SECTION IV BOYS BASKETBALL: THIRD-QUARTER BURST FUELS OWEGO WIN OVER LANSING (2025-02-18)
By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
OWEGO — A 14-3 run late in the third quarter helped fuel the Owego effort as the River Hawks picked up a 64-53 non-league victory over Lansing here Tuesday evening.
Owego was clinging to a 37-36 edge with just under 2 ½ minutes remaining in the period when the home team erupted for a 14-3 run.
A handful of impressive plays highlighted the surge.
The first came when Jack Buchsbaum went after a ball heading out of bounds and knocked it in to Joseph Palladino, who in turn found Carter Rieg open for a basket and a 41-36 lead.
Matt Higgins followed with some nifty scoring as the period neared its final minute. With his team up, 41-38, he hit the first of two free throws, but was able to grab his own rebounds and put the ball back for a basket. He was fouled on the play and sank the ensuing free throw, making it a 45-38 contest.
Next came Calvin Smith with a 3-pointer with eight seconds on the clock, pushing the gap to 48-38. Smith wasn’t done, however, nailing a buzzer-beating trey to give Owego a 52-39 cushion.
“Two big threes from Calvin Smith, which were huge,” said Owego coach Chris Evans. “One was on a set play, one was, with four seconds to go in the quarter where we got the sideline break that we wanted and Carter Rieg made a great find of Calvin up the sideline.
“Sometimes you don't know with four seconds left what you actually have. Carter and some of those guys are starting to learn that that's a long time. You have time to make a dribble, and make a pass and then shoot the ball so that was excellent.”
Caleb Cole added a pair of baskets in the fourth quarter, Jack Buchsbaum knocked down a trey, and Evan English, King Brainard and Zack Bensley tackled on one bucket apiece to hold the Bobcats at bay.
“Caleb Cole, I was so happy for him because he came off the bench and hasn't got a ton of minutes this year, and played so well,” Evans said. “He's been playing in practice so well lately that he's earned it, and he played, played excellent tonight off the bench.
The River Hawks appeared primed for a romp at the game’s onset as Bensley, Smith and Buchsbaum spotted the home team a 6-0 lead.
Lansing had other plans, using a pair of 3-pointers from Logan Mayo and Ryan Pettograsso-Houk around a basket by Pettograsso-Houk to take an 8-6 lead.
“It's a very good shooting team,” Evans said. “The reason I wanted to play them is because they reminded me a little of Norwich and it's an excellent shooting team, 14-4 coming in.”
Smith and Matt Higgins pushed Owego back in front, 10-8, but Pettograsso-Houk canned another three-ball, and he and Jaxson Mayo had a bucket apiece to give Lansing a 15-10 lead after one period.
Jordan Sidle’s 3-pointer kept the Bobcats in front after the first minute of play in the second quarter, but Hunter Slater’s basket following a Higgins steal and a Higgins basket knotted the game at 18.
With his team trailing, 19-18, Palladino knocked down a trey from the top of the key and Bensley scored underneath for a 23-19 lead. Pettograsso-Houk responded with a three-ball and Sidle’s steal and layup put the visitors back ahead, 24-23, but the River Hawks would end the half with a seven-point run on the strength of a trio of Bensley baskets and a Smith free throw.
Owego would lead the rest of the way as Smith contributed a conventional 3-point play and Higgins added two buckets for a 37-30 advantage.
“Defensively we scrambled and we clawed and we played the way we have to play, and started switching screens at the end, which was excellent, because we can do that. Our bigs can't switch, but our smalls can.
Another key for Owego was its constant hustle throughout the game.
“It's nice to see,” Evans said. “Every day in practice is competitive and that's what, as a coaching staff, what you want to engender is to make sure that everything is competitive, every drill, even free throw situations, competitive. That’s what we want to bring, and I think we're jelling at a pretty good time and I think we're going to be a tough out.”
Higgins and Smith paced Owego with 14 points apiece, and Bensley added another dozen. Buchsbaum chipped in with seven, Cole and Rieg had four, Palladino three, and Brainard, English and Slater tacked on two each.
Pettograsso-Houk led all scorers with 18 points and Sidle added 17 for the Bobcats, ranked 18th in Class B.
Owego (13-7) now awaits the Section IV Class A seeds, but is expecting a road game at Norwich (14-4).
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IN PHOTO 1: Owego’s Calvin Smith. ... IN TOP PHOTO: Owego’s Jack Buchsbaum. ... PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
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