By SPENCER BATES
PORTVILLE — The last time the Portville boys basketball team faced off against Gowanda, they suffered a 29-point defeat.
That was on the road.
This time, with the energy of a rowdy student section putting wind in their sails, head coach Dylan Burton’s side came seeking to avenge that loss. And from the start it was evident.
Chaos reigned supreme through the first half of action as Portville and Gowanda traded big buckets and high energy plays on both ends of the floor.
“Honestly, just effort,” Burton said of what the difference was between the matchups. “We did not show up when we were (at Gowanda), effort wise. But tonight, the student section was huge, that’s the biggest student section we’ve had in a long time, the gym was loud and the guys fed off of that. It just came down to effort and energy. We had it from the jump, which was huge for us.”
At the intermission, Portville was down just six points, 29-23. A stark difference compared to the first affair between the sides in which it trailed by 16 at the half.
Unfortunately for the hosts, the second half was not entirely kind. Empty possessions and turnovers were quickly exchanged for points on the other end by the visitors and in the blink of an eye, were down by a sizable margin.
Tried as it may, Portville was unable to overcome the deficit as it fell 71-49.
“I probably could have done a better job to get some of my guys some rest,” Burton said of what he saw as the scoreline started to escape his team. “I played just five all night. So I think we started to get a little bit tired. We started getting winded. Shots weren’t falling, everything was short. And when you start to play from behind, you start to put up some lower percentage shots.”
Second chance points were a major factor in the game. Numerous times Portville found itself burned by a putback off an offensive board or by an unmarked big man camped under the basket.
Gowanda’s size was a problem for Portville, one only compounded by the struggles it had running a newer defensive scheme.
“We threw a couple different zone defenses tonight that we don’t run a ton of, that we’ve been working on, but boxing out in a zone defense is really tough because you’re not stuck to a certain guy,” Burton said. “So we just got to get better at that during practice and really understand it’s more about boxing out as one unit, and less, ‘hey, you’ve got this one specific guy.’ You just got to know who’s around you and find a body.”
Portville’s Aidan DeFazio (21) looks to dish a pass. DeFazio scored a game-high 30 points for Portville in its loss to Gowanda. (Spencer Bates)
Portville was led by a game-high 30-point performance by Aidan DeFazio. However, the next highest scorer for the hosts was Zach Green who finished with seven.
For Gowanda, Trelin Warrior had a team-high 25 points. Aiden Geiger and Seth Geiger supplied 14 points apiece in the win as well.
The home stretch of the regular season now lies ahead for Portville, and the games don’t get easier from here on out. What Burton wants to see from his team as the campaign draws to an end is more of what he saw in the first half against Gowanda: energy and effort.
“We’ve got a gauntlet here to finish out the year,” Burton said. “Gowanda, then Frewsburg and Randolph, the top teams with us in the league. They’ll all be very competitive games. I think the big thing is just understanding that the effort needs to be there throughout. We’re a good enough team to be able to compete with those teams. We’ve set ourselves up pretty well for the playoffs, but we just got to gain a little bit of momentum moving into those playoffs to be able to be successful there.”
Up next for Portville and away fixture at Frewsburg on Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m.
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AT PORTVILLE
Gowanda (71)
Warrior 9 3-4 25, A. Geiger 6 0-0 14, S. Geiger 6 2-3 14, Barrett 3 0-0 7, Montour 3 0-0 6, Irion III 1 1-2 3, Fernandes 1 0-0 2. Totals: 29 6-9 71
Portville (49)
DeFazio 12 0-0 30, Green 3 0-0 7, Truman 2 0-0 4, Camp 2 0-0 4, Carter 1 2-2 4. Totals: 20 2-2 49
Gow. 16 29 54 71
Port. 9 23 35 49
Three-point goals: Gow. 7 (Warrior 4, A. Geiger 2, Barrett), Port. 7 (DeFazio 6, Green); Total fouls: Gow. 4, Port. 11; Fouled out: Truman (Port.).
