their efforts to collect what would be an early 15-7 lead on the Redskins through the opening frame of play.

Wellsville would then allow Brockway to help steer the ship on offense through a second quarter that would end up giving them even more room to work with going into the break, as he scored eight big points including a three from downtown to help establish ground for their 33-19 halftime lead.

The Lions would then shift their focus onto their defense for their return out for the second half, as they held Canisteo-Greenwood to just five points, including two shots from the field and one free throw at the charity stripe, while in turn, even more extensions were added to the advantage going forward towards the team’s big finish in the fourth quarter.

In it, the hosts in white and orange accounted for their largest frame of action in the game — a 23-14 spurt, led by another all-balanced attack on the floor to seal away the victory.

Brockway finished with a game-high 16 points to lead Wellsville. He was one of four different Lions to eclipse double figures during the battle, with JJ Howard adding in 11 points of his own. Cody Costello and Logan Dunbar rounded off the scoring with 10 each.

The Lions will now begin big preparations for perhaps their toughest test of the season on Friday, as they head to Bath-Haverling for Sheriff’s Classic action against the Hornell Red Raiders beginning at 8 p.m. on Friday.

“We need to be better on the defensive end if we want to walk away happy again on Friday,” said Muska. “This is easily our toughest game of the season. We’re both the top two seeds in Class B2 for the time being, and it’s been a long time rivalry between both schools. It’s the one game we’ve been looking forward to all year.”

Canisteo-Greenwood 8 11 5 14 – 38

Wellsville 15 18 13 23 – 69

CANISTEO-GREENWOOD: Thomas Sirianni 2 0-4 4, Carson Chaffee 3 1-4 7, JJ Reese 3 0-0 6, Sage Klees 3 2-2 8, Cole Chaffee 0 1-2 1, Gabe Brumfield 1 0-0 2, Noah Warriner 5 0-0 10. Totals: 17 4-12 38.
WELLSVILLE: Cody Costello 4 0-0 10, Aidan Riley 4 1-4 9, Cooper Brockway 6 2-2 16, Ty Vogel 2 0-0 4, Ethan Bailey 2 0-0 4, Logan Dunbar 4 1-2 10, Alex Green 1 0-0 2, JJ Howard 5 1-2 11, Bubby Young 1 0-0 3. Totals: 29 5-10 69.
3-point goals: Wellsville 6 (Costello 2, Brockway 2, Dunbar, Young)
Total Fouls: C-G 9, Wellsville 15. `Fouled out: Howard (WLSV).

Bolivar-Richburg 59, Genesee Valley/Belfast 33

BELMONT — The Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg have gone nowhere else but up since the start of the season. Their latest win helped further that cause back on Monday, when they issued a scoreless third quarter of play against Canisteo-Greenwood to spring ahead towards an eventual victory to remain unbeaten.

The goal for Wednesday night was to shift that energy into their next road trip: The Jungle at Genesee Valley.

Right in the first eight minutes of play, the Wolverines dropped the hammer down, as the team posted a massive 23-point frame of offense to put host Genesee Valley/Belfast on their feet early, establishing a lead that would remain set in stone from start to finish, as the team recorded their ninth straight victory with a 59-33 triumph.

“The montra tonight was to build off the second half from the other night against Canisteo, and start playing good basketball earlier in the game to try and avoid the dogfights,” said Wolverines coach Justin Thomas. “The boys answered the bell with some phenomenal defense, and that translated to the offense, which is something that we’ve strived for. Lintz’s (Bliven) team was not going to give up. They had a great push in the second half to try and swing things in their way. They didn’t go down without a fight, and to have that shove back from behind was really nice to have as well.”

Led by another stellar performance from Aydin Sisson on the offensive, Bolivar-Richburg (9-0) grinded out another phenomenal frame to begin the night with right from the start, putting all the pieces to the puzzle together to formulate a 23-4 run of Genesee Valley/Belfast — a run that helped establish a lead that was never relieved, despite a late push down the home stretch by the hosts in white.

Sisson fronted the Wolverines attack with his game-high 22 points, adding five steals along the way. Helping the cause was David Baldwin, who chipped in with 11 points, eight rebounds and seven steals, while Landon Barkley and Evan Pinney each had six points. On special teams, Reiss Gaines grabbed five additional boards off the glass.

