Pickin' Splinters

Rochester's Independent Sports Source

Chambry leads four in double figures; Byron-Bergen outlasts Wheatland-Chili

by Leave a Comment

Wheatland-Chili’s Leighton Williams (24) goes to the basket during Tuesday’s Genesee Region game. Byron-Bergen’s Gianni Ferrara (5) and Colin Martin (15) defend on the play. (Photo: ANDREW OMOREGIE)

SCOTTSVILLE, N.Y. — Four players scored in double figures as the Byron-Bergen boys’ basketball team erased an early double-digit deficit and then survived a last-second attempt to defeat host Wheatland-Chili, 64-62 in Genesee Region action, Tuesday night.

“It’s nice to be on this side of it for once,” said Byron-Bergen head coach Roxanne Noeth. “We’re not usually on this side of the close games. That was a big one for us.”

After trailing 11-0 to start the game, Braedyn Chambry scored 10 of his team-high 18 points in the second quarter as the Bees took a lead they did not surrender. The 6-foot-4 junior forward finished in the lane off a dish from teammate Gianni Ferrara for a 27-25 Byron-Bergen edge.

VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM ANDREW OMOREGIE HERE.

“We just need to see the ball go in the hoop,” Noeth said. “Then our defense kicked in a little bit. We got some steals, got some finishes.

“These guys have heart. Sometimes you wonder. Tonight, they definitely had it. They wanted this bad.”

With the win, Byron-Bergen’s third straight and fifth in the past six games, Noeth’s squad improved its record to 14 wins and 2 losses and gave the Bees a two-game lead in Genesee Region II.

“It’s only our second chance to win a league title at Byron-Bergen,” Noeth said.

Byron-Bergen won 71-46 when the two teams met in early December. It was Wheatland-Chili’s second loss in three games to start the season. The Wildcats (11-6) had won six of seven entering Tuesday’s contest.

“They’re way better than when we played them the first time,” Noeth said referring Wheatland-Chili sophomore Leighton Williams who was not 100 percent earlier in the season. “Leighton was coming off an injury when we first played them. He was just not quite the player that he is right now. That kid’s tough. He’s really tough.”

Of greater concern for Noeth on Tuesday was Jaden Schwenbraten who finished with a game-high 26 points including back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the Byron-Bergen lead to two with under a minute to play.

Schwenbraten’s last-second attempt from deep found iron to seal the win.

“We had three guys that we needed to stop,” Noeth said referring to Schwenbraten, Williams and Terry Bayly-Henshaw. “And we did it by two points. I’ll take it. Today we had just enough.”

Gianni Ferrara added 17 for Byron-Bergen including a layup off a drive early in the fourth to give the Bees their largest lead of the game at 60-47. Noeth’s club maintained the 13-point advantage when Chambry fed David Brumsted for two of his 10 points and a 64-51 lead with less than four minutes remaining in the game.

Schwenbraten converted a pair of free throws, and Williams hit a triple to cut the deficit to eight with 2:45 left in the game. The Wildcats went on to produce on four consecutive possessions while holding Byron-Bergen without a point to get a chance at a game-winner off a sideline inbound play with 2.2 seconds on the clock.

“My next step is the hair falls out,” Noeth said laughing about the how the game unfolded with W-C getting a chance to win at the buzzer. “It can’t get any grayer. It’s just going to start falling out now. You’re one 30-foot pull-up with two guys in your face away.”

Colin Martin (11) and Ryan Muscarella (8) rounded out the scoring for Byron-Bergen.

Bayly-Henshaw (9), Javier Ellington (4) and Louden Thrush (3) also scored for Wheatland-Chili.

Byron-Bergen (9-2 in league play) hosts Notre Dame-Batavia (12-5/7-4) on Thursday for a 7 p.m. tip off. Wheatland-Chili (11-5/7-3) hosts Elba also on Thursday.

 

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *