The Fredonia Hillbillies cruised past Royalton-Hartland on Saturday, 85-43, in the Section VI, Class B2 boys basketball playoff quarterfinals. For the first time in a while, the game was actually hosted at Fredonia High School, instead of Fredonia having to hit the road like in previous years.

“I know that our fanbase played a part,” said Fredonia coach Nick Bertrando after the game. “The opportunity to finish off the season at home with a ‘W’ was nice before getting to Buff. State.”

“The atmosphere is totally different from an away game,” added Fredonia forward Nick Whitfield. “The energy here from our fans was great. Every home game, no matter who we play, they’re great. That definitely changes the mood going into the game.”

Fredonia (17-4, 3-seed) jumped out to an early 9-2 lead thanks to nine straight Hillbillies points after Royalton-Hartland (8-15, 11-seed) scored the first bucket of the game. In fact, the 2-0 lead after the first basket was the only lead of the game for Royalton-Hartland.

Fredonia’s Kaleb Rybij (right) dribbles past a Royalton-Hartland defender during Saturday’s Section VI, Class B2 quarterfinal boys basketball playoff game at Fredonia High School. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen.

Through the first six minutes of the game, Fredonia led 18-5. The Hillbillies were never within single digits from that point on. Nick Whitfield had his first of two slam dunks with 1:40 left in the quarter for a 20-5 Fredonia lead. The Hillbillies were ahead 21-9 after the first period.

Whitfield hit a jumper with a foot on the 3-point line to open the second quarter scoring. Then on the next possession, Whitfield slammed home another dunk so ferociously that it forced a stoppage in play as the rim came loose. Whitfield was called over to leap up to reset it.

That was far from the last time Whitfield helped out on the offensive end, as he finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists on the day — just one assist shy of a triple-double. He also had four blocks.

“Moments like that [Whitfield’s dunks] really help us a lot,” said Whitfield. “When I do that, it gets the crowd, our bench and all five players on the floor excited. We all just want to score again and again, and get stops on defense.”

Fredonia’s Tyler Putney had three 3-pointers in the second quarter on his way to a game-high 22 points. At the half, Fredonia led 48-19. After three quarters, the lead grew to 43 points, 70-27. Fredonia more than doubled Royalton-Hartland in each of the first three quarters — 21-9, 27-10 and 22-8.

“How we played [Saturday] is how I hoped we would play, as far as spacing, the sharing of the ball, getting up and down the floor, and on the defensive end,” said Bertrando. “Even when we had to, our execution in the half-court set, I was totally thrilled with.”

Royalton-Hartland outscored Fredonia 16-15 in the final period, though much of the quarter was played by Fredonia’s reserves. Nick Frazier hit a deep 3-pointer to conclude the Fredonia scoring on the day, which energized the team’s starters watching from the bench.

Though Whitfield stuffed the stat sheet on Saturday, he wasn’t alone. Putney also had seven rebounds, while Alec Schrader finished his final home game at Fredonia High School with nine points and 10 assists. Another senior, Patrick Reading, had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Hillbillies. Kaleb Rybij added seven points, three rebounds and three steals.

“We definitely played as a team. Every guy on the team and on the bench brought the energy in this one,” said Whitfield. “No one guy did it all, we did it as a team. It was a team win.”

“We’re not a one-man band. We’re not a two-man band. This whole team is working towards what our mission has been all year,” added Bertrando. “They’re willing to share the ball. It doesn’t matter who ends up in the paper the next day.”

Fredonia now goes back to a familiar place in Buffalo State College for the Section VI, Class B2 Semifinals. Waiting for them is a familiar opponent, Allegany-Limestone. The 2-seed in Class B2, Allegany-Limestone handed Fredonia its only two league losses this season, but Bertrando called the meeting “a third opportunity.”

“I would like to think that with the venues we’ve played in this year, playing a tough non-league schedule and a tough road schedule, regardless of where we play and who we play, we’re going to get after it,” added Bertrando. “Hopefully, we’re moving in the right direction at the right time of the year to get to where we want to be.”

“The first two times, they came out strong. Hopefully, we can come out strong against them this time,” added Whitfield.

Tip-off is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday night at Buffalo State College.