OXFORD – A strong second half allowed the Unadilla Valley Storm to grow their lead from five to 22 points to win their eighth MAC league game Thursday night against the host Oxford Blackhawks with a final 59-37.
Oxford led for nearly the first 12 minutes of the contest behind a strong defensive effort. But that was until the Storm took control later in the second stanza. UV’s Dante Dye led the quarter with five points, three coming from beyond the arc. Teammate Levi Rifanburg chipped in four of his game-high 12 in the same quarter.
Andrew Jackson’s seven along with Rifanburg’s six paced the Storm in the second half as Unadilla Valley’s defense created their offense.
Oxford had too many early turnovers after the break, leading to UV in transition baskets and making it hard for the Blackhawks to claw back from.
UV finished with five players scoring in double-digits. Led by Rifanburg’s 12, Jackson and Caleb Parker ended the night with 11 each and Dye tallied 10 for the contest.
Chris Martin scored nine points to lead the Blackhawks while Brad Beckwith scored eight points in the loss.
Unadilla Valley will play its final regular season game at 7:15 p.m. at home on Wednesday, February 7 against Greene while Oxford travels to Afton on Tuesday, February 6 for a 7:30 p.m. start.
Unadilla Valley: Andrew Jackson 5 0-0-11; Dante Dye 4 0-1-10; Sam Loeffler 1 0-0-2; Charles Morgan 0 1-2-1; Payton Stirone 0; Caleb Parker 5 1-2-11; Spencer Meade 0; Levi Rifanburg 6 0-2-12; Bob Anderson 0; Wyatt Grey 4 0-0-10; Brady George 0; Cameron Osborne 0; Teddy Postma 1 0-0-2. Totals: 26 2-7-59.
Oxford: Jacob Murrer 1 0-0-3; Jason Davis 1 0-0-3; Xavier Cruise 2 1-5-5; Chris Martin 4 1-5-9; Matt Roach 1 0-0-3; C.J. Smith 3 0-0-6; Brad Beckwith 4 0-0-8. Totals: 16 2-10 37.
UV 9 16 15 19 – 59
O 12 8 6 11 – 37
Fouled out: . Three-point goals: (UV) Grey 2; Dye 2; Jackson 1; (O) Murrer 1; Davis 1; Roach 1. Officials: T. Davis and Reynolds
Sherburne-Earlville 47, Canastota 44
CANASTOTA – Playing against a big team – size wise – Sherburne-Earlville needed to swing the tempo in the favor in Thursday’s game on the road against Canastota. Once the Marauders’ started playing with a faster past, the game turned to favor S-E in their three point win over the Raiders.
Down 12-7 after one, Sherburne-Earlville’s defense was the key to keep them in the contention.
That was until Marauder Hunter Lane turned from cold to hot, scoring 10 in the second quarter to help his team grab a one point lead going into the intermission.
Sherburne-Earlville missed just one free-throw, shooting 7-for-8 in the third quarter. The made foul shots accounted for just about half of the Marauders’ points in the eight minute span, helping the team hold the lead going into the fourth.
Lane again caught fire in the final stanza, this time from long-range. Lane hit three from the three-point line to pace S-E in the fourth. Lane finished with game-high 29 points.
“We really had a hard time scoring the ball until Hunter got hot,” said Marauders’ head coach Kevin Vibbard. “We played some good defense to keep ourselves in the game until we started to hit some shots.”
The Marauders host Clinton on Monday, February 5. Before the game, Sherburne-Earlville will honor their seniors and tip-off will follow.
Otselic Valley 44, Stockbridge Valley 26
OTSELIC – With all aspects of the game being taken to another level for Otselic Valley, the Vikings won their first game in three years on Thursday, taking a 18 point win over Stockbridge Valley.
Taking an early 13-9 lead after the first, Stockbridge Valley fought back outscoring the home team 8-5 in the second to bring in the game within one point at halftime.
But the Vikings defensive effort held the Cougars to just nine points in both quarters after the break.
In the final eight minutes, the offense really controlled the game for OV as the tallied their highest scoring quarter of the contest with 18 points to finish the game on a high note and taking the win.
“The OV boys basketball team learned that we can play hard,” said head coach Jacob Preston. “When we do so, we get rewarded.”
It was senior night at Otselic Valley Thursday night. The Viking seniors step into roles that they have not done before. “Tanner Costa, a senior, became more of a facilitator tonight which was needed, Jonah VanVoorhis took good shots in the flow of the offense. Clayton O’Hara did some dirty work for use getting to lose balls.”
Dakota Adams lead the team with nine boards and added seven points to his statline. His numbers were shown by lot of hustle throughout the game according to Preston.
Lane Adams scored a team-high 10 points while VanVoorhis finished with eight and four rebounds and O’Hara added nine points.
“I was proud to see the group work as a team, cheering for the team to reach a common goal. “We were able to do that tonight,” said Preston.
Otselic Valley’s next game is on the road at Poland on Wednesday, February 7. Game is slated for a 7:15 p.m. start.
Greene 51, Bainbridge Guilford 30
GREENE – The Trojans limited themselves to just 10 turnovers in Thursday’s game against MAC opponent Bainbridge-Guilford, taking a 51-30 win. Ryan smith our 6’6 kid played big. Barry had
Greene jumped out of the gates with an 18-3 run to start.
The Bobcats answered with a 18-6 run of their own the second quarter, led by Xavier Cherniak’s 10 points, to trail by three at the break.
