OBSERVER Photo by Roger Coda Westfield’s Ryan Jafarjian (right) attempts a layup while guarded closely by a pair of Falconer defenders during Friday’s game against Falconer in Westfield.

OBSERVER Staff Reports

WESTFIELD — The Westfield Wolverines came away with a 70-53 win over Falconer for the first time as league foes on Friday night in a CCAA Division 2 West boys basketball matchup at Westfield Academy to keep the Wolverines’ perfect 5-0 league record intact.

Westfield (9-3, 5-0) led 19-14 after the first quarter, despite eight points from Falconer’s Nate Abbey. Nathan Culbreth of Westfield hit a pair of 3-pointers in the quarter to help Westfield hold the lead.

In the second quarter, Westfield sharpshooter Evan Hauser heated up from the outside. Hauser scored 11 of his game-high 21 points in the second quarter to help Westfield pull away. In each of the first two quarters, the Wolverines had five players score in the period.

In addition to Hauser’s 21 points, Culbreth finished with 11 points and six rebounds. Andrew Baribeau led Westfield with nine rebounds, while the Wolverines got 48 rebounds as a team. Westfield got the chance to play its reserves in the fourth quarter.

“It was a good win. A lot of kids got to play, which was nice, especially at home,” said Westfield coach Bob North.

Bobby Samuelson led Falconer with 16 points, while Abbey finished with 10 points for the visitors.

Westfield faces one of its toughest tests next, on Tuesday, when the Wolverines head to Sherman, looking to move to 6-0. Westfield has wins over every team in the division, with Sherman as the only team left to face for the first time through the division.

“If we can get a win there and escape the first go-round at 6-0, I’ll be really happy,” said North.

Olean 81, Dunkirk 38

OLEAN — The Dunkirk Marauders had the tough task of taking on the Olean Huskies on the road on Friday night and fell behind early, before an eventual 81-38 loss in a CCAA Division 1 West league game in Olean.

Olean (12-0, 5-0) jumped ahead 28-9 after the first quarter, on the strength of 10 points in the frame by Matt Droney, along with four 3-pointers as a team. Dunkirk trailed by double digits the rest of the way.

“We battled and played hard the whole game,” said Dunkirk assistant coach Joe Pucciarelli.

Droney finished with 15 points, tied for the game-high with Olean teammate Brian Ramarge. Alex Weakfall had 12 points, while Josh Bihler had 10.

A bright spot for Dunkirk (1-10) on Friday night was the defense of Sebastjian Capuno, who held Olean’s leading scorer Mike Schmidt to only four points on Friday. Schmidt, the son of the St. Bonaventure mens basketball head coach Mark Schmidt, averaged over 16 points per game coming into the contest.

Another positive for the Marauders was the play of Devon Kubasik, who had a team-high 12 points. Earl Stewart added five points with a team-high 11 rebounds.

Dunkirk is in action next on Tuesday, when the Marauders host Chautauqua Lake in another league contest.

Fredonia 75, Maple Grove 53

BEMUS POINT — Keith Piper scored eight of his 15 points in the first quarter as Fredonia jumped out to a 21-5 lead over Maple Grove en route to a 75-53 Division 1 West victory.

“He would get an offensive rebound and put it right back up,” Maple Grove coach Rob Collver said of Piper. “They were a lot more physical and a lot tougher than us.”

Brayden Myers led the Hillbillies (8-4, 5-1) with 16 points while Tyler Putney added 13 and Kaleb Rybij had 11.

“We missed a ton of layups and putbacks in the first quarter,” Collver said. “Our defense wasn’t very good and their defense was really good.”

Nick Whitfield and Rybij each had eight rebounds while Alec Schrader handed out four assists in the win.

“We got off to a good start,” said Fredonia head coach Bertrando, who has stressed a strong early start all season, but has not seen the results until now.

Peter Auer led the Red Dragons (5-6, 1-4) with 18 points to go along with eight rebounds and six steals. Tyler McPherson grabbed 13 rebounds and Darius Jones had five steals.

“It was a great team victory. It started on the defensive end,” said Bertrando. “It’s a credit to the entire team.”

Silver Creek 78, Gowanda 38

GOWANDA — The Silver Creek Black Knights proved that even when a team locks in on Brady Woleben, they can still find a way to win.

Silver Creek came out on top in a CCAA Division 1 East boys basketball league contest, 78-38, on Friday night at Gowanda High School.

Gowanda (2-9, 0-3) double-teamed Woleben throughout the first quarter, but it didn’t seem to matter to the Black Knights, as Silver Creek (8-4, 2-1) led 19-7 after one. The visitors had another dominant quarter in the second frame, outscoring Gowanda 22-7 with eight points in the quarter from Woleben.

“Gowanda was working hard in the beginning,” said Silver Creek coach Rob Genco. “They made it a game early on.”

Silver Creek scored 26 points in the third quarter and rested Woleben in the fourth quarter. In just three quarters, Woleben had a game-high 20 points.

Counting Woleben, Silver Creek had five scorers in double figures. Sammy Braidich had what Genco called “probably his best game so far,” with 14 points for Silver Creek. Tucker Gates had 15 points, Ammon Jones had 11 and Dominic Jamison had 10.

Silver Creek is in action again on Tuesday at Portville, in another league contest.

Catt./Little Valley 52, North Collins 48

NORTH COLLINS — The North Collins Eagles couldn’t find the win column on Friday, falling to Cattaraugus/Little Valley in CCAA Div. 2 East action, 52-48.

North Collins’ Tyler Robinson dropped 24 points but the Eagles shot 6-24 from the free throw line as a team and weren’t able to overcome it as a result.

For the Timberwolves, Shane O’Neil scored 12 points to help the cause.

For North Collins, David Gullo and Mitchell Warsaw each added eight points. Additionally, North Collins was short three starters in today’s game.

North Collins (1-7, 0-4) will be back in action Tuesday against Franklinville.

Ellicottville 64, Pine Valley 44

ELLICOTTVILLE — Ellicottville got out and running in transition early and often on Friday night against Pine Valley to come out on top, 64-44, in a CCAA Division 2 East boys basketball game at Ellicottville High School.

Ellicottville (7-5, 4-0) held a 17-6 lead after the first quarter and extended the lead to 41-18 at halftime. Ellicottville coach Dave McCann credited his team’s defense for creating transition opportunities for easy buckets in the first half.

Wyatt Chudy of Ellicottville led all scorers on Friday night with a game-high 18 points, along with 10 rebounds. Jordan Grinols of Ellicottville had 13 points and “played a really solid game offensively and defensively,” according to McCann.

Pine Valley (3-6, 2-1) got 12 points and 11 rebounds from Brady Andrews, while Christian Ortiz added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Ellicottville plays Catt./Little Valley next, on Tuesday, while Pine Valley plays today against Clymer at Fredonia State.