Sectionals start: Wellsville boys open with huge 86-32 win; C-R, Andover-Whitesville, GV/B girls all win

(Cutline: JJ Howard throws down a dunk. Howard, a senior, had a team-high 24 for Wellsville. Ella Green photo)

Wednesday Sectionals: No. 5 Wellsville boys wreak havoc in Sectional opener vs. No. 12 Early College, set stage for 3rd clash with Hornell; C-R girls assemble incredible 4th quarter to upset Pembroke; Tuesday Sectionals: No. 4 B-R jets past No. 13 HAC behind epic 1st quarter run, dominant finish to open Sectionals; No. 7 Houghton boys welcome Davidson back in win over No. 10 Lyndonville    

By CHRIS BROOKS, managing editor, wellsvillesports.com

WAYLAND — The offense for the No. 5 Lions of Wellsville went absolutely nuclear to open Sectionals at Wayland-Cohocton — their home away from home, Wednesday night.

Despite a slow start out of the gate against No. 12 Early College, the Lions went on and provided an offensive detonation of epic proportions from the second quarter all the way to the end, as they rocketed towards the Class B1 Quarterfinal round with an 86-32 victory.

Early College found a groove in the midst of a back-and-forth battle in the first eight minutes, putting the Lions (14-7) on pins and needles early on by winning the close battle behind a four-point edge.

But from the second quarter onward, the No. 5 seeds in white and orange blazed a trail of glory, holding their opposition to just 16 more points, beginning with a massive first half-ending 22-5 run to claim a 34-21 halftime lead.

Wellsville then proceeded to demolish the floodgates in the third quarter with their strongest frame of offense — a 29-point bonanza that was propelled by six different contributors, seeing their lead blossom insurmountably along the way.

To finish their first game of the second season, the Lions went on to hold Early College at a standstill with a 23-0 run in the last eight minutes.

Through it all, almost every single Wellsville scorer managed to find their way into the ledger at the end of battle, with JJ Howard leading the way behind a game-high 24 points. Trent Green followed up behind him, recording 16 points. Karson Grover pitched in 13 points of his own, while Ty Vogel had 12 to add.

The Lions have now punched their ticket to the Class B1 Quarterfinal round, which is set to begin Saturday night against a very familiar opponent — the No. 4 Hornell Red Raiders, as they travel to the Seneca Street Zoo to meet their archrival for the third and final time this season in a 7 p.m. tip-off.

Early College 16 5 11 0 — 32

Wellsville 12 22 29 23 — 86

EARLY COLLEGE: Tyrell Grant 5 0-0 11, Cincere Moxley-Studymine 5 0-0 11, Da’Marion Griffin 3 0-0 7, Josue Oquendo 1 1-2 3. Totals: 14 1-2 32.

WELLSVILLE: Aiden Cowburn 3 0-0 7, Karson Grover 6 0-0 13, JJ Howard 12 0-1 24, Ty Vogel 6 0-0 12, Nick Germain-Tardieu 1 1-2 3, Jack Davis 2 0-2 5, Trent Green 7 1-2 16, Cole White 0 2-2 2, Derek Coleman 2 0-0 4. Totals: 39 3-9 86.

3-point goals: EC 3 (Grant, Moxley-Studywell, Griffin), Wellsville 4 (Cowburn, Grover, Davis, Green).
Total Fouls: EC 6, Wellsville 7. Fouled out: None.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Class C1 First Round

No. 9 Cuba-Rushford 49, No. 8 Pembroke 42

PEMBROKE — At this stage of the game, there are no second chances.

In order to survive the Sectional wave, you need to pull every stop out possible with your entire season hanging in the balance. This was the case for the No. 9 Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford, who fell behind after a massive second half debut by No. 8 Pembroke ignited the hardwood.

With an uncontrollable third quarter wildfire allowing the Lady Dragons to open things up, the Lady Rebels were now staring down the end of their season going into the last eight minutes.

They needed to act quickly.

In the fourth quarter, Cuba-Rushford pushed all of their chips to the center of the table and won big on their final hand, as they used an early spark from Brynn Lavery on the outside before doubling down at the charity stripe, shifting the momentum entirely in their favor to close out a miraculous comeback victory over Pembroke over the road with a 49-42 upset win on Wednesday in Class C1 First Round action.

