basketball

Byron-Bergen Sports Boosters hosted a basketball contest between deputies in the Sheriff's Office and Byron-Bergen faculty and staff as a fundraiser for the Justice For Children GLOW foundation in the high school gymnasium on Thursday night.

Byron-Bergen won 45-38.

The event raised $1,529 from ticket sales, 50/50 and basket raffles. The Erion family won the 50/50 and donated the proceeds back to the booster club.

The Rose Garden and Greg’ry’s Bakery made donations in support of the event.

During the breaks between quarters and at half-time, Gillam-Grant boys and girls youth basketball teams played a game.

Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro.

Two consecutive trips to the Final Four. Two consecutive games against the same opponent. 

The same disappointing results for the Elba Lancers.

The Lancers lost to Northville again, this time 54-46.

It was the first loss of the season for Elba, which ends with a 23-1 record.

Scoring for Elba:

• Sydney Reilly, 15 points
• Brea Smith, 10 points
• Mariah Ognibene, 6 points

Photos by Debra Reilly

Genesee beat Orleans on Friday in the Girls Basketball Exceptional Seniors Game, 61-34. 

Scoring for Genesee:

• Alea Groff, 11 points
• Emily Pietrzykoski, 9 points
• Emily Harmon, 9 points

Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro.

Sherman came into the Class D Far West Regional Champion Game in Girls Basketball with a record of 21-1, among the best records in the state.

But not better than the undefeated Elba Lancers, who remain perfect on the season after Saturday's win, 54-48, propelling them to New York's Final Four Tournament at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy starting on Thursday.

The overtime win gives the #1 ranked Lancers a 23-0 record.

Near the end of the third quarter, Elba trailed Sherman by 10 points but charged back, carried by Brea Smith, who scored 13 points in the final 12 minutes.

Elba took a 42-39 lead, but Sherman hit a buzzer-beater to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Scoring for Elba:

• Brea Smith, 20 points
• Sydney Reilly, 14 points
• Mariah Ognibene, 11 points
• Maddie Hall, 8 points

This will be the Lancer's second consecutive Final Four appearance. They face Northville at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday.  With a win, they would play for the championship on Friday. This will be a chance for Elba to settle a score with Northville, who knocked Elba out of the Final Four last year, 42-34.

Photos by Debra Reilly.

Genesee beat Orleans on Friday in the Boys Basketball Exceptional Seniors Game, 94-55

Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro.

York pulled out a two-point victory over Alexander on Monday at Letchworth in the Boys Basketball Class C consolidation game.

York won 66-64.

Scoring for the Trojans:

• Dylan Pohl, 19 points
• Kingston Woods, 12 points
• Jake Brooks, 11 points
• Austin Wakefield, 10 points

Photos by Melissa Brooks.

The Elba Lancers Girls Basketball season remains perfect, with a 54-26 win over Filmore on Saturday to capture the Section V Class D championship.

Sydney Reilly scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Lancers to victory.

Brea Smith scored 14 points.

Photos by Debra Reilly.

For the first time in program history, the Alexander Boys Basketball team won a Section V block, beating C1 #1 seed Geneseo 60-55 at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester.

Scoring for Alexander:

• Dylan Pohl,  17 points (Tournament MVP)
• Kingston Woods,  13 points (All-Tournament Team)
• Austin Wakefield,  11 points (All-Tournament Team)
• Jacob Brooks,  11 points (All-Tournament Team)

The Trojans are coached by Jalen Smith,  in his third year, and a former basketball standout with Batavia. He was a member of the 2013 team that vied for a state championship.

The season record for Alexander is 15-4, with one of those loses previously coming to Geneseeo in the second game of the season, 39-31.

The Trojans face York on Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Letchworth in a Class C consolidation game.

The Alexander Trojans will play for a Section V trophy on Friday at 9 p.m. at Blue Cross Arena after beating Gananda on Wednesday 75-61.

