DRYDEN –– The Dryden boys basketball team entered Thursday night’s matchup with Lansing with one loss this season, a Dec. 17, 57-52 loss to the Bobcats. The Lions silenced any doubt from that contest with a resounding 66-50 win Thursday over Lansing at Dryden High School.
The two teams entered as the top ranked teams in Class B from Section IV in the state’s latest poll. Lansing was ranked No. 9 and Dryden sat at No. 10, but the Lions asserted their dominance this time around.
“It was just a statement,” Dryden’s Danny Murphy said. “When we lost to them, it wasn’t us and we knew that. We came off of it with a little more motivation and the scoreboard shows it.”
Dryden blew the game open in the second half, backed by a strong third quarter. The Lions led by three at the break, but used a 20-10 third to seize control.
Xander Scott scored eight in the quarter and Carmelo Miles made his mark, with all five of his points coming in the third. Dryden controlled the glass and suffocated Lansing on the defensive end of the floor. After letting the game slip away in the second in the first meeting, Dryden head coach Zach LeViere loved his team’s response this time around.
“The big adjustment was our intensity,” LeViere said. “Just picking up our energy level and intensity level. You have to be able to play tough and fast, and we did both of those things (Thursday night). That was a huge difference between (Thursday night) and back in December for sure. Our goal coming out in the third quarter was to keep the foot on the gas and push it to a double-digit lead. The third quarter was our best quarter for sure.”
The momentum and energy carried into the fourth for the Lions. Scott put the exclamation mark on the win late, rejecting a straight-away 3-pointer from Jaxson Mayo, scooping up the loose ball and slamming it home on the other end to increase the lead to its largest at 19.
“I let him get a three right in front of me in the first half, so I know exactly where he’s going to shoot now,” Scott said. “He was at the top of the key, I’m already close enough. I jumped up, got it and I’m on the way now. I saw no one behind me and I had to go up with it. That was game after that.”
It was the highlight play that encapsulated Dryden’s entire defensive effort Thursday night, using its length and athleticism to create havoc all night.
“Great defense leads to offense,” Murphy said. “We have the most athletic team in the IAC. We’re going to use it to our advantage for easy buckets.”
Scott finished with a game-high 22 points. Murphy was close behind with 18 points. Luke Eshelman drilled three 3-pointers in a 12-point effort, Peter Nydam scored 10 and Miles added five.
Jordan Sidle led Lansing with 18 points, Ryan Pettograsso-Houk had 15, Aiden Vooris tallied eight points and Mayo had seven.
The win runs Dryden’s record to 10-1 on the season and puts it in the driver’s seat to be the top seed in Class B come the postseason. The Lions’ boys basketball program has never reached a sectional final, but LeViere and his team have their sights set on just that.
“The goal is to be No. 1 at the end of the season and part of the process to getting there is winning games like this and proving to ourselves we belong in that spot,” LeViere said. “We’re working for home court advantage in sectionals and the No. 1seed in sectionals, so getting a win like this is huge for that.”
“I told the guys after the game, the biggest difference between our game in December and now is we’re playing better basketball overall,” LeViere added. “Top to bottom, everybody is playing better basketball than where we were and it stills feels like we can still play better basketball than we are now. It’s a good feeling to feel like we have another level to get to and that’s the goal. We’ll keep taking it one day and game at a time and the rest will take care of itself.”
Dryden will look to keep its momentum rolling at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, when it visits Horseheads.
BOYS BASKETBALL
HOMER 57, SOLVAY 53
Kaden Durham scored nine of his team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter, as Homer outscored Solvay 19-13 in the final frame to pick up its third win of the season.
Max Franco also went for 17 points, with 11 coming in the third quarter, and Ryan Beard added 16 with four made triples. Brycen Poole and Lincoln Marshall rounded out the Trojans’ scoring with three points apiece.
MCGRAW 65, BROOKFIELD 39
McGraw capped a big senior-night win with a Thomas Lea 3-pointer at the buzzer and the Eagles earned their third win on the year. Brennan Wilson paced McGraw with 15 points, a rebound, two assists, five steals and a block.
