Stories by CHRIS BROOKS, managing editor, wellsvillesports.com
Photo by Steve Harrison, see his gallery and other photos of games CLICK HERE
CANISTEO — Following a closely-knit first half encounter, the Lady Chargers of Canisteo-Greenwood emerged on top behind a solid three-point presence from Paris May, marking the beginning of a momentous surge that was carried into the halftime break in their immediate return to play on Thursday.
But in the Canisteo Valley, the Lady Wildcats of Jasper-Troupsburg had other plans. Natalie Cornell was the catalyst behind those efforts at the start of the second half, as she posted 12 of her game-high 16 points in the last 16 minutes of play to assist the visitors in black and silver in yowling straight to victory by a 45-36 final count.
Points were hard to come by across the first half between both squads, but when it mattered most, Canisteo-Greenwood (4-4) was able to develop an early edge and hold it steady all the way to its conclusion behind Paris May and her strong three-point, landing all three of the team’s triples in the opening 16-minute sequence to garner an 18-15 lead at the break.
In the second half, the Lady Wildcats shelled out a response of their own — Natalie Cornell, as she erupted with a massive second half performance to aid a run that shifted the momentum completely, holding the Lady Chargers in the midst of their 16-8 doubling-up to claim the lead and hold it for good.
May finished with 15 points to lead Canisteo-Greenwood on the attack. Bailey Mullen chipped in with seven points to pair with nine rebounds and eight steals, while Kora Button had six points. Off the glass, Harlie McCaffery recorded eight more rebounds.
The Lady Chargers are back at it Tuesday night inside the McLane Center at Alfred University, as they prepare to take on Campbell-Savona in a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.
Jasper-Troupsburg 6 9 16 14 – 45
Canisteo-Greenwood 9 9 8 10 – 36
JASPER-TROUPSBURG: Kahley Stewart 2 8-11 12, Madison Cady 2 1-2 5, Kiera Marsh 2 1-2 5, Lauren Ross 2 2-2 7, Natalie Cornell 8 0-1 16. Totals: 16 12-18 45.
CANISTEO-GREENWOOD: Kora Button 2 2-5 6, Bailey Mullen 2 3-6 7, Kadyn Piliero 0 1-2 1, McKenna Ferris 1 1-2 3, Harlie McCaffery 1 0-0 2, Sidney Drouin 1 0-0 2, Paris May 6 0-0 15. Totals: 13 7-15 36.
3-point goals: J-T 1 (Ross), C-G 3 (May).
Total Fouls: J-T 10, C-G 16. Fouled out: None.
AVOCA-PRATTSBURGH (5-3) 51
ADDISON (6-4) 52
Addison held off a late Avoca-Prattsburgh charge in a 52-51 boys’ basketball win on Thursday night.
Frank Heidrick led al scorers with 19 for Addison while Zane Wheeler added 10.
Also for Addison, Joshua Held scored seven, Tayzer Fenton six, Jackson Nichols three, Mikael Sambrourski three, Francesco Rossi two and Zane Specht two.
For A-P, Chris Abbott scored a team-high 15 points.
Macoy Putnam scored 14 points, Collin Hammond had 11, Jaeden Crowder six, Carter Button three and Landon White had two.
Photo gallery by LYNN BRENNAN PHOTOGRAPHY, CLICK HERE for gallery
Andover/Whitesville 80, Friendship/Scio 23
WHITESVILLE — Nearly a month removed after their one-night only appearance inside the Reilly Center at St. Bonaventure, Andover/Whitesville was back on the hardwood. Being out of action for a prolonged amount of time can have its disadvantages, but for the team donning blue and purple, it gave them a chance to prepare for their return.
After Arkport-Canaseraga took the 79-45 victory from them at the home of the Bonnies, Andover/Whitesville turned around and started the second half of their season with 80 points of their own, as they put together a complete team effort to springboard back above .500 on the season with an 80-23 home win over Friendship/Scio, Thursday night in Whitesville.
