Wednesday Roundup: Rebels capture 1st ever Scio Christmas title after explosive start over Fri/Scio; B-R grapplers perform 9-0 perfection to win home Wolverine Scuffle

Written By Chris Brooks

SCIO — The final day for Christmas glory had arrived to Scio on Wednesday.

Houghton Academy, Belfast, Cuba-Rushford and Friendship/Scio all met under the same roof one last time to settle the score in the Consolation and Championship rounds to determine this year’s outcome across the board. Up first, was the Consolation game.

To start the night, a red hot and ferocious start from the Bulldogs of Belfast was what set the tone right out of the gate, as they acquired two massive first half runs of Houghton Academy to establish a big lead that was never threatened, taking home a 56-30 triumph over the Panthers.

Belfast (6-2) gained traction on the upper-hand right in the first eight minutes of play, as Matt Weaver caught fire with eight of the team’s 19 first quarter points to power up a 19-6 run of Houghton Academy. The Bulldogs would spread the wealth across the floor in the second quarter to end the first half on a solid note, providing one last massive outscoring by a 19-7 count to take a 38-13 lead at the break.

The momentum would continue on for the rest of the second half, garnering a lead by as much as 20 at one point. To solidify their victory, Belfast would keep Houghton Academy off the board in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter while scoring five in a row to extend their advantage.

The Bulldogs were led by a career night from Connor Stork down low, recording a game-high 14 points. Matt Weaver chipped in with 13 points of his own, while Anthony Logue had nine points. On the other side, Houghton Academy (2-5) was led by Malachi DeGolyer and James Adenuga, who recorded 13 points each.

In the nightcap, the Cuba-Rushford Rebels would make their mark right in the opening eight minutes of play, tallying a big run of Friendship/Scio and growing it by as much as 20 during the first half, as they went on to record their first ever Scio Christmas Tournament Championship with a 53-40 win.

“I thought our pressure created points for us early on, and it gave us a ton of confidence,” Rebels coach Bryce Ryan said. “The boys were ready and they executed the game plan really well in the first quarter. I thought Hunter (Scott) was phenomenal on offense, and he took what the defense gave him and played under control. Everyone had a ton of plays offensively, and we had some big lifts underneath on the rebounds. We still have a ton to improve on, but I’m proud of the way they played and how focused they are on improving.”

Cuba-Rushford (3-2) made their presence known almost immediately in the first act of the Championship game, running off from Friendship/Scio with seven of the first nine points on the board, including a game-starting three-pointer. The run was extended outwards toward the end of the frame with back-to-back threes from both Kaden Bell and Jack Frank putting the finishing touches on a 22-6 run.

The lead would grow to as much as 24 with two more baskets from the Rebels coming to start the second quarter, but it would soon get chipped away by Brenden Loucks and his inside efforts for Friendship/Scio (6-3), as he provided his best game of the season down low for the hosts with multiple runs to the hoop.

Despite efforts to chip away, the Rebels managed to find every response to maintain their double-digit cushion going into the half. Friendship/Scio would bounce back in the third quarter to try and close the gap behind the Rebels with their best stand of offense provided by Loucks, who went on to score a game-high 22 points to pair with nine rebounds and four steals.

But in the fourth, the Rebels were able to match Friendship/Scio’s efforts to keep their place in the driver’s seat to the end, capturing their first ever Scio Christmas Tournament crown along the way.

Cuba-Rushford was led by Hunter Scott, who was one of three different Rebels to tally double figures on offense with a team-high 14 points. Jack Frank contributed 12 points of his own, while Jacob Smith had 10 points.

Finishing behind Loucks for Friendship/Scio was Lazar Bulajic, who had seven points to pair with six rebounds and four assists. Jacob Golden had four points.

Both Cuba-Rushford and Friendship/Scio will meet again one more time in Scio next Friday night in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. Beforehand, the Rebels will continue their road swing next Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. pit stop at Bolivar-Richburg.

Also taking the stage next Friday night, Belfast will return home to host Genesee Valley, while Houghton Academy heads down the road to visit Fillmore. Both contests are slated to begin at 7:30 p.m.

Consolation

Houghton Academy 6 7 12 5 – 30

Belfast 19 19 7 11 – 56

HOUGHTON ACADEMY: Malachi DeGolyer 5 0-0 13, James Adenuga 5 0-0 13, Chris Habecker 0 0-2 0, Sam Winkins 2 0-0 4. Totals: 12 0-2 30.
BELFAST: Kadin Logue 3 0-0 7, Justin Hill 1 0-0 3, Max Miller 2 1-2 5, Matt Cater 1 0-0 2, Anthony Logue 4 0-0 9, Matt Weaver 5 0-0 13, Garrett Miller 1 0-0 3, Connor Stork 7 0-0 14. Totals: 24 1-2 56.
3-point goals: HA 6 (DeGolyer 3, Adenuga 3), Belfast 7 (Weaver 3, K. Logue, Hill, A. Logue, Miller).
Total Fouls: HA 5, Belfast 5. Fouled out: None.