“I was really pleased with how we battled back, especially after Pembroke got hot in the third quarter and put us into a hole. Our foul shooting was great all night, and that really came up big for us down the stretch,” said Lady Rebels coach Aaron Wight. “Pembroke was long and athletic and they caused some problems for us on the top of their zone. But in the end, I thought we played through it pretty well, and it’s always great to have so many girls close to double figures in the scorebook.”

It was an even go through much of the first half between the two squads, with the Lady Rebels (13-8) weaving their way ahead of the Lady Dragons behind an initial three-point presence provided by Lavery, who posted her first two of four total in the contest.

After the offenses remained at bay for much of the second quarter, the heat was turned up a vast amount by the hosts in white and green as they launched a barrage of three-pointers — five of them to be exact, to jumpstart a 20-point frame that propelled them ahead going into the last eight minutes.

But in the fourth quarter, the tables were turned by the Lady Rebels, proceeding to shake off Pembroke’s monstrous third quarter with an even more gargantuan finish to the evening behind Lavery’s last two three-pointers along with a phenomenal 12-for-14 outing at the charity stripe provided by Aubrey Williams, Cloey Larabee and Lily Tompkins to help finish off a 20-6 game-ending run to record the upset victory to start their Sectional trek.

Lavery and Larabee both paved the way for Cuba-Rushford on the attack with 12 team-high points. Tompkins finished with 10 points, while Williams and Lilly Farwell rounded off with nine and six points, respectively.

The Lady Rebels now navigate into Saturday’s Class C1 Quarterfinal round, where they now travel to visit top-seeded Caledonia-Mumford in a tentative 2 p.m. tip-off.

Cuba-Rushford 11 6 12 20 — 49

Pembroke 10 6 20 6 — 42

CUBA-RUSHFORD: Aubrey Williams 1 7-8 9, Cloey Larabee 4 3-4 12, Lily Tompkins 3 4-6 10, Brynn Lavery 4 0-0 12, Lilly Farwell 2 2-3 6. Totals: 14 16-21 49.

PEMBROKE: Peyton Liss 2 2-4 8, Seneca Calderon 5 1-2 15, Onolee Easterbrook 1 0-0 2, Jayden Hootman 3 2-2 10, Morgan Coniber 2 0-0 5, Sophia Gorski 0 2-2 2. Totals: 13 7-10 42.

3-point goals: C-R 5 (Lavery 4, Larabee), Pembroke 9 (Calderon 4, Liss 2, Hootman 2, Coniber).
Total Fouls: C-R 12, Pembroke 16. Fouled out: None.

Class C2 First Round

No. 10 Genesee Valley/Belfast 34, No. 7 Naples 26

NAPLES — The scoring was limited throughout the night during opening round battle in the Class C2 bracket for the No. 10 Genesee Valley/Belfast ladies on Wednesday.

In their first trip over the road to Naples, a back-and-forth exchange set the music for most the evening, with the Lady Big Green taking a big go-ahead swing in the third quarter to put the pressure on down the stretch.

But their late claim on the game’s advantage was short lived in the last eight minutes, as Genesee Valley/Belfast constructed a magnificent finish to the contest while holding the No. 7 seeds at bay in the midst of a game-winning run, claiming their spot in the Class C2 Quarterfinal round in the same swing when the final buzzer sounded on what was a 34-26 upset win over the road.

The battle was bookended by two herculean efforts from Jenna Hill to propel the Genesee Valley/Belfast (13-8), beginning in the opening eight minutes where she connected on a massive three-point play — a sequence that stemmed from within a five-point effort to help capture a 7-2 lead over Naples.

The Lady Big Green fired right back by closing the gap down to a pair at the break, assembling their most dynamic frame of offense to keep the momentum harnessed in their favor.

After Naples went ahead of Genesee Valley/Belfast in the third quarter, the momentum then shifted hands permanently to the visiting 10-seeds, as Hill took over the offense with eight monstrous points down low to finish off a game-leading performance and the team’s upset victory to move onto the next round this weekend.

Hill finished with 13 points to lead all scorers for Genesee Valley/Belfast. Sophie Zillgitt had 10 points to chip in. Ava Aronson was not far behind, adding in nine points, while Bayleigh Tallman accounted for the team’s final bucket from inside the arc.

