Mason Allen had a career night for McGraw, setting personal bests in scoring and rebounding in McGraw’s 53-44 win over Otselic Valley Friday night at McGraw High School. Allen had an 18-point, 16-rebound double-double when his team needed it most.
Allen and Blair Mulcahy had to become the go-to guys, with Brennan Wilson not available and Calob Sutton and Riley Van Liew in bad foul trouble. Those were the only two regular starters on the floor for long stretches of the night and head coach Jamey Crumb was proud of their effort.
“I gave our guards the goal of being aggressive off the dribble,” Crumb said. “We just seem to play better no matter what and we’re quick enough to do it. And Mason is just a beast. He had 18 and 16 tonight and four rebounds were on just one possession. He was an animal on the boards and he has that offensive touch. When he’s rolling we will always play good and it opens it up for shooters for us.”
Allen and Mulcahy were proud of their other teammates for stepping up to the challenge and logging more minutes than they had in the past with Sutton and Van Liew on the bench.
“They’re a big part of the team, so we had to step up,” Allen said. “We had the bench guys step up, which was good. Owen Lea got some crucial minutes (Friday), which really helped us. Thomas (Lea) stepped up with Brennan being gone.”
Allen’s career night came due to sheer willpower. He frequently squeezed his way to the basket and took a beating getting shots up. The junior forward worked to get the ball back whenever he missed, resulting in five offensive rebounds.
“I just feel like I was stronger than them,” Allen said. “Not to be overconfident or cocky, but I had the strength advantage. All we do in practice is footwork under the basket, footwork at the high post to get to spots to make the layups. I just did what we practice.”
Mulcahy turned into the point guard with Sutton down and did an admirable job running the show. He’s taken the responsibility on part-time this season and was prepared to answer the call Friday.
“Me and Calob have been working back and forth on who’s playing point guard, so if one of us gets in foul trouble the other is confident enough to bring it up,” Mulcahy said. “We’ve been working a lot on finishing through contact and we had a lot of and-ones (Friday night).”
There wasn’t a ton of pace to Friday night’s game, with 36 total fouls called and 35 total free throws attempted. Sutton and Van Liew both ended the night with four fouls for McGraw and Allen had three, while Otselic Valley’s Lukas Schieferstein, Owen Davis and Ryley Palmer all had four fouls and Caleb Loomis, Logan Foster and Payne Wood picked up three fouls each.
“At the beginning of the game, the refs told us they were going to let us play,” Allen said. “Then we had three guys in foul trouble at halftime. OV’s always like that. They’re a super scrappy team. They’re very guard heavy. They’re going to be fighting for loose balls, so they’re bound to get some fouls like that. It’s always going to be a foul-heavy game with a team like that.”
McGraw rebounded well as a team all night, pulling down 41 total rebounds, 16 offensive. Crumb felt the Eagles had a distinct advantage on the glass and it played out exactly as he thought.
“Their top three guys are all guards and their other guys usually sit at the high post, so we knew if we make them make tough shots, the rebounds would be there for us,” Crumb said. “That’s why we came out in that 3-2, to extend them a little bit. I’m just glad they were aggressive in doing so.”
Allen added an assist, three steals and a blocked shot to his 18 points and 16 boards. Mulcahy followed with 11 points, five rebounds and an assist, Sutton recorded seven points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals and Thomas Lea notched six points on two made threes, four rebounds, an assist and a steal. Easton Livermore (four points, seven rebounds, one assist, one block), Owen Lea (four points, two rebounds, one assist) and Van Liew (three points, four rebounds, one assist, three steals) also contributed for the Eagles.
McGraw’s defense contained Otselic Valley’s big three of Schieferstein, Davis and Loomis to 35 points, with Schieferstein accounting for 17 of those.
McGraw is now 4-9, but has won two of its last three and is 3-3 in its last six. The Eagles appear to be finding their stride at just the right time.
“I keep telling them we lost our entire offense last year, with them being big pieces with a big guy, two guards and a good shooter,” Crumb said. “It’s a lot for these juniors to bring the ball up, have that pressure and have the ball in their hands so much when they’re not used to it, but it’s fun to watch them progress. Even though we’ve been in those games and should’ve had one or two, they’ve still impressed us.”
McGraw will look to keep things rolling at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Stockbridge Valley.
