Hawks upend Hornets in thriller

The third time certainly proved to be the charm as Holley avenged a pair of earlier season losses to nip visiting Oakfield-Alabama 49-48 this evening in a Genesee Region League game.

Dylan Hillabush scored 14, Derek McArthur 13 and Zach Vaccarelli 12 to lead the balanced attack for Holley as Nick Passarell and Chris Balys both added 5. Hillabush also grabbed off 14 rebounds and Vaccarelli 12 as Passarell chipped in with 5 assists and 3 steals.

“It was just a great team effort,” said Holley Coach Matt Hennard.

Trailing 26-19 at the half, Holley put together a huge 17-5 third period scoring burst to rally into the lead for good by a 36-31 margin at the three-quarter mark. Five different players contriibuted to the point production during that key stretch.

The Hawks then held off a fourth period Hornets rally to claim the win as Hillabush tallied 5 and Balys 3 to lead the Hawks balanced scoring during the stretch.

Earlier in the season Oakfield-Alabama downed visiting Holley 65-39 in a G-R game. The Hornets also nipped the Hawks 42-40 in overtime in the consolation game of the Holley Tournament.