Medina will host the 18th annual Niagara-Orleans League vs. Genesee Region League Exceptional Seniors basketball doubleheader on Friday March 10.

The girls game is scheduled for 5 p.m. followed by the boys contest at 6:45 p.m.

The N-O League holds a 12-5 lead in the boys’ series and a 11-6 advantage in the girls’ series.

Last year the N-O boys squad made if four wins in a row by scoring a 73-67 victory while the G-R girls made it two wins in the last three years by claiming a narrow 40-39 victory.

The rosters for the N-O and G-R teams will be announced early next week.

The Batavia Ramparts, top seed from Western New York, opened the New York State Amateur Hockey League Bantam Tier III Tournament with a 5-1 victory over Ogdensburg this afternoon at the Cornerstone Arena in Lockport.

Batavia will continue pool play tomorrow with two games, against White Plains in the morning and against Norfolk Norwood in the afternoon. Both games will be played at the Northtown Arena in Amherst.

Max Hutchins scored the opening goal in the first period for the Ramparts, but Ogdensburg tied the score.

In the next period, goals by Vince DiRisio and Alex Totten gave the Ramparts a two goal advantage.

Scoring in the final period were Jed Reese and Hutchins. Zach Howard earned the win in goal.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Niagara-Orleans League foes Medina and Wilson will meet for the Section VI Class B2 title on Sunday at Buffalo State College. Shown here during this past week’s semifinal round are Medina’s Je’ne Brown and Wilson’s Rachel Senek.

In will be an all Niagara-Orleans League title matchup as No. 5 seed Medina faces No. 3 Wilson for the Section VI Class B2 girls basketball tournament championship at 6 p.m. Sunday at Buffalo State College.

“I think it’s great. It shows how strong our league has become and how strong it was this year,” said Medina Coach Ken Haak.

“It’s a great accomplishment for our league,” agreed Wilson Coach Brian Baker. “It’s a credit to the improvement of the league and to the hard work of the players and coaches.It’s a great matchup.”

It will be the rubber match as the two teams split a pair of regular season N-O meetings. Medina scored a 61-56 victory in the first meeting but Wilson avenged what was their only league loss by claiming a 50-43 victory in the rematch.

The Mustangs bring a 17-5 record into the final while the Lakewomen are 19-3.

The title game appearance will be the first for Medina since the Mustangs appeared in four straight Class B2 championship contests from 1995 to 1998. The Mustangs captured the championship n both 1996 with a 36-31 win over Starpoint and in 1997 with  56-45 victory over East Aurora but lost in 1995 to Starpoint 51-44 and in 1998 to Alden 68-41.

For Wilson this will be the fifth championship game appearance in the last eight years. The Lakewomen have gone 4-1 during that stretch defeating Roy-Hart 35-33 in 2010, Allegany-Limestone 49-35 in 2011, Buffalo Arts 58-34 in 2013 and Akron 46-20 in 2014. Their only title loss was to Southwestern in 2012 by a 40-27 margin.

Both teams scored narrow wins in the semifinals to get a shot at the title. Medina needed a big 19-6 fourth period scoring surge to rally for a 41-31 win over No. 1 Olmsted while Wilson nipped No. 2 Buffalo Arts 60-58.

Sophomore Je’ne Brown has spearheaded the Medina offense with a school single season record 418 points (19.9 average) and 244 rebounds.  Another sophomore, Maddie Williams, is also averaging in double figures at 11.8.  On the boards, the Mustangs have also had seniors Molley Gross and Maddie Winters with 137 and 135 rebounds respectively.

Two other seniors, Emily Kams and Kayla Cuadra, have rounded out the Mustangs top six during the season.

“We have to play great defense and rebound well because they are big,” said Baker. “We just have to go out and play our game. It should be an interesting game.”

Offensively Wilson has been sparked by the senior duo of Rachel Senek and Kayla Neumann who combined for 48 of the Lakewomen’s 60 points in the narrow semifinal win.  Senek has scored 451 points (20.5 ave.) and also has 158 rebounds, 107 assists and 102 steals on the season while Neumann has  306 points (13.9 ave.), 138 rebounds, 104 steals and 75 assists.

“We certainly have to play great defense against Senek and Neumann as they are great scorers,” said Haak. “We have to make them work as hard as possible for their shots and not give them any easy looks. The big key is we have to play our game and not get too caught up in the moment.”

The victor will advance to the Section VI Class B state qualifier game next week against the winner of Sunday’s Class B1 title contest between Depew and Fredonia.

Looking to end a four decade long title round appearance drought, top seeded Medina will face No. 4 Health Sciences in the Section VI Class B2 boys basketball tournament semifinals at 6 this evening at Buffalo State College.

The victor will advance to Saturday’s 12 noon B2 final at Buffalo State against the winner of the No. 2 Olmsted vs. No. 3 Lackawanna semifinal.

Medina, which is seeking a berth in the finals for the first time since the 1976-77 season, and Health Sciences bring identical 17-4 season records into the semis.

