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Photos: Notre Dame beats Panama to advance to final four

By Howard B. Owens

Sparked by Tim McCulley, who scored 21 points, and Doane McCulley, who added 16, the Fighting Irish advanced to the state semi-finals Saturday with a win over Panama in a Western Regional Championship match in Buffalo.

Notre Dame won 62-51.

On Friday, the Irish will face Sackets Harbor in a state semi-finals match at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

Photos from the game by Bare Antolos.

Top photo is of Doane McCulley.

Tim McCulley

Jared Thornton

Jared Midwick

Zach Hotze

Elba Girls Basketball Team wins

By Billie Owens

The Elba Girls Basketball Team won the Western New York Regional Championship match against Clymer High School this afternoon at Finger Lakes Community College with a final score of 53 to 37.

The Lady Lancers now advance to the state semi-finals in a game next week in Albany.

Pictures T/K

Notre Dame wins regional championship game in Buffalo

By Howard B. Owens

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame beat the Section VI champion, Panama, on Saturday by a score of 62-51 and will now advance to the state championship semi-final round.

Doane McCulley was named player of the game.

We anticipate having some pictures from the game to publish later.

Notre Dame defeats Elba to take Section V crown

By Howard B. Owens

For the third time in three meetings in 2012, Notre Dame beat Elba in boys basketball, but this time the game determined the Class D1 Section V champion.

It's the first sectional win for Notre Dame since 2001.

"They all laugh at me because I always say, 'you gotta dance with the girl you brought,' " said Coach Mike Rapone. "That's an old-timers saying, but we're not going to change anything. We're going to do what got us here."

After two previous meetings, both teams had to make adjustments, Rapone said.

"I give Elba a lot of credit," Rapone said. "They knew what we wanted to do and took a lot away from us."

Notre Dame (20-1) took a lead early, and though Elba (18-3) was often nipping at their lead, it wasn't until 3:42 left in the game that the Lancers held a 40-39 lead.

But after Doane McCulley hit a lay up and Zach Hotze sunk a three-pointer, Notre Dame didn't look back, holding on for a 50-45 point victory.

Zach Hotze and Tim McCulley had 16 points each for the Fighting Irish. Jared Thornton added 12 points.

"We're fortunate we hit our big shots when we had to," Rapone said.

One of the goals of the Irish, Rapone said, was to take the three-point play away from Dan Ramsey, whom Rapone said is one of the most consistent three-point shooters in the section.

Dan Ramsey was held to eight points for the game.

For the Lancers, Matt Ramsey had 14 points, Mike Ramsey nine. Mike Ramsey added nine rebounds.

The historic back-to-back championship match-ups between Elba and Notre Dame, with the Elba girls defeating the Notre Dame girls Friday night, was big for both schools.

"I don’t think it gets any better in small-school basketball than Notre Dame and Elba," Rapone said.

It's been a fun season at Notre Dame, according to Rapone, between the two basketball teams and the hockey team winning its Section V championship last week (the Irish skaters lost a regional playoff game Saturday night).

"We have a lot of school spirit and it’s been the most amazing winter ever," Rapone said. "I mean, the girls play for a championship, the boys make that miraculous run in hockey, everybody’s on cloud nine."

The Irish will face DeSales in a regional playoff game on Tuesday night.

If you have trouble viewing the slide show, click here.

To purchase prints of the photos, click here.

Photos: Elba and Notre Dame girls Section V title game

By Howard B. Owens

As we reported last night, Elba girls beat Notre Dame on Friday night, 44-33, to take the Section V title.

Photos in this post submitted by Bare Antolos.

Tonight, Notre Dame beat Elba for the boys Section V title. We'll have pictures and a story in the morning.

In hockey, Notre Dame lost their regional game tonight.

Cougars lose in Semi's

By Andrew Crofts

After earning a first-round bye in the Region III Division II Men’s Basketball tournament, the second-seeded Cougars traveled to Erie Community College on Saturday afternoon to take on a hot Mercyhurst North East team that upset Niagara County Community College on Tuesday night to advance to Saturday’s semi-finals.