Genesee Valley/Belfast has now earned the right to advance into Saturday’s Class C2 Quarterfinal round, where they now hit the road for a 2 p.m. visit to No. 2 Dundee/Bradford.

Genesee Valley/Belfast 7 9 4 14 — 34

Naples 2 12 9 3 — 26

GV/BELFAST: Bayleigh Tallman 1 0-4 2, Sophie Zillgitt 4 0-2 10, Ava Aronson 4 1-4 9, Jenna Hill 5 3-5 13. Totals: 14 4-15 34.
NAPLES: Polly Bay 5 1-2 11, Emily Lester 2 0-0 5, Grayce Hebding 1 0-0 3, Erica Reigelsperger 3 1-4 7. Totals: 11 2-6 26.

3-point goals: GVB 2 (Zillgitt), Naples 2 (Lester, Hebding).
Total Fouls: GVB 9, Naples 15. Fouled out: None.

No. 6 Perry 62, No. 11 Bolivar-Richburg 28

PERRY — The offensive balance was superb across the board for the No. 6 Lady Yellowjackets of Perry.

With every single scorer all registering at least three points to set up an epic first half performance, that saw them never lose sight of the lead against No. 11 Bolivar-Richburg on Wednesday, as they ended the Lady Wolverines season with a 62-28 home victory in Class C2 opening round play.

The first quarter saw Perry set the tone immediately against the Lady Wolverines, with a dominant presence being established by Madi Monteleone, who had 12 of the team’s 20 points within the stanza to help spring the Lady Yellowjackets off on a 20-6 run to garner a lead they never lost.

All the momentum was held intact going into the second behind a strong presence on defense, holding Bolivar-Richburg to a pair of points in the midst of another long run to blossom their advantage even more going forward.

Despite the defeat, the Lady Wolverines witnessed Carmen Crowley assemble a team-leading performance on the hardwood, garnering 14 points — 12 of them originating in the second half.

Raegan Giardini chipped in with seven points, while Jaelyn Kinnicutt and Sydney Faulkner followed with four and three points, respectively to round off the scoring.

Bolivar-Richburg’s campaign has reached its conclusion, as they finish up with a record of 8-13 overall. The Lady Wolverines will graduate five seniors at the end of the school year in Crowley, Giardini, Kinnicutt, Nadia Baldwin and Emma Sisson.

Bolivar-Richburg 6 2 13 7 — 28

Perry 20 18 10 14 — 62

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Jaelyn Kinnicutt 2 0-0 4, Raegan Giardini 2 2-3 7, Sydney Faulkner 1 0-0 3, Carmen Crowley 5 4-6 14. Totals: 10 6-9 25.
PERRY: Natalie Eaton 0 4-6 4, Astrid Bellamy 4 0-1 8, Kara Givens 2 0-0 4, Jessah Morris 2 0-0 4, Olivia Monteleone 3 0-0 7, Hannah Hurlburt 1 0-0 3, Emma Wyant 2 0-0 4, Madi Monteleone 7 2-3 20, Melody Conroy 1 1-2 3, Nellie Koronas 2 1-2 5. Totals: 24 8-14 62.

3-point goals: B-R 2 (Giardini, Faulkner), Perry 6 (M. Monteleone 4, O. Monteleone, Hurlburt).
Total Fouls: B-R 16, Perry 14. Fouled out: None.

Class D First Round

No. 5 Andover/Whitesville 65, No. 12 Romulus 21

DANSVILLE — The No. 5 Andover/Whitesville ladies picked up where they left off following their strong finish to the regular season just over a week ago, as they took advantage of the opportunity right in front of them on Wednesday against No. 12 Romulus with a fast start, showing no signs of slowing down across all four quarters of play to secure a 65-21 opening round victory — their fourth in their last five contests, at the Corral in Dansville.

It all commenced with a powerful balance from all different angles on the floor for Andover/Whitesville (15-5), as five different scorers all pasted at least a two-point basket in the midst of a 20-point tone-setting frame of play to open the battle against the Lady Royals.

The bar was set going forward for the No. 5 seeded hosts in white, as they continued to punctuate a strong first half before carrying all the energy into the second half to pull away from Romulus permanently.

That, on the heels of utilizing another spread-out attack on the Lady Royals while shutting the door on defense on the opposite end of the floor to create a 19-3 third quarter run to aid in finishing off the win in the opening round of Class D play.

Among those scorers for Andover/Whitesville: Stella Bledsoe, who provided an even distribution across all four frames of play to score a game-high 21 points. Graci Lewis-Ellison dished out 13 points of her own, while Olivia Waters dug in and delivered 10 points.

Andover/Whitesville now hits the road on Saturday for Class D Quarterfinal action, as they now visit the No. 4 Notre Dame-Batavia Lady Irish with time for tip-off yet to be determined.

Romulus 4 5 3 9 — 21

Andover/Whitesville 20 12 19 14 — 65

ROMULUS: Ashlyn Derby 1 0-0 2, Alyssa Mari 0 2-2 2, Alannah Smith 1 0-0 2, Maggie Brown 1 0-0 2, Morgan Kisner 1 0-0 3, Macey Salmon 1 1-2 3, Ava Parish 2 0-0 5, Gizelle Aguilera 1 0-0 2. Totals: 8 3-4 21.

ANDOVER/WHITESVILLE: Makenna Vance 2 0-0 4, Stella Bledsoe 10 1-1 21, Graci Lewis-Ellison 5 2-4 13, Aine Brown 1 0-0 2, Lilly Harrington 2 2-2 6, Olivia Waters 5 0-0 10, Katrina Lewis 1 0-0 2, Reece Winters 3 0-0 7. Totals: 29 5-7 65.

3-point goals: Romulus 2 (Kisner, Parish), A/W 2 (Lewis-Ellison, Winters).
Total Fouls: Romulus 5, A/W 9. Fouled out: None.

No. 6 Lyndonville 61, No. 11 Friendship/Scio 24

BERGEN — It was a three-point party at No. 6 Lyndonville’s home away from home on Wednesday, as they launched one shot after another against No. 11 Friendship/Scio right from the opening tip at mid-court, accounting for a baker’s dozen altogether to bring the hammer down on an outstanding offensive performance that saw them capture a spot in this weekend’s Class D Quarterfinal round with a 61-24 win at Byron-Bergen.

A burly first eight minutes came to full fruition for the Lady Tigers right away, as they heaved four big three-pointers from three different scorers combined to set up a 22-9 lead of Friendship/Scio out of the gate.

The visitors in black and gold found a way to claw their way back within range in the next frame however, using a couple of long threes themselves — one from Emily Lamberson and one from Huntar Hint, to establish their best stand of offense in the game going into the break.

When the two teams arrived for the second half, it was a completely different story.

Lyndonville re-assumed total command of the hardwood from all phases, transitioning the power to the defense along the way by holding Friendship/Scio to just five more points across the second half while breaking free from their grasp behind a pair of 15-point stanzas — including a 15-1 game-ending run to pull away and out of reach.

One of the key contributors for the hosts? — Isabella Groves, who was simply on fire from start to finish for the Lady Tigers, landing seven of the team’s 13 total three-pointers in the contest, putting it towards a game-high 26-point effort.

Friendship/Scio saw Emily Lamberson take the lead in the scoring column, posting 10 team-high points. Huntar Hint chipped in with seven points to go with six rebounds. Avery Lamberson had four points to go with six steals.

On special teams, Kaydence Sadler grabbed seven team-high rebounds off the glass to further the cause.

The season is now history for the Friendship/Scio ladies, as they wrap up with a record of 3-17 overall. The team now says goodbye to their lone, upcoming graduate, Serenity Gadley, at the end of the school year in just a few short months.

Friendship/Scio 9 10 4 1 — 24

Lyndonville 22 9 15 15 — 61

FRIENDSHIP/SCIO: Ella Perry 0 1-2 1, Emily Lamberson 4 0-0 10, Huntar Hint 3 0-0 7, Avery Lamberson 2 0-2 4, Alexiss Herring 1 0-0 2, Emma Bolzan 0 0-2 0. Totals: 10 1-6 24.

LYNDONVILLE: Alexa Robinson 2 0-0 5, Addison Dillenbeck 7 1-2 17, Isabella Groves 8 0-0 26, Lilly Raduns 3 0-0 8, Braelynn Dillenbeck 1 0-0 3, Leah Kenyon 0 0-2 0, Brooke Robinson 1 0-0 2. Totals: 22 1-4 61.

