Cassadaga Valley coach Cody Jacobson called a timeout in hopes of turning things around. His team responded with 17 of the next 18 points and wound up with a one-point lead, 36-35, with 5:20 left to play.

Brocton, on its home floor with only seven active players and one of those players out momentarily with an injury, dug deep and didn’t let the result slip away.

The Bulldogs outscored the Cougars 14-8 over the final 5:20 to come away with a 49-44 victory in Tuesday’s CCAA West 2 Division boys basketball game at Brocton High School to claim Brocton’s first league win this year.

“We’ve been in so many of these close games, we’re finally learning and coming together,” said Brocton coach Collin Mulcahy. “I couldn’t be more proud of these guys. We found a way to win.”

Cassadaga Valley’s Drake Pierce goes up for a layup contested by Brocton’s Seth McFadden (31) during Tuesday’s game at Brocton High School. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen.

Michael Steward led Brocton with 18 points, and none were bigger than a 3-pointer he hit with 3:53 left in the game. The shot put Brocton ahead 42-39, and while the Cougars tied the score at 42-all with 2:18 remaining, the Bulldogs never trailed again after Steward’s go-ahead shot.

“Mike Steward is a gamer. It seems like no stage is too big for him. He comes alive in critical situations,” said Mulcahy.

Seth McFadden, the Brocton player who was injured earlier in the period, came back in limping, but still able to hit a layup with 1:18 to go to put Brocton up 45-42. Nick Putcher had the next four points for Brocton (3-6) to ice the game.

Though Cassadaga Valley was unable to complete the comeback, taking a lead in the fourth quarter was an admirable effort from a team facing a 15-point deficit on the road in the second half.

“They could’ve easily let that game go, but they came back and took the lead,” said Jacobson. “… Anytime you can battle back and show some maturity and poise in those situations, like in a hostile environment in Brocton, that’s a huge positive going forward. You hate to get too many moral victories, eventually you want to get some real wins, but it is a positive for us going forward.”

Cassadaga Valley (2-7) was led by Nick Russo with 12 points and Wyatt Harrington with 11 points. Drake Pierce added 10 rebounds and five steals, while Connor Austin had six rebounds and Max Pingitore had five rebounds.

Each team is back in action on Friday in league games, as Brocton hosts Sherman and Cassadaga Valley hosts Clymer.