Genesee jumped out to an early lead after a Kenton Chan-Man (Brooklyn, NY) three-pointer and two Kevin Nascimento (New York, NY) free-throws gave the Cougars a 7-2 advantage about four minutes in. Mercyhurst then made a 10-2 run to take the lead, but no team held a lead larger than five points during the first half. In total, there were nine lead changes in the opening twenty minutes, and the Saints held a 39-38 advantage at the break.

Mercyhurst took control of the game at the start of the second half. The Saints scored the first five points of the second twenty minutes before Deylon Bovell (Brooklyn, NY) hit his second three-pointer of the afternoon to draw GCC back within three. With a 44-41 lead, Mercyhurst then scored 16 of the next 20 points and opened up a 15 point, 60-45 lead with 14 minutes to play. The Saints held their largest lead at 16 when they led 66-50 with just over 12 minutes to go. Genesee made a push and cut the lead to single digits at 82-73 with four minutes to play, but the Saints capitalized at the free-throw line and held off the higher seed, winning 99-82.

(#1 Deylon Bovell led the Cougars with 25 points in Saturday's loss to Mercyhurst North East)

Genesee shot just 34 percent on the afternoon and were only 4 of 25 from three-point range.

Bovell led the Cougars with 25 points and also grabbed eight rebounds. Tyshawn Ferguson (Chicago, IL) netted 19 points and grabbed nine boards, Chan-Man added 14 points and Nascimento chipped in with 11 points.

Genesee ends the season with an 18-12 overall record and a 10-5 conference record. Mercyhurst North East will move on to face Erie Community College in the Region III championship on Sunday afternoon at 1pm.

Photos: Muckdogs annual Hot Stove Dinner

By Howard B. Owens

The Batavia Muckdogs Booster Club held its annual Hot Stove Dinner and auction at Terry Hills on Friday night.

Above Todd Jantzi, of Bontrager's, auctions off a painting being held by Joe Gerace. Below, Gerace receives a donation for Genesee Cancer Assistance from Brian Paris, president of Genesee County Baseball Club, Inc. And in the bottom photo, the Board of Directors of the Genesee County Baseball Club.

Elba beats Notre Dame for girls Section V basketball title

By Howard B. Owens

Intra-county rivals Elba and Notre Dame met in Letchworth tonight for a Section V title clash and the Lancers came out on top 44-33.

On Saturday, at 3 p.m., the Elba and Notre Dame boys teams will meet for the Section V title in Rochester.

As far as anybody knows, according to WBTA, it's the first time two schools from the same county clashed for a Section V title in both boys and girls basketball.

The Batavian will cover Saturday's game.

We expect some picture's from Friday's game later.

Batavia fencing school offers new classes for homeschoolers

By Billie Owens

En Garde Batavia, an Olympic Sport Fencing Center, will begin a new program March 7 for homeschoolers. This class is open to students 6-19* years old.

The Home School Fencing Class will be held at the club on 56 Harvester Ave. in the City of Batavia and classes are available in three sections:

  • Mondays, 1-3 p.m. and 3-5 p.m.
  • Wednesdays, 1-3 p.m. and 3-5 p.m.
  • Fridays, 1-3 p.m. and 3-5 p.m.

The first hour will be just the older students and the second hour will be the younger and older students. Parent or guardian supervision is required for both hours with students under 10 years old.

The class comes at an introductory rate of $20 per month for the first child, $15 per month for the second child, and $10 for additional children in the same household.

If you would like to register please email owner/instructor Colin Dentino at : Colin@EnGardeBatavia.com.

Classes are capped at 10 students for the best experience and are filled on a first-come-first-serve basis. You register for one day and time slot.
 
Participants should wear workout clothes and bring a water bottle. Legs should be covered with either pants or long socks.

(*To ask about age exceptions contact Colin Dentino.)
 
For questions or more information contact Colin Dentino at 409-3993 or  colin@engardebatavia.com  
 
Visit on the web at http://engardebatavia.com

Check for tournaments this weekend!

Muckdogs announce ticket sales for seven games with Yankees' Triple-A affiliate team

By Billie Owens

Individual game tickets for the seven Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees games will go on sale for the first time on Monday, March 5, when the Dwyer Stadium Box Office opens at 9 a.m.

These seven Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees games will be the first time Dwyer Stadium will host Triple-A baseball.  
 
The Yankees will play at Dwyer Stadium on the following dates and game times:

Friday, April 20, vs. Norfolk (Baltimore Orioles Affiliate) at 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, April 21, vs. Norfolk at 1:05 p.m.

Sunday, April 22, vs. Norfolk at 1:05 p.m.

Monday, April 23, vs. Norfolk at 12:05 p.m.

Saturday, May 5, vs. Pawtucket (Boston Red Sox Affiliate) at 7:05 p.m.

Sunday, May 6, vs. Pawtucket at 1:05 p.m.

Tuesday, June 12, vs. Louisville (Cincinnati Reds Affiliate) at 11:05 a.m.

Individual game ticket prices for those games will be as follows:

Box Seats -- $9
General Admission (Adult) -- $8
General Admission (JR/SR) -- $7

The Muckdogs are also offering a ticket package that will allow fans to see all seven Yankees games at Dwyer Stadium this coming season. Those prices are as follows:

Yankees Ticket Package Box Seats -- $50
General Admission Package Seats -- $43

Currently, box seats for the Yankees are becoming very limited so fans are encouraged to call or stop into the box office as early as possible.

Season tickets, coupon books, and ticket packages for Muckdogs games are also on sale. Muckdogs coupon books will not be redeemable for the seven Yankees games at Dwyer Stadium.

All packages are currently on sale and can be purchased by calling 343-5454, or in person at Dwyer Stadium from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Lady Cougars fall in double-overtime

By Andrew Crofts

The fifth-seeded Genesee Community College women’s basketball team traveled to fourth-seeded Erie Community College on Wednesday night for the play-in round of the Region III Division II tournament and the right to move on to the weekend‘s final four at Mercyhurst North East. The two teams split the regular-season series with one win apiece, each team winning on the road.

The Lady Cougars opened the game by taking a 5-0 lead less than a minute in. Their press-defense kept Erie off the scoreboard for more than the first three minutes of the game before the Lady Kats converted on two free-throws to end the drought. Erie scored five more unanswered points to grab the lead, a lead they would hold on to for quite some time. Trailing 14-9 halfway through the opening twenty, Jasmine Armstead (Rochester, NY) hit her second three-pointer of the half as the shot-clock expired to draw Genesee back within two. The Lady Cougars would then struggle, scoring only seven points in the final ten minutes of the first half, and trailed 26-19 at the break. They were just 8 of 38 shooting from the field in the opening twenty minutes.

(#14 Nanase Akagami looks for #15 Carrie Blunt in GCC's double-overtime loss to Erie Community College on Wendesday night)

ECC scored the first eight points of the second half and took their largest lead at 34-19 with 17 minutes remaining in regulation. After Genesee head coach Christie McGee-Ross called a timeout, the Lady Cougars started to come back. Carrie Blunt (Syracuse, NY) and Nicole Laird (Alexander, NY) combined to score GCC’s next seven points and trimmed the Erie lead to ten. The Lady Kats extended their lead to 13 before Genesee made another push. Blunt and Armstead each hit two free-throws and cut the lead to single digits with just over ten minutes to play. After a Rachel Kohlhagen (Attica, NY) layup got GCC to within four, Blunt tied the game at 48 with back-to-back short jumpers. Erie then used a timeout to their advantage, going on a 9-0 run after the stoppage to take back the lead. Blunt then went back to work and scored two straight baskets to make it a 57-52 game with just over four minutes remaining. A Chyna Lennox (Moseley, VA) free-throw and another three-pointer from Armstead followed an ECC basket to get GCC back to within three before the Lady Kats went on a 7-0 run in a two-minute span to once again take a double-digit lead at 66-56. Kayla Golden (Lackawanna, NY) then converted on four straight free-throws to make it a 66-60 game before Blunt and Lennox each scored a bucket, making it 66-64 with less than a half-minute to play. After an ECC free-throw, Lennox banked one in with 14 seconds left to bring GCC to within one at 67-66. The Lady Cougars sent Erie back to the free-throw line where they converted both freebies to take a three-point lead with ten seconds left. Needing a triple to tie, Genesee was unable to get a good look from three-point range and instead settled for a layup from Blunt, cutting the ECC adavntage to one at 69-68 with under three seconds to play. The ensuing inbound was then stolen by Kohlhagen who was fouled while shooting as time expired. With no time left on the clock, the sophomore missed the first free-throw but made the second to tie the game at 69 and send it to overtime.

