Sports

Batavia used a 21-4 run over the final five minutes of the game to defeat Hornell and advance to the Class B Far West Regionals, 65 to 51.

The fourth quarter belonged to Batavia senior forward Justin Washington, who scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds in the final frame alone.

Washington entered the quarter with only six points and having sat the majority of the third quarter with three fouled. But when he reentered the game, he immediately took over.

“(Washington) took the game over. Plain and simple,” said Batavia Head Coach Buddy Brasky. “I think he just decided it was time. He pretty much just took the game over, put us on his shoulders and carried us home.”

In the first half it was a different story for the Blue Devils, who jumped out to an early lead behind an unexpected source.

As Washington and Jalen Smith struggled to find their stroke in the first half, it was senior T.J. Powell who stepped up and delivered.

Powell scored all 13 of his points in the first half, while grabbing six rebounds, to give Batavia a 30 to 24 halftime lead.

“T.J. was tentative in the Newark game and we talked about it in practice,” Brasky said. “I told him to go out and be aggressive. I told him tonight is going to be your night and that was key. That’s the T.J. we need.”

Hornell began to cut into Batavia’s stingy defense during the third quarter, outscoring the Blue Devils 18-12 in the period, and eventually tied the game on a three-point field goal from Richard Brooks with just under a minute to play in the quarter.

“We weren’t sprinting back on defense,” Brasky said. “Their secondary break killed us. We were jogging back and they took advantage.”

The two teams headed into the fourth quarter tied at 42 and traded baskets before Brooks hit another three to give the Red Raiders the lead before Smith and Washington began to take over.

Smith had been struggling from the field all evening, going just 7-of-20 from the field and 2-for-13 from three point range for the game, but he began to take over in other facets.

The senior came up with three assists in the quarter, one on a gorgeous pass to sophomore Jeff Redband for an easy lay-up that forced a timeout.

“I trust my teammates to score, too,” Smith said. “I can’t score all of the points and my teammates help out a lot. They play hard and we all play together.”

Washington scored the first two baskets of the quarter for Batavia, and had matched both his point and rebound total for the entire game in the first four minutes of the frame.

After Hornell had taken a 47-44 lead, the Blue Devils went on to score the next 12 points during their 21-4 run to end the game. In total, Batavia held the Red Raiders without a point for nearly four minutes.

“Our team handles pressure very well,” Smith said. “We stuck together as a team, we played hard, we kept our confidence and we all stuck together.”

Smith would finish with a game-high 25 points, including several key free throws down the stretch to ice the game for Batavia (19-3).

Washington chipped in with 14 points, 14 rebounds and two steals for the Blue Devils, who will face the state's top-ranked team on Saturday in Olean.

The Huskies defeated East High School of Buffalo on Tuesday to win the Section VI championship, 62-50.

They are led by 6-foot-7 junior forward Sam Eckstrom, who notched his 1,000th point in the win and senior guard Wil Bathurst who scored 27 points, grabbed 19 rebounds and blocked six shots.

“Olean is the number-one ranked team in the state,” Brasky said. “We played them last year. We have everybody back and they have everybody back. They are just a solid team.”

The Blue Devils defeated Olean in their own tournament last year, 56-43. The Huskies would win their next 21 games before falling in the State Semi-Finals.

Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Blue Cross Arena.

To purchase prints of photos, click here. To purchase prints of earlier Blue Devils games (boys and girls basketball, click here)

Press release:

Genesee Community College freshman forward Vaughn Boler (Pittsford Mendon High School, Rochester) has been named the NJCAA Division II Region III Player of the Year for the 2012-2013 season.

Boler played in 27 games (26 starts) this year and led the Cougars in scoring, averaging 21.1 points per game. That mark was the second-highest scoring average in Region III and 14th most in the country. He also averaged seven rebounds per game, which was second highest on the team.

