IAC BOYS BASKETBALL: CANDOR UPENDS STATE-RANKED NEWFIELD, 64-49 (24 PHOTOS) (2025-02-01)

Tioga County Sports Report
CANDOR — Candor held state-ranked Newfield scoreless for more than six minutes to start the game, but needed to rally in the second half for a 64-49 win here Friday night in IAC Small School boys basketball action.

"This was a big victory for our team tonight against a really good Newfield team," said Candor coach Nate Thomas. "We came out looking to throw the first punch, and that’s exactly what happened.

"We know basketball is a game runs and us coaches just preached to the guys that at some point Newfield was going to make a run at us. And when they did, it wasn’t a surprise, we knew it was coming.

"The way that our guys handled adversity tonight was just a master class," noted Thomas. "As a staff, we couldn’t be more proud of how resilient they were when the game got close. At no point in time did we ever feel scared or rattled when Newfield took the lead.

"We had so many guys step up in crucial situations tonight," said Thomas. "It was a perfect testament to the unity that we try to have in our program. Where it doesn’t matter who gets the credit our job is to just work as hard as we possibly can, and when our numbers called, we give everything we can.

"We have a long road ahead of us with some really great teams in our league, but as a coaching staff, we’re happy at where our guys are at this point in time in the season," added Thomas. "We are playing our best basketball of the seasons, you can see the belief growing in their eyes more and more everyday."

Candor scored the first 11 points of the game, and held Newfield scoreless into the final 90 seconds of the quarter.

Jakobe Foster scored eight points, including a 6-for-6 effort from the free-throw line, and Donald Makie added five points as the Coyotes built an 18-6 lead after the opening stanza.

Newfield held Candor to just one field goal, and used a 21-7 blitz in the second quarter to take a 27-25 lead.

Newfield maintained its lead until late in the third quarter, but Candor took the lead late, and led 40-39 heading into the final eight minutes.

Foster scored 11 points in the third quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers.

In the fourth quarter, Makie and Foster scored eight points apiece, and Carson Heidl added six points in a 24-10 game-closing run.

The Coyotes made 11 of 16 free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

For the game, Candor made 30 of 38 from the charity triple.

Foster led Candor with 30 points, including making 20 of 24 free throws, seven rebounds, five assists, and one blocked shot, while Makie had 17 points and three rebounds, and Heidl added nine points and 11 rebounds.

Matthew Smith chipped in with six points and four rebounds for the Coyotes, and Ryan Huizinga grabbed five boards and blocked two shots.

"Two guys who really performed incredibly well off the bench were Matt Smith and Jason Jantz," said Thomas. "They really answered the call with a couple big buckets and great defensive energy to help us pull away at the end of the fourth quarter."

LeMari Spears led Newfield with 17 points and Greg Taylor added 15.

"Tonight we’re going to enjoy this win, but we’re going to make sure we get back to work tomorrow," said Thomas.

Candor returns to action Monday at Vestal. Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m. in a varsity-only contest.

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IN PHOTO 1: Candor's Jakobe Foster. ... PHOTOS BY SARAH HALL.

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