(Chyna Lennox (yellow) puts in two of her 14 points on Wednesday night in the opening round of the Region III Division II women's basketball tournament)

Lennox gave Genesee the lead to start the extra session with a quick basket, and the Lady Cougars led 75-72 with just over two-minutes to play after a couple of Jalessa Rogers (Syracuse, NY) free-throws. An ECC basket made it a one-point game with 30 seconds to play before Armstead once again extended the lead to three, going two-for-two at the free-throw line. Erie transitioned quickly, however, and tied the game at 77 with a three-pointer with 20 seconds remaining. Lennox gave GCC the lead back with a layup with ten seconds to play, but the Lady Kats were able to get the equalizer with five seconds left and sent the game to double-overtime, the score all tied at 79.

The Lady Cougars played the majority of the second overtime without their top-three scorers. Blunt and Golden each fouled out in the first overtime and Armstead followed less than a minute into the second overtime. Genesee never had a lead during the second extra-session and were outscored 12-7. It took ten extra minutes, but the Lady Cougars eventually fell to the Lady Kats, 91-86.

Blunt led all scorers with 31 points and also collected 21 rebounds. She scored 27 of her 31 points in the second half and the first minute and a half of overtime before fouling out. Armstead finished with 15 points and eight boards, Lennox tallied 14 points and also collected nine rebounds, Rogers chipped in with 11 points and Golden nabbed 12 rebounds and finished with four points.

The loss ends the season for Genesee. They finish the year with a 9-22 overall record and were 4-7 in conference play during the regular season and tournament play. With the win, Erie Community College moves on to the semi-finals of the Region III Division II tournament and will play the number one seed Mercyhurst North East Lady Saints on Saturday afternoon at Mercyhurst North East.

Smart play propels Notre Dame to Class B Section V title in hockey

By Howard B. Owens

Playing a number-two seed with a reputation for getting physical and skating fast, Notre Dame Head Coach Marc Staley had a plan: Bottle up the neutral zone and force Churchville-Chili to pass.

"We forced them to dump the puck," Staley said. "They don’t want to dump the puck and grind it out. They want to score on the rush and use their speed. We took their speed out of it."

For three periods, the eight-seeded Fighting Irish skated as a team, and when they got power play opportunities in the third period, they made the most of it, turning a 1-1 tie into a 4-2 victory and a Class B Section V crown.

Josh Johnston scored all three third-period goals, giving him seven total for the post-season, and securing the game's MVP trophy.

"We came in thinking, 'we’re not the underdogs,' " Johnston said. "Clearly, seeding-wise we were, but we just stuck together as a family and played together as hard as we could."

Three post-season wins have moved the once break-even Irish to 11-8-3 and a chance to play for a regional title.

"Nobody thought much of us three or four weeks ago, but we pulled this thing together," Staley said. "As we put one good game against another good game against another good game, these kids feel like a completely different team than they did three weeks ago. I’ve seen that transformation and it’s been very special to be a part of it."

The first goal in the game for Notre Dame came with 1:11 left in the second period on a shot by Zack Blew to tie the score at 1-1.

Johnston scored on a power play at 7:47 in the final period. Seconds after the next faceoff, Johnson scored again to make the score 3-1.

The nail in the coffin for the Saints (16-4-3) came with under two minutes left in the game, only 13 seconds after Churchville-Chili pulled into a point of a tie on a goal by Dan Kuter.

Tyler Kessler zipped a pass to Johnston who was skating just ahead of his defender giving him a one-on-one match with goalie Dylan Niewiemski.

Johnston faked to his left, and then flipped the puck from his right past the outstretched glove of Niewiemski, giving Johnston the hat trick and putting the game pretty much out of reach with time quickly winding down.

"We've been practicing that blow-out play," Staley said. "We always like to run this play right after a big emotional play because you tend to have a let down. They scored that one goal, we called that play, Kessler picks it up, hits Hosh and we go right back after them.

