basketball

 7:34 p.m. - About 15 minutes until tip-off and GCC is packed. Genesee Region League fans are pumped after Pembroke's big win and Ken Babcock's dominant performance and are pumped for the highlight game of the Showdown. All the talk has revolved around J.C. Tretter and Noah Seward, so down low is where the action will probably be.

8:04 p.m. - Tretter is as good as advertised. He might be the first player this season that has made Seward look small. He held O-A's big man to four points in the first quarter, while scoring eight points, but the Hornets are leading 13-12 after eight minutes. Tim Smith hit a 3-pointer with Chris Bucceri, , A.J. Kehlenbeck and Sam McCracken each getting a basket.

  8:18 p.m. - The Hornets were doing a good job keeping the ball away from Tretter as Seward had a big quarter, but Akron went on a 7-0 run near the end of the half to get back in the game.

Seward immediately started the second quarter with a bucket and free throw to put the Hornets up 16-12. McCracken had a foul shot and Josh Athoe drained a trifecta to put O-A ahead by eight points.

After Alec Short and Seward exchanged backets, Tretter had a soft layup and grabbed the rebound on a missed dunk attempt by Trevor Short and put that back in to cut the score to 22-19. Alec Short hit a jumper and it was a one point game before Seward scored the final basket to put O-A up 24-21 at halftime.

 8:43 p.m. - Akron made a late run in the third quarter and jumped right back into the game and only trails Oakfield-Alabama 38-37.

The Tigers were down six right away as Brad Riner drained a 3-pointer, but the teams exchanged baskets for a while with Akron cutting the deficit to 32-31 when Alec Short hit a trey halfway through the period.

A double-foul was called as Seward and Tretter were getting a little too physical in the paint on the next possession.

Riner and Athoe hit a back-to-back buckets to make the score 36-31, but Alec Short had two foul shots, Trevor Short scored and Ryan Peters finished off the period with a bucket.

9:08 p.m. - Akron scored the first basket and then trailed Oakfield-Alabama the rest of the way. That is until there was 1:09 left in the contest. 

The Hornets had a three point lead when Seward banged in a pair of foul shots with 5 1/2 minutes left. Tretter hit one to cut it to three points and a couple minutes later the game was stopped when an Akron player landed on Seward, knocking the wind out of him.

McCracken missed the front end of a one-and-one with 2 1/2 minutes left and Tretter put one in moments later to cut the deficit to 44-43. 

Then with 1:09 left in the game, Trevor Short received a pass at about the foul line and hit a turnaround jumper to put the Tigers up 45-44. Riner missed a shot at the other end and O-A got the rebound. This time the ball was poked away from Smith and the Hornets had to foul.

Trevor Short hit both free throws after getting fouled with 22 seconds left. McCracken took the inbounds pass for O-A and took it coast-to-coast for a basket with 15 seconds remaining. Akron had a 47-46 lead and the Hornets had to foul again.

Short again drained both free throws to put the Tigers up three. This time Riner missed a layup and Tretter grabbed his final rebound of the game.

The final score was Akron 49, Oakfield-Alabama 46.

Tretter and Seward each finished with 17 points in the battle of the big men. But the difference wound up being Short, who scored 15 points and was clutch in the closing minutes.

The Niagara-Orleans League won six games while the Genesee Region League had just two winners.

 5:52 p.m. - We are a bit away from the start and the Genesee Region League has taken a pounding today, losing the first four games. But Pembroke is going to try and turn things around against a solid Wilson squad that is led by sophomore point guard Brennan Moxham. Wilson has nobody that can match-up with Ken Babcock in terms of size.

 6:13 p.m. - Babcock was dominant, scoring eight points with a bunch of rebounds, but Wilson hung with the Dragons with an effective pressure defense and a fierce take it to the hoop style. 

Wilson's Tyler Turesdell stole the ball on the opening possession and dished it to Odane Todd for the basket and the Lakemen opened the game on a 6-0. But Babcock had two baskets and Kyle Stocking added another to tie the game. Wilson was up by three with about a minute left when Steve Moser scored and Eric Leffel hit a free throw  to tie the game at 14. Matt Phelps hit two foul shots to give the Dragons a 16-14 lead after one quarter.

