Sports

 The game might have been tight all the way through, but it looked like the Oakfield-Alabama girls were going to beat Notre Dame for the second time this season, on ND's home court.

The Hornets owned the paint and seemed to be in the right place at the right time for every loose ball. But the Fighting Irish battled in the closing minutes and came through with a huge 48-46 win.

Oakfield-Alabama took a 3-point lead with about five minutes left in the game when Hillary Bates scored a basket, making the score 40-37 in O-A's favor.

Notre Dame's Brittany Morelli answered with a bucket, but the lead was back to 3-points when Dani Sage scored at the other end. The Hornets had a chance to extend the lead when sophomore McKenzie Harris had a steal and was fouled going to the basket.

Unfortunately for the Hornets, she missed both free throw attempts.

Nichole Hart then made it a 1-point game with a basket seconds later.

After a turnover, Morelli scored with an and-1, giving the Fighting Irish a 44-42 lead with just under three minutes left in the game.

Christina Palillo tied the game with a basket on O-A's next possession, then was fouled on the team's next trip down the court. She hit both foul shots to give the Hornets a 46-44 advantage with just over two minutes left.

Again, it looked like O-A was going to win, just like they did in the consolation game of the Rotary Tournament.

But Notre Dame went inside the paint on the following possession, giving the ball to 6-foot sophomore Liz Geandreau, who was fouled while trying to get a shot off. She tied the score with two free throws.

Nobody scored for almost a minute and a half, but Morelli got to the foul line with 39 seconds left. She hit both attempts to give the Fighting Irish the two-point advantage.

The Hornets had one last shot with just seconds left on the clock, but missed a 3-pointer and couldn't get the rebound.

Morelli scored 11 of her 15 points in the second half and Jill Marshall pitched in 14 points for the Fighting Irish, who improve to 7-3. Nichole Hart had 12 points.

Brynn Perfitt continues to be a strong scoring option for Oakfield-Alabama (6-6), scoring 11 points. Hillary Bates scored a team-high 12 points and Palillo pitched in eight points.

Batavia Daily News Sports Editor Bill Bruton wrote a nice little piece on former Kendall star Roosevelt Bouie, which was a feature I was going to do when I had my wrist surgeries at the start of the summer.

Bouie won four consecutive Class C titles while at Kendall and conducts clinics (Bruton talked to him in Pembroke) and does radio broadcasts for the Rochester Razorsharks.

Bouie was a star in Section 5 in the mid 1970s and learned a lot from his old-school coach, Dick Reynolds.

That made an impact on the 6-foot-11 Bouie, as did something else his high school coach taught him. Reynolds expected his team to be ready to play from the opening tip-off.

"So don't go out there taking your time thinking you can get warmed up. You'd better be ready to go when the ball drops," Bouie told Bruton. "(Reynolds) said you'd better be dripping sweat or you're not warmed up."

Bouie was a recruit for Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who has been with the Orange forever. Boeheim has a career record of 771-228 in 32 seasons as coach.

Bouie had quite a career at Syracuse, with this being his bio on the team's Web site.

A second-team Basketball Weekly freshman All-American in 1977…first-team USBWA, Citizen’s Savings Foundation and Medalist All-American in 1980…first team All-BIG EAST selection in 1980…holds the records for highest field goal percentage in a season and highest blocked shots average for a career (2.8 bpg)…12th all-time in career scoring (1,560 points), sixth in career rebounds (987) and second in career blocked shots (327)…holds the freshman blocked shots and blocked shots average records…has the most blocked shots in a game by a freshman with seven (vs. Harvard and Buffalo)…second round pick of the Dallas Mavericks in the 1980 NBA Draft.

Bouie never played in the NBA. He did not feel as if the Mavericks offered enough money, so he went to Europe to play. He played for 13 seasons in Italy (two for Scavolini Resaro, seven for Riunite Reggio Emilia and two for Clear Contu). He was a legend in Italy where he was a five time all-star and holds the league record for career field goal percentage. He also won a European Championship in the 1991-1992 season. 

Bouie wrapped up his career with one season playing in Oreste, Spain. 

 The Batavia girls basketball team is 11-1, defeated every Monroe County League team its faced other than Pittsford Mendon, took down every non-league opponent and still is getting no love from the Democrat & Chronicle. 

The new polls are out and still no Blue Devils in the large or small school category for girls basketball. People question Batavia's non-league schedule, yet they have defeated Dansville, which is ranked sixth. They also beat local powerhouse Elba, which received a No. 9 ranking.

Alexander got an honorable mention.

The Batavia boys basketball team is 9-1, and also not ranked. The only loss for the boys was at Pittsford Sutherland, which they will get a chance to avenge next week at home.

We do have a couple of ranked small schools.

Oakfield-Alabama is at No. 7 and Notre Dame is at No. 9. The two battled last night, with the Hornets winning 9-1.

We have tons of schools ranked in the small school category for wrestling.