3-point goals: F/S 3 (E. Lamberson 2, Hint), Lyndonville 13 (Groves 7, A. Dillenbeck 2, Raduns 2, A. Robinson, B. Dillenbeck).
Total Fouls: F/S 9, Lyndonville 10. Fouled out: Hint (F/S).

No. 4 Notre Dame-Batavia 88, No. 13 Hinsdale 12

BATAVIA — The No. 4 Notre Dame-Batavia Lady Irish pressed down on the gas pedal and never let off of it on Wednesday to open Sectionals, as they they cruised their way into the Class D Quarterfinal round with a dominant 88-12 victory over the No. 13 Lady Bobcats of Hinsdale.

Stats and a complete box score were not made available to report upon publication.

The Lady Bobcats have finished their 2024-25 campaign with a record of 1-20 overall. The team will graduate four seniors at the end of the school year in Sarah Easterly, Kaylie Foskit, Marissa Palumbo and Alexa Saunders.

TUESDAY RESULTS

FILLMORE — There was no more waiting. The most exciting time of the winter season has finally come.

The hunt for championship glory has now graced its presence, and for four Allegany County teams, their journey began on Tuesday.

Amongst the Sectional starters: The Bolivar-Richburg Wolverines, who made Fillmore their home away from home due to Section V’s 75-mile rule during the school week, as they opened up their second season dossier to face the No. 13 Harley Allendale-Columbia Wolves.

Out of the gate, both the Wolves and the Wolverines were in the beginning stages of their accustomization to the confines of The Rock, with a slight advantage favoring Class C2’s No. 4 seeds. Then, the pistons began firing on all cylinders and the wheels started to churn.

The floodgates broke down.

With another phenomenal night from Landon Barkley helping lead the way, it was an early offensive spark from Braden Zilker that lit the fuse for Bolivar-Richburg in the game’s opening quarter, as they amassed a monstrous run of Harley Allendale-Columbia to build a lead they never lost going forward, assembling the strongest of finishes along the way to complete a powerful 71-48 Sectional debut in the win column to claim a spot in this weekend’s Quarterfinal round.

“Shoutout to Jon (Beardsley) and the Fillmore community for hosting us tonight. They did a great job taking us in and making it feel like a home game away from our home,” said Wolverines coach Justin Thomas. “We had that initial two minutes where we felt each other out, and then Braden took control on both sides of the floor for us. Landon’s not done playing either, he’s giving everything he’s got, leading by example to make one more run at it. I don’t know if it was fatigue early on, but we were middling our way through the game. HAC got some easy buckets and we were much more lax on defense. Once we tightened up after that, the boys put together a really nice game and we ended up closing out strong in our first game, to hold our own.”

It was a slow commencement for both HAC and Bolivar-Richburg out of the gate, but a short time later, that light flame soon burned brighter for the Wolverines (15-6) with the aid of Landon Barkley, who accounted for the team’s first six points to claim a slight 6-4 advantage over the Wolves near the midway mark.

With the driver’s seat being occupied by the No. 4 seeds, Zilker then took matters into his own hands with an epic first quarter performance for Bolivar-Richburg, using his three-point game to his utmost advantage while Barkley followed right behind him to help assemble a dominant 26-point frame of attack.

A stanza that included a 20-2 quarter-ending jaunt of the Wolves from within it.

The Wolves were able to shake off a great deal of pressure early on to mount a big second quarter comeback in return, as they utilized some missed opportunities on behalf of the Wolverines to tilt the offensive balance in their favor by registering a 12-2 run of their own to trim down their deficit past midway.

Although their chances have been limited all throughout the frame, the Wolverines were able to bounce back with a strong finish to the quarter with the last eight points on the board — six off back-to-back triples from the hand of Barkley, who wound up serving as the night’s leading scorer with a game-high 33 points.

Both teams traded even barbs throughout the third quarter before Bolivar-Richburg assembled one giant finish in the last eight minutes of play, posting a 23-point fourth quarter against Harley Allendale-Columbia to finish off a dominant start to their Sectional journey.

Behind Barkley in the ledger for the Wolverines was ZIlker, who finished with 15 points of his own — 10 of which, stemming in the first eight minutes of battle. Kingston Loucks chipped in with nine points, while Dylan Abdo had seven to add.