6:34 p.m. - The first half belonged to Babcock and was highlighted by the last points he scored before the break. He received the ball at mid-court and the 6-foot-5 center dribbled into the paint, faked out Wilson's Collin Okoniewski with a spin move and scored. He had six more points in the second quarter and now has 14 for the game.

Andrew Wright was held scoreless in the first quarter but got going in the second with six points.

But the Lakemen are not down by much as they ended the half on an 8-3 run, with Ethan Baker, Okoniewski, John Vincent and Truesdell each scoring. Pembroke is ahead 32-28 and Moxham has yet to enter the game. I was told it was for disciplinary reasons.

6:59 p.m. - Pembroke has maintained a nice lead for the whole game as Babcock continues having the best individual performance of the weekend. His nine points in the third - and 23 for the game - were not the biggest story of the period.

Wright went to the bench with his fourth foul in the opening minute, and bodies ere flying all over the place. The officials had to stop the game and gather the kids on the floor together to tell them to calm down.

Truesdell hit a 3-pointer and James Dysard hit a free throw as Wilson got within four points, but two straight Babcock baskets got the lead back up to 48-40 with about two minutes left.

After Vincent fouled out for Wilson, Babcock scored again and Odane Todd hit two foul shots to wrap up the third quarter, with Pembroke winning 52-43.

7:32 p.m. - Finally, a win for the Genesee Region League.

Babcock ended the day with 28 points and 13 rebounds as the Dragons won the game 74-62, giving the GR its first win of the day and second of the Showdown.

Okoniewski, Baker and Todd started the fourth quarter off with consecutive baskets and the Lakemen cut Pembroke's lead to 52-50, but Babcock hit two free throws and Wright scored to make it 59-52.

After Andrew Gabbey fouled out, Babcock scored to make it a nine point lead. Baker had a basket and an and-1 and Todd scored and the lead was down to five points.

It stayed in that area until Steve Moser hit two foul shots and Wright hit one to put the Dragons up 69-60 with a minute left. Wilson had to foul the rest of the way. Despite missing a portion of the game with foul trouble, Wright ended up with 18 points and Moser went 10-of-14 from the foul line for 14 points with five assists.

 4:13 p.m. - The game between Attica and Albion is nearing tip-off and we are looking at a pretty even matchup here. Attica has some size advantage with forwards Bryan Thompson, Matt Sheffield and Craig Wolfley and is going to try to get the GR in the win column today. Elba won the first game of the Showdown last night, but the NIagara-Orleans League currently leads 4-1.

 4:28 p.m. - Sheffield had all six of Attica's points in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the first quarter and the Blue Devils went on a dry spell after that, allowing Albion to score nine straight points to take a 12-6 lead after a period of play.

Brad Rush scored 10 of those points for the Purple Eagles.

4:42 p.m. - We go into the half with Albion leading 25-22, and two evenly matched teams on the floor. The Purple Eagles had a nine point lead 2 1/2 minutes into the second quarter as Kyler Hapeman hit two of his three 3-pointers in the frame.

Attica got the ball back in the paint to Sheffield for a couple of baskets to cut the Albion lead to 22-15. Fleiss got to the charity stripe and hit one and then he added another basket as the Blue Devils had a seven point run.

Hapeman hit his third trey and T.J. Phelps scored at the buzzer for Attica. The Blue Devils should try to take advantage of their size in the second half.

5:09 p.m.  - Rush has been the best player on the floor through three quarters and his Purple Eagles are leading 36-29.

Rush scored six more points in the frame and was aided by 3-pointer by Russel Craft. Attica has not been able to take advantage of its size and leading scorer Tate Westermeier has been a non-factor for the most part so far, although he did hit a 3-pointer late in the frame.

 5:30 p.m. - This was definitely not a pretty game for either squad, but Albion will take the win nonetheless.

The lead was extended to three points when Tom Hicks scored and Craft hit a foul shot, then Attica came storming back in the last half of the last period. Craig Wolfley scored and Bryan Thompson hit a 3-pointer and the Blue Devils only trailed by six points. After two free throws by Ben Church, Thompson scored and Westermeier drained a 3-pointer to make it 41-38.