Attica is having a great season and is currently at No. 3, Holley is No. 6 and Batavia is No. 7.

Wheatland-Chili is ranked eighth for small school swimming.

Oakfield-Alabama is officially the top team in the Genesee Region League.

Tim Smithhad 19 points, eight boards and three swipes as the Hornets downed Notre Dame 70-60 Thursday.

Noah Seward had 17 points and 12 boards and A.J. Kehlenbeck pitched in 10 points and10 boards. Brad Riner had eight dimes as O-A improves to `9-1.

Kevin Francis had 22 points, six boards, six assists and four steals for the Fighting Iri (8-2).

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Max Torrey came through again, converting a 3-point play with 26 seconds left to give Elba a 41-39 win over Byron-Bergen.

Torrey finished with nine points while Sonny Giuliano had eight points and Phil Ostroski had six points and 13 boards.

Tyler Sass had nine points, four rebounds and four assists for B-B.

There is no easy way to put this. The Batavia wrestling team had a 34-23 lead with two matches to go, meaning they could lose the final two by anything less than a pin they win the match.

The Blue Devils received an honorable mention and a victory over Letchworth would have given the team a state ranking.

But the Indians won the final two matches with pins and came away with a 35-34 win, crushing a Batavia team that had came back from a large deficit early on to take the big lead.

Batavia's Garrett Egglebrecht matched up with Letchworth's Anthony Harding at 119 pounds and Egglebrecht fell behind 2-0 early. He trailed 5-0 after two periods, but had not been pinned, even though he was saved by the bell in the second period. But Harding got him on his back in the third period and made the score 34-29.

The Blue Devils had a solid grappler in Will Ely going at 125 pounds, and Letchworth put Austin Hedges out there with him in the final match.

Hedges led 5-0 at one point before Ely battled back to make it 5-4, but was avoiding the pin. Ely was just trying to hang on and take the decision loss, giving his team a victory.

Then, Hedges flipped him and put him on his back, scoring the pin with just 30 seconds left in the match.

Letchworth's big lead had a lot to do with the victory as it was 23-3 before you even knew it.

Batavia started well at 130 pounds with Trey Henderson winning a 10-8 decision over Anthony Harding. But Letchworth's Bucky Hendrickson captured an easy 16-0 win over Joe Muoio.

Mike Nevinger pinned Matt Leaton in 1:08, Frank Day downed Scot Shea in 1:12 and Chris Nevinger dispostd of John Pestillo in 1:33 to give the Indians the huge early lead.

But one of the best wrestling teams in the history of Batavia wasn't going to get crushed. They battled back.

Ryan Darch kicked things off with a 12-3 win over Dave Woolley to start the comeback.

Anthony D'Aurizio followed with an epic battle against a strong Evan Sylor. D'Aurizio nearly had a pin in the second period, but didn't get it and had a 7-2 advantage after two frames. Sylor scored some late points, but D'Aurizio walked away with a 9-6 victory.

Darch and D'Aurizio are two of Batavia's top grapplers and if either would have had a pin, the dramatics at the end would not have been an issue. So while both picked up victories, a few more points from either one of those two could have been huge, something coach Rick Stewart hopes his team learns come sectional time - every point matters.

Troy Ireland scored a pin and then Dylan Goodsell pinned Cody Waite with just 14 seconds left in the match. After Josh Mase took care of his opponent in 32 seconds and Nick Lazaroni had a pin in 54 seconds, Batavia was up 34-23.

That was before the Indians had the final two pins for the shocking victory.

Enjoy a short stack for a tall cause! You're invited to an Applesbee's Flapjack Fundraiser breakfast to support BHS ICE DEVILS

Tickets: $5.00 and available from BHS ICE DEVILS Players.  Or call 343-0157 for tickets.

When: Feb 1, 2009, 8a.m. - 10a.m.

Were: Applebee's Neighborhood Bar & Grill 8322 Lewiston Road Batavia NY

 Come enjoy a good breakfast and help us out...Thanks!

 The New York State Sports Writers Association announced its newest poll today and Batavia, Notre Dame and Oakfield-Alabama all moved up in the state.

Batavia jumped from No. 20 to No. 17 in Class A, with games through Jan. 11. The Blue Devils beat Greece Odyssey last night to improve to 9-1.

Oakfield-Alabama jumped from No. 17 to No. 15 in Class C and improved to 8-1 with a win over Wheatland-Chili on Tuesday.

Notre Dame was bumped up from No. 6 to No. 5 in Class D and are now 8-1 after beating Holley 68-42 on Tuesday.

 Former Batavia point guard Kevin Saunders is starting to score. I mean, he's really starting to score.

The junior captain just scored a career-high 22 points in a 66-59 win over Potsdam, helping Fredonia State improve to 9-2.

Saunders connected on 7-of-15 attempts from the floor and hit all six free throw attempts, while grabbing two rebounds and handing out two assists.

