IAC BOYS BASKETBALL: NEWFIELD PULLS AWAY FROM UNDERMANNED S-VE (January 6, 2026)

By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
SPENCER — Despite being short on numbers, Spencer-Van Etten put up a solid fight early against Newfield before the Trojans pulled away for a 63-18 victory in IAC Small School South Division action here Tuesday night.

“We went out there with limited numbers and we gave it our all for 32 straight minutes,” said coach Kyle Pierce. “I feel like everybody on the floor, at any given time, was giving all they had and trying to get some good experience from that.

Both defenses held the other team at bay until Newfield broke the ice with a traditional 3-point play by Malachi Wright at 5:47 of the first quarter.

“They came out kind of firing with their press and we were doing alright trying to get over the first side of half court, and then we get on our side and we turn the ball over going a little too quick,” Pierce said. “We kind of got that a little bit better as the game went on and we started to do the things that we're trying to work on.”

The Trojans followed the first points with a steal, which led to a bucket from Malcolm Jenkins nine seconds later, and that set the tone for the next several minutes.

Leading, 5-0, the visitors received four consecutive baskets from LeMari Spears to make it 13-0 with 3:51 on the clock. Newfield closed out the period with 12 more points to build a 25-0 cushion.

The Panthers’ offense, while handling the ball well in its own end of the court, struggled once it crossed into the Newfield end.

It was the same in the second quarter as the Trojans extended their lead to 41-5 at halftime.

S-VE’s first points came on a Landon Whitmarsh free throw at 6:12 of the second stanza. Nevin Mack canned a pair of free throws at 4:41 and Nick Oakes accounted for the team’s first field goal at 1:25 and the home team trailed, 41-5, at the half.

Newfield stretched its lead to 51-5 in the third quarter before S-VE scored on two more Mack free throws. The Trojans took a 57-7 advantage into the final frame.

Down, 61-7, the Panthers reeled off eight straight points on a pair of Mack free throws and a Mack basket, a Whitmatsh bucket, and Noah Ingram’s steal and layup.

Oakes finished off the scoring on a 3-pointer with 67 seconds left in the game.

Mack led S-VE with eight points, going 6-for-7 at the stripe, and also had seven rebounds, a block and a steal. Oakes recorded five points, four boards and three steals; Whitmarsh had three points, four steals and three rebounds; Ingram pitched in with two points, six boards, two steals and oen block; Zane Showerman added six boards and a steal; and Tyler Tufford tacked on four rebounds and an assist.

Jenkins led all scorers with 16 points and Spears added 13 more.

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IN PHOTO 1: Noah Ingram (2) and Landon Whitmarsh. IN TOP PHOTO. Nevin Mack (14) and Tyler Tufford. … PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.

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