Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Nate Warters helped lead Kendall to an opening round sectional win at Dundee this afternoon.

A clutch game ending scoring spurt earned No. 17 Kendall a 55-48 victory over host No. 16 Dundee this afternoon in the opening round of the Section V Class D1 boys basketball playoffs.

Breaking away from a 47-47 deadlock, Kendall closed the contest with a victory clinching 8-1 run on back-to-back threes by Nate Warters and a pair of clutch free throws by Mickey Gardner.

Warters, who made a total of five threes on the day, scored 13 of his game high 26 points in the decisive final period.

Hunter Menze added 9 points, John Rath and Mason Kuhn 7 and Gardner 4 for the Eagles which next visit top seeded Clyde-Savannah on Wednesday.  Rath and Gardner also both grabbed off 12 rebounds, Kuhn 10 and Menze 7.

Wylie Hall scored 15 and Austin Gibson 13 for Dundee.

Kendall held leads of 17-12 after one period, 30-21 at the half and 40-34 after three quarters.

Warters scored 7 and Menze 6 in the opening period to help get the Eagles rolling and Rath tallied 7 in the second period.

Barker’s 200 Freestyle Relay quartet of Collin Webb, Adam Wagner, Dominic Clementi and Andrew Jenks placed fifth at the Section VI swim championships today at the University at Buffalo.

Webb also placed sixth in the 100 Freestyle (:49.99) and seventh in the 50 Freestyle (:22.35).

The Medina 200 Free Relay team of Mason Pecoraro, August Pietrafesa, Hunter Heil and Daniel Heil set a new school record time of 1:35.38 with a 15th place finish.  The Mustangs 400 Free Relay quartet of Pietrafesa, Pecoraro, Dan Heil and Ray Paull likewise set a school record time of 3:36.46 with an 18th place finish.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Albion’s Sarah Gregori puts a shot up over Lockport’s Jasmine Darrell during the Purple Eagles tournament loss to the host Lady Lions this evening.

Jumping out to an 11 point first quarter lead, the host Lady Lions went on to defeat Albion 46-29 this evening  in the opening round of the Lockport Tournament.

Kourtney Krchniak, a 5-10 junior, scored 6 of her 9 points in the opening period as the taller Lady Lions grabbed a 13-2 lead.

Elizabeth Mullane, a 6-0 senior, then tallied 9 of her 15 points in the second quarter to keep the Lady Lions up by 12, 24-12, at the half.

A jumper by Sierra Newton pulled Albion to within 10, 24-14, at the outset of the third period but the Purple Eagles could get no closer.

Lockport answered with a three by Ashlynn Johnson and a bucket by Mullane to go back up by 15, 29-14.

The Lady Lions maintained a 12 point, 33-21, lead at the three-quarter mark and quickly upped the advantage to 18, 39-21, early in the final stanza as Daizha Webb ad Jasmine White had layups.  White and Ashlynn Johnson both finished with 6.

Sarah Gregori led Albion with 11 as Janae Doty added 5, Newton 4, Natalie DiCureia, Brylie Hapeman, Lexi Wolck and Tess Pettit 2 and Elisabeth Baker 1.

Albion will now face Nichols in the consolation game at 6 p.m. Saturday while Lockport will face East Aurora in the championship game at 7:30 p.m.

Boys Baksetball
Kendall opens playoffs Saturday
No. 17 seed Kendall (2-18) will visit No. 16 Dundee (4-16) at 2 p.m. Saturday in the opening round of the Section V Class D1 playoffs. The winner will face top seeded Clyde-Savannah (16-4) in the quarterfinals on February 21.

Lyndonville (6-14), which is seeded No. 13 in Class D will visit No. 4 HAC (14-6) at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

In Class C1, No. 15 Holley (4-16) will visit undefeated (20-0) No. 2 Pembroke at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Albion’s Janae Doty tries to shoot against Lockport defenders Kourtney Krchniak and Jasmine Darrell.

The Medina Unified bowling team improved to 4-0 with a 6-3 victory at Clarence on Thursday.

Contributing to the win for Medina were Jackson Tuohey, Steven Secore, Ian Wagner, Jessica Granchelli, William Brazwell, Thomas and Joe Biacelli, Enzo Giuliani, Morgan Allis, Morgan Crossett, Gracie Cogovan and Lydia Battaglia.

Medina next competes in a tournament at the South Transit Lanes in Lockport on February 26.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Roy-Hart’s Jake Bruning goes under Barker defender Nick Brandt for a layup try during the Rams win over the host Raiders this evening.

Rebounding from a dismal first half of the Niagara-Orleans League season, Roy-Hart capped off a strong second half surge by downing host Barker 62-46 this evening.