BOYS BASKETBALL
SOUTHERN CAYUGA 64, GROTON 40
Lane Darling scored 10 of his game-high 14 points in the second half, but Groton got down 27-10 after a quarter and trailed 39-15 at halftime.
Conor Eldred followed Darling with 10 points, Jaiden Mitchell notched six points, Carmelo Riley-Israel scored four points and Jerome Turner, Judson Holl and Sean O’Brien all added two points for the Red Hawks.
DERUYTER 65, CINCINNATUS 59
Devens Whalen led four DeRuyter players in double figures with 22 points as the Rockets held off Jack Stafford, John Schuyler and Cincinnatus. DeRuyter led 49-36 through three quarters, but the Lions dropped 23 fourth-quarter points in an attempt to make it a game.
Braden Metcalf followed Whalen with a career-high 17 points, Dan Holl netted 12 points, Dylan Foster recorded 10 points and Jonah Baxter and Jackson Millet had two points apiece for DeRuyter.
Stafford paced Cincinnatus with 23 points, including seven made 3-pointers. Schuyler added 22 with three triples, Zack Streichert scored eight of his 10 points after halftime and Trevor Shevalier’s four points rounded out the Lions’ scoring.
DRYDEN 80, ELMIRA NOTRE DAME 54
Dryden opened up a 44-20 lead at halftime and Peter Nydam had a big day, going for 24 points with four made 3-pointers.
Xander Scott added 19 points for the Lions, Carmelo Miles pitched in 16 points, Danny Murphy notched nine points, Luke Eshelman had eight points and Jay Miles and Masyn Holmes each pitched in two points.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
MCGRAW 3, PORT BYRON 1
McGraw snapped a seven-match losing streak with a 25-15, 25-21, 20-25, 25-16 win behind Haylee Bassett’s six kills, four aces, six digs and four assists.
Myranda Murray followed Bassett with four kills, three aces, one block, four digs and an assist, Morgan Brown contributed seven assists and three digs and Emmily Thomas had six digs, four kills and an ace. Mickenlee Ticknor (six kills, two aces, one block), Emma Marshall (one kill, three aces) and Adrianna Stacconi (two assists, two digs) also contributed for the Eagles.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
BOYS BASKETBALL
Pulaski at Cortland, 1:45 p.m. today
West Canada Valley at Tully, 2:30 p.m. today
DeRuyter at LaFargeville, 2:30 p.m. today
LaFayette at DeRuyter, 7 p.m. Monday
Solvay at Cortland, 6:45 p.m. Tuesday
Marathon at Odessa-Montour, 7:45 p.m. Tuesday
McGraw at Stockbridge Valley, 7 p.m. Tuesday
Moravia at Groton, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday
Brookfield at Cincinnatus, 6 p.m. Tuesday
Dryden at Trumansburg, 7 p.m. Tuesday
DeRuyter at Madison, 7 p.m. Tuesday
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Chittenango at Cortland, 10:30 a.m. today
Fulton at Homer, 6:45 p.m. Monday
Maine-Endwell at Groton, 6:30 p.m. Monday
Tully at Chittenango, 7:15 p.m. Monday
Cortland at Westhill, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday
Chittenango at Homer, 6:45 p.m. Tuesday
Odessa-Montour at Marathon, 7 p.m. Tuesday
Tully at LaFayette, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday
Moravia at Weedsport, 7 p.m. Tuesday
HOCKEY
CBA/J-D at Cortland/Homer, 7 p.m. Tuesday at J.M. McDonald Sports Complex
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Stockbridge Valley at McGraw, 11:30 a.m. today
Port Byron at DeRuyter, noon today
BOYS WRESTLING
Cortland, Homer, Southern Hills at Cazenovia, 9:30 a.m. today
Homer at Chittenango, 6 p.m. Tuesday
Moravia at Dryden, 6 p.m. Tuesday
GIRLS WRESTLING
Groton at Homer, 9 a.m. today
INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Dryden, Tully at SUNY Cortland, 6 p.m. today
BOWLING
Cortland, Homer at Flamingo Lanes, 9 a.m. Sunday
CBA at Cortland, 3:30 p.m. Monday at Cort-Lanes
Chittenango at Homer, 3:30 p.m. Monday at Hi-Lanes
Groton at Newark Valley, 4 p.m. Monday at Cardinal Lanes
Candor at Groton, 4 p.m. Tuesday at Memory Lanes
