BOYS BASKETBALL: Geneseo falls to Perry

GENESEO — The Geneseo Blue Devils’ season came to an end tonight, in the Section V Class C2 quarter-final, as the team suffered a 62-49 loss at home to the Perry Yellowjackets.

The Blue Devils came into the matchup as the no.3 seed in Class C2, while the Yellowjackets were the no.6 seed. From the start, both teams went back-and-forth at each other, proving the game would be closely-contested. At half, both teams were deadlocked at 31, with the early portion of the game being an offensive battle between Geneseo’s shooting guard Bryan Rollins and Perry’s point guard Anthony Ricotta.

As the game progressed into the second half, the two teams continued to exchange baskets and momentum ,as Perry headed to the fourth quarter only up one, 48-47.

The fourth quarter proved to be the Blue Devils’ downfall. The team would only score two points in the quarter and became turnover happy, leading to Perry expanding out the lead and eventually picking up the win and moving on in the sectional tournament.

For Blue Devils head coach Brian Stout, it was a rough shooting night that cost his team the victory.

“We didn’t shoot very well,” Stout said. “We had some open looks that went in and out and in the fourth quarter we started finally going to the basket and had some layups going out and only had two points in the fourth quarter. We couldn’t put it in the basket, plain and simple.”

Stout said the bad night shooting also attributed to some of the Blue Devils’ turnovers.

“We weren’t knocking them down, so they can shoot the gaps a little more,” he said. “They got in out gaps a little bit and got some steals and forced some steals in the half court offense.”

Rollins agreed with the off shooting game for the Blue Devils

“They played a 3-2 zone that we just couldn’t beat,” Rollins said. “We lived and died by the 3-point line early and we couldn’t hit anything and when we got in we couldn’t finish the layups.

Rollins lead the Blue Devils with 20 points, who had a great season finishing at 16-3, a season Stout said won’t soon be forgotten.

“It was amazing season,” Stout said. “We had an undefeated home regular season, 16 wins, only two seniors that played all year, and put a number on the banner. I told them to keep their heads up, they worked hard this season and that number is going to be there forever, they have a lot to be proud of.”

On the Yellowjackets side, they were lead by Ricotta who finished with a game-high 21 points and center Tyler Elliot, who had 16 points.

"We knew it was do or die tonight," Ricotta said. "Obviously emotions were high with the chance of it being our last basketball game but we came out on top.”

Perry (15-5) will advance in the Class C2 tournament to face Lyons on Monday.

Girls basketball: Perry edges Geneseo

GENESEO — The Lady Blue Devils fell to the Perry Yellowjackets in a tight battle, losing 44-41, in a Section V matchup Tuesday evening.

Geneseo had a chance to tie the game with 6 seconds left, but a 3-pointer was off the mark, and Perry held on to the ball to secure a close victory. Geneseo’s Aubrie Johnson pitched in 13 points and 4 rebounds in the loss, and Catalina Rodriguez added 5 points and 12 rebounds.

“We had some good looks and we just didn’t make them,”  Lady Blue Devils head coach Paul Hazard said. “And we struggled from the free throw line.”

Perry moves to 11-3, while the Lady Blue Devils (9-6) host Mount Morris Friday evening.

BOYS BASKETBALL: Geneseo wins league title

GENESEO — The Geneseo Blue Devils won their first league title since 2005, defeating the York Golden Knights at home, 47-46, earlier tonight.

The “Devils Domain” was rocking from well before the start of the game, all the way to the final seconds and crazy finish to the league title game.

Early on, both teams struggled to find an offensive rhythm, as the first quarter elicited a score of 11-10, in favor of the Golden Knights. The Blue Devils would have the lead at half 31-22, but the Golden Knights had momentum going into the break, as the final points of the half came on a massive dunk from Golden Knights shooting guard Luke Logsdon.

The second half saw both teams go back-and-forth at each other in what would be expected in a league title game.