The Mustangs have been sparked this season by the underclassmen trio of junior Jalin Cooper (442 points, 196 rebounds) and sophomores Johnny Salone (278 points, 166 rebounds) and Izaiah Rhim (192 points, 151 rebounds).

Health Sciences has been led by the quartet of 6-6 junior Davonte Gaines (346 points), junior Tyron Lott (328 points), sophomore Kameron Briggs (222 points) ans senior Wize Threat (173 points).

Medina advanced by downing Gowanda 69-48 in the quarterfinals while Health Sciences bested rival Middle Early College 70-54.

In the other semifinal matchup, Lackawanna (16-5) downed No. 6 Wilson 60-45 in the quarterfinals while Olmsted ousted No. 7 Lafayette 67-53.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Maddie Williams works to the basket between Olmsted defenders Gabrielle McDuffie and Imani Burch during the Mustangs Class B2 semifinal win over the Lady Owls this evening at Sweet Home.

One big fourth quarter scoring burst proved to be just enough as No. 5 seed Medina rebounded from three turnover filled periods to down No. 1 Olmsted 41-31 this evening in the semifinal round of the Section VI Class B2 girls basketball tournament at Sweet Home.

The victory sets up an all Niagara-Orleans League title contest as Medina will face No. 3 Wilson, a 60-58 winner over No. 2 Buffalo Arts in the other semi, in the B2 championship game at 6 p.m. Sunday at Buffalo State College.

Trailing by five, 27-22, early in the final period, Medina put together a decisive 8-0 run on a  jumper and layup by Molley Gross followed by layups by Maddie Williams and Je’ne Brown to rally into the lead for the first time at 30-27.

Medina’s Camri King tries to put up a shot against Imani Burch of Olmsted.

A free throw by Camri King and a layup by Emily Kams upped the Mustangs lead to 33-29 with 1:15 remaining.

Olmsted did cut the deficit to 31-29 after a bucket by Gabrielle McDuffie but the Lady Owls would get no closer.

Medina, which went just 2 of 13 from the foul line over the first three periods, then used some sharp free throw shooting in the final half minute to put a lock on the victory.  Kams made 5 free throws, Maddie Winters 2 and Brown 1 in the final 21 seconds.

“We finally played like we can play,” said Medina Coach Ken Haak of his charges fourth period rally. “They are resilient and they never gave up. They never quit.”

Brown, who is now Medina’s all-time single season scoring leader with 417 points, had 12 on the evening as Kams netted 9, Williams and King 6 and Winters and Gross 4.  Brown’s total breaks the old school record total of 392 set by Erin Oveis during the 1994-95 season.

McDuffie finished with 14 and Eliza Conyers 9 for Olmsted which winds up the season at 16-4.

Hampered by a rash of 13 turnovers and 2 of 11 free throw shooting in the first half, Medina trailed by narrow margins of 12-9 after one period and 20-18 at the break.

Brown scored 7, King 5 and Williams 4 in the opening half to keep the Mustangs close.

Stymied by 9 more third period turnovers, Medina trailed 25-22 at the three-quarter mark and by a 27-22 margin at the outset of the final period before beginning the deceive comeback.

Medina will now take a 17-5 record into  what will be the Mustangs first title game appearance since the 1997-98 season.

The Mustangs split a pair of N-O meetings with Wilson this season.

Medina’s Emily Kams looks to pass as Jade Rutledge defends for Olmsted.

Wilson 60, Buffalo Arts 58

N-O champion Wilson likewise had to shake off a rash of turnovers and foul problems to nip Buffalo Arts 60-58.

Kayla Neumann scored 26 and Rachel Senek 22 to lead the way for Wilson before both players fouled out in the final period.

Arts likewise was paced by a pair of high scorers as Alexis Campbell tallied 26 and Taliah Bush 21.

Neumann scored 8 early points to spark Wilson out to a 13-8 first quarter lead.

However, Arts battled back to take narrow leads of 28-25 at the half and 45-43 at the three-quarter mark.

Senek netted 8 in the second period and 6 in the third and Neumann 10 in the third to keep the Lakewomen close.

The decisive final period then saw no less than 11 lead changes as Neumann scored 8 and Senek 5 for Wilson and Campbell 10 for Arts.

Wilson finally regained the lead for good at 59-58 on a jumper by Neumann with 38 seconds to go.

Wilson now brings an 18-3 record into the B2 finals while Arts finishes the season at 17-5.

Wilson’s Kayla Neumann puts up a shot during tonight’s narrow B2 semi win over Buffalo Arts.

Roaring out to a 21 point first quarter lead, No. 2 seed East High of Buffalo romped to an 86-40 victory over No 6 Barker in the semifinal round of the Section VI Class C2 boys basketball tournament this evening at Jamestown Community College.

Up 29-8 after the opening period, East went on to hold commanding leads of 43-12 at the half and 70-30 at the three-quarter mark.

Willard Anderson led East with a game high 29 points.