On three occasions this season, Boler scored 30 or more points in a game. He scored a career-high 37 points against ASA College on Dec. 9 and recorded 12 or more points in every game.

Boler missed four games during the middle of January due to an injury and the Cougars were 0-4 during that stretch. Genesee finished the regular season with a 15-15 overall record and fell to Mercyhurst North East in the opening round of the Region III playoffs, 97-94.

Boler is the first player at Genesee to receive the award since Leon Nelson, who was named co-Player of the Year in 2010.

Genesee Community College athletics program endeavors to provide a quality and competitive intercollegiate athletics program consistent with the National Junior Collegiate Athletics Association (NJCAA) philosophy and the overall educational mission of Genesee Community College. Participation in collegiate athletics should be an extension of the total educational experience for the student athlete. The inherent philosophy emphasizes the athletic setting as a classroom used to teach character, commitment, work ethic, respect for differences, and the importance of sacrifice, teamwork and cooperation.

Notre Dame won it's state tournament qualifier game Monday, beating Mt. Morris 45-27 in a clash of Section V Class D champions.

Defense and a strong bench is what kept the Fighting Irish ahead all night as too often shots wouldn't drop, especially in the third quarter when ND scored only four points.

Fortunately for the ladies, Mt. Morris put only seven points on the board that quarter.

Mt Morris was held to single-digit scoring in each quarter.

"We knew at half time if we can get to 40, we're in pretty good shape," Head Coach Dave Pero said, who noted his girls missed at least 10 easy lay-ups. "We don't tell our girls to stop shooting because that is what they do, and they finally knocked some down and we got ahead."

A strong bench is a key part of the Fighting Irish strategy and Notre Dame was able to put some distance between themselves and Mount Morris in the 4th quarter, outscoring Mt. Morris 15-6.

"We try to wear teams down," Pero said. "By the fourth quarter, we're hoping they're fatigued and tired and maybe they start to lose their legs and we can get a couple of easy baskets out of that."

Riley Norton scored 12 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Shea Norton added eight points plus nine rebounds.

Melanie Taylor scored 13 points.

The Fighting Irish will enter state tournament play with a 20-2 record so far this season. The only two defeats were regular season losses to Elba, whom Notre Dame beat last week to reach the Section V title game.

Notre Dame squares off against Section 6 Class D champions Sherman at 5 p.m., Saturday, at Buffalo State College. The winner will advance to final-four play in Troy next weekend.

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Jalen Smith scored 25 points as the Batavia Blue Devils rolled over Newark in the Section V Class B1 title game Sunday, 58-41

Here are the photos from the game. We'll have a game story later.

UPDATE: Story by Nick Sabato

Batavia captured their third sectional championship in five years after defeating Newark, 58-41.

The top-seeded Blue Devils stymied the Reds with strong defense to jump out to an early lead in the first quarter, helped by the hot shooting from Class B1 MVP Jalen Smith, and never looked back.

Newark struggled to score all game and was held to 6-of-23 shooting and committed 11 turnovers in the first half, while Smith scored eight points in the first quarter to give Batavia a 26-14 halftime lead.

“We built our program on defense,” said Batavia Head Coach Buddy Brasky. “We stress every single day in practice that every single possession counts on defense. That’s what we believe in.”

Coming out of the half, Newark began to gain some momentum as Batavia’s shooting went cold, including cutting the lead to eight with two minutes remaining in the third quarter before sophomore Jeff Redband, who was playing in his fifth varsity game of the season after leading the jayvee team in scoring, hit a three-pointer to extend the lead to 11.

Justice Fagan would add a three-point play to push the lead to 37-23 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Reds would open the scoring in the final frame on a three by Anthony Lombardi. Smith would answer with a three of his own.

From that point Smith would go off.

After another three from Lombardi, he connected on back-to-back threes to give the Blue Devils a 17-point lead.

In total, Smith would score 13 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter, after only four in the second and third quarter combined.