The victory completes a 5-1 second half run for Roy-Hart which finishes the N-O campaign at the .500 mark of 6-6 after going 1-5 to open the season.

Noah Kindron scored 18, Jake Bruning 15 and Charlie Bruning 10 to lead the way for Roy-Hart as Charlie Brigham added 8, Blake Halstead 7 and Quinten Koch and Jon Huntington 2 each.

Malik Smith led Barker with 11 as Nick Brandt, Zach Richbart and Austin Sullivan each chipped in with 8, Evan Ecker 4, Preston Harris 3 and Dan Ober and Cole Hanssen 2.

Barker’s Preston Harris puts up a shot as Roy-Hart’s Charlie Bruning tries for a block.

Roy-Hart jumped out to a 17-6 first period lead as Kindron scored 7 and Jake Bruning and Charlie Bruning 4 each.

The Rams quickly increased the advantage to 15, 21-6, at the outset of the second period after back-to-back layups by Kindron and Jake Bruning.

However, Barker came battling back putting together a 10-0 run to get right back in the game.  Ecker and Smith both had 4 points and Brandt 2 during that spurt which rallied the Raiders to within five at 21-16.

Two quick buckets by Smith pulled Barker to within three, 25-22, later in the period but Roy-Hart regained a little breathing room as a bucket by Charlie Bruning and a pair of free throws by Jake Bruning put the Rams up by eight, 30-22, at the half.

Getting 7 points from Richbart, including a three, along with 4 by Brandt and a 3 by Harris in the third period, Barker stayed within six, 43-37, at the three-quarter mark.

A basket off a steal by Smith rallied Barker to within four, 43-39, at the outset of the final period but the Raiders could get no closer.

Roy-Hart answered back with a key 10-3 run, including baskets by Brigham and Charlie Bruning, to regain an 11 point, 53-42, advantage midway through the period.

Barker could get no closer than eight after that as Roy-Hart closed with an 8-0 run to close out the victory.

Newfane 54, Wilson 37
Newfane used a big third period surge to key a 54-37 victory at rival Wilson to earn a share of the N-O League championship.

The Panthers used a big 19-4 third period uprising to turn a 22-21 half-time deficit into a 40-26 lead at the three-quarter mark.

The victory earns Newfane a share of the N-O crown with Medina as both teams finish at 10-2.

Kyle DeVoogel scored 20, Max Weber 14 and Connor Hill 10 for Newfane.

Nate Fox scored 16 for Wilson which finishes the N-O season at 8-4.

Girls Basketball
Roy-Hart 65, Barker 32
Meghan Washington scored 18, Ellie Todd 14, Sophia LaPort 13 and Maddy Glena 9 to lead Roy-Hart to a 65-32 win over visiting Barker.

Gabby Baker scored 12 and Kylie Miller 7 for Barker.

Section V playoff pairings
Lyndonville and Kendall have both earned home games for next week’s opening round of the Section V Class D1 playoffs.

No. 7 Lyndonville will host No. 10 Northstar and No. 8 Kendall will entertain No 9 Alfred-Almond, both games at 7 p.m. February 20.

Roy-Hart’s Noah Kindron drives by Barker defender Cole Hanssen.

The No. 2 seeded Roy-Hart/Barker/Medina Club hockey team will face No. 3 seed Dunkirk/Fredonia this weekend in a two game semifinal round playoff series.

Roy-Hart/Barker/Medina will host Dunkirk/Fredonia at 5:15 p.m. Saturday at the Cornerstone Arena in Lockport.  The teams will then meet again at 4:45 p.m. Sunday at SUNY Fredonia.

The winner of the series will advance to the Mixed Schools Division championship game on February 23 at the Key Bank Arena in Buffalo.

Roy-Hart/Barker/Medina split with Dunkirk/Fredonia during the regular season, winning 7-3 at home and losing 4-2 on the road.

The other semifinal bracket will match top seeded Alden/Iroqois against No. 5 Jamestown/Souhwestern/Maple Grove which has a 16-1-1 record after competing in the Blue Division during the regular season.

The New York State Club Championship Series will be played in Jamestown on March 2-4.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Camri King scores 23 to lead Medina past host Akron.

Making it four wins in the last five outings, Medina closed the Niagara-Orleans League girls basketball season on a high note with a 59-42 romp over host Akron avenging an earlier season 20 point (58-38) loss.

Camri King spearheaded the Medina offense by scoring a season high 23 points as Maddie Williams added 16, Je’ne Brown 12 and Kharisa Johnson 8.

Darion Jonathan scored 13, Helena Hill 10 and Neely Abrams 9 for Akron.