Nate Luckman scored 26, including five threes, for Barker as Malik Smith and Austin Sullivan both added 5 and Kyle Moeller 4.

Barker finishes the season at 9-13.

Class B1 Semifinals

No. 3 Newfane nipped No. 2 MST Seneca 65-63 in a Class B1 semifinal Monday.

Max Weber scored 25, including the game winner, to spark Newfane as Albert Kramp added 15.

Newfane will now face top seeded East Aurora in the B1 title game on Saturday at Buffalo State College. East Aurora downed No. 5 Dunkirk 59-55 in the other semifinal.

The Panthers led 18-13 after one period, 32-26 at the half and 46-40 at the three-quarter mark.

Avenging a loss the week before, Legion trimmed Sacred Heart 36-34 in a key Medina Euchre League game Monday.

JR Wilson downed Vets Club 44-26 in the other match.

Now on top by 8 points, Legion is 761-709 on the season, Sacred Heart 753-717, JR Wilson 744-726 and Vets Club 682-788.

League competition continues on March 4 with JR Wilson at Sacred Heart and Vets Club at Legion.

Contributed Photo – Kyle Barna

Medina High graduate Kyle Barna has been named Pfeiffer University’s Male Athlete of the Week.

In two lacrosse games last week, Barna had a total of nine goals, tallied four ground balls. On Wednesday at Catawba, the sophomore mid-fielder scored five times and picked up three ground balls and on Saturday in the 9-8 win against Brevard he added four more goals.

Barna, who is a Sports Management major, scored 181 goals during his scholastic career at Medina.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Mason Lewis and Molley Gross and their Mustang teammates will be competing in the semifinal ground of the Section VI Class B2 playoffs this coming week. The girls will face Olmsted on Wednesday at Sweet Home while the boys will take on Health Sciences on Thursday at Buffalo State College.

Looking to take that next big step in their quest for a post season title, the Barker boys team and both the Medina boys and girls squads will be competing in the semifinal round of the Section VI basketball tournaments this coming week.

Barker will tipoff the week’s action as the No. 6 seeded Raiders (9-12) take on No. 2 Buffalo East (14-7) in a Class C2 semi at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday at Jamestown Community College. The victor will face the winner of the No. 1 Randolph (17-4) vs. No. 4 Frewsburg (17-3) semi in the title contest on Saturday.

The No. 5 Medina girls (16-5) will face top seeded Olmsted (16-3) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Sweet Home High School. It will be a Niagara-Orleans League twin bill as No. 3 Wilson (18-3) will take on No. 2 Buffalo Arts (17-4)  in the first semi at 6 p.m.. The two winners will meet in the title contest on Sunday at Buffalo State College.

The top seeded N-O champion Medina boys team (17-4) will face No. 4 Health Sciences (17-4) at 6 p.m. Thursday at Buffalo State. The victor will then face the winner of the No. 2 Olmsted (4-3) vs. No. 3 Lackawanna (16-5) semi in the B2 title contest on Saturday at Buff State.

Jake Arnold and his Barker teammates will face Buffalo East in Tuesday’s Class C2 semifinal.

Barker is sparked by the senior duo of Nate Luckman, who has scored 461 points ( 21.9 average) and Eddie Wasnock who had tallied 225 points (10.7 ave.) Luckman also had 110 rebounds and 50 steals and Wasnock 190 rebounds.

The Raiders advanced to the semis by downing No. 3 Holland 58-51 while East downed No. 7 Global Concepts 81-57.

Sophomore Je’ne Brown has set the pace for the Medina girls with 405 points (2.2 ave.) and 234 rebounds.  Maddie Williams is also averaging in double figure with 242 pouts (12.1 ave.).

N-O champion Wilson is sparked by the duo of Rachel Senek, who has scored 344 points (20.2 ave.) and Kayla Neumann 233 (13.7 ave.).

In the quarterfinals, Medina romped past No. 5 MST Prep 61-19, Ollmsted downed No. 8 Akron 39-30, Wilson topped No. 6 Southwestern 49-39 and Arts trimmed No. 10 Eden 65-56.

A trio of underclassmen have led the way for the Medina boys squad as junior Jalin Cooper has scored 442 points (21.0 ave.) while sophomores Johnny Salone has tallied 278 (13.2) and Izaiah Rhim 192 (9.1).  Cooper has also grabbed off 196 rebounds, Salone 166 and Rhim 156 to go along with 102 assists.

The high scoring Heath Sciences Falcons, which have topped the 100 point mark three times, the 90 mark once and the 80 plateau six times this season, are led by the quartet of 6-6 junior Davonte Gaines who has scored 341 points (18.2 ave.), junior Tyrone Lott 328 (19.2), sophomore Kameron Briggs 220 (12.3) and senior Wize Threat 173 (10.1).

Medina defeated Gowanda 69-48 in the quarterfinals while Health Sciences downed rival Middle Early College 70-54. The other quarterfinals saw Olmsted oust No. 7 Lafayette 67-53 and Lackawanna down No. 6 Wilson 60-45.