“Coach (Brasky) always tells me to keep shooting, keep playing my game and trust my teammates to get me open,” Smith said. “It’s pretty much continuous for every game.”

Leading scorer Justin Washington struggled with his shooting touch all game, but he once again made up for it by stuffing the stat sheet for the Blue Devils, scoring 11 points, grabbing nine rebounds, five assists, five blocks and three steals.

“Points don’t ever tell the story for Justin,” Brasky said. “He rebounds, he defends, he helps relieve pressure from the other team, he makes great passes in transition and that’s how Jalen gets quite a few of his shots.”

For Batavia, it was their fifth sectional championship in school history. It was also the first since 2010, a year that they made it all the way to the New York State semi-finals.

“There is a very proud tradition here with our ex-players,” Brasky said. “They built the program and pass it along every year to the young guys and now this year’s team can pass it along to the young guys coming up. That’s how good programs stay good.”

The Blue Devils’ roster is comprised of six seniors, five of whom are starters, which means they are a very tightknit group on and off the floor.

“We have been thinking about this day since we came together in fourth grade,” Smith said. “It feels great to get out there and finally achieve one of our goals. We work hard and play together as a family.”

Brasky, who was named the Section V Class B1 Coach of the Year, is also the father of one the seniors on the team, Jake Brasky.

Coach Brasky won a sectional championship in 2005 with his oldest son, Adam, and has coached this group of seniors since the fourth grade when they began to play organized basketball together.

“Since these guys have been in fourth grade I have been coaching them a lot in the off-season and in youth tournaments,” Brasky said. “So I have grown close to this group, partly because my son is in the group. So it is special to share this moment not only with my son but with these seniors.”

Smith was joined on the all-tournament team by Washington and senior Jamesson Etienne (eight points and four steals) for Batavia.

Lombardi, who was also named to the all-tournament team, led Newark (14-7) with 13 points and seven rebounds in defeat.

Batavia (18-3) will now face the Class B2 champion, Hornell (19-2), on Tuesday at the Blue Cross Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:45 p.m.

To purchase prints of photos from this game, click here.

The Notre Dame girls put an exclamation point on their upset victory over Elba by claiming the Section V Class D2 title Friday in Gainsville against #3 seed Romulus, 56-41.

The Fighting Irish entered sectional play as the #4 seed, with only two losses on the season, both to the defending state champions and #1 seeded Lady Lancers.

Rather than an emotional letdown after beating the school's biggest rival, the Notre Dame girls came out fast and aggressive against Romulus, maybe a little too aggressive.

Riley Norton and Emma Francis seemed to knock down every three-point jumper they took and Romulus had a hard time scoring early in the game.

Midway through the first quarter, though, momentum started to shift and at the half, Notre Dame trailed 26-23.

Foul trouble dogged Notre Dame, with Norton and Laurie Call forced to sit because of two early fouls apiece.

Head Coach David Pero said he had his team trying some new defensive schemes, which ended up getting players out of position. Call said she was just had too much adrenaline pumping.

"I have a tendency to be aggressive, to put a lot of pressure on defense," Call said. "I had to calm myself down, dial my adrenaline down, and say, 'what do I need to do for my team,' and calm down, not try to get a steal, but get them to turn the ball over."

In the second half, Notre Dame went back to the defensive scheme that proved so successful against Elba -- the first time Notre Dame used it -- playing man-to-man.

And Pero was also able to put Norton and Call back on the court.

It was a whole different game through the final two quarters, with the Fighting Irish dominating the Lady Warriors, including a 10-0 run to finish the game.

"They struggled getting the ball up the floor and we knocked down some shots, made some free throws and the rest is history," Pero said.

Norton finished with 15 points, including 10 in the second half and was named tournament MVP.

She said the championship and the award were real special achievements as a basketball-playing senior.

