DUNKIRK — In its final CCAA Div. I game of the season, the Salamanca boys basketball team stumbled on the road, narrowly falling 59-57 to bottom-of-the-table Dunkirk.
The Warriors narrowly lost each of the first three quarters, but none by more than three points. In the fourth quarter, they attempted a late comeback and managed to finish with 21 points in the frame, but the Marauders did just about enough to hold onto the lead, handing Salamanca a tough loss.
Salamanca failed to get any scoring outside of their typical starters, all of whom were led by Maddox Isaac and Avery Brown as each scored a team-high 14 points on the night. Jaxon Crouse provided 13 in support and was the only other player on the team to reach double figures.
Dunkirk was led by a game-high 16 points from Greg Orcutt. He was backed up by 12-point games from K’vion Tell and Avery Krystofiak. Malik McCall supplied 10 points for the Marauders as well.
AT DUNKIRK
Salamanca (57)
Isaac 4 4-4 14, Brown 3 8-10 14, Crouse 4 4-6 13, Herrick 3 1-2 9, Bradley 3 1-4 7. Totals: 17 18-26 57
Dunkirk (59)
Orcutt 7 0-0 16, Krystofiak 6 0-0 12, Tell 5 2-4 12, McCall 3 4-5 10, McQuiggan 1 2-2 5, Martucci 1 0-4 2, Denson 1 0-0 2. Totals: 24 8-15 59
Sala. 13 22 36 57
Dunk. 14 26 42 59
Three-point goals: Sala. 5 (Herrick 2, Isaac 2, Crouse), Dunk. (); Total fouls: Sala. 14, Dunk. ; fouled out: Martucci (Dunk.).
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Salamanca at Franklinville
FRANKLINVILLE — As Leilene McComber led Salamanca with a game-high 20 points, it was only fitting for her to nail the game-winning free throw as the Warriors squeaked past Franklinville.
McComber’s clutch bucket came with under two seconds left to play and gave the Warriors a big win in their penultimate game of the regular season. Behind her, freshman Maliyah Foster found herself making a big impact on offense, scoring 13 points.
Hailey Rzucek and eighth-grader Grace Cornell led the Panthers in the contest with 10 points apiece.
“We definitely didn’t play our brand of basketball through three quarters,” Salamanca coach Joe Hinman said. “With a few adjustments, we crawled back in by just picking it up more on defense and taking care of the ball. I credit the Panthers for playing tough defense on us and limiting scoring opportunities. Their size also posed a challenge for us especially in the rebounding category. But when adversity struck, we found a way to get back in it and I’m proud we never gave up. It was a gritty win.”
AT FRANKLINVILLE
Salamanca (45)
McComber 7 6-11 20, Foster 5 1-2 13, Lafferty 2 0-0 5, Crouse 2 0-0 4, Wass 0 3-4 3. Totals: 16 10-17 45
Franklinville (44)
Cornell 4 1-2 10, Rzucek 4 2-2 10, T. Chase 4 0-0 8, Sullivan 4 0-1 8, M. Chase 3 0-0 6, A. Chase 1 0-0 2. Totals: 20 3-5 44
Sala. 9 19 28 45
Frank. 7 22 36 44Three-point goals: Sala. 3 (Foster 2, Lafferty), Frank. 1 (Cornell); Total fouls: Sala. 14, Frank. 14; fouled out: None.