Leading 14-11 after the first period, Medina used a big 16-4 second quarter surge to extend the advantage to 30-15 at the half.  Johnson scored 6 and Brown and Williams both added 4 during that stretch.

Keeping the momentum, the Mustangs then outpointed the Lady Tigers 18-11 in the third period to stretch the lead to 22, 48-26, at the three-quarter mark.  King poured in 13 to lead that surge.

Medina finishes the N-O season at 4-8 and Akron at 6-6.

Newfane 48, Starpoint 43
N-O champion Newfane closed out a 19-1 regular season by posting a 48-43 non league victory over Starpoint.

Paige Emborsky and Emily Foltz each scored 12 to lead the way for Newfane as Alexa Littman and Emily Geer both added 8.

A big late scoring surge earned Lyndonville a 60-49 victory over host Kendall this evening in a regular season closing Genesee Region League boys basketball game.

Breaking away from a 45-45 tie, Lyndonville closed with a 15-4 run to claim the victory. Nathan Poler scored 7 to lead the uprising.

Poler finished with a game high 25 points as Nathan Hydock added 12, Kane Flynn 8, Matt Hess 6, Nathan Dillenbeck 5 and Zach Johnson 4.

Nate Warters scored 15 and Hunter Menze 12 to lead Kendall as John Rath added 7, Mason Kuhn 6, Dale Steffen 5 and Mickey Gardner 4.  Rath also had 9 rebounds and 8 assists.

Lyndonville jumped out to a 15-11 first period lead but Kendall rallied into a 26-25 half-time advantage as Warters scored 11 in the second period.

Lyndonville regained a 45-37 lead at the three-quarter make as Hydock tallied 8 in the third period.

Kendall pulled even at 45-45 in the final stanza but Lyndonville answered with the deciding 15-4 run to claim the victory.

Lyndonville finishes the regular season at 6-14 and Kendall at 2-18.

Alexander 63, Holley 42
Jumping out to a 19-7 first period lead, Alexander went on to defeat host Holley 63-42 in a G-R contest.

Ryan Davis scored a game high 24 for Alexander which led 32-20 at the half and 46-34 at the three-quarter mark.

Andrew Moseman scored 14, Ryan Andrews 10 and Patrick Bower 6 for Holley which finishes the regular season at 4-16.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Alex Allis drives against Akron defenders Carter Jensen and Derek Holtz during the Mustangs title clinching win over the visiting Tigers this evening.

Clinching at least a share of a third straight title, Medina romped to a 68-38 victory over visiting Akron this evening to close out the Niagara-Orleans League boys basketball season.

Medina finishes the N-O campaign at 10-2 and with at least a co-championship. Newfane, which is now at 9-2, can earn a share of the title with a win at rival Wilson on Thursday.

Medina’s Brian Fry puts up a shot against Akron defender Branden Orr.

Jalin Cooper scored 19, Brendan Luthart 12, Mason Lewis 11 and Brian Fry 10 to lead Medina’s balanced attack as Alex Allis and Izaiah Rhim both added 7 and Tyler Chinn 2.

Weylon Abrams scored 8, Brandon Orr 7, Derek Holtz 6 and Jake Siska 5 to pace Akron which finishes the N-O season at 2-10.

Medina jumped out to a 19-15 first period lead as Allis hit two threes and Lewis one. Cooper also netted 6 and Luthart 4 in the period. Holtz, Orr and Nelson Logan all hit threes to keep Akron close.

Medina upped the lead to 10, 27-17 early in the second period by opening with an 8-2 run on two layups by Rhim and one each by Fry and Cooper.

The Mustangs outpointed the Tigers 19-6 in the period to extend the advantage to 17, 38-21, at the half. Cooper had a total of 7 and Rhim and Luthart 4 each in the stanza.

Keeping the momentum, three baskets by Fry early in the third period upped the lead to 20, 46-26. The Mustangs maintained an 18 point, 51-33, advantage at the three-quarter mark.

Medina will close out the regular season with a non league game at Orchard Park on Saturday.

Medina’s Trenton Jones battles for a rebound with Akron’s Mason Schultz.

Avenging an early season loss, Lyndonville bested visiting Kendall 37-33 this evening in a Genesee Region League girls basketball game.

Ella Lewis scored 15, Anna Lewis 7 and Miranda Lembcke 6 for Lyndonville which led 13-11 after one period, 23-18 at the half and 35-26 at the three-quarter mark.  Two free throws by Anna Lewis helped the Lady Tigers lock up the win.

Taylor ReQua scored 12 for Kendall as Brittney Marks and Jenna Regan both added 6.