DEXTER — Although neither efforts proved to be masterpieces on the court, the General Brown boys and girls basketball teams delivered resounding victories Saturday in their Section 3 playoff openers.
First, the Lions rallied from being down early and pulled away for a 50-33 boys triumph over Phoenix in a Class B first-round game.
Then General Brown’s girls team generated a quick start and beat Holland Patent, 53-24, to also prevail in the first round in Class B.
HELLER PACES LIONS TO WIN
Luke Heller scored a game-high 20 points to spark fifth-seeded General Brown to a first-round victory against the 12th-seeded Firebirds.
Tucker Rosbrook recorded a double-double as he contributed 13 points and hauled in 12 rebounds to help pace the Lions (17-4).
“It’s a big win, our first win in sectionals this year, probably in the most competitive class,” Rosbrook said. “Class B is just great and very competitive, anyone can win it. And that was the first sectional win in basketball for a lot of these players, especially for a couple of our younger players.”
General Brown also generated a strong effort on the defensive side as after allowing 16 points in the first quarter, it allowed only 17 points the rest of the way, including four in the second quarter and just six in the pivotal third quarter.
“That’s defense right there and that’s what I like to see,” General Brown coach Matt Fiske said. “You want defense any time, but postseason is when you really want to see that defensive scheme come into play and they did a phenomenal job.”
After Phoenix led by as many as eight points (14-6) early, General Brown answered with a 9-0 run to grab its first lead of the day and went onto lead 21-20 through the first half.
“They went on a little run, we didn’t play great then, we weren’t as composed as we could have been,” Rosbrook, a senior forward, said. “We took a timeout, we kind of settled down and then got more offensive.”
“It was a dogfight out there,” Fiske said. “We have a tendency to see what tempo is out in front of us instead of setting the tempo and I think once we got down a couple baskets in that first quarter, we realized that we had to kind of take over a little bit.”
The Lions scored the first six points of the second half, which they extended into a 17-2 surge to forge a 38-22 lead with 1:15 to play in the period.
“They started collapsing on me which opened up opportunities on the outside,” Rosbrook said. “Our guards started knocking them down, Aiden McManaman, Luke Heller had two (3-pointers) right in a row that were big ... and there was no looking back from there.”
Heller, a senior guard, scored eight of his points in the period, six of which came on a pair of 3-pointers during the decisive run. He also converted on seven of eight free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter to help put the game away.
“This was a good win for us,” said Heller, who made 10 free throws out on 12 trips. “This has been a lot of fun, so hopefully we can keep this going.”
Sophomore Tallen Prior scored 14 points, eight in the first half, for Phoenix (11-11).
General Brown, which won the Frontier League’s “B” Division playoff championship with a 64-48 win over Lowville last Friday, advances to the quarterfinal round for the first time since 2020.
“It was great for some of our younger guys to get in there and get the experience of a sectional game,” Rosbrook said. “It’s a lot different than a league game, it’s lose or go home, so everyone was fighting as hard as they can.”
The Lions now move on to play a quarterfinal at fourth-seeded Marcellus, which defeated Vernon-Verona-Sherrill, 82-49, on Saturday, at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
“Getting that home game was huge for us, but on the other side of it, I don’t really necessarily like the way we play at home sometimes,” Fiske said. “I think a lot of the times we play well on the road, so I’m excited, this is a huge win for our school, the boys are happy. ... We have confidence, but now we have to put this game behind us and be ready to get right after it.”
GENERAL BROWN GIRLS DOMINATE
Kori Nichols scored 18 points to lead a balanced effort as the top-seeded Lions cruised to victory over the 16th-seeded Golden Knights in the nightcap.
General Brown (19-2) raced out to an early advantage by scoring the first 20 points of the game, paced by Nichols, who scored nine of her points in the first quarter.
“It was good, it was a good win to get the momentum going and rolling in sectionals,” Nichols, a senior guard, said.
The Lions, who led 26-7 after the opening period, cooled off offensively in the second quarter, but extended this lead to 32-15 by halftime.
“We came out with a really good start and I think our stamina kind of got the best of us in not having a game in a week,” Nichols said. “But we started out good.”
“It was rough, a little rough,” General Brown coach Janelle Ferris said. “We didn’t get to practice (Friday) obviously and it showed. We didn’t have a shoot-around today to kind of loosen up a little bit, but I thought we were going to be okay. We came out pressing and got a jump on them, but then we just kind of fizzled out for most of the game.”
The Lions also generated another strong defensive effort by allowing only 13 points over the second and third quarters combined.
“Our defense is definitely something that is key because it gets us going into our offense,” Nichols said. “And getting steals really motivates us to play good offense.”
Ainsley Fuller added eight points for General Brown, the reigning Section 3 champion in Class B.
“It’s definitely a really good win,” Fuller, a senior guard, said. “I think it definitely boosts our confidence so we can build and become better in later games to hopefully win a championship.”
General Brown also won the battle inside by forging a 40-35 advantage in rebounds, with sophomore Maddy Ferris leading the way with nine.
Nichols also totaled six rebounds, four assists and six steals, while Fuller, who also recorded six rebounds and six steals.
“Kori’s just a phenomenal athlete,” Ferris said. “We call her a gamer, she just goes out there, puts her game face on and tries hard. And sometimes on days like this, she kind of has to carry us on her back a little bit when we can’t find the rim.”
The Lions, who are ranked No. 6 in the state in Class B, advance to host No. 9 Oneida in a quarterfinal at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
They also extended their winning streak to nine games, including a 65-32 victory over Immaculate Heart Central last Saturday to claim the Frontier League’s “B” Division playoff title.
“I’m feeling very hopeful for our sectional run and hopefully a run in states,” Nichols said. “We lost two really key players (from last year), but we have an eighth-grader that’s doing a great job in Leah (Ferris) and some other people off the bench that are doing a good job.”
Last year as the No. 2 seed in sectionals, General Brown won a pair of home games and then marched through the semifinal and final rounds to claim a Section 3 title, eventually reaching the state’s final four in its first trip to the state tournament.
Terra McLaughlin scored 10 points to pace Holland Patent (8-14).
“They were a good team, they were scrappy and aggressive,” Ferris said of Holland Patent. “And I think it wore us down a little bit where we had to take our press off a little bit and then we put it back on, But we definitely have things to work on in order to keep chugging along.”
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.