One squad is undefeated in Class D and is looking for its first title in 15 years. The other entered the postseason .500 and is looking for its first sectional title this century. You can see it all at Blue Cross Arena at the Rochester War Memorial as Fillmore and Jasper-Troupsburg face off in the Section V Class D Boys’ Basketball title. Here’s the breakdown:
No. 1 seed FILLMORE EAGLES (19-3 / Allegany County Division I)
vs.
No. 3 seed JASPER-TROUPSBURG WILDCATS (12-10 / Steuben County Division II)
How they arrived: Top-seeded Fillmore tipped-off its playoff run with a 71-47 victory over No. 8 Elba in the quarterfinals after earning a first-round bye. The Eagles then cruised to the Class D title game after a victory against reigning Class D champs No. 5 Avoca-Prattsburgh 88-40 in the semifinals. No. 3 Jasper-Troupsburg received a bye as well and got off to a hot start with a 68-32 win against No. 6 Hammondsport. The Wildcats then pulled off a narrow victory against No. 2 Andover-Whitesville, 57-53 to advance to the Class D final.
Scoring offense: Fillmore (70.9), Jasper-Troupsburg (52.5)
Scoring defense: Fillmore (46.3), Jasper-Troupsburg (48.9)
Trends: Fillmore has won seven of its last eight all by at least 23 points. The Eagles have scored 70-plus points 15 times this season and have nine wins by 30 points or more. Fillmore has held opponents to under 40 points nine times on the season and on 14 different occasions the Eagles held teams to under 50 points. Fillmore enters the title game on a four game win-streak outscoring its opponents by a combined 156 points (329-172). Jasper-Troupsburg heads into the championship on a two-game win streak and winners in four of its last five. Ten of the Wildcats wins this season have come by at least 10 points and five by 30-plus. To go along with that, Jasper-Troupsburg is 2-1 in games decided by two possessions or less. In the postseason, the Wildcats have held its opponents to an average of 42.5 points.
Players to watch for Fillmore: Cam Mucher So. 19.2 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 29. SPG, 2.9 APG; Jonah Bialek So. 18.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 3.5 APG, 2.1 SPG; JD Bialek Sr. 11.4 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.6 APG; Isaiah Sisson Jr. 8.4 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.8 SPG; Jameson Rhett Jr. 6.9 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.5 APG
Jasper-Troupsburg: Jim Ainsworth Jr. F 13.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.0 SPG, 2.0 APG; Landon Zver Jr. F 13.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 4.0 APG, 2.0 SPG; Nolan Vallieries So. G 7.0 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.3 APG; Gage Hall Sr. C 4.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG; Jackson Hayes Sr. G 4.5 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.5 SPG
Coaches: Randy Crouch (Fillmore), Louis Zver (Jasper-Troupsburg)
History 101: Fillmore is back in the finals for the first time since 2013 and is looking for its first sectional title since 2010. The Eagles have four sectional championships in program history including a title a couple years prior in 2008 and going back-to-back in 1995 and 1996. Jasper-Troupsburg is looking for its first title since 1998 and sixth in school history. It’s the Wildcats second appearance in the big game in the past three years. Jasper-Troupsburg found a lot of success before 2000 as the Wildcats won its first title back in 1959, another in 1975 and won two in a row in 1993 and 1994.
What’s at stake: A spot in the Class D Far West Regional against the champions of Section VI.
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