By HUNTER O. LYLE
BUFFALO, NY – Familiarity breeds contempt and the Olean and Fredonia boy’s basketball team were nothing, if not familiar.
Starring at the Hillbillies from across the Section VI Class A2 championship stage, the Huskies had yet another chance to earn redemption, this time with the promise of a blue patch and a banner. However, despite outscoring their first three quarters with a massive push in the fourth, Olean was once again unable to get over the Hillbilly hump, ultimately losing 76-66 and walking away from their season empty handed..
The clash of the Huskies and Hillbillies was one of battle tested experiences. Between the two, there sat three Sectional Championships in the past five years — Olean in ‘22 and ‘24 and Fredonia in ‘23 — and an archive of other deep playoff runs. But along with their competitive and comparable resumes ran a vein of rivalry. Both playing in the CCAA Division I, they had already seen each other twice this season, with Fredonia marking wins on both occasions.
“Obviously (Fredonia) is a very, very good team. We knew they had three very good scorers. Three guys that all average 15 points a game or more and we talked about what we wanted to do to try to slow them down,” said Olean head coach Tim Kolasinski. “That was our focus, defensively.”
Out of the gates, it seemed like Olean’s preparation proved fruitful. Opening the game in man-to-man, the Huskies quickly pressured Fredonia into discomfort, forcing three consecutive Hillbilly turnovers. Although Fredonia fired back with three successful trips down the floor immediately after, Olean’s clamps soon reappeared, holding their opponents scoreless again for over three minutes. However, on the other side of the court, the Huskies failed to launch.
Coming off a game where their offense erupted early, Olean struggled to repeat the feat. Facing an aggressive box-and-one that swarmed and isolated Mykel Rivera, the Huskies were unable to get into a rhythm and gain confidence, let alone momentum. Despite coming away with point blank looks, including several under the rim from offensive rebounds, they failed to cash in on easy opportunities, going without a basket for the first four minutes of play.
“They kept us off balance early on. They mixed up defenses quite a bit and even disguised some defenses some times,” said Kolasinski. “I think it kind of kept us off balance and kind of didn’t let us find a comfort zone.”
After an inconsistent first quarter only managed to build a 8-4 lead, Fredonia quickly ironed out the wrinkles through the next eight minutes of play.
Utilizing their fast-paced passing and player movement, the Hillbillies wasted no time spacing the floor to open up lanes inside. Using back door cuts, give-and-goes and shifty drives through the lane, Fredonia retook the momentum and kept a hold of it. Sparking a 7-2 run with shots all from within the paint, they swiftly built a seven-point advantage midway through the period.
Olean, on the other hand, still couldn’t find an offensive identity. Despite Rivera willing a few shots through the net, scoring on contested fadeaways, Olean still had no reliable source of production. Even when they seemed to strike a spark, such as a Joe Mest triple or Connor Hogle second chance score, the Hillbillies almost always responded and doubled down.
Reversing their attack, Fredonia ended the half by prioritizing the long ball. With the Huskies helping in the middle to take away their drives inside, the Hillbillies took advantage of the space beyond the perimeter, hitting three 3-pointers in the final minutes to build a double-digit lead.
Coming out of the break, that momentum only grew. On the Hillbillies’ first seven trips down the court, they saw the ball go through the basket seven times. In the same window, Olean saw it go in just twice.
“(Fredonia) is very methodical and they know exactly what they’re trying to do. They know who does what well in their offense and they’re good enough that we couldn’t really get them out of what they were trying to do,” said Kolasinski. “One of the things that they’re very good at is getting the ball into the paint, making you have to help and then finding the next guy. Sometimes it’s the open three and sometimes it’s the guy slipping on the baseline.”
As Fredonia continued their seemingly unstoppable attack, Olean sputtered. Turnovers, missed chances and empty possessions continuously piled up and by the two minute mark, they looked up at a 20-point deficit. Following two more back-to-back triples from the Hillbillies, Olean managed to chip away only slightly at the gap on the scoreboard with a buzzer-beating toss from Adrian Bohdanowycz. Still, the Huskies entered the final quarter down by 19.
Backed into a do-or-die corner, at first, the Huskies seemed to be leaning towards the latter. Feeling a sense of desperate urgency, Olean started the final eight minutes of play by enacting a full-court-press, however, in the early goings it proved to do more damage than help. Traps in the open court and high pressure in the half routinely produced fouls and with still six minutes left to play, the Hillbillies earned a spot in the bonus.
As some added salt in the wound, instead of leaning into their thus-far stellar work at the charity stripe, Fredonia insisted on outpacing the pressure, using long outlet passes to weave through the defense and quickly find layups on the other end. Despite the Huskies scattered scores, they couldn’t tie on a tourniquet and with three minutes to go in the championship game, they faced a 18-point deficit. But then the tide turned.
Nearing the end of their season, which would be the end of the Huskies’ five starting seniors careers, Olean shifted into gear. Starting with a deep triple from Mest, the Huskies rattled off eight quick points. With their full-court-press finally producing Hillbilly turnovers, and their frantic offense turning prayers into points, Olean sparked a 11-4 run in just 60 seconds.
“I just saw heart. That was an unbelievable effort. At one point, you’re looking at the scoreboard and you’re looking at the situation and you’re starting to ask those questions about is it time to waive the white flag, and they guys just kept coming and coming and coming,” said Kolasinski. “That’s a situation where they’re just making the plays they needed to make. I thought we put ourselves back in the game.”
Turning an 18-point gap on the scoreboard to just 11, the Huskies continued to whittle away the lead where they could. However, despite cracking into single digits, they still had to battle against the bonus. Every time Fredonia grabbed the inbound, they could be counted on for two points, either at the free throw line and via transition and with just over a minute left, the clock was on their side.
Just as the Huskies were nearing the finish line, one final turnover pushed the needle off its track. Unable to close the gap, they watched as Fredonia’s bench cleared. They watched as Fredonia collected their blue patches. And then they walked off the court one final time.
Three Huskies ended with 15 or more points. Rivera finished with 19 points, followed by Mest and Hogle, who both recorded 15 points each.
“Honestly, I’m just so proud of this group because I think they came so far. We started the year in a showcase event and it was not pretty. It just showed that there was a lot of work to do, but these guys did it,” said Kolasinski. “They showed up every day and they got better and they listened and they learned. I think anybody who was watching throughout the season could see that growth.”
AT BUFFALO
Olean (66)
Rivera 7 5-7 19, Hogle 7 1-3 15, Mest 5 1-2 15, Ruggles 3 0-0 7, Bohdanowycz 3 0-1 7, Myers 1 1-2 3, Teachman 0 0-2 0. Totals: 26 8-11 66
Fredonia (76)
Koopman 7 7-9 22, Dowdy 5 9-10 19, Putney 4 3-4 14, Luce 5 0-0 10, Kelly 3 0-0 9, Lincoln 1 0-0 2. Totals: 25 19-23 76
Olean 4 18 31 66
Fredonia 8 28 50 76
Three-point goals: OL (6) Mest 4, Ruggles, Bohdanowycz, FD (7) Kelly 3, Putney 3, Koopman; Total fouls: OL 19, FD 13; Fouled out: Mest (OL)
