HS BOYS BASKETBALL: OWEGO TOPS MORAVIA IN SIBLEY TOURNEY OPENER (2023-12-02)

Tioga County Sports Report
OWEGO — Owego opened the 3rd annual Charlie Sibley Memorial Basketball Tournament with a 46-39 victory over Moravia Saturday, trailing only briefly early in the game.

The River Hawks scored the game’s first points, but fell behind, 4-2, however, Ben Rollison ended that situation with a 3-pointer with 5:50 to go.

That sparked a 7-0 run in which Riley Loomis scored four points, then followed a Blue Devil basket with his third bucket of the period to make it an 11-6 game.

Treys by Joseph Palladino and Matt Higgins in the final 25 seconds of the quarter to give the Hawks a 19-9 cushion heading into the second quarter.

Drew Nye drained a three for Moravia to start the second quarter, then Rollison beat the shot clock buzzer with a trey to push the lead back to 10 at 22-12.

Kam Wicklund knocked down a three-ball and followed moments later with a free throw to give Owego its biggest lead of the contest at 26-12.

The Hawks would lead 30-19 at the break, but Moravia battled back to make it a 34-31 game with 1:38 to play in the third. Logan Bell and Abram Wasileski both went-4-for-4 at the free throw line, and Aiden Kelly nailed a trey to highlight the surge.

Owego would counter with the next six points on two Wicklund buckets and a pair of Palladino free throws for a 40-31 advantage.

The Hawks headed into the final frame up, 40-33, and the Devils closed the gap to three twice, at 40-37 and 42-39. Talan Schumacher scored with 53 seconds remaining and Loomis added a field goal at the buzzer.

Wicklund led Owego with a dozen points while Loomis and Zach Bensley added eight apiece. Rollison scored six, Palladino chipped in with five, Schumacher finished with four and Higgins tacked on three.

Wasileski led all scorers with 14 points, going 6-for-9 at the stripe. Moravia went 17-for-26 at the line.

Owego faces Union-Endicott for the championship at 3 p.m. Sunday. The Tigers rallied from 14 down to defeat Elmira in double overtime.

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IN PHOTO 1: Owego’s Riley Loomis. ... PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.

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