But Albion answered right back as Hapeman nailed a 3 of his own. Church missed the front end of a one-and-one and Westermeier hit a jumper with about 35 seconds left, making the score 44-40.

Church was fouled and hit the front end this time and followed it up with a second. Westermeier missed a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left and Hapeman was fouled. He missed the first and hit the second to put Albion up 47-40.

Attica missed a jumper, Church hit a free throw and that was the game.

Final score Albion 48, Attica 40.

2:20 p.m. - We are about 15 minutes from tip-off and it looks like Alexander is going to have its hands full with the Charter School of Applied Technology (CSAT). There is an obvious advantage in terms of size and athletic ability going to CSAT. I just talked to the Eagles' scorekeeper and he says Randall Billups and Ryan Pace are big-time, so we are going to see what Kyle Woodruff and Co. can do to represent the GR.

2:44 p.m.  - Alexander played a great first quarter. CSAT played a very up-tempo and aggressive type of game, but the Trojans did a good job of slowing down the game and getting off good shots. Woodruff got things going early for the Trojans with a basket and a 3-pointer. Stephen George had six points in the opening period as well and Woodruff finished with seven. Alexander leads 19-13.

3:04 p.m.  - CSAT is way more athletic than Alexander, and it has shown in the turnovers and rebounding. But the Trojans were in control and kept a level head, leading 27-24 at halftime.

The second quarter saw Jared Quinn scored twice and CSAT miss many open looks.  Alexander is going to be in good shape if the game can stay like this. I'd expect to see the Trojans look for some early 3-pointers to extend the lead and force the Eagles to play from behind in the second half.

3:26 p.m. - Alexander has finally switched to a zone defense and CSAT can't hit a shot, but the Trojans are also turning the ball over a lot and lost the lead.

Ryan Pace hit a basket and Randall Billups had a score with an and-1 to give CSAT a 29-27 lead early in the third. But Quinn gave the Trojans back the lead with a pair of buckets.  The score changed hands a couple of times but consecutive baskets by Desmond LaMar and DeMarius Billups gave CSAT the 36-35 lead heading into the final frame.

 3:53 p.m. - With the Trojans in a zone and the Eagles not hitting a shot, LaMar changed the entire outlook of the game at the start of the fourth quarter. The 5-foot-8 freshman guard hit two medium-range jump shots and forced Alexander back into a man defense.

The Trojans had been keeping up through three quarters but running up and down the floor finally took its toll in the final period. CSAT had a huge edge in turnovers and was finally getting down the floor fast enough to get open looks, knocking the shots down and turning a close game into one in which nearly ended up in double figures.

Pace scored nine of his game-high 20 in the fourth quarter.

The CSAT lead wound up getting to as high as 12 points, but Alexander made the final score respectable as Woodruff nailed an NBA 3-pointer with 15 seconds left and 2-of-3 free throw attempts with five seconds left.

Woodruff was held to just 13 points with Quinn chipping in 12 and George 9 for Alexander.

Final score 56-48, CSAT. Albion and Attica are coming up.

 Noon - Just showed up as the third quarter ends. The game is ties 31-31.

12:33 p.m. - The finish was not pretty, especially for Lyndonville. Roy-Hart didn't exactly tear things up in the fourth quarter but took advantage of every opportunity. The Tigers took a 3-point lead when Idris Akram hit a trey, but the Rams got within a point when Corey Callaghan drained a jumper.

 Callaghan had a put-back basket after a pair of missed free throws and then hit another layup and Roy-Hart was up 43-39 with just under four minutes left. Akram hit one of two at the charity stripe, but then the well went dry. The Tigers had three possessions without a shot and only hit 2-of-6 foul shots down the stretch.

Callaghan scored 25 points to lead the Rams as Roy-Hart opens Saturday's action with a 49-45 victory, giving the Niagara-Orleans League a 2-1 advantage through three games. 

Byron-Bergen vs. Barker up next.

The Oakfield-Alabama girls basketball team had a 16-5 edge in the fourth quarter to hold off host Attica and pick up a 42-25 win Friday.