With 2:34 left in the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils were up 42-41 when Blue Devils center Sam Lofquist blocked Golden Knights forward Eli Laboy’s shot, leading to a fast break and-one for forward Jimmy Root, giving the Blue Devils a four point lead, swinging the game Geneseo’s way.

“I think that was definitely a morale booster,” said Lofquist, one of three seniors honored on Senior Night. “At halftime, York came up with Luke’s (Logsdon) dunk and then they came back and caught up with us and it just takes those really crucial points to change a game and I definitely think that was a big one for us.”

After exchanging fouls down the stretch, the Blue Devils would miss the front end of a 1-and-1 with 2.4 seconds left, but a full-court heave form Golden Knights forward Nick Curry would not have the distance, giving the Blue Devils the win and the league title.

Blue Devils head coach Brian Stout talked about how great having the league title felt.

“It’s amazing,” Stout said. “I’ve been coaching for a long time and it’s the first one I’ve gotten in basketball, so I’ve been waiting for that one. Guys played so hard tonight, down the stretch making stop after stop on defense and we might have only scored 15 points in the second half, but with a couple guys out we had some guys step it up big time for us tonight.”

The Blue Devils offense was paced by shooting guard Bryan Rollins, who scored 18 points, and Lofquist, who added 10 points. Both players expressed their joy with winning the league title.

“It means so much to have left my mark,” Lofquist said. “That hasn’t been done in a while and I’m thrilled to be one of those guys to put a date up on that banner.”

“Number one in the league is a something you have as a goal for the whole season and now we have it, it feels great,” Rollins said.

On the other side of the court, the Golden Knights took a devastating defeat but head coach Ed Orman isn't worried. The atmosphere of the game is only preparing the Golden Knights for sectionals.

"If it takes a game like this to find our hunger again, then so be it," Orman said. "The last 15 minutes was some of the best basketball we've played all year."

The Golden Knights offense was lead by Nick Curry with 13 points, Luke Logsdon with 8 points and Brett Curtis with 7 points.

"With Tyler (Shutts) down I thought Brett (Curtis) did a great job handling the pressure," Orman said. "We're a good team, we have a lot of depth."

The Knights fall to 14-4 and will be the #4 seed in the Class C2 bracket, earning a first round bye. They will play Alexander at home in the second round of the tournament on Feb. 22.

Geneseo (16-2) finished the regular season undefeated at home and will be the #3 seed in the Class C2 bracket in sectionals, earning a first round bye. They will play the winner of Perry and Red Creek in the second round at home on Feb. 22.

To watch a replay of this amazing game head over to http://www.tv.geneseesun.com/

BOYS BASKETBALL: Geneseo squeaks out win

GENESEO — The Geneseo Blue Devils didn’t have their greatest all-around game, but were able to come out with a 64-43 victory at home over the Letchworth Indians, earlier tonight.

From the outset, the Blue Devils seemed to be out of their offensive and defensive rhythm. Taking forced shots and struggling to get back on defense, which allowed the Indians to stay in the game throughout the first half.

At halftime, the Indians only trailed by four, 31-27. Luckily for the Blue Devils they got their rhythm going in the second half, largely to do with a strong second half performance from guard Bryan Rollins, who had a game-high 26 points.

Head coach Brian Stout liked the adjustments his team made at half to get back to their style of play.

“First half we came out a little flat defensively, jogging back on defense, second half, we came out working on defense,” Stout said. “We had a couple bad shots; we were forcing it a little bit in the first half. Second half, it was all assisted shots, assisted baskets and we were moving the ball much better.”

Rollins, who helped the team to victory in the second half, also felt the team was out of sync early.

“At the beginning we were real lazy, coach (Stout) even said it at halftime,” Rollins said. “In the second half, we swung the ball more on offense and on defense we got way up on them.”

Stout also talked about how having Rollins become more involved helped the team to victory.

“Bryan was one of the ones we talked to at halftime, his shot chart, in the first half he was shooting at a low percentage, second half he may have missed one or two,” Stout said. “It was just the difference of making the extra pass and finding the open seem and Elton (Johnson) and Mo (Carlon) made four or five nice passes to Bryan when he cut to the basket and got some easy layups.”