“It was probably our most complete effort we’ve had thus far this season. With it being almost a month since we played our last game, we had a lot of concern as to how we would perform,” Andover/Whitesville coach Jimmy Joyce said. “The shots were falling, our defense was creating turnovers and we played very unselfish basketball. We also moved the ball extremely well. It’s the effort our coaching staff has been looking for all season, and with Brody (Vance) and Colton (Calladine) leading the way they do offensively, everyone behind them was able to contribute on the stat sheet. It’s a great effort as we enter the meat of our schedule, and it’s going to take an effort like this each night to come away with the wins.”
No time was wasted for Andover/Whitesville (4-3) to make all the noise they could in the first three quarters of play, recording the first of three straight 20-point frames with an immediate tone-setter — a 24-9 run of Friendship/Scio, propelled by Colton Calladine’s fire from all over the floor.
In the second quarter, nearly every single scorer all had a hand at closing out the first half just as strong as they started it, using their mixed bag attack to jet-fuel a 25-2 run to push their advantage further away and ultimately, out of reach to claim victory in their first game of 2024.
Brody Vance played a big part in the team’s success, as he scored a game-high 27 points — 14 of those points coming in their 24-point third quarter. Calladine followed with 21 points of his own, with 11 coming in the opening eight minute period, while Vincent Joyce and James Miller-Young finished with nine and eight points total, respectively.
For Friendship/Scio (3-8), Connor Blouvet bucketed 10 team-leading points to ignite the offense. Deacon Brown had seven points.
Both teams are back on their home floors Wednesday night in a pair of 7:30 p.m. tip-offs, with Andover/Whitesville looking to keep rolling back over the hill in Andover with a visit from Fillmore, while Friendship/Scio heads back home for a meeting with Genesee Valley/Belfast in Friendship.
Friendship/Scio 9 2 9 3 – 23
Andover/Whitesville 24 25 24 7 – 80
FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Aiden Golden 1 1-2 3, Jerome Harmon 0 1-2 1, Connor Blouvet 4 1-6 10, Charlie Taylor 1 0-0 2, Deacon Brown 3 1-2 7. Totals: 9 3-11 23.
ANDOVER/WHITESVILLE: James Miller-Young 4 0-0 8, Derek Perkins 1 0-1 2, Jake Mattison 1 2-3 5, Ethan Warriner 2 3-4 7, Vincent Joyce 4 0-0 9, Brody Vance 11 1-2 27, Colton Calladine 7 5-8 21, Skylar Orpet 0 1-2 1. Totals: 32 11-19 80.
3-point goals: F/S 1 (Blouvet), A/W 8 (Vance 4, Calladine 2, Mattison, Joyce).
Total Fouls: F/S 14, A/W 12. Fouled out: Brown (F/S).
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Arkport-Canaseraga 3, Wellsville 2
WELLSVILLE — With the regular season campaign beginning to dwindle down, prime positioning for the Allegany County League playoffs has never come at a more important time than Thursday night.
Underneath undefeated Allegany-Limestone at the top of the standings, both Arkport-Canaseraga and Wellsville were neck-and-neck for the No. 2 spot. Right at the very beginning of the year, the Wolves already claimed the upper hand after a straight-set decision on their home turf over the Lions. Another win would complete the season sweep, and could perhaps add some more help in cementing the No. 2 seed for the playoffs.
But for the Lions, it would serve as an opportunity to play spoiler. Something they hoped to do in the Lion’s Den for their final clash with the Wolves.
Unlike their previous meeting back in early December, all five sets were needed to force completion between both teams. The tone was set right in the opening frame of play when both teams exchanged multiple runs to force extra serves, which ended in the Lions breaking the ice.
Since then, the teeter-totter battle ensued with Arkport-Canaseraga forcing the fifth and final set — a set they provided an emphatic response in to close the night, as they recorded the series sweep of the Lions by a 24-26, 25-13, 15-25, 25-20, 15-3 count.
The Wolves saw Noah Drouin propel the offense to big heights on their side of the net, as he posted a team-high 12 kills to pair with three blocks and two assists. Aidan Button handed out seven helpers to couple with two kills, two aces and a block, while Salim Ford rounded off with seven more assists at the front of the net to go with six aces and a kill.
On the other side of the net, Wellsville (5-3) saw Brody Heaney captain the offense with six kills, pairing them with four aces and a block. Lucius Griggs chipped in with five more kills, three aces and a pair of blocks, while Terrence Benz scored six kills and two aces.
