Photos by Cheryl Wertman – At left, Wesley Olles puts up a free throw to put Albion  back on top to stay in the closing seconds of tonight’s tense win by the host Purple Eagles.. At the right Albion’s Tyler Cody goes up to block a last ditch three point shot attempt by Medina’s Preston Woodworth.

In a tense sea-saw battle down the stretch, Albion emerged with a narrow 59-56 Senior Night win over rival Medina in a Niagara-Orleans League boys basketball game this evening at Albion.

The lead changed hands no less than six times in the hectic final five minutes, twice in the final 32 seconds.

Trailing by seven, 43-36, early in the final period Medina ignited that wild finish by putting together a key 10-0 run to rally into s 46-43 lead with just under five minutes remaining.

Kendrick Russaw had a three-point play and a rebound basket, Kolton Fletcher a three and Preston Woodworth a rebound basket during that stretch.

Albion though answered back with a 7-0 run, including two baskets and a free throw by Tyler Cody and two free throws by Wesley Olles, to regain a 50-46 lead .

Albion’s Tyler Cody drives in for a layup between Medina defenders Preston Woodworth and Kolton Fletcher (4).

The sea-saw action continued as Medina went back on top 51-50 on baskets by Jerrell Nealy and Woodworth, Albion regained a 53-51 lead on a three-point play by Elijah Doxey with 2:20 remaining and then Medina went back into the lead for what proved to be the last time at 56-53 on a basket by Nealy followed by a three by Woodworth with 32 seconds remaining.

That set the stage for the Purple Eagles final game winning rally by scoring the game’s final five points in the last 24 seconds.

A basket by Doxey cut the deficit to one and Olles followed up with two big free throws to put the Purple Eagles back on top to stay at 57-56 with 21 seconds remaining. Olles then made two more free throws in the final 12 seconds to cap off the narrow 59-56 win.

Doxey finished with 17, Nate Gibson 15, Cody 14, Olles 10 and Adam Burgio 3.

Woodworth took game high honors for Medina with 21 as Fletcher and Nealy both had 9, Russaw 7, Christian Moss and Carlos Doval 3 each and Avion Johnson and Hadrian Batista 2 each.

Medina’s Kendrick Russaw puts up a shot against Albion defender Elijah Doxey.

Albion jumped out to a 17-10 first quarter lead as Gibson tallied 8 and Doxey 5 during that stretch as they each had a three.

The Purple Eagles went on to maintain narrow leads of 24-22 at the half and 38-34 at the end of the third quarter.

A basket by Cody and a three-point play by Gibson upped the Albion lead to seven, 43-36, at the outset of the decisive fourth quarter setting the stage for the hectic, sea-saw finish.

Albion is now 6-5 and Medina 6-4 in N-O action.

The Purple Eagles will next visiting league leading Wilson and Medina will host runner-up Akron on Tuesday.

Akron, Newfane post wins
In the other N-O contests, Akron jumped out to 32-12 half-time advantage in route to posting a 64-40 win over Roy-Hart and Newfane edged Barker 49-45.

Kasey Wheat had 18 and Mac Capen 14 to lead Newfane.

Anthony Taliaferro scored 19 and JJ Prynn 15 for Barker.

N-O Standings: Wilson 10-0, Akron 8-2, Medina 6-4, Albion 6-5, Newfane 4-6, Roy-Hart 1-9, Barker 1-10.

Medina’s Christian Moss drives to the basket as Nate Gibson defends for Albion.

Roy-Hart nipped visiting Akron 51-49 this evening to regain the .500 mark at 5-5 in Niagara-Orleans League girl basketball competition.

Baskets by Brooke Corser and Millie Owens put Roy-Hart ahead for good at 49-48. Two clutch free throws by Peyton May then provided the margin of victory for the Lady Rams.

Owens and Adella Dukes both finished with 17 points, as May and Kylie McOmber both had 6 and Corser 5.

Abby Gerstung took game high honors for Akron with 19.

Newfane 44, Barker 33
Elise Monaco scored 11 and Hailey Dodge 9 for Barker in the 44-33 N-O loss to Newfane.

N-O Standings: Wilson 9-0, Akron 7-2, Albion 7-4, Roy-hart 5-5, Medina 4-5, Newfane 2-8, Barker 0-10.