Scoring for Alexander:

• Kingston Woods, 30 points
• Dylan Pohl, 14 points
• Jake Brooks, 14 points
• Austin Wakefield, 11 points

Photos by Melissa Brooks.

Keshequa beat Oakfield-Alabama on Wednesday Class C2 Girls Basketball semifinal 41-29.

Scoring for the Hornets:

• Alea Groff, 9 points, 4 rebounds
• Piper Hyde, 7 points, 6 rebounds,  4 steals, 4 assists
• Raine  Denny, 5 points, 5 rebounds
• Allison Harkness, 4 points, 5 rebounds
• Allie Williams, 2 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals
• Rylee Denny, 2 points

"I am so proud of my team. We had a tremendous year at 16-7, reaching a sectional semifinal and playing tremendously hard against the second-ranked team in NYS," said Coach Jeff Schlagenhauf. "I thank our seniors, Alea, Piper and Jessica, for all they have done for our program. They have been tremendous!"

Photos by Jordyn Tobolski.

A good run for Byron-Bergen came to an abrupt end Wednesday in the Girls Basketball Class C1 semifinal when the Bees were beat by Bloomfield 79-32.

"We ran into a really good team in Bloomfield," said Bees Coach  Rick Krzewinski. "They won sectionals and returned all five starters. They hit 10 3-pointers from 4 different girls. Even though it’s not how we wanted the season to end, this group finished the season with an 18-4 record. That equaled the 2015 team. The 2020 team went 18-5."

Scoring for Byron-Bergen: 

• Riley Shallenberger, 15 points
• Janessa Amesbury, 8 points

Lily Baughman scored 29 points for Bloomfield, and Calla McCombs scored 19.

Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro.

For the fourth time in four meetings this year, Elba beat Notre Dame in Girls Basketball, this time to send the Lancers to the Class D championship game against Filmore on Saturday at Finger Lakes Community College.

Elba won 52-36 to stay undefeated on the season.

The Lancers are the #1 seed in Class D and will face the #2 at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Scoring for Elba:

• Sydney Reily, 17 points
• Mariah Ognibene, 10 points

For Notre Dame:

• Sofia Falleti, 17 points
• Gionna Falleti, 10 points

Photos by Debra Reilly.

Press release:

On February 20, 2025, Janessa Amesbury broke the 38-year-old Byron-Bergen Girls Basketball single-game scoring record with 41 points. Amesbury, a senior, has been playing basketball since 5th grade. She also takes part in Varsity Soccer and Softball.

“What she has done this year has been absolutely amazing,” said Varsity Girls Basketball Head Coach Richard Krzewinski. “She didn’t come up to varsity until halfway through her sophomore year. Last year she averaged 18 points a game. Going into sectionals she is averaging 26 points per game. She is closing in on 1,000 career points. She would be the fifth B-B girls basketball player to hit 1,000, joining her mother Tammy (1984) and sister Julianna (2020).”

"I would like to offer my congratulations to Janessa," said Athletic Director Rich Hannan. “She loves the game of basketball and plays with reckless abandon. She plays her heart out each night and her passion for the game is evident each and every time she laces up her shoes. Breaking a long-standing record like this is quite the accomplishment.”

Of this new record, Amesbury said, “I would like to thank my coaches and my mom for pushing me to be the best I can be.”

After averaging 13 points per game in 2023/24 for Oakfield-Alabama, Gavin Armbrewster had high hopes for his senior hoops season, says his coach Ryan Stehlar.

Then he suffered a complete tear of his ACL during the 2024 football season.

Rather than undergo surgery, Armbrewster decided to tough it out, try to help his team and compete in 2024/25.

"Although this injury happened, he still wanted to end his basketball career on his own terms, trying what he could," Stehlar said in an email calling attention to the point guard's efforts this season for the Hornets.

"He missed four total games out of 22 due to his leg giving out at practice and needing time to recover to play again," Stehlar said. "This happened a night before a game, and he still elected to play the next game in a ton of discomfort because he didn't want to let the team down."

