Mustangs face two key N-O games this week

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – David Rhim and his Medina teammates face two key Niagara-Orlesns League games this week against rival Albion and co-leader Newfane.

Having just cleared the first of three straight league hurdles by a slender one point margin, Medina now gets set to face the other two key contests this week as the co-leading Mustangs seek to claim at least a share of the Niagara-Orleans boys basketball title.

Medina survived a scare in a narrow 57-56 home court win over Akron on Saturday to remain deadlocked for the N-O lead at 7-1 with Newffane which downed Roy-Hart 57-44.

Currently the Mustangs and Panthers hold a two game lead over runners-up Akron and Albion which are both 4-3.

The Mustangs now visit rival Albion on Tuesday and then host Newfane on Thursday.

Medina downed Albion 54-42 in their first meeting at Medina but the Purple Eagles have gone 4-1 since then. That lone loss was a narrow 58-52 setback at the hands of Newfane this past Thursday.

Newfane downed Medina  64-44 in their earlier meeting at Newfane. That was a tight 38-36 game after three quarters but the Panthers erupted for a big 26-8 scoring burst in the final stanza to close out the key victory.

Leading the offense for Medina has been the senior duo of Tyler Chinn and Brian Fry who are each averaging 16 points per game. Fry also leads the Mustangs in rebounds with 72.

Bailey Blanchard is also averaging 16 points per outing to lead Albion while Jeremy Foltz is averaging 12.9, Sam Capen 10,5 and Zach Snow 9.6 for Newfane.

In N-O girls basketball, undefeated (7-0) defending champion Wilson will host runner-up Akron (5-2) on Tuesday.

N-O Standings

Boys: Medina 7-1, Newfane 7-1, Akron 4-3, Albion 4-3, Roy-Hart 2-6, Wilson 2-6, Barker 1-7.

Girls: Wilson 7-0, Akron 5-2, Roy-Hart 4-3, Albion 3-4, Newfane 2-2, Barker 2-5, Medina 0-7.