Brynne Perfitt had 13 points to lead the Hornets with 13 points. Lindsay Chatt scored nine and Dani Sage followed with seven.

Breanna Hummell scored eight points with 10 boards for the Blue Devils (1-19). Margaret LaFleur had 10 points.

O-A is now 11-8. 

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Christina Harmon had 15 points to lead Caledonia-Mumford to a 49-38 win over visiting Le Roy.

Emily Wade scored nine points with six rebounds for the Red Raiders (10-9).

Allison Macomber scored 14 points and grabbed 12 boards for the Oatkan Knights (2-18). Megan Lowe added 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Vinny Zambito scored a team-high 22 points to lead Notre Dame to a 62-52 win over visiting Lima Christian Friday. Zambito drained four 3-pointers.

Kevin Francis had 14 points with eight assists and six steals and Greg Barr pitched in 14 points.

Josh Arnold scored 25 points to lead LC (11-8).

Notre Dame is 15-3.

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Batavia had little trouble in disposing of visiting Lackawanna, gaining a 29-point lead at one point, and winning 68-46.

Andrew Hoy scored 19 points with six rebounds and two steals and Marcus Hoy chipped in nine points with 15 assists and five steals. Dakota Irvin had 13 points for the Blue Devils (16-2).

The Batavia defense held Lackawanna's top two scorers in check, with Darren Cleveland - who averages 28 ppg - to just six points and Andre Alexander to just five points. Dwight Barber had 12 and David Kosanovich added 10 for Lackawanna (12-6).

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 Caledonia-Mumford toppled host Le Roy 67-62 in overtime as Dave Fox came up big to send the game to the extra session.

Fox hit five foul shots near the end of regulation and ended the day with 21 points and eight rebounds. He hit five 3-pointers in the game and the third one gave the Red Raiders a 1-point lead.

Le Roy's Travis Fenstermaker hit one-of-two shots at the charity stripe to sendt he game to overtime.

Jeremy Wilson scored 15 points for C-M (11-7) with Chris Voos pitching in 14 and Dave Nasradinaj ending up with eight points and 11 rebounds.

Mike Humphrey scored a game-high 25 points for the Oatkan Knights (9-10). Jordan Casper helped out with eight points and 10 boards. 

 Several area schools are represented in this week's Democrat & Chronicle polls.

Batavia, Attica and Holley are all ranked in the small school wrestling poll as we head into this weekend's sectional tournament.

Batavia is the fifth ranked school, with Attica coming in at No. 6 and Holley at No. 8.

Elba has the seventh ranked girls basketball team in the small school category, with Alexander and Notre Dame also receiving votes.

Batavia's boys basketball team is ranked No. 9 in the large school rankings while Oakfield-Alabama is No. 8 in the small school poll.

Batavia's hockey team also received votes, but did not crack the top 10.

The Batavia girls basketball team played a near-perfect game Thursday night, downing visiting Albion 65-38 on senior night.

The night started with seniors Brittany Mazurkiewicz and Jaycee Shirk being honored, and then the Blue Devils got down to business on the court and took care of the Purple Eagles.

It could have been a sign that Batavia was going to win easily as Brittany Wormley drained a wide open 3-pointer to start the game. The Blue Devils never trailed.

Albion briefly tied things up at 5, but Wornley hit another trifecta to start a Batavia run. The Blue Devils had an 8-0 run late in the first quarter, with Michelle Jordan, Shirk, Mazurkiewicz and Tori Doward each scoring points.

The lead was 18-11 after the opening eight minutes.

With Kristen Klein hitting a free throw and Jordan hitting a 3-pointer, the score was doubled up at 22-11.

The Purple Eagles had a chance to get back in the game in the second quarter but missed five straight foul shots. Batavia led 31-17 at halftime.

Wormley, Mazurkiewicz, Klein and Shun-Della Williams had four points each in the third quarter to give the Blue Devils a 50-28 lead after three quarters of play.

Shirk and Klein had four points each in the fourth quarter.

Shirk had a tremendous game with 14 points, nine rebounds, eight blocks and two assists and Mazurkiewcz added six points and five dimes.

Jordan and Wormley had 10 points each, with Wormley grabbing four rebounds and making two steals. Klein had nine points and four boards and Williams finished with six points and eight rebounds.