"It's the best feeling in the world," Norton said. "It (the MVP trophy) means my hard work and my dedication to basketball since I was very young has paid off. I want to keep going and I want to keep winning, but this right now feels amazing."

Melanie Taylor scored 14 points,  had seven assists and six steals, while Call nabbed nine rebounds.

For Call, she's building quite a collection of trophies at home. She was on the Section V and state champion softball team and has a Section V title in cross-country.

"It’s been so fun," Call said. "Honestly, it’s the best thing ever because the girls I’m winning with are my best friends. They’re like sisters and it’s just like this family that keeps on helping each other and we’re successful in the end."

All-Tournament team: Jamie Marshall (Elba), Zoe McDonald (Romulus), Laurie Call (Notre Dame), Melanie Taylor (Notre Dame).

Notre Dame will play Class D1 champions Mt. Morris on Monday in Pavilion. The consolidated Class D champion will then represent Section V in the state tournament, starting with a regional championship game against the Section VI champion.

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After five consecutive losses to defending state champions -- the Elba Lady Lancers -- the Notre Dame girls came into Tuesday's Section V semi-final match a little more determined and with a different game plan.

For the first time, the Fighting Irish ran a man-on-man defense.

The Lancers, who routinely score 70 or more points a game, were held to 40 on the night, scoring only 11 points in the first quarter and none in the second.

"Elba is a very good high school basketball team, a well coached team," said Head Coach Dave Pero after his team's 45-40 victory. "To shut out a team like that for even a few minutes is a feather in your cap. To do it to Elba is tough to do."

Riley Norton, who led Notre Dame with 16 points and 12 rebounds, said supporters have been encouraging the team to try a man-on-man defense.

The Irish always play Elba tough (one of the few teams that does) and maybe switching up the defense could make the difference.

"The defense worked," Norton said. "Going out and stopping them defensively is what we've been going out and working on day after day after day."

During the first half, the Lancers were often taking shots with only a few seconds on the clock. It was hard for the girls to find open lanes. When they did shoot, too often the ball didn't drop through the hoop.

"I thought, you know, we've got some quickness," Pero said, "let's roll the ball out and see where it falls. We went man-to-man and it paid off."

Tom Nowak, Elba's head coach, said man-to-man isn't something the Lady Lancers regularly see, but they've successfully played against that tactic before and they do prepare for it.

"We struggled in the first half," he said. "We didn't play Elba basketball."

In the previous five losses to Elba, the Irish have taken leads only to watch them slip away.

As the second quarter progressed, the Lancers turned a 12-point deficit into a two down, which raised the question: Would history repeat?

Of course, she thought that very question, Norton said, but she also felt this night was different.

"I knew we were going to fight through it," Norton said. "We fought through it last Friday. We’ve grown as a team since last time we played them. I knew this was our time and I knew we could hold onto it."

With the lead two, a three-point jumper from Emma Francis late in the 4th gave Notre Dame the emotional lift to hold back Elba.

"We said all along, and this seems to have happened the last four or five times they've beat us, we've got that one bad quarter," Pero said. "We seem to lose our momentum. Well, tonight, they hung in, they stayed composed and it's a great win for the girls."

The rivalry between Notre Dame and Elba is long-standing and crosses the lines between girls and boys sports and wraps in football as well as basketball.

On a slushy winter night, nearly 200 fans of the teams made the hour-long drive to Dansville for the game. Both sides were loud and proud until the final seconds of the game.

When the final buzzer sounded, Elba students rushed onto the court and mobbed the Elba players. The scene suited a championship game, not just a stepping stone to the next round.

Norton was clearly ecstatic after the win.

"This is my senior year," Norton said. "I didn’t want to stop playing. I want to get that patch on Sunday."

Pero admitted, it was a big win for him, too.

Personally, any time you can be a coached Tom Nowack team it’s great, because to me he’s one of the top coaches in Section V," Pero said. "Any time you can match wits with him,  it’s a feather, but it’s all about the girls. It’s not about me or my coaches. It’s about the girls. Without them I’d be nothing, so hats off to them."

