Tioga County Sports ReportSPENCER — Southern Cayuga relied heavily on five players — and a lot of time at the charity stripe — to gradually pull away from S-VE, 64-51, in IAC Small School crossover action here Tuesday.
Each member of the starting group would finish in double figures and the Chieftains connected on 73 percent of their free throw attempts (22-for-30). In contrast, S-VE ent 7-for-11.
The Panthers would grab an early 16-15 edge thanks to six points from Matthew Merrick, and four each from James Sutherlin and Matthew Byrne.
Southern Cayuga responded to forge ahead, 29-28, at the half, then stretched their lead to 47-42 in the third quarter on eight points from Jared Howe.
In the final frame, SC went 9-for-14 at the line to create some space. Brandon Vanacore scored eight of his game-high 16 points, including all four foul shots.
The Chieftains' effort was also bolstered by 15 points from Howe, 12 by Steven Sherman, 11 from Jackson Otis and Nicholas Thurston's 10 points.
For S-VE, Merrick shared game-high scoring honors, canning a pair of threes in the process, and grabbed seven rebounds. Markus Brock had 10 points, five boards, three assists, three steals and a pair of blocks; and Byrne had 10 points, five boards and three assists.
Sutherlin contributed six points, four rebounds and two steals; Dominic Grier drained a pair of treys; Blaine Whitmarsh had two points, four rebounds and two assists; and Garrett Cooke added two points.
S-VE (4-5) visits Union Springs (4-4) Friday.
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IN PHOTO 1: S-VE's Blaine Whitmarsh. ... PHOTOS 1-6 COURTESY OF DANIEL SUTHERLIN. PHOTOS 7-10 BY TIM TAYLOR.