Elba 69, Lyndonville 43

Ava Buczek scored 13, Brea Smith 12 and Lydia Ross 11 to lead Elba to a 69-43 win over Lyndonville in a Genesee Region League game.

Alexa Robinson and Isabella Groves both scored 12 for Lyndonville.

Byron-Bergen 34, Holley 28
Brynn Thomas had 8 points and 7 rebounds, Hanna Ostrom 7 points and 7 rebounds and Ali VanAmeron 6 points and 7 rebounds for Holley in the 34-28 G-R loss to Byron-Bergen.

Attica 50, Kendall 48
Attica nipped Kendall 50-48 in a G-R contest on a last second basket by Alyssa Elmore.

Elmore and Alannah Gibbs both finished with 11 for Attica as Meg Gertz and Corrin Orlowski both had 10.

Teagan Shaw and Izzy D’Agostino both scored 13 and Mia Price 12 for Kendall.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Samantha Heschke fires up the game winning three point shot in the final seconds of the Mustangs come-from-behind 51-50 home court win over rival Albion this evening. Melia Prince defends for Albion.

Coming from behind with a big fourth quarter scoring surge, Medina rallied to nip rival Albion 51-50 in a Niagara-Orleans League girls basketball game this evening at Medina.

Trailing by seven, 40-33. Medina rallied for the narrow win by out scoring Albion 18-10 in the decisive final stanza.

The Mustangs opened the period with a key 13-2 run on two threes by Harmoni Wilson, a three and a two by Caliyah St. Louis and a basket by Roswyn Oakes to rally into the lead at 46-42.

The Purple Eagles though answered right back with a clutch 8-0 run on a three by Leah Pawlak, two baskets by Aaliyah Jones and a free throw by Melia Prince to regain the lead for what proved to be the last time at 50-46 with less than a minute to go.

That set the stage for the Mustangs big finish as St. Louis hit a basket with 22 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 50-48 and Samantha Heschke followed up with a huge three for what proved to be the game winning basket with 14 seconds to go for a 51-50 victory.

Albion’s Jocelyn Friedl (4) and Melia Prince (23) and Medina’s Roswyn Oakes battle for a rebound.

St. Louis finished with a game high 25 points as Wilson had 9, Heschke and Alexa Demmer 5 each, Roswyn Oakes 4, Emberlyn Oakes 2 and Tatianna Maxon 1.

Jones finished with 20, Prince 16, Pawlak 10, Jocelyn Friedl and Madison Muckle 2 each for the Purple Eagles.

Medina held a narrow 9-8 lead at the end of the opening period as St. Louis had all 9 points and Jones had 6 for Albion.

Albion surged to as much as a 10 point, 24-14, lead late in the second quarter as Prince scored 10, including a pair of three-point plays, and Jones 6, including a three.

Medina though rallied to cut the deficit to 24-20 at the half capped off by a three by Wilson.

Albion’s Aaliyah Jones puts up a shot as Alexa Demmer (22) and Madison Zeiner defend for Medina.

Baskets by Heschke and St. Louis pulled the Mustangs to within two, 26-24, early in the third period but the Purple Eagles answered with a 12-3 run to open up an 11 point, 38-27, advantage. Pawlak spearheaded that uprising with 7 points, including a three.

The Mustangs did cut the deficit a bit to seven, 40-33, at the end of the third period on a late three by St. Louis.

That set the stage for the Mustangs big fourth quarter 18-10 rally highlighted by two threes by Wilson and one each by St. Louis and the game winner by Heschke.

The first meeting between the two teams this season was equally close as Albion emerged with a narrow 55-53 home court win.

Albion is now 7-4 and Medina 4-5 in N-O competition.

Medina’s Caliyah St. Louis puts up a shot as Albion’s Leah Pawlak looks for a possible rebound.

Pulling away in the second half, Lyndonville downed Wheatland-Chili 65-48 in a Genesee Region League boys basketball game this evening.

Colton Smith scored 22, Atticus Mank 16, Quincy McClinsey 10, Lane Woodworth 9, Devon Babcock 5 and Lyric Raduns 3 for the Tigers which held a narrow 29-28 lead at halftime.

In other G-R action, Attica edged Holley 52-47 and Alexander bested Kendall 50-43.

Josh Silpoch scored 17, Avante Walker 15 and Cam Mosier 6 for Holley.