Elba had a great run that included a state title and a breathtaking winning streak. Nowak said his girls should be proud.

"Like I told the kids, you’ll look back 10 years from now, 15 years, and realize what you accomplished," Nowak said. "I said I’ve been coaching 35 years in Elba and never did I experience anything like I did last year and this year, winning 44 games in a row. They will be really proud of that accomplishment down the road when they come back and think about it."

Notre Dame plays Friday for the sectional title, 8 p.m., against Romulus at Letchworth.

Photos: Laurie Call and Bailee Welker celebrate following the big win. Emma Francis drives for a lay-up against McKenzie Bezon. Riley Norton and Jamie Marshall fight for a rebound in the 4th quarter. Norton and Kelsey Bezon in the 4th quarter.

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Batavia will play for the Class B1 crown after demolishing Livonia, 75-38.

This will be the Blue Devils’ first trip to the sectional finals since 2010. Coincidentally, they beat Livonia to win their second consecutive sectional championship that season and reached the semi-finals of the New York State tournament.

The Blue Devils scored the first 10 points of the game and never looked back, building a 19-2 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Jalen Smith scored 15 of his game-high 20 points in the first half as top-seeded Batavia carried a 37-point lead into the break.

Justin Washington, a freshman on that 2010 team, had another superb outing for the Blue Devils, scoring 10 points, grabbing nine rebounds, dishing out five assists and collecting three steals in the victory, while Justice Fagan scored 12 points off the bench on 4-of-5 3-point field goals.

Batavia (17-3) will face second-seeded Newark (14-6) in the Class B1 Final at the Blue Cross Arena on Sunday at 3 p.m. after they blew past NE/NW College Prep in the other semi-final matchup, 70-44.

Cody Cronmiller had 17 points and six rebounds for Livonia (10-10) in defeat.

Notre Dame’s perfect season came crashing to end when Avon clinched the Class C1 Semifinals, 60-58.

The Fighting Irish entered the contest at 19-0 on the season, looking to win their second straight sectional championship after making it to the New York State Class D Semifinals last season. But this season they moved up to Class C and the Braves proved to be too much to handle.

“We knew it was going to be tougher,” said Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Rapone. “Even though they moved us up a class, we still have the student body of a Class D school. It showed tonight. They had a little more depth, a little more physicality, a few more big kids than we had, and it was the difference in the game.”

In the first quarter, it appeared as if top-seeded Notre Dame would take control of the game, but Avon cut the deficit to three on a buzzer-beating shot off an inbound play by Zack Rizzolo to end the first quarter.

The Braves would carry that momentum into the second as they scored the first seven points of the frame.

Not to be outdone, the Irish responded with a 13-4 run of their own to recapture the lead heading into halftime, 29-26.

The third quarter belonged to the star players on each team.

Avon’s Zach Mouw started the second half red-hot, scoring 12 of his team’s first 13 points of the frame, however Notre Dame’s Tim McCulley responded by scoring 12 of the team’s 18 points in the quarter.

“Tim did a nice job,” Rapone said. “They were really pressing hard to take (McCulley, Tommy Prospero and Jared Thornton) out of the game. Tim did what he had to do, he found the gaps and he got inside.”

Mouw had 22 points midway through the third quarter, including connecting on four shots in a row, before Rapone matched Thornton on him in an attempt to take him out offensively.

Mouw did not score a point the rest of the game, but Avon’s role players began to step up, particularly on the boards, as the Braves racked up four offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter alone.

“It was something I was concerned about, but the main reason it happened was because we had to switch defenses to stop Mouw,” Rapone said. “We had to pick our poison.”

Avon took the lead with three minutes to play after Galen Snyder scored off a Mouw pass and drew a foul in the process. Freshman Gerad Coyne would then connect on a three-pointer from the wing with 2:40 to play, putting the Braves up by six.