Coming up on Friday, the Wolverines will now host their first and last Sectional home game of the 2024-25 season, as they prepare to welcome in the No. 5 Red Jacket Cardinals for Class C2 Quarterfinal battle beginning tentatively at 6 p.m.

Harley Allendale-Columbia 6 12 12 18 — 48

Bolivar-Richburg 26 12 10 23 — 71

HAC: Nua Lung 1 2-2 4, Kaison Ashford 1 0-0 2, James Michael 10 6-10 29, Oliver Riveros 4 1-2 9, Josh Person 2 0-0 4. Totals: 18 9-14 48.

BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Landon Barkley 11 8-8 33, Braden Zilker 6 0-1 15, Dylan Abdo 3 0-2 7, Waide Karnuth 1 0-0 2, Carson Lipyance 0 1-2 1, Mason Baldwin 2 0-0 4, Kingston Loucks 4 0-4 9. Totals: 27 9-15 71.

3-point goals: HAC 3 (Michael), B-R 8 (Barkley 3, Zilker 3, Abdo, Loucks).
Total Fouls: HAC 15, B-R 10. Fouled out: Riveros (HAC).

No. 6 Oakfield-Alabama 63, No. 11 Genesee Valley/Belfast 57

OAKFIELD — No. 6 Oakfield-Alabama made the most of their opportunities on Tuesday. To open up Sectionals, the Hornets fleeced the boards off the glass against No. 11 Genesee Valley/Belfast in first round action in the Class C2 bracket, as they established a dynamic start to their game to grant themselves a game-long advantage.

Despite the severe start to the contest, the No. 11 seeds showed no quit whatsoever, blazing behind their largest frame of attack in the last eight minutes to put a whole heap of pressure on the Hornets.

But through it all, the No. 6 seeds remained vigilant and ultimately prevailed at the end of the night, as they warded off Genesee Valley/Belfast to end their season with a 63-57 home victory.

“We were hurt most by being out-rebounded on the opponent’s offensive end. I’m most proud of our team fighting their way back into the game, keeping their heads up along the way,” GV/Belfast coach Jason Hamer said. “We improved throughout the season, as we endured some bumpy patches. I think Michael Jordan said it best: “Talent wins games, but intelligence and teamwork wins championships.”. I know we are heading in the right direction, so going forward, we need to correct the small things that are holding us back from being better than we were this season.”

It was a fast start in the opening eight minute segment that saw many different contributors for the Hornets to provide an early bounty of success, including Avery Watterson, who went on to lead the offensive front from all angles of the floor with a game-high 30 points.

From within his performance, a connection from the field and a 4-for-6 outing at the stripe to aid in setting up an 18-8 first quarter lead over Genesee Valley/Belfast.

As time progressed, the Hornets continued to lead through an even exchange of baskets across the next two quarters of play before the No. 11 seeds turned the heat up in the last eight minutes of regulation.

After being held to just two points across the first three quarters, Ian McKenzie broke through the facade in a big way, helping kick the tires for the offense with 10 big points in the midst of a 22-point frame in total for the visitors in black.

In addition, Lannden Tilton and Kenton Shultz both provided assistance of their own, inside and out, with a two and three-point basket each. With Genesee Valley/Belfast closing the gap closer and closer behind the Hornets, the hosts were able to hang on until the final buzzer sounded to keep their lead intact, claiming a spot in this weekend’s Quarterfinal round along the way.

Shultz finished as Genesee Valley/Belfast’s leading scorer with a team-high 18 points. Ethan Davenport recorded 13 points, while McKenzie and Tilton followed with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Cal Tallman and Ryan Daciw both rounded off the scoring for the No. 11 seeds with two points each.

The season is over for Genesee Valley/Belfast, as they put a wrap to a 2024-25 campaign that saw them finish with a record of 9-12 overall.

The team will graduate four seniors when the end of the school year arrives in a few short months, saying goodbye to Daciw, Brayden Cooper, Tyler Wedge and Harley Wardhaugh.