For Kendall, CJ D’Agostino had 14, Vinnie D’Agostino 11 and Noah Morehouse 10.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Roy-Hart’s Tysen McCaa puts up a shot over Barker defenders Carson Schwab (2) and Anthony Taliaferro. The action took place during the Rams home court win over the Bulldogs this evening.

Snapping a season long eight league game losing streak, Roy-Hart edged visiting Barker 61-57 in a Niagara-Orleans boys basketball make-up game this evening.

Trailing 51-46 early in the final quarter, Roy-Hart rallied to claim that elusive first N-O win by closing strong with a big 15-6 scoring surge.

Matt Aquilina scored seven during that key rally which also included threes by both Tysen McCaa and Vinny Fazzio.

Barker had grabbed the five point, 51-46, lead at the outset of the period as Anthony Taliaferro had a three and a two and JJ Prynn a three.

Fazzio finished with 18, Aquilina 17 and McCaa 15 to lead the way for the Rams as Jakob West added 7, Owen Maedel 3 and John Brigham 1.

Taliaferro took game high scoring honors with 23 for Barker as Donovan Hefferon had 15, Prynn 8, Carter DerSarkissian 6, Ashton Ark and Peyton Wagner 2 each and Keagan Schaal 1.

Anthony Taliaferro drives to the basket for Brker over the Roy-Hart duo of Tysen McCaa and Matt Aquilina.

It was a fast paced sea-saw contest with no less than 12 ties and 8 lead changes.

The opening period set that tone with 5 ties and 2 lead changes ending in a 17-17 tie. Aquilina had 8 for the Rams and Hefferon 7 for the Bulldogs during that stretch.

Roy-Hart went on to hold slender one point leads of 29-28 at the half and 44-43 at the end of the third period.

Fazzio scored 9 in the third period for the Rams as did Taliaferro for the Bulldogs.

Roy-Hart is now 1-8 and Barker 1-9 in N-O action.

N-O competition continues on Friday evening at 6:30 with Barker at Newfane, Roy-Hart at Akron and Medina at Albion.

N-O Standings: Wilson 10-0, Akron 7-2, Medina 6-3, Albion 5-5, Newfane 3-6, Roy-Hart 1-8, Barker 1-9.

Roy-Hart’s Vinny Fazzio goes in for a layup ahead of Barker’s Keagan Schaal.

Albion boosted its Niagara-Orleans League girls basketball record to 7-3 with a 59-46 home court Senior Night victory over Roy-Hart this evening.

Aaliyah Jones scored 21, Leah Pawlak 14, Melia Prince 13 and Madison Muckle 8 to pace Albion.

Millie Owens scored 21 and Adella Dukes 14 to lead Roy-Hart.

Trailing 33-28 at the half, Albion rallied to outscore Roy-Hart 15-6 in the third period and 16-7 in the fourth to claim the win.

Wilson 54, Medina 20
Defending champion Wilson stayed undefeated at 9-0 by downing visiting Medina 54-20 as Rowan Simpson scored 15 and Bella Thrush 14.

Samantha Heschke scored 10 and Caliyah St. Louis 4 for Medina which trailed by only six, 19-13, at the half.

Akron 84, Barker 37
Cheyanne Rouse and Charlotte Haag both scored 9 and Elise Monaco and Kaylee Stoll 8 each for Barker in the loss to Akron.

N-O Standings: Wilson 9-0, Akron 7-1, Albion 7-3, Roy-Hart 4-5, Medina 3-5, Newfane 1-8, Barker 0-9.

Holley, Kendall and Lyndonville all scored victories in Genesee Region League girls basketball action this evening.

Holley nipped Attica 39-36 in overtime as Hanna Ostrom had 11 points and 10 rebounds, Brynn Thomas 9 points and 4 steals, Mia Thom 9 points and 9 rebounds, Ella Turpyn 3 points, 10 rebounds and 5 steals and Kyla Burne 3 points and 4 steals.

Building up a 19-9 half-time advantage, Lyndonville went on to down Wheatland-Chili 32-27.

Isabella Groves led the Lady Tigers with 16 as Alexa Robinson added 4 and Leah Costello, Hannah Fox and Braelynn Dillenbeck each had 3.

Kendall romped past Alexander 73-35 as Mia Price had 23 points, Sophia Picardo 14, Teagan Shaw 11 and Izzy D’Agostino 10.

Albion evened its Niagara-Orleans League boys basketball record at 5-5 by downing host Roy-Hart 61-35 this evening.