Rollins agreed that he felt more comfortable shooting in the second half.

“I had much more of a rhythm to my game second half,” Rollins said. “We swung it around better and on offense we got better shots.”

Geneseo (14-2) will be back in action on Wednesday, as they go on the road to battle Perry.

BOYS BASKETBALL: Root paces Geneseo

MOUNT MORRIS — Playing their third game this week, the Geneseo Blue Devils once again picked up a victory, defeating the Mount Morris Blue Devils, 69-59.

The Blue Devils struggled early on defensively and showed signs of a team that had played three games in one week. The team had 13 first half turnovers and only found themselves up by four, 30-26, going to the half.

Coming out of the break, the Blue Devils got some of their rhythm back, receiving a strong second half from guard Bryan Rollins, who scored 13 points and a season-high in points from forward Jimmy Root, who scored 17.

Head coach Brian Stout said his team would need to improve on some of the fundamentals.

“We were definitely a little flat defensively,” Stout said. “We gave up 59 points, that might be the most or second most all season. They ran a triangle two at us on Bryan (Rollins) and Mo (Carlon) early. Jimmy (Root) hit some shots early and Elton (Johnson) hit some shots in the third quarter and we did a good job of finding the open man, but we had 13 first half turnovers and that’s too many, we were trying to force the break a little too much.”

Even amongst the turnovers, Root had his most dominant offense performance of the season, a game that didn’t surprise Stout.

“They left him open and I think that was their game plan,” Stout said. “He showed them he can knock some shots down, he’s actually are highest 3-point percentage shooter on the season and they were leaving him open on the arc.”

Root expressed that he was impressed with his performance.

“They left me open and I knocked down a couple of threes and I looked for the drive, but I didn’t have it, so I stepped back and knocked them down,” Root said.

Devin Milford shined for Mount Morris yet again, as he scored a game-high 29 points.

In picking up the win, the Blue Devils can focus all their attention on their Valentine’s Day showdown with the York Golden Knights, a game everyone, coaches and players alike, are looking forward to.

“We’re never excited to see York,” Stout said laughingly. “It’s going to be a different style of game, I believe they’re saying Shutts is out, but it’s going to be a different style with Curry, Logsdon and Short inside. They’ll be looking to go inside a little more than they did earlier in the year, but we’re definitely going to have to get refocused and have three good hard days of practice for Thursday.”

“We just have to focus on York now, but it’s a big game for the league and hopefully we can get it done,” Rollins said.

Geneseo (15-2) will battle York on Thursday and the game will be live on tv.geneseesun.com.

Boys Basketball: Geneseo keeps rolling

GENESEO — The Geneseo Blue Devils rolled to their thirteenth win of the season, defeating the Pavilion Golden Gophers, 73-52, earlier tonight.

In front of the home crowd, the Blue Devils got out to the quick advantage with solid offensive rhythm all-around, going up 26-7, after the first quarter and 39-20, once the game reached halftime.

By the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils had emptied their bench and were well on their way to a win, one head coach Brian Stout was very happy with.

“We knocked down our open shots tonight and took the ball to the basket and made the extra pass, it was a real good team effort,” Stout said. “We did what we had to do tonight, got the ball inside and played good defense, and we got the second string a lot of minutes and they held their own.”

Another storyline of tonight’s battle was a new aggressive side out of center Sam Lofquist. Lofquist finished with 12 points, but also three dunks, something Stout applauded after the game.

“He had two (dunks) in the half-court tonight, which is real good,” Stout said. “That’s as aggressive as he has to be, and tonight he was really aggressive in attacking the rim and the guys were making nice passes to find him, too.”

Lofquist agreed that he needed to be more aggressive around the basket.

“Starting in our previous game, against Cal-Mum, I’ve been trying to change my image a little bit and trying to be a little more aggressive and strong around the hoop,” Lofquist said.

With three games next week, including two road tests, Stout and Lofquist emphasized the importance of getting the home win.