"Sometimes the best defense is to throw another punch," Staley added.

If you're unable to view the slide show below, click here.

To purchase prints of any of these photos, click here.

Notre Dame beats Churchville in Section V finals

By Billie Owens

The Fighting Irish won! The Notre Dame Boys Hockey Team beat Churchville this afternoon 4 to 2 to nab the Section V championship. Josh Johnston scored three goals.

Photos: Softball rivals resume winter tradition at Williams Park

By Howard B. Owens

For a long time, teams representing Genesee Hardware and Pino Vincenzo have been rivals on the softball diamond, but it's been nearly 20 years since they played their once-annual "Snow Ball" match at Williams Park. That tradition was revived Saturday when the two teams braved the cold and the snow-covered field to once again prove which team has what it takes to be called "champion."

Lady Cougars roll Niagara

By Andrew Crofts

The Genesee Community College women’s basketball team closed out the regular season with a victory at Niagara County Community College on Saturday afternoon, cruising past the Lady Thunderwolves 90-52.

Jasmine Armstead (Rochester, NY) put the Lady Cougars in front 4-0 early on, scoring the first two baskets of the game. NCCC took it’s only lead with 12 minutes to play in the first half when they made a 7-0 run to take a 12-9 advantage. Genesee responded with a 19-0 run of their own and regained the lead for good. Carrie Blunt (Syracuse, NY) scored 14 points in the opening twenty minutes and started a 19-3 run to end the half for GCC, giving the Lady Cougars a 52-27 advantage at the break.

Kayla Golden (Lackawanna, NY) scored 12 points in the second half to keep Genesee comfortably in the lead, as the Lady Cougars gave up back-to-back NCCC baskets only one time during the final twenty minutes. Chyna Lennox (Moseley, VA) played well inside, scoring ten of Genesee’s 52 points in the paint. Blunt finished the afternoon with 20 points and 13 rebounds, Golden added 19 points, Armstead tallied 14 points and Lennox ended with 17 points and grabbed eight boards.

Genesee finishes the regular season with a 9-21 overall record and a 4-6 conference record. They will now move on to the Western New York Athletic Conference Tournament. The first round will send Genesee to Erie Community College on Wednesday night to take on ECC, with the winner moving on to the weekend’s final four which will take place at Mercyhurst North East.

Genesee earns #2 Seed

By Andrew Crofts

The Genesee Community College men’s basketball team controlled their own destiny on Saturday afternoon when they traveled to Niagara County Community College. A win and the Cougars would earn the second seed and a first-round bye in the Western New York Athletic Conference Tournament and a free pass into the semi-finals. A loss and the Cougars would host a play in game on Tuesday night for the right to move on to next weekend‘s final four. Not wanting to have to play the extra game, Genesee defeated NCCC for the second time this season, beating the Thunderwolves 80-70.

The Cougars trailed only once in the game when NCCC jumped out to a 3-0 advantage on their first possession. Mike Glenn (Fairport, NY) and Kenton Chan-Man (Brooklyn, NY) quickly erased that deficit with back-to-back three pointers to give Genesee the lead. Genesee held Niagara in single-digit scoring for more than the first eight minutes of the game and opened up a 21-9 lead. Donte Meredith (Bronx, NY) came off the bench to score eight first half points to help the Cougars to a 40-25 advantage at half time. Tyshawn Ferguson (Chicago, IL) cancelled out a number of NCCC scoring chances by taking four first half charges.

Glenn extended the Genesee lead to start the second half by scoring the Cougars first five points before having to leave the game due to injury. GCC held their largest lead at 20 points when they led 55-35 with twelve minutes to play. Niagara made a mid-half run to cut the lead to ten before Kevin Nascimento (New York, NY) and Meredith hit back-to-back three’s to extend the lead once again. The Thunderwolves did score the game’s final seven points, but ran out of time and could not mount a comeback.

Meredith finished with a game high and career high 18 points, Ferguson recorded a 14-point 14-rebound double-double, Chan-Man netted 14 points, Nascimento added 12 points and six rebounds, Glenn scored 11 points before leaving the game and Deylon Bovell (Brooklyn, NY) chipped in with ten points.