Tyler Cody scored 22, Nate Gibson 19 and Wesley Olles 9 to set the pace for the Purple Eagles which led 35-15 at the half.

Matt Aquilina scored 16 and Tysen McCaa 7 for the Rams which slip to 0-8.

Akron 60, Barker 47
Akron stayed in the N-O title chase by downing Barker 60-47 to improve to 7-2.

Derren Brooks and Ben Gerstung each scored 19 and Blake Gerstung 14 to lead the way for the Tigers as Brodie Hill added 5 and Ace Abrams 3

Anthony Taliaferro scored 20, Donovan Hefferon 11 and Carson Schwab 8 for Barker which is now 1-8

N-O Standings: Wilson 10-0, Akron 7-2, Medina 6-3, Albion 5-5, Newfane 3-6, Barker 1-8, Roy-Hart 0-8.

Akron dominated the action at today’s annual Niagara-Orelasn girls All League swim meet at Newfane by taking first place in six of 11 events.

Aurora VanDusen was an individual event double winner for Akron in the 500 Free (5:58.48) and the 100 Breaststroke (1:16.95) as Charlotte Carlson took the 100 Butterfly (1:08.45) and Brooke Milhollen the 100 Backstroke (1:09.98).

Akron also captured the 200 Medley Relay in 2:06.10 with the quartet of Milhollen, VanDusen, Carlson and Eliza Koopman and the 400 Free Relay in 4:14.12 with the foursome of Milhollen, VanDusen, Carlson and Avery Haak.

Albion’s Keira Sidari was a double winner in the 200 Individual Medley (2:22.53) and the 100 Free (:57.98).

Medina’s Madeline Mark won the 200 Free in a time of 2:15.46.

Newfane won the 200 Free Relay in 1:54.02 with the foursome of Eden Hillman, Sara Klinger, Riley Klopfer and Emma Haseley.

Hillman also captured the 50 Free in :27.87.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Wilson’s Aidan Neumann puts up a shot against Medina defender Christian Moss during the Lakemen’s thrilling double overtime win over the host Mustangs this evening. Moving in on the play are Wilson’s Shamus George (30) and Medina’s Carlos Doval (11).

Rebounding from as much as a 16 point first half deficit, Wilson rallied to outlast Medina 86-80 in a double overtime thriller this evening at Medina to clinch at least a tie for the Niagara-Orleans League boys basketball championship.

Maintaining a two game lead, the Lakemen improve to 10-0 in N-O action with only two games remaining as Medina slips to 6-3 and out of title contention. Akron, which defeated Barker 60-47, is the only other team still in title contention as the Tigers improve to 7-2.

Medina sent the game into overtime deadlocked at 62-62 with a late 5-0 run on two baskets by Christian Moss and a free throw by Preston Woodworth to erase a 62-57 deficit.

The Mustangs then forced a second overtime period as a last second basket by Kolton Fletcher retied the contest at 74-74.

Jerrell Nealy, Woodworth. Moss and Kendrick Russaw also all had baskets in the period for Medina. Aidan Neumann and Chase Martin both hit threes for Wilson during that stretch as Brock Lepsch had two baskets and Ryan Hough one.

Medina then grabbed a 76-74 lead at the outset of the second overtime period on a layup by Moss.

Wilson though answered with a key 6-0 run on two free throws each by Hough and Lepsch and a layup by Neumann to regain the lead for good at 80-76.

A three by Neumann then off set a basket by Fletcher to keep Wilson up 83-78. The Lakemen then put a lock on the win on two free throws by Neumann and one by Shamus George.

Medina’s Jerrell Nealy goes up for a shot against Wilson defenders Shamus George (30) and Ryan Hough (14).

Neumann finished with a game high 34 points as Hough had 23, George 14, Lepsch 10 and Martin 5.

Woodworth led Medina with 22 as Nealy and Moss both had 18, Fletcher 7, Russaw and Carlos Doval 6 each, Jayzon Wills 2 and Avion Johnson 1.

Medina grabbed a narrow 14-13 lead at the end of a sea-saw first quarter which saw 4 ties and 5 lead changes. Nealy had 8 to lead the Mustangs in the early going.

The Mustangs then opened the second quarter with a big 18-3 run to race out to a 16 point, 32-16, advantage. Doval had two threes, Woodworth a three and a three point play and Nealy a pair of baskets to lead that uprising.