“We have to show up to play against everybody,” Stout said. “There are no easy games and we did what we had to do tonight and took care of business.”

“It’s good to rally off it,” Lofquist said. “You start off with two good wins, Cal-Mum, this one and you go into next week with confidence and hopefully things go well.”

Geneseo (13-2) will play Monday at home against Letchworth at 7.

BOYS BASKETBALL: Returning Kingston helps Geneseo

PERRY — Sectional playoffs do not start for another few weeks, but there was a playoff atmosphere between two of Class C2’s most elite teams. The Geneseo Blue Devils were able to pull out the 63-61 victory over the Perry Yellowjackets, but the game was a back-and-forth contest that could’ve went either team’s way.

Through the first half, the Blue Devils came out firing on offense and with high-intensity, due in part to the return of senior forward Will Kingston. Kingston saw his first game action since suffering a knee injury back in October.

At half after receiving offensive contributions from Mo Carlon, Sam Lofquist and Kingston, the Blue Devils carried a 37-25 lead into the locker room. Even with the 12-point advantage, head coach Brian Stout knew that Perry would make a run, in having talented point guard Anthony Ricotta leading the yellowjackets' offense.

“He’s a good player, he leads with his shoulder when he initiates, but he gets away with it because he’s so strong with the ball,” Stout said. “If we give him any daylight, something is going to happen.”

Something did happen as Ricotta, who had a game-high 25 points, brought his team back with strong shooting, cutting the Blue Devils lead down to six points, 49-43, going to the fourth quarter.

In the fourth, both teams went at each other with everything they had. As the Yellowjackets battled back to be only down four 59-55, with two minutes left, as both teams began to head to the free throw line. Both teams exchanged late-second attempts at the line, until the returning Kingston sealed the victory, hitting two free throws with 4.4 seconds remaining, to ultimately give the Blue Devils the hard fought victory.

Stout said he couldn’t have thought of a better way for Kingston to make his return.

“That was a great return to action for Willy Kingston,” Stout said. “He’s had 3 ½ months of shooting around and in the last couple of weeks he got cleared and got to practice finally and he’s at game intensity at practice, because he doesn’t get to play. He gives us a nice addition, a good seventh man that can score.”

Kingston, who scored 7 points in his return, agreed that it felt to be good back on the court.

“It was pretty intense, my teammates were pretty pumped up, I was kind of nervous, haven’t even had a full practice yet, but it was fun and I was ready for it,” Kingston said.

In addition to Kingston’s 7 points, the Blue Devils had another balanced offensive game, getting 15 points out of guard  Mo Carlon and 13 points from guard Bryan Rollins, forward Elton Johnson and center Sam Lofquist.

Kingston said he still is working himself back into game shape and hopes to improve on that as the Blue Devils head towards sectionals.

Geneseo (14-2) will have their third contest of the week Friday, when they travel to take on Mount Morris.

GIRLS BASKETBALL: Geneseo tops Cal-Mum

CALEDONIA — The Geneseo Blue Devils picked up an impressive road victory, defeating the Caledonia-Mumford Red Raiders, 47-17, earlier tonight.

Both teams had trouble finding their groove in the beginning of the game, with the Blue Devils up only 14-6 at the end of the half.

“Defense, defense, defense, defense,” was head coach Paul Hazard’s comment on tonight’s victory, holding the Red Raiders to 17 points. “Cal-Mum is an 8-5 team, we were a little shorthanded tonight and we knew we needed to play defense. Our kids played so hard and smart.”

Aubrie Johnson, a six foot center for Geneseo, had a strong game tonight with 14 points. Not far behind her was Catalina Rodriguez with 9 points and Anna Miskell with 7 points.

The Red Raiders top scorer tonight was Maddi Flint with 6 points.

The Red Raiders (8-6) will take on the Avon Braves next, in Avon on February 1^st at 7pm. The Blue Devils (8-6) will take on the Pavilion Golden Gophers in Pavilion on February 1^st at 7:30pm.