The Irish would then storm back, getting two quick baskets from McCulley to cut the lead to two with just over a minute to play.

Coyne would appear to step out of bounds on the ensuing possession, but Avon was granted a timeout, allowing them to run the clock down to 30 seconds before turning the ball back over to Notre Dame.

McCulley was fouled on the next trip down the floor in what appeared to be the game-tying lay-in, but the basket was waved off, forcing the Irish to inbound from underneath.

“We thought Tim had the game-tying basket but it was waved off,” Rapone said. “Calls are calls and the officials make them. You have to live with it and move on.”

Ryan Bender appeared to have an easy lay-up with 10 seconds left, but Tyler Hite rescued the Braves with a game-saving blocked shot.

Prospero would get one last heave at the basket but was unsuccessful as their season came to end.

Mouw led the way for fifth-seed Avon (14-7) with 22 points, seven rebounds and two steals as they advance to the Class C1 Finals on Saturday to play Mynderse at the Blue Cross Arena.

McCulley led Notre Dame (19-1) in a losing effort with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Prospero added 15 points, four rebounds and four assists.

In girls basketball, Batavia beat Pal-Mac 71-68. Madison McCulley scored 30 points and Tiara Filbert added 21 with nine rebounds. Essence Williams also had nine rebounds.

The Blue Devils started a little flat in their first-round match of Section V playoffs at Batavia High School on Saturday, going a few minutes into the first quarter before scoring.

Defense and poor ball handling by Waterloo, who came into the game seeded #8 with a season record of 5-13, kept the game notched at 0-0 for more than three minutes.

Batavia would find their range, though, and finish out the first quarter with a 13-2 lead on their way to a 60-37 victory.

Justin Washington led all scorers with 19 points and crossed the 1,000-career-point milestone.

"It’s hard to keep these guys motivated (playing a #8 seed) and keep the good habits you try to build," said Head Coach Buddy Brasky. "I thought we did a fairly good job for most of that game, staying within our defensive principles. That was the whole big concern for me, you know, not to start reaching, going for steals. We want to play solid defensively. That’s what’s going to lead us to the sectional title."

Jalen Smith, a key spark for Batavia's offense, hadn't touched a basketball in a week, Braskey said. He hadn't been out of bed in four days. Half the team, he said, has been sick most of the week, which explains as much about the slow start as playing the #8 seed.

"That was part of it, too," Brasky said. "We’ve really been battling this flu since last Saturday."

After Washington scored his 1,000th point in the fourth quarter, announcer Wayne Fuller stopped the game for the announcement and Washington's teammates and coaches congratulated him on the achievement.

"It means a lot to me," Washington said. "It’s something to talk about my whole varsity career. After Andrew (Hoy) did it, I wanted to do it."

Washington has been a pleasure to coach through his four seasons as a varsity starter, Brasky said.

"He’s been a really nice kid to have in our program and I’m really happy for him," Brasky said.

Next up for Batavia, a semi-final match against #5 seed Livonia, 8:15 p.m., Tuesday, at RIT.

Also, last night, Le Roy's boys fell to #1 seed Hornel, 62-42. Scoring for Le Roy: Marcus Mistersaro 7; Zach Moore 11; Nate Piazza 6; Le Roy finishes the year 6-13.

The other big Section V boys basketball game this week: #1 seed Notre Dame (19-0) vs. #5 Avon (13-7), 7 p.m., at Cal-Mum.

In girls Section V playoff action:

• Batavia plays PalMac, 6 p.m., Monday, at Pittsford-Sutherland
• Elba and Notre Dame square off at 8 p.m., Tuesday, at Dansville

Coverage Note: We're not completely settled on what we'll cover yet. On Monday night, at most we can cover one game because I'll be at the Batavia City Council meeting. On Tuesday, Nick Sabato will cover Batavia and I'll cover Elba/Notre Dame.