Saunders now leads the 9-2 Blue Devils at 11.5 points per game and is second on the squad with 30 assists.

Brynn Perfitt dropped in 19 points and Hillary Bates added 16 as Oakfield-Alabama dropped host Wheatland-Chili 51-42 in a GR girls game.

Lindsay Chatt added seven points for the Hornets, who are now 6-5.

Lauren Drago had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats (3-5). Lindsey Hall added 20 points. 

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Nicole Sharick dropped in 13 points and Jackie Dubois pitched in 11 as Pembroke toppled Kendall 38-33.

Kelsey Lewis also had six points for the Dragons, who are now 6-5.

Meghan Fahy had 17 points and 12 boards for Kendall, which falls to 3-6.

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Nichole Hart had 16 points to lead the way as Notre Dame destroyed Holley 59-28.

Liz Geandreau, Jill Marshall and Trisha Pike each had eight points, with Geandreau adding seven boards.

Jessica Bower and Jenny Lesch had nine points each for Holley.

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Samantha Skryp had a huge game, scoring a game-high 22 points to lead Lyndonville to a 40-33 win over Byron-Bergen.

Mary Cocking had eight points to lead the Bees.

Lyndonville is 6-6.

 Pembroke's Ken Babcock earned Genesee Region League Division I Player of the Week for this past week.

The senior center had 22 points with six blocks against Byron-Bergen and 13 points, four blocks and 10 rebounds against Elba.

Josh Laureano earned the honor for Division II after scoring 24 points with five dimes and nine rebounds against Lyndonville and 27 points, 10 assists and nine boards in a win over Alexander.

Laureano had 15 points, five assists and eight rebounds in a loss against Wheatland-Chili.

The two squads played each other last night, with Kendall winning 59-56.

No girls players were nominated from the Genesee Region League.

For the past few years, I've heard how the officiating keeps getting worse; and it doesn't matter which sport it is.

According to the National Association of Sports Officials, the amount of high school officials is dropping at a rapid pace. This means there are many inexperienced officials doing games. Consider half of the varsity basketball team quitting and half the jayvee team being called up to replace them. 

The reason more than 3/4 of the NASO lists for the decline in officials is "poor sportsmanship by spectators".

John Moriello of the NYSSWA writes about an incident at a game between Schuylerville and Mohonasen in late December.

At a basketball game between Schuylerville and Mohonasen on Dec. 26, spectators became so unruly that the gym had to be cleared. It was a girls game . . . a JV girls game.

   "Parents have invested their whole freaking past, present and future in little Johnny going to Syracuse on a scholarship and, oh gosh, the ref made a bad call," Will Keim, co-author of "Fan Etiquette: How did the burning desire to win become the desire to burn?" said. "This ref is keeping their kid out of the NBA."

The basic lesson here is that if you are not liking what you see on the field or court, leave the officials alone and let them do their job. The more that quit, the less experienced officials we are going to get.

 Pembroke had the home court advantage, and Kendall is a team looking for respect.

This game had great one written all over it.

Colt Tooley scored a game-high 31 points - including six 3-pointers - and led the visiting Eagles to a 59-56 victory over the Dragons. This means Kendall improves to 6-3 while Pembroke falls to 5-5.

The Eagles won the game i the second half with a 34-27 advantage. Josh Laureano had 13 points and Phil Kludt pitched in eight.

Andrew Wright led Pembroke with 20 points, with Ken Babcock scoring 14 and Andy Gabbey adding 12. Steve Moser was also in double figures with 10 points.

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Kevin Francis had another huge game for Notre Dame, scoring 20 points with 12 rebounds, seven assists and four steals as the Fighting Irish beat Holley 68-42.

Matt Thompson had 11 points with Vinny Zambito adding eight points for ND (8-1).

Brian Mitchell recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards for the Hawks, who fall to 3-8.

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While Phil Ostroski and Sonny Giuliano get most of the attention for the Elba basketball team, it was senior forward Max Torrey that had the big game in leading the Lancers to a 48-37 win over Attica.

Torrey scored eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter as the Lancers (4-5) had a 14-10 advantage.

Ostroski did have 12 points for Elba.

Tate Westermeier and Brad Clark had 12 points apiece for the Blue Devils (5-4).

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Tim Smith dropped in 19 points as the Oakfield-Alabama basketball team thumped Wheatland-Chili 73-40. Noah Seward had a double-double with 13 points, 11 boards and four assists.

A.J. Kehlenbeck had six points with 10 rebounds and four dimes, with Brad Riner dishing out eight assists.

Rick Agosto had 10 points for the Wildcats (2-6).

O-A is now 8-1.

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Will Mulcahy popped in a pair of goals and assisted on another to lead Batavia to a 6-3 win over Bishop Kearney/Eastridge in a Monroe County League hockey game.

Tilar Clark had his first varsity goal and a pair of helpers to help out Batavia, which improves to 8-5-1.

Andrew Maxwell, Pat and Tim Finnell each added a goal.