Rebecca Deegan had 12 points to lead Albion (14-4).

Batavia (14-4) will be playing at Pittsford Sutherland in the opening round of the Monroe County League tournament on Tuesday.

Le Roy won its second game of the season Wednesday night, dropping visiting Letchworth 43-31.

Allison Macomber scored 14 points with Rachel Hayward adding 10 points. Megan Lowe pitched in seven points while grabbing 10 rebounds.

Kelly Proper scored 14 points to lead the Indians (6-13).

Le Roy is now 2-17.

Notre Dame jumped out to a 27-6 lead in the first quarter at home Wednesday night. That meant that the Fighting Irish simply had to fend off the Elba boys basketball team to get a 77-43 win.

Kevin Francis is still scoring like crazy as he lead all scorers with 27 points to help ND improve to 14-3.

Tommy Rapone had 10 points and six rebounds with Gianni Zambito, Greg Barr and Nick Bochicchio getting seven points apiece.

Matt Thompson and Nick Wetherwax had six points each.

Elba was led by Sonny Giuliano's 13 points, with Phil Ostroski scoring12 points and Dan Ramsey pitching in 11.

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Byron-Bergen hasn't done a lot of winning this year, but improved to 4-13 with a 55-52 victory over visiting Holley

David Garnish was the star for the Bees, getting his first carrier double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. Tyler Sass had a team-high 15 points with Trevor Laurie pitching in seven points.

Brian Mitchell had 18 points and Chad Barhydt added 17 for the Hawks (4-17).

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Wheatland-Chili's Rick Agosto scored 20 points with 10 boards in a 61-54 win over Lyndonville.

Andy Lund had 18 points with seven boards and Garhett Varin pitched in seven points.

Erik Van Wycke had 12 points and eight rebounds for Lyndonville (1-16).

Wheatland-Chili is now 4-13.

 The Oakfield-Alabama and Batavia boys basketball teams both moved up in the newest New York State Public High School Athletic Association state rankings.

Batavia took a major drop a few weeks back after its second loss of the season to Pittsford Sutherland, but moved up a little last week and moved up two spots in Class A this week, from No. 23 to No. 21.

The Blue Devils are 14-2.

Oakfield-Alabama (14-2) has lingered around the same area in Class C and moved up this week, going from No. 13 to No. 11.

Notre Dame did not change position in Class D. The Fighting Irish (13-3) are the ninth ranked team in the state.

 The Buffalo News today reported a story in which reporter Maki Becker gives us some more detail on the New York State Public High School Athletic Association cuts as he interviewed executive director Nina Van Erk.

There wasn't a whole lot of information than what we have previously reported, but there are a couple of interesting items in the piece.

Van Erk says that it is expected that the cuts will save schools in the state up to $10 million, with nearly $6 million of that going to officiating fees.

The other thing that comes from this story is that the cuts are expected to be for two years.

The changes, which were approved by a slim majority late last month, would begin in the next school year and would remain in effect for two years, Van Erk told the paper.

This opens up some more questions.

Did Van Erk and the rest of the NYSPHSAA directors make these cuts for two years because it is a quick fix to help schools and families get through these difficult economic times?

Was it announced that the cuts are for two years because that is the original plan or because of all the backlash the NYSPHSAA has received from coaches and athletic directors?

And what happens after two years? Will these policies just continue or will they be reviewed again at that time, with the number of games being returned to the schedule?

Buffalo Public Schools athletic director David Thomas summed up what a lot of people are thinking when they hear this with his quote late in the story.

“I don’t think we should be worried about funding school budgets on the backs of the kids playing sports,” said Thomas told the paper.

Cutting the number of games might help school districts in the more remote areas of Western New York that require longer traveling distances, Thomas said, “but it doesn’t save it up here [in Buffalo], where we are trying to keep the kids off the streets and busy with school and athletics.”

The current schedule allows Buffalo athletes the opportunity to play in suburban areas and “to travel to some nice tournaments,” Thomas said. “Now we have to pull back on that.”

Thomas also questioned whether the cuts were really temporary. “When they take things away,” he said, “they don’t often come back.”