basketball

Last evening at Le Roy High School the Oatkan Lady Knights advanced to the Class B2 quarter finals with a win over Attica Blue Devils 69-57. The Knights jumped out to a 12-point lead 27-15 led by Bryn Luckey and a three-pointer from each Hailey Johnson and Jillian Curtis. 

Through the second quarter, Attica held better defense and juniors McKenna Jarnot and Mary Weber both added three-point buckets to keep the Blue Devils in the half only down by 10 points.

The Knights held a strong defense keeping Attica’s top scorer McKenna Jarnot scoreless in the quarter, which kept the momentum scoring points from Luckey, Condidorio and Logsdon.  Score 52-37 after three quarters.

Attica, backed against defeat, did not give up and Jarnot hit four three-pointers in the final quarter to bring the Devils within six points. But the Knights sophomore guard Kailyn Tresco answered back with two three-point buckets of her own. 

Le Roy’s Brynn Luckey finished with 25 points; Amara Condidorio and Kailyn Tresco each had nine points. McKenna Jarnot scored 21 points, Weber 13 points for the Attica Blue Devils.

The Le Roy Knights play this Friday against second seed Avon on their home court, game time 7 p.m.

To view or purchase photos click here.

Tuesday night, Brianna Smith became Oakfield-Alabama's all-time scorer in girls basketball, sinking a three-pointer to put her at 1,311 career points.

The Hornets beat Holley 47-27 to move to 12-7 on the season.

Photos by Kristin Smith. For more, click here.

The Lyndonville Tigers held down a team that four times this season scored more than 90 points, and twice in the past four games going over 100, to just 58 points on a night that team really wanted a win.

The Fighting Irish wanted the win for their Head Coach Mike Rapone, who in his 40th season was on the cusp of his 700th career win.

Lyndonville is a good team, Rapone said after the game, but part of the problem was "the pressure of trying to win the 700th win," he said. "Other people did."

Victory looked far from certain through the first three-quarters of the contest. Notre Dame took their first lead of the night with about 20 seconds left in the first half and then quickly lost it, so they went into the locker room down 19-18.

Instead of coming out fired up, the team still seemed tentative for most of the third quarter and trailed heading into the fourth 40-29.  

Then Mark Sanders got hot, hitting a trio of three-point baskets to help spark a comeback.

He finished the night with 14 points. Gabe Macdonald socred 12 and Cody Henry scored nine.

For Lyndonville, Nathan Dallenbeck scored 21 points and Nathan Dydorle, who also had several blocked shots and steals, scored 16 points.

"I'm proud of the accomplishment, but know it couldn't have happened without all the great young men I have been fortunate enough to coach at Notre Dame," Rapone said.

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The Batavia Blue Devils Boys Varsity Basketball Team(13-7) hosted the Eastridge Lancers (16-3) Friday evening for a Monroe County conference game. 

Eastridge was in control in early minutes of the game with Batavia unable to put a play together and score. Batavia did find their rhythm and caught right up to Eastridge trailing by one at the end of the first period, Batavia 12, Eastridge 14.  

For the next two periods it was hard fought defensive plays and back and forth trading points on offense but Batavia did seem to control the game. Batavia led by a basket at the half and the end of the third.  

The Blue Devils look poised for their biggest upset of the year with only two minutes left in the fourth, they led 50 to 49. With 14 seconds left, Batavia trailed by three. They had a chance for a three-pointer to tie the game but the Lancers' defense was too strong and a turnover sealed their fate. Final score, Batavia 50, Eastridge 53. 

Elba's Colton Dillion scored a career-best 47 points in route to setting a new school record for career points, beating the old record of 1,244 points and raising his own record to 1,252 points.

Elba beat Kendall 76-46.

Photos by Kristin Smith. For more photos, click here.

Press release:

The Notre Dame High School family will be honoring the legacy of excellence of Notre Dame Basketball Coach Mike Rapone (Class of ’71) with a reception in the school cafeteria following the boys Section V playoff game on Tuesday, Feb. 25.

Coach Rapone currently has 697 career victories as he coaches in his 40^th season here at Notre Dame. The 697 wins make him the all-time leader in Section V coaching victories with the second place coach more than 150 wins behind.  

He began his coaching career at his grade school alma mater, Holy Family School in Le Roy in the 1972-73 season. During his four years at Holy Family, he guided the team to four straight Parochial School League championships.

