The Wellsville and Hornell boys’ basketball teams were not looking ahead to Friday’s big matchup when they took the hardwood on Wednesday night.
Wellsville beat Canisteo-Greenwood, 69-38 and Hornell defeated Livonia, 70-54.
On Friday, the annual doubleheader between the Hornell and Wellsville girls will take place at Bath in the Dan Barkley Showcase.
The two-day event pits Allegany vs. Steuben county. In the six years of the event, the series is tied, 3-3 between the two counties.
Monday is raised for scholarships and other great causes. Here is the poster for the games. The Wellsville story is below:
Story by Chris Brooks, sports editor, wellsvillesports.com
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).