Championship

Cuba-Rushford 22 12 6 13 – 53

Friendship/Scio 6 10 12 12 – 40

CUBA-RUSHFORD: Jacob Smith 4 0-0 10, Jack Frank 4 2-4 12, Hunter Scott 6 0-0 14, Dom Bello 3 0-0 6, Kaden Bell 2 0-0 5, Luke Brooks 3 0-2 6. Totals: 22 2-6 53.
FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Taylor Moore 1 0-0 2, Jacob Golden 1 2-5 4, Nate Ford 1 0-0 2, Brenden Loucks 11 0-2 22, Ethan Davenport 1 1-2 3, Lazar Bulajic 3 0-0 7. Totals: 18 3-9 40.

3-point goals: C-R 7 (Smith 2, Frank 2, Scott 2, Bell), F/S 1 (Bulajic).
Total Fouls: C-R 12, F/S 8. Fouled out: None.


J-T Christmas Tourney Consolation

Genesee Valley 61, Northern Potter 51

GREENWOOD — Despite Genesee Valley’s first round loss to the hands of Arkport/Canaseraga in the Jasper-Troupsburg Christmas Tournament, the Jaguars saw a breakout performance from Morgan Torrey provide a spark for their offensive efforts back on Tuesday.

One day later, the Jaguars senior did it again, igniting his flame from outside once more while the rest of the offense provided a balanced effort behind him, building a 25-point second quarter after a four-point lead to start their Consolation round contest off against Northern Potter, and using it to their favor to pick up the 61-51 win to split their tenure at the tournament.

“This was one of our better games of the season,” Jaguars coach Lintz Bliven said. “Brayden (Cooper) and Ryan (Daciw) are both freshmen, and they both provided awesome games for us with Morgan helping out by leading the way. They started the night strong, and they slowed Northern Potter down. The defense was there all game, and they helped smoothen some of the lumps along the way. They all did the right stuff to make this happen tonight.”

Genesee Valley (2-6) recorded a first quarter lead to begin the night over Northern Potter, outscoring their opposition by a 13-9 count. Heading into the second, the Jaguars offense continued to click from all angles, inside and out, as they put together their best performance of the night with a 25-17 outscoring to end the half with a 38-26 lead.

It was one they would not lose entering the second half, despite Northern Potter’s narrow run in the fourth quarter to provide some late damage, but it was not enough to overcome in the end, as Genesee Valley managed to hang on.

Torrey led all Jaguars scorers with a game-high 19 points, including four of the team’s seven three-pointers to put towards his All-Tournament nomination. Brayden Cooper added in 11 points of his own, while Ryan Daciw and Fisher Herdman had nine each to contribute.

Genesee Valley heads back out on the road next Wednesday night for a 7:30 p.m. contest in Fillmore.

Genesee Valley 13 25 14 9 – 61

Northern Potter 9 17 14 11 – 51

GENESEE VALLEY: Morgan Torrey 5 5-8 19, Brayden Cooper 3 5-8 11, Elden Aquila 2 1-2 7, Killian McKnight 1 0-0 2, Ryan Daciw 4 1-2 9, Thai Norasethaporn 1 1-4 4, Fisher Herdman 4 1-3 9. Totals: 16 14-27 61.
NORTHERN POTTER: Gary Bliss 2 1-2 5, Cale Kosa 1 2-3 4, Tanyon Brown 5 6-6 17, Marc Kicklighter 1 0-1 2, Nolen Smith 7 4-4 21, Jacob Bartoo 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 13-16 51.

3-point goals: GV 7 (Torrey 4, Aquila 2, Norasethaporn), NP 4 (Smith 3, Brown).
Total Fouls: GV 15, NP 20. Fouled out: None.


GIRLS BASKETBALL

Coaches v. Cancer Tourney Consolation

Bath-Haverling 45, Wellsville 34

BATH — After falling to perhaps their biggest piece of competition of the year in Newark Valley, the Lady Lions of Wellsville now looked to come back home with an even, two-day stay at the Coaches v. Cancer Tournament in Bath on Wednesday, with the next task at hand was the host Lady Rams.

A certain aspect that the Lady Lions had trouble with on Tuesday was a first quarter start to build from. At the same time, it was one that Bath-Haverling was able to capitalize upon, themselves.