Hired as the JV coach at Notre Dame at the beginning 1976-77 season, he led his teams to three winning seasons including the only undefeated season ever produced during our time in the Bishop Smith League in Buffalo.

Rapone took over the varsity team for the 1981-82 season and promptly won the first of his record nine Section V Titles in his opening year.

As impressive as Rapone’s coaching resume is, what is even more impressive is his love for Notre Dame and all its students. This is evident through his daily commitment to our school, and his constant effort to ensure that each student has the best possible high school experience.

We hope that you can all join in the celebration on Feb. 25 at Notre Dame, 73 Union St. in Batavia.

Highlights of Mike Rapone's 40-year Varsity Basketball Career:

• #1 in NYS active coaching victories – 697;
• #1 in Section V coaching victories – 697;
• #1 in Section V coaching championships – 9;
• Has guided ND to the highest winning percentage in all classification of Section V since 1975;
• Only coach in Section V history to win championships in 4 different classifications;
• 2 New York State Championships 1992 & 2001;
• 31 Genesee Region League Championships;
• 18 Section V title game appearances with 9 championships;
• Section V Tournament #1 seed 17 times;
• 5 NYS Far West Regional Championships;
• 81 percent career winning percentage;
• Averaging 17.5 per year wins over 40 seasons;
• 18 of 20 teams have earned NYS Scholar Athlete recognition;
• Has coached 21 of the Top 25 Scorers in ND history;
• 2013 Team was Board 60 Sportsmanship Award Winner;
• 1996 Inducted into Notre Dame High School Athletic Hall of Fame;
• 2016 Inducted into Section V Basketball Hall of Fame.

Basketball Coaching Timeline of Mike Rapone                   

• 12/05/1980                  First Coaching Victory vs. Attica
• 03/07/1981                  First Section V Championship vs. Romulus
• 01/07/1986                  Victory #100 vs. Holley
• 01/15/1992                  Victory #200 vs. Pembroke
• 03/21/1992                  First New York State Championship vs. Bishop Grimes
• 03/16/1996                  Inducted into Notre Dame High School Hall of Fame
• 12/18/1996                  Victory #300 vs. Kendall
• 03/17/2001                  Second New York State Championship vs. Hamilton
• 04/06/2001                  Named Section V All-Greater Rochester Coach of the Year
• 12/19/2001                  Victory #400 vs. Elba
• 01/14/2008                  Victory #500 vs. Kendall
• 03/03/2010                  Victory #546 Breaking Section V Record vs. Arkport.
• 01/29/2013                  Victory #600 vs. Kendall
• 11/05/2016                  Inducted into Section V Basketball Hall of Fame
• ??/??/2020                  Victory #700

(File photo of Notre Dame Coach Mike Rapone taken in January 2017 by Jim Burns.)

Pembroke's young team, sparked by freshman Cayden Pfalzer, put up a good fight against Oakfield-Alabama at home Tuesday night, forcing the game to overtime before falling to the Hornets 66-57.

Pfalzer hit four three-point shots on his way to 16 points for the game.

For O-A, Gaige Armbrewster scored 17 points, Kaden Cusmano, 16, Travis Wiedrich, 15, and Joey Burdick, 11.

Pembroke's Garrett Totten scored 11 points, Adam Dulski, 11, and Noah Godzala, nine.

The Hornets are 14-4 on the season, Pembroke 7-10.

Also in boys basketball on Wednesday:

• Alexander beat Attica, 59-50;
• Notre Dame racked up 110 points to beat C.G. Finney, which scored 77 points;
• Bergen beat Holley 71-42;
• Le Roy beat Bath 67-47. For Le Roy, Cody Lytle scored 12 points and had 10 rebounds. Andrew Loftus 13 points, and Ethan Beswick, 12 points;
• Elba beat Lyndonville 81-75;
• Batavia beat Newark 48-47.

Photos from Le Roy's game by Caitlin Napper (This is a correction)

In boys basketball on Saturday:

• Oakfield-Alabama beat Pavilion 67-45
• Batavia lost to Odyssey 66-58

In girls' basketball, O-A beat Pavilion 53-40. MaKena Reding scored 16 points. Brianna Smith scored 13 and had six rebounds. Brooke Reding scored 12 and Kelsey Schlagenhauf scored nine and had 10 rebounds.