For Genesee Valley/Belfast (5-5), Kadin Logue led the way with a team-high seven points. Jacob Borden and Kyle McCumiskey each had six points. The team will head out on the road Friday night for a 7:30 p.m. visit to Honeoye.

Up next, a return to the Dan Barkley Showcase, as the undefeated Wolverines make their way to Bath-Haverling to partake in the annual tournament’s seventh installment by headlining one half of the main event on Saturday, finishing off the five-game matinee with an 8 p.m. battle with the host Rams.

Bolivar-Richburg 23 9 11 16 – 59

Genesee Valley/Belfast 4 3 8 18 – 33

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Aydin Sisson 11 0-0 22, Cayden Gaines 1 0-0 2, Landon Barkley 2 2-2 6, Reiss Gaines 0 2-2 2, David Abdo 1 0-0 3, Waide Karnuth 1 0-0 2, David Baldwin 3 5-8 11, Evan Pinney 2 2-2 6, James Margeson 2 1-1 5. Totals: 23 12-15 59.
GV/BELFAST: Brayden Cooper 2 0-0 4, Kadin Logue 3 0-0 7, Owen Heaney 1 0-0 2, Kyle McCumiskey 2 0-0 6, Ian McKenzie 1 1-2 3, Jacob Borden 3 0-0 6, Thai Norasethaporn 2 0-0 5. Totals: 14 1-2 33.
3-point goals: B-R 1 (Abdo), GVB 4 (McCumiskey 2, Logue, Norasethaporn).

Total Fouls: B-R 4, GVB 10. Fouled out: None.

Friendship/Scio 58, Hinsdale 25

HINSDALE — After the ladies started the night with a bang in Hinsdale, the possibility to sweep the night’s action against the Bobcats was now on the table for Friendship/Scio on Wednesday.

They would go on to do just that behind the guidance of Ethan Davenport and another one of his most phenomenal games this season for Friendship/Scio, as they started off red hot in the opening quarter and never looked back to claim a 58-25 road win over the Bobcats to sweep the night’s action on the hardwood.

“Ethan had 29 tonight, which was really great to see. Defensively, we did some great things being active on the floor,” said Friendship/Scio co-coach Dillon McFall. “We were playing a lot of these tough opponents earlier in the year, and having that experience is helping us get through the second half of the season. We have a lot of League games, some teams that are comparable to us coming up, and hopefully it will continue helping us in the long run.”

Friendship/Scio (3-8) wasted no time striking while the iron was hot, scoring 11 straight points with Davenport kicking it off with a pair of threes as the game’s first two baskets. The scoreless jaunt would eventually wind up establishing a 13-2 lead when the opening frame wrapped up.

In the second, the visitors in purple began to build, as they posted their highest scoring quarter of the night to garner all the room they needed to remain out front of Hinsdale (0-11) from that point on — a 23-7 run.

To go with his game-high 29 points, Davenport also collected seven steals and grabbed five rebounds. Brenden Loucks added in some extra help, recording a 14-point, 16-rebound double-double, while Taylor Moore had six points.

The Bobcats were paced by Tyler Richards, who had seven team-high points. Hinsdale will remain at home and host Jasper-Troupsburg on Tuesday in a 6 p.m. contest.

Friendship/Scio is back on the road Friday night, as they visit the Hammondsport Lakers in a 6:30 p.m. tip-off.

Friendship/Scio 13 23 15 7 – 58

Hinsdale 2 7 12 4 – 25

FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Taylor Moore 2 1-3 6, Ethan Davenport 10 6-7 29, Brenden Loucks 3 8-11 14, Matt Donohue 1 0-0 3, Jeremiah Brown 1 0-0 2, Hunter Hill 2 0-0 4. Totals: 19 15-21 58.
HINSDALE: Xander Pascucci 2 0-4 6, Joe Neubert 1 0-0 2, Henry Schwartz 2 0-0 4, Cody Barton 3 0-0 6, Tyler Richards 3 0-4 7. Totals: 11 0-8 25.