Here are the highlights of Armbrewster's senior season, Stehlar said.  p

• Points Per Game: 10.7 (2nd leading scorer on our team and came off the bench the majority of the year)
• Rebounds Per Game: 1.9
• Assists Per Game: 2.2
• Steals Per Game: 1.6

"In his last six games, including sectionals, he averaged double digits in points, averaging a PPG of 16.8," Stehlar said. "He hit 30 total 3-pointers and even had a game where he hit 6.  He was our leader in this category for the season and one of our best free-throw shooters."

Stehler called Armbrewster "a great kid."

"(He) did something I have never seen in my 17 years of coaching.  He showed amazing poise each night, learned how to play differently, never wanted to let his teammates down, but, more importantly, persevered under extremely difficult circumstances. "

Photos by Jordyn Tobolski

After jumping to an early lead, East High dominated the Batavia Blue Devils through four quarters of the Section V Class A semifinal at Finger Lakes Community College on Monday.

The #1 seed beat #4 Batavia 64-46.

Scoring for Batavia:

• Casey Mazur, 19 points
• Gavin White, 10 points
• Justin Smith, 8 points
• Carter Mullen, 7 points

Photos by Jim Burns.

Oakfield-Alabama beat Arkport-Canaseraga 54-40 in the Class C2 Girls Basketball quarterfinal on Saturday.

Scoring for the Hornets:

• Alea Groff,  17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists
• Alexa Clark, 11 points, 8 rebounds
• Piper Hyde, 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
• Allie Williams, 8 points, 6 rebounds, 5 blocks
• Jessica Sosnowski, 7 points
• Allison Harkness, 2 points

"I can't begin to describe the defensive effort our kids came through with today," said O-A Coach Jeff Schlagenhauf. "Our team defense was incredible, and Alexa, Piper and Alea were tasked with some challenging defensive assignments as they are a high-powered offensive team. We showed great discipline and composure. I am incredibly proud of our kids. A total team effort."

The Hornets are the #5 seed in Class C2 and next face #1 seed Keshequa in the semifinal on Wednesday at Avon at 7:45 p.m.

Photos by  Jordyn Tobolski

Mynderse, ranked #6, beat #3 ranked Le Roy in the Boys Basketball Class B1 quarterfinal on Saturday 70-45.

Scoring for Le Roy:

• Jake Higgins, 13 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal
• Brayden Chase, 7 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist
• Matthew Hockey, 6 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists
• Grady Gilligan, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal
• Jean Agosto, 4 points, 6 rebounds

Photos by Kristin Smith.

Byron-Bergen beat Kendall 45-38 on Saturday in the Girls Basketball Class C1 quarterfinal.

Scoring for the Bees:

• Janessa Amesbury, 24 points
• Senfi Olivia, 7 points
• Riley Schallenberger, 6 points
• Natalie Prinzi, 6 points

Bees, the #2 seed, will face #3 seed Bloomfield at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Honeoye Falls/Lima.

Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro

Notre Dame defeated Andover Whitesville 41-16 in a Class D quarterfinal game in Girls basketball on Saturday.

Sofia Falleti led the Irish with 10 points and eight rebounds. Also scoring was Emma Fitch with six points and four steals, PennyJo Thompson with six points and five rebounds and Gianna Falleti with four points and four steals.

“The whole team played an equal amount today and was able to contribute on both ends of the floor. I was so proud of all our girls' defensive efforts and how hard they played,” said Coach Vinny Falleti.

The win for the Irish sets up a finals match-up in Class D between arch-rivals Notre Dame, the #4 seed, and Elba, the undefeated #1 seed. That game will be at 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday at Mount Morris.

Photos by Pete Welker.

Elba beat Avoca-Prattsburgh in the Section V Class D Girls Basketball quarterfinal on Saturday 71-56.

Scoring for Elba:

• Brea Smith, 19 points
• Mariah Ognibene, 14 points
• Sydney Reilly, 13 points
• Lydia Ross, 12 points
• Maddie Hall, 11 points

Photos by Debra Reilly.