To purchase prints of these photos, click here.

With a key player injured in the first minute of the game, Le Roy's girls battled Bath-Haverling hard, letting the game slip away for only a portion of the third and fourth quarter, but still came up short in their Section V playoff match, 47-42.

Montana Vescovi, who led the team this season in points, rebounds and steals, suffered an ankle injury early on, but captains Kari Piazza and Alicia Conte picked up the slack and kept the Oatkan Knights in the game.

“She’s a definately a key player, but we were right there," Head Coach Brian Herdlein "There’s no excuses. They played well. We played as hard as we could. It was a good game."

Le Roy and Bath switched back and fourth on the lead until the midway through the third quarter, when Bath built as much as a 12-point lead at one point.

Herdlein said his girls were able to take advantage of their mismatches with Bath when Bath ran a one-on-one defense, but when Bath switched to a 3-2, Le Roy had a hard time making the adjustment.

"Our girls were taking shots they weren't comfortable with," Herdlein said.

With about three minutes left, Le Roy started going inside again, tighented up their defense and pulled within two points with a minute to play.

Bath was largely able to control the ball, however, in the final minute and run down the clock, adding points on foul shots.

"They (Bath) rebonded well and played good defense," Herdlein said. "That's the minor difference in the game right there."

Photos: Top, Piazza scores on a lay up in the third quarter; Brooke Bower scrambles for the ball in the 4th quarter; Piazza reacts to getting elbowed in her eye during a rebound attempt in the final seconds of the game.

To purchase prints, click here or the link in the upper right of the slide show below.

In other basketball action:

• Elba defeated Hammondsport 79 to 30 and Notre Dame downed Prattsburgh 68-54. The two rivals will meet in a Section V semi-final in Dansville on Tuesday.
• Batavia top Livonia, 48-41.
• Bergen plays  Mynderse at 4 p.m. in Canandaigua.
• Notre Dame boys beat Williamson 86-63.
• Alexander lost to York, 63-51.
• Oakfield-Alabama lost to Clyde-Savannah, 85-32.
• Batavia takes on Waterloo at 3 p.m.
• Hornell and Le Roy meet at 7 p.m.

A three-day bowling tournament to benefit Crossroads House wrapped up today at Mancuso Bowling Center.

It was a big turnout for the 17th annual event with 480 bowlers participating in four shifts Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

"We want to thank everybody who participated," said Cindy Lowder, one of the organizers.

Lowder said the event was held in memory of Betty Ellison, who organized the first event 17 years ago.

"She set everything up so well and got it going. We just really follow her lead now," Lowder said. "She was an amazing organizer. She had all her ducks in a row and we just follow suit."

More than 200 Batavia Muckdogs fans gathered tonight at the Clarion Hotel for the booster club's annual Hot Stove League Dinner.

One of the highlights of the night is the auction of memorabilia, merchandise from local businesses and local art.

The auction was conducted once again by Todd Jantzi, owner Bontrager's.

There was also a silent auction.

The most talked about item of the night was an old baseball card featuring local broadcasting legend Wayne Fuller.

Wayne Fuller

Twenty-four boys and girls ages 4-9 came out for a 'Try Hockey' event today at Falleti Ice Arena. The free event gave kids a chance to skate around, hit pucks with sticks and learn a little about the game.

Above, four-year-old Matthew Kosiorek.

Press release:

The Batavia Muckdogs have announced their manager and coaching staff for the 2013 season. This year’s squad will be led by Manager Angel Espada, Pitching Coach Brendan Sagara and Hitting Coach Rich Arena.

The 2013 campaign marks Espada’s second year as the manager for the Marlins’ short-season Single-A affiliate, first as manager of the Batavia Muckdogs. Espada spent the past season as the manager of the Jamestown Jammers and the year prior as the hitting coach for the Jammers. Prior to his time with Jamestown, he spent two years working as the hitting coach for the Gulf Coast League Marlins.