The Cougars finish the regular season with an 18-11 overall record and a 10-4 record in conference play. The win gives GCC a first round bye and a pass until Saturday, when they will play the winner of Niagara County Community College and Mercyhurst North East. That game will be played on Tuesday night at Niagara County Community College.

Notre Dame hockey team wins Section V semi-final

By Howard B. Owens

The Fighting Irish just won their semi-final hockey game, played at Monroe Community College, against Irondequoit by a score of 2-1.

Mason Versage shot the game-winning goal at 5:36 in overtime.

We're expecting to have a few pictures and more information available later, hopefully tonight.

UPDATE 11:32 p.m.: Received a message from Coach Marc Staley. This is the third time in 20 years Notre Dame hockey advances to the Section V title game, which will be at 1 p.m. Sunday at RIT against Churchville-Chili.  This will be the first time in Section V hockey history that the #8 seed has made it to the finals. "Cinderella still has the slippers on!" Staley said.

UPDATE 11:52 p.m.: Photo added, Versage scores the winning goal. Photo by Bare Antolos.

Lady Cougars fall to Alfred State

By Andrew Crofts

The Genesee Community College women’s basketball team dropped their final regular season home game of the season to Alfred State College on Tuesday night, falling to the Lady Pioneers 86-74.

After an even start, Genesee took it’s first lead late in the opening twenty minutes, when back-to-back baskets from Kayla Golden (Lackawanna, NY) and Jalessa Rogers (Syracuse, NY) gave the Lady Cougars a 21-17 advantage with six minutes left to play. Golden scored ten first half points before The Lady Pioneers closed the half on a 14-7 run and held a 31-28 lead at the break.

Genesee fell further behind to start the second half as Alfred State increased its lead to twelve at 53-41 behind 13 quick points from Haley Witchella. GCC fought back and got an old fashion three-point play from Rogers to make it a six point game with about four minutes left to play before Witchella and the Lady Pioneers took back control and extended their lead back to twelve for the win.

Rogers scored 15 second half points and had 17 total in the ball game. Golden finished with a team high 18 points and also grabbed nine rebounds, Chyna Lennox (Moseley, VA) chipped in with 14 points and Jasmine Armstead (Rochester, NY) added nine points. Witchella finished with 34 points, 27 in the second half, and 26 rebounds for Alfred State.

Genesee falls to 8-21 on the year and will finish out the regular season on the road Saturday when they travel to Niagara County Community College for a 1pm start.

Glenn's 37 helps GCC down Alfred State

By Andrew Crofts

It took a comeback on “Sophomore Night” for the Genesee Community College men’s basketball team, but the Cougars earned a conference win in their final regular season home game of the season against Alfred State College on Tuesday night, 85-82.

Mike Glenn (Fairport, NY) got the Cougars off to a fast start by scoring 16 of the team’s first 18 points of the game. Despite the hot start from Glenn, the Cougars struggled, only shooting 29% from the floor in the opening twenty minutes. The Pioneers took advantage of GCC’s poor shooting and six first half three-pointers of their own to grab a 13-point, 43-30 lead at the half.

Alfred State held their largest lead at 15 points early in the second half before the Cougars made their comeback. Genesee made a 12-4 run in a four-minute span to trim the Pioneer lead to one at 56-55 with just over nine minutes left to play. After an Alfred State basket, Tyshawn Ferguson (Chicago, IL) and Kenton Chan-Man (Brooklyn, NY) each capitalized on three-point plays to give the Cougars the lead back at 61-58. Chan-Man went on a stretch where he scored nine straight points to extend the GCC lead to nine, and went 4-4 at the free-throw line down the stretch to help the Cougars hold off the visitors.

(#21 Mike Glenn scores 37 points in GCC's win over Alfred State)

Glenn finished with a game high and a season high 37 points and also grabbed seven rebounds. Chan-Man finished with 25 points, Ferguson added nine points and Deylon Bovell (Brooklyn, NY) chipped in with eight points and nine boards. Genesee improves to 17-11 on the season and will close out the regular season this Saturday at Niagara County Community College at 3pm.

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