3-point goals: F/S 5 (Davenport 3, Moore, Donohue), Hinsdale 3 (Pascucci 2, Richards).
Total Fouls: F/S 10, Hinsdale 16. Fouled out: None.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Friendship/Scio 49, Hinsdale 17

HINSDALE — Through the opening stages, Friendship/Scio and the Lady Bobcats of Hinsdale hung tight with one another. After a first quarter that gave Friendship/Scio the initial lead, they would go on and build extravagantly over the course of time, especially in the third quarter when they pulled away for good in what was a 49-17 road win in Hinsdale, Wednesday night.

Friendship/Scio (5-3) overcame a slow start out of the gate to string together a 14-7 first quarter lead to carry over Hinsdale, accounting for seven of the first nine points within the stretch. Both teams would then settle in defensively to end the first half, with the visitors remaining on top with a nine-point lead going into the break.

With the momentum hanging in their favor, Friendship/Scio went on to provide a second half explosion on offense, outscoring Hinsdale (0-10) with a 26-3 run in the third quarter to ultimately pull away and out of reach for good, securing the win along the way.

Three different scorers all netted double figures to pace the offense, including Morghyn Ross who bagged her best game of the season with a game-high 18 points to go with six steals. Following behind was her older sister Nevaeh Ross, as she contributed 12 points of her own to couple with 12 rebounds to complete a double-double performance.

In addition, Kadence Donohue sank a trio of threes to put towards her 11-point effort, while Grace Drumm added in more help off the glass with five rebounds.

The Lady Bobcats were led by Sarah Tuttle and her seven points. The team will remain at home to host Jasper-Troupsburg on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Friendship/Scio heads back home to partake in a Friday night battle with the Lady Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg, slated for a 7:30 p.m. start in Friendship.

Friendship/Scio 14 6 26 3 – 49

Hinsdale 6 5 3 3 – 17

FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Grace Drumm 0 1-2 1, Logan Roberts 1 0-0 2, Kadence Donohue 4 0-0 11, Morghyn Ross 8 2-4 18, Lexi Crossley 1 0-0 2, Nevaeh Ross 6 0-0 12, Kiara Grover 1 1-2 3. Totals: 18 4-8 49.
HINSDALE: Hannah Sutton 2 0-0 4, Kaylie Foskit 0 0-2 0, Alexa Saunders 1 0-0 2, Jaylee Jimerson 0 2-2 2, Jenna Sutton 1 0-0 2, Sarah Tuttle 2 2-4 7. Totals: 6 4-8 17.

3-point goals: F/S 3 (Donohue), Hinsdale 1 (Tuttle).
Total Fouls: F/S 9, Hinsdale 7. Fouled out: None.

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

Cuba-Rushford 3, Fillmore 2

FILLMORE — The teeter-totter went up and down all throughout the night in Fillmore. Both Cuba-Rushford and the host Eagles traded points, as well as traded sets from start to finish on Wednesday.

After Fillmore originally started the night with a strong finish to the opening set, the next four sets needed to complete the match were decided by no more than five points. With the action seeing both squads take a pair of wins, it would come down to the decisive and game-deciding fifth set. One that was the closest of them all.

In the end, it was the Rebels that made sure they posted the biggest two points of the night to claim victory, as they squeezed past the Eagles with an 18-25, 25-20, 21-25, 25-20, 15-13 victory.

Leading the charge for Cuba-Rushford (8-1) was Preston Bilotta, who had eight kills and three assists. Max Hinckley chipped in with eight more kills, while setter Haven Kellogg dished out a whopping 26 assists at the front to help get the offense established.

Fillmore (1-9) saw a phenomenal night of service stem from the hand of Henry Decker, who recorded 10 service points to pair with his seven kills. Aiden Wagner chipped in with five kills and five blocks, while on defense, Nathan Tanner provided 16 digs to go with nine kills. The team’s setter, Skylar Freeman, handed out 15 assists.

Both teams are back on the floor tonight in a pair of 6 p.m. first serves, as Cuba-Rushford heads back home to welcome in Allegany-Limestone, while Fillmore hits the road to visit Genesee Valley/Belfast.