Espada was a 42nd-round pick of the Atlanta Braves in the 1994 First-Year Player Draft. In addition to the Braves, he also played in the Mets and Yankees systems. His playing career spanned 14 years and he finished with a .305 career batting average over 940 games played.

Sagara begins his second season as pitching coach for the Marlins’ short-season Single-A affiliate. Sagara has served as a pitching coach for 11 seasons with various teams. He broke into the coaching profession with the Dubois County Dragons of the Frontier League in 2001 as the club’s pitching coach. He has also worked for the Braves as a part-time scout (2010-11) and the Mets as an associate scout (2006-09). In 2007, he was named Coach of the Year in the Frontier League, while coaching the top pitching staff in Windy City. He and his wife, Michelle, reside in Wahiawa, Hawaii.

Arena returns for his second season as hitting coach for the Marlins’ short-season Single-A affiliate. He spent the previous two years as the director of scouting for Team One Management in Tampa, Fla. Prior to his time at Team One Management, Arena was the head coach at his alma mater, Tampa Catholic High School (Fla.), from 2007-09. He was recognized as the 3A Coach of the Year in 2008 and compiled a 53-18 record at Tampa Catholic HS. He spent the previous 10 years with the New York Yankees as scout and coach in the Minor League system. He and his wife, Joselle, have five children and reside in Tampa.

Bibbo will serve as the trainer for the 2013 season, his first year with the Marlins’ organization. Bibbo previously was the interim head athletic trainer at Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia. Prior to that, he spent four years (August 2007-September ‘10, September 2011-June ‘12) as the assistant athletic trainer at Malvern Preparatory School. He spent seven months (February-August 2011) as the rehabilitation intern with the Philadelphia Phillies. Bibbo received his Master of Science in Rehabilitation Science from California University of Pennsylvania in 2012 and his bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn. in 2007. He resides in West Chester, Pa. with his wife, Elizabeth, and stepson, Andrew (12).

Charlotte connected on five three-pointers as a part of a 15-2 run to start the fourth quarter to put away Batavia on their senior night, 72-54.

The Lakesiders got off to a hot start as Kievonn Banks scored 14 of his game-high 37 points in the first quarter and led 21-15.

In the second quarter, Batavia’s own star took over as Justin Washington scored 15 points in the frame to help give the Blue Devils a one-point halftime lead.

Washington continued to control the game after the intermission, until midway through the third quarter as he picked up his third personal foul on a coast-to-coast charge.

With the Blue Devils’ star on the bench, Charlotte would use their full-court pressure to regain the lead heading into the fourth, 48-46.

“We didn’t take care of the ball,” Washington said. “If we are going to make a run in sectionals, we are definitely going to have to take care of the ball.”

Banks would connect on a three to start the frame, and would strike seconds after a Rayqwaun Blocker steal of Jake Brasky led to another three from Demetrius Gettys.

Batavia halted the run after a timeout with a lay up, but Charlotte would hit three consecutive shots beyond the arc, two more coming from Gettys, to put the Blue Devils away.

In total, Charlotte (15-3) tallied 15 steals, 7 by Banks, on the night as Batavia never seemed to crack the Lakesiders’ full-court press.

Banks would add nine rebounds to go along with his 37 points and seven steals, while Gettys chipped in with 16 points for Charlotte.

Washington had a superb all-around night in defeat, finishing with 25 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Jamesson Etienne added 14 points and nine rebounds while Jalen Smith chipped in 11 points for Batavia (15-3).

The Blue Devils had already locked up the top seed in Class B1 prior to the game and will play host to the winner of the Midlakes/Waterloo game on Feb. 23. 

PHOTOS By Howard Owens.

Top, Justin Washington scores on a lay up in the second quarter; Jalen Smith with a lay up in the third quarter; Batavia on defense.

To purchase a print of photos, click here, or click the link in the upper right of the slide show below.