YOUTH BASKETBALL: WAVERLY BOYS FALL TO CORNING IN FINALS OF EPIPHANY JUNIOR HGH TOURNEY; HORSEHEADS SWEEPS THROUGH GIRLS FIELD (2024-03-04)

Valley Sports Report
SAYRE — Waverly won two must-win elimination games, but came up just short in the third — a 62-54 loss to Corning in the finals of the Epiphany Junior High Boys Basketball Tournament.

Waverly topped Addison, 54-32, in the quarterfinals, then rolled to a 58-22 win over Towanda in the semifinals.

In the winner’s bracket finals, Corning edged Waverly, 72-67, but the young Wolverines bounced back in the consolation bracket finals with a 55-39 win over Towanda, which notched wins of Athens and Chenango Valley on its way back.

Behind 29 points from Carson Rockwell, 16 from Bryce LaForest, and nine from Ben Shaw, Waverly topped Corning, 62-51, to force a winner-take-all championship game in the double-elimination tournament.

In the grand finale, Corning turned the tables and came out on top, 62-54, despite a balanced attack by Waverly, which featured 17 points from Rockwell, 12 from Shaw, 11 from Jack Pipher, and eight from LaForest.

Athens was 1-2 in the tourney, dropping a 66-29 decision to Corning in the quarterfinals, then bouncing back with a 53-22 in the first round of the consolation bracket.

The junior Wildcats were eliminated by Towanda in a 46-28 decision.

Sayre was knocked into the consolation bracket via a 47-30 setback against Chenango Valley in the quarterfinals.

Tioga was also 0-2 in the tournament, dropping a 47-28 decision to Towanda in the quarterfinals, and falling, 43-37, to Addison in the open round of the consolation bracket.

Rockwell led the tournament with 102 points scored, while Shaw was third with 76, LaForest was sixth with 71, and Pipher was eighth with 47.

Lucas Schultz was Athens’ top scorer with 32 points in three games, and Declan Barry had 27 points in two games for Sayre. Gavin Kithcart led Tioga with 25 points in two games.

GIRLS
Horseheads went 4-0, topping Towanda 26-21 in the finals, after beating the Lady Knights, 39-20, in the winner’s bracket finals.

Waverly dropped a 33-26 decision to Towanda in the quarterfinals, but bounced back with a 51-21 win over Sayre in the first round of the consolation bracket, and followed it up with a 30-26 win over Athens.

Waverly edged Wyalusing, 27-25, to advance to the consolation bracket finals, where it dropped a 38-27 decision to Towanda.

Athens topped Wyalusing, 26-17, in the quarterfinals, but dropped a 53-18 decision to Horseheads in the semifinals, before being eliminated by Waverly.

Sayre was knocked into the consolation bracket via a 37-10 loss to Canton in the quarterfinals.

Waverly’s Taylin Gonzalez led Valley scorers with 34 points in four games, while teammate Lecskie Douglas had 32 points.

Sayre’s Payton Black had 25 points in two games for a 12.5 point per game average, which was tops among Valley players, and McKenna Jarvis had 32 points in three games (10.7 points per game).

The tournament was presented by The Friends of the Epiphany School Foundation, and sponsored by Williams Auto Group, and the Dandy.