Boys Basketball
Marcellus 72, Sherburne-Earlville 45
SHERBURNE – Marcellus ended the first half on a 9-0 run, and made its first three shots of the second half – two of those three-pointers – to streak away from Sherburne-Earlville in Wednesday night’s Section III playoff game.
“I think the end of the first half was the turning point of the game,” said S-E coach Kevin Vibbard. “I felt we were staying with them at that point, but instead of being down seven, we were down 16 points at halftime.”
Marcellus established the early advantage with six layups on its first six baskets. Four of those hoops came on putbacks after offensive rebounds. Later in the half, the Mustangs found their outside shooting stroke.
After Ethan Johnson’s three put the Marauders within 26-19 with 4:02 to play in the second, Marcellus guard Nick Sinay answered with a three of his own just 10 seconds later. Steve Raven added two layups, and Geoff Crysler stuck a foul line jumper for the 35-19 lead.
Crysler and Sinay had back-to-back three-pointers early in the second half lifting the Mustangs to a 43-21 lead, and prompting Vibbard to call a timeout.
“We knew this game would be a battle for us, and we didn’t match their aggressiveness tonight,” Vibbard said. “They were going after the offensive boards, and we turned it over way too much.”
S-E (11-8) finished with 23 turnovers in the contest.
Johnson had 17 points to pace the Marauders, and Cameron Yerton tacked on 11.
Marcellus: Kyle Hastings, 8 0-1-16; Steve Raven, 9 1-2-20; Carey Mielnicki, 0; Garrett Thompson, 0; Zach Grashof, 0; Nick Sinay, 4 0-1-10; Joe Masterpol, 2 0-0-5; Mike Tross, 2 0-0-4; Geoff Crysler, 6 1-2-15; Duncan Merritt, 1 0-0-2. Totals: 32 2-6-72.
S-E: Randy Briggs, 1 2-2-5; Steve White, 0 0-0-0; Cameron Yerton, 4 1-2-11; Cody Williams, 0 0-0-0; Paul Romanenko, 1 0-0-3; Branden McDaniel, 2 2-2-6; Cole Hodges, 1 0-0-2; Ethan Johnson, 6 0-0-17; Sam Caton, 0 1-2-1; Matt Piazzi, 0 0-0-0. Totals: 15 6-8-45.
Marc. 14 21 18 19–72
S-E 8 11 14 12–45
Fouled out: none. Team fouls: (SE) 6, (M) 7. Three-point goals: (SE) Briggs, Yerton 2, Romanenko, Johnson 5. (M) Raven, Sinay 2, Masterpol, Crysler 2. Officials: S. Berg, T. Carson.
G-MU 45, Gilboa-Conesville 40
COPES CORNERS – G-MU won its first sectional playoff game under head coach Bill Hartman topping Gilboa-Conesville at home Wednesday night.
Demario Reed scored 12 points in the fourth quarter to aid the Raiders’ effort. G-C trailed 43-31 with less than five minutes to play, but hit four three-pointers in the last quarter to stay within striking distance.
“I was proud of the kids,” Hartman said. “They were a big team, much bigger than we anticipated, and we rebounded it really well tonight.”
Jon Scofield and Ian Edwards had eight rebounds apiece, and Eddie Ray Cotton grabbed seven rebounds to go with his 13 points.
Reed finished with 16 points, and most of his fourth-quarter output came on dribble drives to the basket. “We got a little bit better rhythm going offensively in the second and fourth quarters, but the game didn’t need to be as close as it was,” Hartman said. “We missed a lot of layups, and that is unusual for us.”
G-MU will play on Saturday at Edmeston in the Section IV Class D quarterfinals.
Gilboa-Conesville: Stephen Voorhis, 0; Hunter Grace, 1 0-0-2; Derek Briggs, 4 0-0-11; Frankie Donnelly, 1 0-0-2; Tyler Latta, 2 0-0-6; Justin Dudley, 1 0-5-2; Joe Cooper, 7 2-5-17. Totals: 16 2-10-40.