Genesee Valley/Belfast 8 13 14 22 — 57

Oakfield-Alabama 18 12 14 19 — 63

GV/BELFAST: Cal Tallman 0 2-2 2, Ian McKenzie 6 0-0 12, Ethan Davenport 5 1-2 13, Lannden Tilton 4 0-0 10, Kenton Shultz 7 3-4 18, Derek Calanni 0 0-2 0, Ryan Daciw 1 0-2 2. Totals: 23 6-12 57.
OAKFIELD-ALABAMA: Gavin Armbrewster 5 4-6 16, Carson Warner 1 1-2 3, Jack Cianfrini 2 2-2 6, Avery Watterson 11 6-9 30, Brady Williams 0 2-2 2, Gabe Smith 3 0-0 6. Totals: 22 15-21 63.

3-point goals: GVB 5 (Davenport 2, Tilton 2, Shultz), O-A 4 (Armbrewster 2, Watterson 2).
Total Fouls: GVB 18, O-A 12. Fouled out: None.

Class D First Round

No. 7 Houghton Academy 43, No. 10 Lyndonville 25

HOUGHTON — After an extended period away due to injury, there was no better time for the No. 7 Houghton Academy Panthers to welcome Josh Davidson back into the lineup than in their first game of the second season, Tuesday night.

With No. 10 Lyndonville in town for their third and final meeting of the campaign, Davidson made an immediate impact behind his three-point game alongside a dominant offensive presence provided by Jack Prentice, as the Panthers went on to claim rubber match honors against the visiting Tigers in front of their home crowd for the last time this year, scoring the 43-25 home victory.

“We certainly had to adjust some things over the course of time since Josh has been out. Although some of the numbers don’t really show up on the stat sheet, every single guy out there really stepped up in his absence. I’m super proud of them. When Josh came back tonight, the guys really put everything all together for one of the best games we’ve had all season. With all the hard work they continue to put in, especially with the rebounding, they were more than deserving of this win to start Sectionals.” said Panthers coach Jeff Prentice.

A sublime first half of basketball for the Panthers (6-15) came into view on offense, beginning in an opening quarter that saw Davidson pick up where he left off, knocking down a pair of big threes to charge up the efforts on the attack, all while holding Lyndonville to just a single shot from the field in the midst of a 9-3 lead.

The advantage grew larger over time, expanding into double digit territory going into the locker room before re-emerging from the break with a headful of steam in the third quarter, as they floored it straight past the Tigers with a 17-7 run — 15 of those points from Houghton Academy’s dynamic duo in Davidson and Prentice, to help seal the deal on their Sectional-opening victory and a season-series triumph over the Tigers.

Prentice led all scorers for the Panthers with a game-high 25 points, while Davidson followed right behind him with 14 points of his own. Hoang Phung chipped in the team’s remaining four points along the way.

Houghton Academy now navigates into the Class D Quarterfinal round, which is set to begin Friday night, when they travel to Andover to take on No. 2 Andover/Whitesville. Tip-off is slated for a 6 p.m. start.

Lyndonville 3 5 7 10 — 25

Houghton Academy 9 9 17 8 — 43

LYNDONVILLE: Colton Smith 3 2-4 8, Lane Woodworth 0 0-2 0, Juan Alberdi 1 1-2 3, Lyric Raduns 1 0-0 3, Jacob Pitcher 4 0-2 11, Atticus Mank 0 0-2 0. Totals: 9 3-12 25.

HOUGHTON ACADEMY: Josh Davidson 5 0-2 14, Jack Prentice 8 7-12 25, Hoang Phung 2 0-0 4. Totals: 15 7-14 43.

3-point goals: Lyndonville 4 (Pitcher 3, Raduns), HA 6 (Davidson 4, Prentice 2).
Total Fouls: Lyndonville 12, HA 17. Fouled out: Martino (HA).

No. 8 Elba 58, No. 9 Hinsdale 31

ELBA — On night one of Sectionals, the No. 8 Elba Lancers took care of business in front of their home fans to earn a date with Class D’s top seed — the Fillmore Eagles, coming up this weekend, as they rolled past the visiting nine-seeded Bobcats of Hinsdale with a 58-31 victory on Tuesday.

Stats and a complete box score were not made available to report upon publication.

The Bobcats have concluded their 2024-25 campaign on the hardwood, as they finish with a record of 3-17 overall.

The team will graduate four seniors at the end of the school year, in Tyler Richards, Cody Hand, Jeffrey Wright and Philip Dixon.