The Oakfield-Alabama cheerleaders also won the Genesee Region Division II championship.

Photos by Kristin Smith.

For more Oakfield-Alabama photos click the links below:

• Girls JV
• Girls Varsity
• Sixth Grade Girls
• Boys Varsity
• Boys JV

Joey Burdick scored 18 points to help propel Oakfield-Alabama over the Bees at Byron-Bergen on Thursday night, 60-54.

The Hornets are now 12-4 and Byron-Bergen falls to 10-6.  

Travis Wiedrich scored 15 points for O-A and Kam Cusmano scored 13.

For B-B, Nick Baubie scored 16 points, Alex Brumsted scored 12, and Kevin Smith scored 11.

Also in boys basketball on Thursday:

• Batavia beat Brighton, 65-34. Batavia is now 11-4;
• Attica beat Pembroke 57-44. Pembroke is 7-9;
• Elba beat Notre Dame 75-70. Elba is 14-3 and ND is 12-4;
• Geneseo beat Pavilion 69-58. Pavilion is 2-14;
• Alexander beat Holly 61-46. Alexander is 1-9.

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In girls' basketball on Saturday afternoon, the Batavia Blue Devils beat South Seneca 51-27.

Brynn Wormley scored 23 points for Batavia, hitting five three-pointers. Emma Krolczyk scored 12. Mackenzie Riegle scored 10.

Even though Pittsford-Sutherland had a size advantage down low, the Blue Devils kept their home game Wednesday night close until the third quarter.

Then Pittsford-Sutherland's guards started dropping threes like gumdrops in a five-and-dime. 

Drew Kull, Jalyn Moorehead and Owen Flisnik combined for seven makes beyond the arc and sealed the deal of a 58-42 win for the Knights.

For Batavia, the only player in double digits scoring was Alex Hale with 11 points. Zach Gilebarto scored nine, Caeden White, eight, and Camden White scored seven.

The Blue Devils are now 7-6 on the season.

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In an overtime game Saturday night, Oakfield-Alabama beat Warsaw 74-70.

Kaden Cusmano scored 18 points for the Hornets. Gaige Armbrewster scored 12, and Kam Cusmano scored 10.

Photos by Kristen Smith. For more photos, click here.

Both Elba and Byron-Bergen went into Friday's girls basketball games with only a single loss each. Of course, only one team could leave the court with only one loss. In this case it was Elba, now 13-1, who came out on top, 54-43.

The Lady Bees are now 10-2.

For Elba, Brynn Walczak scored 17 points. Leah Bezon scored 15 and Lauryn Engle, nine. Taylor Augello and Maddie Muehlig has seven each.

Julianna Amesbury socred 21 for Byron-Bergen and Kelsey Fuller scored 16.

Also in girls basketball on Friday night:

• Pembroke beat Wheatland 47-36
• Batavia fell to HFL 50-43

In boys basketball:

• Batavia beat HFL 66-55
• Le Roy beat Dansville 75-65
• Perry beat Pavilion 55-41

Le Roy lost to Avon on Tuesday night in girls basketball, 56-38.

Bryn Luckey scored 16 points for the Knights. Jill Curtis scored seven and Amara Condidorio scored six.

Byron-Bergen beat East Rochester 71-59 behind Julianna Amesbury's 34 points. Miriam Tardy scored 18. Kelsey Fuller scored eight.

Elba beat Akron 48-34. Brynn Walczak scored 19 points. Leah Bezon scored eight and Taylor Augello, seven.

In boys basketball: 

• Bergen beat Barker 81-46
• Oakfield beat Attica, 58-49
• Pembroke beat Pavilion 59-56

Photos by Tim McArdle.

In a home game, Le Roy lost to LCAA D1 rival Livonia 50-44.

Cody Lytle scored 14 points. Andrew Loftus, 12, and Ethan Beswick, nine.

The Knights are now 6-6 on the season.

Also in boys basketball:

• Oakfield beat Wheatland-Chile 69-51
• Batavia lost to Eastridge 66-60
• Elba beat Alexander, 82-66

In girls basketball:

• Batavia beat Sutherland 59-57
• Livonia beat Le Roy 71-41

Photos by Tim McArdle.

With a three-point jumper late in the second quarter, Elba's Colton Dillion pegged his 1,000th career point during the Lancers' away game against the Oakfield-Alabama Hornets. 