The Lions are back on the floor Monday night with a 6 p.m. visit to Friendship/Scio.
WRESTLING
Wellsville 69, Addison 6
ADDISON — Before the Lions kick their weekend gears into motion for a two-day trip just outside of Syracuse, their attention was turned to their last road trip before then on Thursday, as they visited the Knights of Addison for battle on the circled square.
Out of the 10 matches that took center stage between both teams, Wellsville was dominant in nearly every single one of them, as they scored nine victories in competition to go with a trio of forfeit wins at the beginning and end of the match, totaling 12 in all to take full advantage of the opportunity with a dominant 69-6 win over the Knights.
The tone for the Lions was set right away with victories in each of the first six matches on the mat, with an Easton Joyce forfeit at 101 pounds starting the festivities off. Paul Giovaniello recorded the team’s first win on the mat by recording a 17-7 major decision win.
After a Jensen Spicer win at 116 pounds, David Clark (124 pounds), Adam Iantorno (131 pounds) and Landon Stratton (138 pounds) each followed with pinfall wins, with Clark recording the quickest win for Wellsville in just 32 seconds.
Jack Cicrello (152 pounds), Matt Ritter (160 pounds), Xander Outman (170 pounds), Gabe Black (190 pounds) and Noah Black (215 pounds) all picked up pinfall wins of their own on the mat, with the exception of Gabe Black and his 21-5 technical fall win, to continue a dominant Wellsville performance until the end where Brayden Taggert added the team’s final win via forfeit at 285 pounds.
Up next for the Lions, tournament action at Port Byron just outside of Syracuse, as it officially gets underway bright and early Saturday.
Results (* indicates starting weight)
*101 – Easton Joyce (WLSV) by for.
108 – Paul Giovaniello (WLSV) def. Connor Watson (ADD) by major dec, 17-7.
116 – Jensen Spicer (WLSV) by for.
124 – David Clark (WLSV) def. Langden Green (ADD) by pin, :32.
131 – Adam Iantorno (WLSV) def. Bryson Long (ADD) by pin, :45.
138 – Landon Stratton (WLSV) def. Kolby McLean (ADD) by pin, 1:17.
145 – Cade Sands (ADD) def. Andrew Cox (WLSV) by pin, :54.
152 – Jack Cicirello (WLSV) def. Kamdin Aloi (ADD) by pin, 3:39.
160 – Matt Ritter (WLSV) def. Collin Aumick (ADD) by pin, 3:40.
170 – Xander Outman (WLSV) def. Spencer Westervelt (ADD) by pin, 3:59.
190 – Gabe Black (WLSV) def. Brice Combs (ADD) by tech fall, 21-5.
215 – Noah Black (WLSV) def. Newt Jones (ADD) by pin, 1:18.
285 – Brayden Taggert (WLSV) by for.
Bolivar-Richburg 41, Arkport-Canaseraga 12
BOLIVAR — With both Arkport-Canaseraga and Bolivar-Richburg exchanging a pair of barbs across the first four matches, the door would begin to crack open for one team. That being the Wolverines, who went on to score four wins in the next five matches in competition to break away from the Wolves’ grasp for good to gnab the 41-12 home win on Thursday.
Within their seven-win performance, six of the victories for the Wolverines all came via pinfall beginning with Cayden Gaines at 138 pounds. As time went on, the wins continued to flood in with help from Tavyn MacDonell (170 pounds), Caden Allen (215 pounds), Presley McDowell (101 pounds) and Teegan Sibble (108 pounds), all of which recorded pinfall wins.
At 145 pounds following the match-opening win from Gaines, Trey Buchholz delivered a technical fall win, while at 131 pounds — the very end of the match, Gary McDowell delivered a strong pinfall win to finish off a dominant Wolverines night on the mat.
Arkport-Canaseraga registered three wins against the Wolverines in return, with Aiden New getting the team’s lone win in competition with a pinfall victory at 285 pounds. After the hosts registered their first two wins, the visitors in teal and black were able to score back-to-back forfeit wins at 152 and 160 pounds, as Taylor Pragle and John Flaitz both saw their arm raised at the end of their respective matches.
The Wolverines will now get set and travel to Hornell to partake in their annual State Farm Classic Tournament, beginning Saturday morning.