Blair Mulcahy recorded 10 points, a rebound, an assist and three steals, Easton Livermore had 10 points, three rebounds and a steal and Thomas Lea contributed nine points and a steal. Mason Allen (eight points, seven rebounds, two assists, four steals), Calob Sutton (five points, three rebounds, six assists, six steals), Riley Van Liew (three points, three rebounds, two assists, three steals), Jacob Clark (two points, one rebound, two steals), Xavier Whible (two points), Owen Lea (one point, two steals), Cody Ross (five rebounds, one assist, two steals), Kamyren Randall (three rebounds, one block) and Deacon Linn (two rebounds, one assist, one steal) also aided McGraw’s effort.
CINCINNATUS 51, GEORGE JR. REPUBLIC 44
Cincinnatus won the fourth quarter 11-5 to pull away from George Jr. Republic. The Lions also won the first 16-6. Zack Streichert scored 13 of his game-high 15 points before halftime and also added two rebounds, two assists and three steals.
Jack Stafford recorded 13 points with three 3-pointers, four rebounds, two assists and four steals, TJ Walker contributed 13 points, six boards and a steal and John Schuyler notched seven points, three rebounds, two assists and four steals. Koda Temple (three points, two rebounds, one steal), Trevor Shevalier (six rebounds, one assist, two steals), Collin Holtmart (two rebounds, one assist, one steal), Jacobee Eldridge (two rebounds), Mike Schifilliti (one rebound) and Bob Turshman (one rebound) also added to the Lions’ win.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
MARCELLUS 52, CORTLAND 39
Lily Yang poured in three 3-pointers for 13 points, but Cortland lost the middle two quarters 33-14 in the Purple Tigers’ fourth loss in a row.
Gabby Brown followed Yang with nine points, Nora Gambitta and Katie Harris recorded six points apiece, Zee-Anna Sweat made a 3-pointer and Aubree Larkin and Kartyr Hubbard both scored one point.
HOCKEY
CORTLAND/HOMER 3, OSWEGO 2
Finn Thomas scored the game-winning goal with 3:05 to play as Cortland/Homer sprung the road upset. Oswego made it a 2-2 game with 5:47 left, then Thomas ended it a little over two minutes later.
Ethan Aumick and Cooper Swartz each scored for the Golden Eagles, while Martin Petri and Bodey McGrath each tallied an assist. Jack Medeiros recorded 35 saves in the win.
BOYS WRESTLING
HOMER 56, MEXICO 12
Jack Brown (285 pounds) and Lucas Barbieri (101 pounds) highlighted Homer’s big win with pins inside a minute. Chris Slade (190 pounds), Anthony Cicioni (131 pounds), Hunter Lines (138 pounds) and Garrett Carr (145 pounds) all won by pin as well. Owen Quaile (116 pounds) won by 17-0 tech fall, Colin Murphy (170 pounds) won a 12-7 decision, Owen Burhans (215 pounds) won a 7-3 decision, Cody Hall (124 pounds) won a 12-6 decision and Patrick Maslin (108 pounds) won by forfeit.
Evan Sullivan (152 pounds) and Karson Kemp (160 pound) both lost by pin.
BOWLING
HOMER BOYS 7, BISHOP GRIMES 0
HOMER GIRLS 7, BISHOP GRIMES 0
Caleb Hamilton rolled games of 233, 216 and 225, good for a 674 series, as one of three Homer boys with series scores over 600 in the win. John Holcomb had two games of 223 and a 625 series, while John Bishop had games of 225 and 221 with a 608 series. Chris McMullin (244 game, 592 series), Tanner Vogel (189 game, 545 series), Ivan Eaton (160 game, 160 game) and Tyler Seymour (193 game) also aided the boys’ win.
Addy Platt topped the Homer girls’ effort with a 159 game and a 457 series. Annabelle Watkins (146 game, 408 series), Kristen Combs (136 game, 378 series), Jaden Bush (174 game, 354 series), Lucy Goodwin (127 game, 340 series), Abbie Biviano (89 game, 88 game) and Mikey Pittsley (103 game) contributed to the girls’ win as well.