The game was stopped briefly for Colton to be awarded with a commemorative 1,000-point ball.

The Lancers, now 9-2, won 59-52. O-A drops to 6-4 on the season.

Colton scored 20 points in the game. Greyson Huntington scored 11. Zach Marsceill scored nine, Collin O'Halloran, eight, Andrew Hale, seven.

For the Hornets, Kam Cusmano scored 10, and Travis Wiedeich, Joey Burdick, and Gage Armbruster had nine each.

UPDATE: A photo of Colton Dillon taking the three-point shot that put Dillion right on 1,000 career points. Submitted by Kristen Smith.  For more photos from the game, click here.

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Oakfield-Alabama, coming into the game with a 5-4, upset the #1 Class D team in the state Tuesday night, beating the Elba Lady Lancers (7-1), 48-45.

Both Brianna Smith and Kelsey Schlagenhauf notched double-doubles, with Smith scoring 22 points and nabbing 10 rebounds. Schlagenhauf scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. MaKena Reding scored six points and Brooke Reding scored six. Karly Smith had 10 rebounds.

Lauryn Engle scored 12 points, Lea Bezon 10, and Brynn Walczak, nine. Bezon and Walczak each had eight rebounds. Bezon had five assists. Engle hit four three-pointers.

Photos by Kristen Smith. For more photos from the game, click here.

The Lady Blue Devils moved to 8-3 on the season with a 61-47 win over Greece Olympia Friday night.

Emma Krolczyk and Kenzie Reigle came up big with Krolczyk scoring 22 points, grabbing six rebounds and four steals. Reigle scored 19 points, had six rebounds, five assists and six steals.

Bryn Wormley scored 13 points and had four steals. 

For Greece Olympia, Janale Miller scored 12 points, Clearra Spencer also had 12 and Abby Dewar scored nine.

Photos by Steve Ognibene. To view or purchase photos, click here.

Northgate Free Methodist Church will be kicking off its annual youth basketball program this Saturday, Jan. 11.

The basketball program will be held each Saturday in January and February.

This program is designed for second- through eighth-grade students, with an emphasis on an instructional noncompetitive atmosphere for casual players.

Times are:

• 9 to 10 a.m. for second and third grades;
• 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. for fourth and fifth grades;
• 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for grades six, seven and eight.

The first two weeks will be skills and drills, with all the following six weeks being exhibition games.

Sixth, seventh and eighth grades will participate in a weekly officiated pickup game.

A more complete schedule will be provided on Jan. 18th, along with a team assignment and jersey.

Along with basketball instruction, each team will participate in a small devotional time.

The program will be conducted at Northgate’s South Campus, 350 Bank St., Batavia.

The 2020 program costs $20 per player or $30 per family (same household).

Sign-up forms are available during regular office hours and at northgatefmc.com.

Registration will be available Saturday morning at the door.

Please contact Pastor Daniel Calkins with any questions at daniel@northgatefmc.com or 585-343-4011.

Pembroke High School Girls' Varsity Basketball Team.*

Submitted photo and press release:

The Pembroke Jr./Sr. High School Girls’ Basketball Team will host its ninth annual Shooting For A Cure! event versus Oakfield-Alabama on Thursday, Jan. 16, at 5 p.m. at the high school gymnasium located at the corner of routes 5 and 77 (8750 Alleghany Road) in Pembroke.

The JV basketball game begins at 5:30, while the Varsity game begins at 7 o'clock.

To date, Shooting For A Cure! has raised more than $119,000 and has become one of Roswell Park Comprehensice Cancer Center's largest community-based fundraising events.

This year, the team hopes to raise another $30,000 for the cause. The team is accepting online donations in support of Shooting For A Cure! To make a donation, click here.

There are several other ways to support the cause. Attendees can contribute through various raffles and auctions, purchase food and beverages from the concession stand, and buy merchandise during the event.

The basket raffle includes 100 baskets and gift cards. A sheet of 25 tickets costs $5. There is also a big-item pink ticket raffle. A handful of these tickets remain and cost $5 each or 5 for $20.

One winner will be selected for each of the following prizes: a one-year supply of pizza logs from Original Pizza Logs; an Apple Watch Series 5; an autographed Sam Reinhart jersey; a pair of 200-level Sabres tickets for the March 9th game versus the Washington Capitals; and an autographed Josh Allen football.