In the first eight minutes, the Lady Rams went from the inside and out against Wellsville, as both Meredith Czajkowski and Gillian Oksinski helped power up an offense that gave them a start that they never looked back from, providing near dead-even exchanges with the Lady Lions the rest of the way to keep their double digit, 45-34 lead in tact for victory in the Consolation round.

“We could not buy a bucket in the first quarter,” said Lady Lions coach Michelle Alvord. “We had lay-ups and missed opportunities out of the gate, and that was a deficit that quickly accumulated, and we never really came back from that. We made a run toward the end, but it wasn’t enough with the foul trouble also on our shoulders. If you look at it, the difference was the three-point game. We didn’t have any, and Oksinski got hot with both of hers in the first quarter, and that got them going.”

The Lady Rams started off strong in an opening quarter that proved to be the difference maker, as they ran off on a massive 14-3 run of the Lady Lions to provide their footprint on the hardwood that could not be matched for the remainder of the game, despite Wellsville’s (6-2) biggest quarter coming before the end of the opening half in a 12-11 narrow outscoring of their opposition.

Despite the defeat, Marley Adams did pick up an All-Tournament nod behind her game-high 19-point performance for the Lady Lions. Jaelyn Knapp chipped in with six points of her own, while Makenna Dunbar had three points.

In the JV contest, the Lady Lions defeated Bath-Haverling by a 34-18 count, with Averee Palmatier recording 18 points to lead the offense.

Wellsville is now off until next Friday night, looking to rebound back on the road with a visit to Olean in store, as they aim for the season-series sweep in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.

“It’s a long way to go, and hopefully we can learn from this,” Alvord said. “We’ve got some time off to prepare for Olean again. We are more familiar with them having seen and played them already, and this will be a game where we hope we can build some confidence from that. It showed in our last game, and hopefully knowing what we know now, we can put together a better game.”

Wellsville 3 12 8 11 – 34

Bath-Haverling 14 11 11 9 – 45

WELLSVILLE: Marley Adams 7 5-9 19, Emily Costello 1 0-0 2, Jaelyn Knapp 2 2-4 6, Sara Reitz 1 0-0 2, Kaylee Coleman 0 2-4 2, Makenna Dunbar 1 1-2 3. Totals: 12 10-19 34.
BATH-HAVERLING: Gillian Oksinski 2 3-9 9, Olivia Travis 0 1-2 1, Sydney Burns 3 2-4 8, Meredith Czajkowski 4 2-4 11, Emma Luckenbach 1 0-2 2, Natalie Krelie 3 2-4 8, Madison Coots 2 2-3 6. Totals: 15 12-28 45.

3-point goals: B-H 3 (Oksinski 2, Czajkowski).
Total Fouls: Wellsville 24, B-H 18. Fouled out: Knapp (WLSV), Dunbar (WLSV), Krelie (B-H).

WRESTLING

B-R’s Sibble named Most Outstanding Wrestler in team’s perfect 9-0 Scuffle

BOLIVAR — The number nine was a number that was shared between five different Bolivar-Richburg grapplers, individually. As a team, it was also a number that signified perfection. Across their home two-day Wolverine Scuffle tournament, it all came to a close on the brightest of notes, Wednesday morning.

After already securing four victories on opening day to take their place at the top of the leaderboard, the Wolverines recorded five more when they returned to the mat to close out their annual tournament, recording a perfect 9-0 finish to capture the Wolverine Scuffle tournament once again this year.

Opening the tournament on Tuesday, the Wolverines collected four victories to start 4-0, defeating Franklinville (58-12), Alfred-Almond (39-15), Lyndonville (41-30) and Campbell-Savona (54-18) to do so. To wrap up, the team would finish with five more in a row, taking down Hornell (45-30), Olean (60-12), Maple Grove (48-24), Arkport/Canaseraga (54-12) and Bath-Haverling (48-12).

Five different wrestlers all recorded 9-0 individual records, with Trent Sibble leading the way as the Scuffle’s Most Outstanding Wrestler at 215 pounds. Teegan Sibble (102 pounds), Gary McDowell (110 pounds), Trey Buchholz (118 pounds), Ethan Coleman (138 pounds) and Caden Allen (160 pounds) all finished the tournament undefeated to further the cause.

Tavyn MacDonell (145 pounds) and Kadin Tompkins (152 pounds) both finished 8-1 across the two-day tournament.

The Wolverines will return to regular season action on Tuesday, when they hit the road to visit Canisteo-Greenwood in a 6 p.m. match.

Chris Brooks
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Tuesday Roundup: C-R’s fast start, Fri/Scio’s free throw game sets up Christmas Tournament title game; Lady Lions fall to Newark Valley at Coaches v. Cancer Tourney