However, the Lakemen got back in the game by closing the period with an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to 10 at 34-24. Neumann had a three to cap off that rally.

Keeping the momentum, Wilson outscored Medina 19-14 in the third period to slice the deficit to five, 48-43. George and Hough both scored 6 and Neumann 5 to key that rally.

Medina maintained a four point, 57-53 lead with three minutes to go in the final period after a three by Woodworth and a jumper by Nealy.

However, Wilson answered back from long range as two threes by Hough and one by Neumann rallied the Lakemen into the lead for the first time since late in the opening quarter at 62-57 with 1:50 remaining.

The Mustangs though in turn answered back with a clutch 6-0 run on two layups by Moss and a free throw by Woodworth to send the tense contest into overtime deadlocked at 62-62.

There were three ties and two lead changes in the sea-saw first four minute overtime period which ended deadlocked at 74-74.

The Lakemen then pulled out the marathon title tie clinching victory by outscoring the Mustangs 12-6 in the second overtime period including 7 by Neumann.

Medina next visits rival Albion at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Wilson’s next N-O contest will be at home next Tuesday also against Albion.

Wilson’s Brock Lepsch grabs a rebound away from the Medina duo of Carlos Doval (11) an Kolton Fletcher (4).

Jumping out to a 26-8 first quarter lead, Kendall went on to defeat visiting Attica 72-55 in a Genesee Region League boys basketball game this evening.

CJ D’Agostino poured in 28 points to lead the way for Kendall including 14 in the decisive opening quarter.

The Eagles also had Vinnie D’Agostino with 14, Jonny Conte 13, Noah Morehouse 8, Sammy Conte 7 and Ryan Gaesser 2.

C.J. D’Agostino also had 9 rebounds Jonny Conte 8 assists and 6 steals and Vinnie D’Agostino 6 assists.

Kendall went on to lead by margins of 43-20 at the half and 58-41 at the end of the third quarter.

Improving to 7-2 in the league and 9-4 overall, Kendall next hosts Alexander in a G-R contest at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Lane Woodworth puts up a shot for Lyndonville against Pembroke defenders Gage Baker and Nolan Peterson during the Tigers home court loss to the Dragons this evening.

A barrage of ten first half threes sparked Pembroke to a 73-48 win over host Lyndonville in a Genesee Region League boys basketball game this evening.

Nolan Peterson made five threes, Owen Shultz three and Lenix Kohorst two in the opening half to key the Dragons out to a commanding 23 point, 40-17 lead.

Pembroke went on to lead by 25, 56-31, at the end of the third quarter.

Kohorst finished with 20, Peterson 19 and Shultz 12 to lead the Dragons which improve to 11-2.

Lane Woodworth scored 19, including three threes, to lead the way for Lyndonville.

The Tigers also had Lyric Raduns with 10, Atticus Mank 7, Colton Smith 6, Devon Babcock 4 and Quincy McClinsey 2..

Notre Dame 82, Holley 56
In another G-R contest Avante Walker scored 28, Tarek Garrett 7 and Josh Silpoch 6 for Holley in an 82-56 loss to Notre Dame.

Girls Basketball
Lyndonville won by forfeit over Global Concept which did not have enough players for the non league game.

Lyndonville’s Devon Babcock drives to the basket ahead of Pembroke’s Lenix Kohorst.

The Roy-Hart/Barker/Medina Knights Club Hockey team played host to Hamburg (8-1-2) today and won a thrilling Overtime victory by a 5-4 score.

John Peracciny (R-H) opened the scoring from Cameron Bryer (Wilson), but Hamburg scored twice in the first to take a lead into the second period.

Early in that stanza, Blake Palumbo (Newfane) tied the game with assists from Max Pilon (Medina) and Aiden Cronkhite (Newfane).

Late in the period, Peracciny scored his second from Clayton Wagner (Medina) and Sean Mettler (RH).

In the third period, Hamburg tied the game very early, but Peracciny once again provided RBM with the lead from Wagner and Bryer.

With just 3 seconds left in the game, Hamburg scored sending it into overtime.

It should be noted that during the third period, the RBM defense held off a two player deficit.

In the overtime, it took Wagner just 7 seconds to deliver the winner unassisted.

RBM’s final two games of the season are away, this coming Friday against Lancaster at 7 p.m. and Monday, February 9th at Olean also at 7 p.m.