PERRY – Fresh off perhaps one of their biggest wins in recent memory over defending back-to-back State Champion Avoca-Prattsburgh right before Christmas, the Arkport-Canaseraga Wolves became a red hot inferno.
The hope after the brief recess after the holiday was to remain a five-alarm fire, garnering wins in five of their first six games of the season. On Saturday, their latest journey took them to Perry, where they battled with the host Yellowjackets right in the early stages.
With the Wolves in front going into the break, they foresaw an opportunity to break away. Led by a career night by Caden Carey, Arkport-Canaseraga was able to keep all momentum well intact with a big third quarter, as they strolled past Perry with a 58-38 victory.
“It was a hard-fought game,” Wolves coach Max Houy said. “We came out a little slow, but picked up the pace of play in the final three quarters. Our full-court pressure in the second half is what turned the tide of the game, and opened things up. Perry works hard and they are very well-coached. All of our guys that walked on the floor contributed positively to the win.”
After a back-and-forth exchange through the first quarter that saw the Wolves (6-1) claim a two-point lead over the Yellowjackets, the heat was turned up when the next quarter settled in. Arkport-Canaseraga began an overload of pressure that saw them extend their lead to 24-16 going into the half.
The momentum carried over into the third quarter, where the Wolves strung together their best frame of offense.
Five different scorers all navigated their way to the basket, including Devin Moran’s three-point game, adding two more triples to go with his two in the first quarter, as well as a dominant display of rebounding off the glass by Tim Vilkhu, who had 10 in the game to go with his 14 points to complete his double-double.
The finishing touches on the victory would come in the last eight minutes of play for the visitors in black and teal, as they held Perry to just five points while capitalizing on a 13-5 game-ending jaunt.
The night of scoring on offense would belong to Carey however, as he posted a career-high 24 points to pace the Wolves offense. Moran finished with 12 points off four triples, while Alex Vilkhu had six.
Up next, Arkport-Canaseraga will look to split their season series with the Dansville Mustangs on Wednesday, paying a visit to The Corral for a 7 p.m. contest.
Arkport-Canaseraga 11 13 21 13 – 58
Perry 9 7 17 5 – 38
ARKPORT-CANASERAGA: Devin Moran 4 0-0 12, Caden Carey 8 5-5 24, Alex Vilkhu 3 0-0 6, Tim Vilkhu 6 2-2 14, Dan Clark 1 0-0 2. Totals: 22 7-7 58.
PERRY: Bryce Tallman 3 1-4 9, Beau Slocum 1 1-3 3, Emmit Hill 0 1-2 1, Trenton Washburn 1 0-0 2, JJ Grover 3 0-0 7, Hunter Henchen 7 1-1 16. Totals: 15 4-10 38.
3-point goals: A/C 6 (Moran 4, Carey 2), Perry 4 (Tallman 2, Grover, Henchen).
Total Fouls: A/C 11, Perry 6. Fouled out: None.
Hornell 57, Avon 72
The Hornell Red Raiders suffer their first loss in an action-packed, high intensity game against the Avon Braves Friday night.
The Class B1 #1 seed Red Raiders traveled to Avon for a matchup against the undefeated, Class B2 #1 seed. As expected, the game was neck-and-neck until the fourth quarter when the Braves were able to pull away from the Raiders and take home the 72-57 victory to remain undefeated.
Hornell trailed by 5 after the first quarter and went into the half trailing 31-25. A strong third quarter by the Raiders, including a 17-point effort by Gennaro Picco, put them ahead 52-51 going into the last 8 minutes of play. With no fewer than 12 lead changes in the game, the Raiders couldn’t hold on in the fourth quarter and were outscored by the Braves 21-5 to suffer their first loss of the season.
“I honestly thought we did a lot of good things throughout the game,” said Hornell coach Kirk Scholes. “We gave great effort all four quarters.”
When asked about how he felt about the team’s first loss this season, Scholes commented, “There will be a lot we can take and a lot of things we can learn from this game. Avon did a tremendous job, and I thought they shot the ball really well. Harter, Stroud, and Rowland played very well all game.”
Avon’s Josh Harter scored 17 points, Trevor Stroud had 19, and Michael Rowland had the game high 21 points on the night. Rowland also led all players with 11 rebounds, while Harter led the game with 6 assists for the Braves.
“One of our biggest struggles tonight,” continued Scholes, “was our free throws. In big games, you can’t shoot 3 for 10 when the other team shoots 16 for 19 from the line.”
Hornell junior, PJ Picco had a team high 20 points on the night and added 5 rebounds.
“PJ had a really good game,” said Scholes. “I think he’s getting better and better. Tonight, he did a great job in the paint. He carried us in the first half.”
“In the third quarter, Gennaro lived at the rim. I thought that might have been his best quarter all year,” he added.
Gennaro Picco scored 19 points on the night and led the Raiders with 6 rebounds. Once again, Xzaiver Patrick played a strong defensive game and led all players with 3 steals. Wyatt Evingham added 5 assists on the night.
Looking ahead, coach Scholes added, “We just have to be more consistent. We have stretches where we play really good basketball. I know we will bounce back, and we’ll be ready for Cal-Mum on Friday.”
The Red Raiders will travel to Caledonia to take on the Cal-Mum Raiders Friday night at 7pm. Tune in to Peish Sports on YouTube for live coverage of the game.
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