The silent auction offers attendees the chance to bid on several high-value items such as: 12 Park Hopper passes to Walt Disney World; two round-trip plane tickets from Southwest; two round-trip plane tickets from JetBlue; a catered dinner party for eight guests; and handcrafted Adirondack chairs made by Pembroke students.

At the concession stand, there will be pizza from Batavia’s Original, pizza logs from Original Pizza Logs, taco in a bag from Clarence Deli, ice cream from Hershey’s, and drinks from Coca-Cola of Rochester and Crickler Vending. Pink ribbons and a variety of Shooting For A Cure! apparel items will also be available for purchase.

Shooting For A Cure! coordinator Mike Wilson would like to give special thanks to community member and former Western Region Vice President of NYSCOPBA (New York State Corrections Officer and Police Benevolent Association) Joe Miano.

According to Wilson, “Over the past four seasons, NYSCOPBA has donated a total of $10,000 to our cause, and I cannot express how grateful we are for the continued community support. I am overwhelmed by their generosity.”

Miano stated, “It’s been a pleasure working with Pembroke’s Shooting For A Cure! over the last four years, watching the endless work all the volunteers put into this great cause for Roswell Park.”

The 2019-2020 Shooting For A Cure! business and organization donors list includes: 26Shirts, ACES Foundation, ADPRO Sports, Batavia Country Club, Batavia’s Original, Buttercrumbs Bakery, Clarence Deli, Coca-Cola of Rochester, Crickler Vending Company, Darien Lake, Dollar General, Dollars for Scholars, Dry Creek Group, Fava Brothers Lawn Care, Five Guys, Genesee Feeds, Hershey’s Ice Cream, Insty-Prints, JetBlue Airways, Kingdom Bound, Knockaround Sunglasses, Linda’s Family Diner, Maple Ridge Landscaping, Mosquito Hunters of Buffalo, Northtown Automotive, Oliver’s Candies, OnCore Golf, Original Pizza Logs, Pesci’s Pizza and Wings, Pillar Real Estate Investors, Platinum Fitness, Roswell Park Alliance Foundation, Sincerely Kayla, Southwest Airlines, Spa at Artemis, Terry Hills, Tim Hortons, Walt Disney World, West Herr Chevy of Orchard Park, Yancey’s Fancy, and YMCA of Batavia.

Businesses or organizations wishing to donate to this year’s event should contact Mike Wilson by calling 716.949.0523.

The event itself began nine years ago when the Pembroke Girls’ Varsity Basketball team approached then Head Coach Mike Wilson with an idea to show their support for Toni Funke, wife of beloved coach and Pembroke teacher Ron Funke in her battle against breast cancer.

They wanted to play a game in her honor to raise money for cancer research. Since then, Shooting For A Cure! has blossomed into a huge community event attracting supporters from throughout Western New York.

Regardless of how large the event has grown, the goal remains the same: show support for community members in the fight against cancer. To make this night special for cancer survivors, current patients, and families, the varsity halftime program is dedicated to recognizing people from all of these groups.

As part of the halftime program, members of the varsity and junior varsity teams give each honoree a flower and a hug. It is a great way to show love and support to those who have been touched by this far-reaching disease.

Anyone who would like to support this noble cause is encouraged to do so by coming to the event or visiting the Shooting For A Cure! donation page here.

About Pembroke High School Girls' Varsity Basketball Team

The team colors are green, white, and black. The team began Shooting For A Cure! as an annual event in 2011, and they are committed to the hard work and dedication it will take to win the battle against breast cancer.

*The team is comprised of 10 young women. The current team members, their numbers and positions are: 2 -- Serene Calderón, G; 3 -- Isabel Breede, G; 4 -- Brianna Rindell, F; 11 -- Mackenna Johnson, G; 12 -- Dekari Moss, F; 13 -- Casey Wurtz, F; 14 -- Megan Conibear, F; 21 -- Allie Schwerthoffer, G; 32 -- Emily Peters, G; 34 -- Nicole vonKramer, F.

This season’s captains are Megan Conibear, Mackenna Johnson, Casey Wurtz, and Serene Calderón. The Lady Dragons are coached by Ron Funke and Guy Gabbey.

About Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

According to its website, “All donations made to Roswell Park are managed by the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that ensures that every donation is put to the best possible use. The Alliance Foundation has been recognized numerous times for these efforts.” For more information about giving to Roswell Park, click here, and go to “Donate.”