Jason Ni wasn’t that patient.

The Trojans senior hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 23 seconds remaining and Southwestern withstood a frantic final possession by the Hillbillies to win 67-64 in Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 West action at Southwestern Central School.

“I told them if it’s an open shot and a good shot, take it,” Southwestern head coach Aaron Emley said. ” … We have all the confidence in the world that Jason can shoot it.”

“We were swinging the ball right to left,” Ni said. “I just took it and shot it.”

Fredonia’s Jay Hawk lays up a shot in front of Southwestern’s Jason Ni during Friday’s game in West Ellicott. OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman

The teams entered the fourth quarter tied at 46-all, and Fredonia entered the double-bonus at the 7:37 mark. The Hillbillies went to the charity stripe on their next four possessions, but were unable to capitalize, going just 4 of 8 over that span, and 17 of 27 for the game.

At the other end, junior Paul Hayes hit his third 3-pointer of the night; senior Aidan Kennedy scored inside after three Trojans offensive rebounds; and junior Matt Pannes also scored a bucket after a pair of missed 3-pointers to give the hosts a 53-50 lead.

“I believe our demise tonight was two-fold: free throws and not being able to finish the play,” Fredonia head coach Nick Bertrando said. “Southwestern had multiple possessions where we got them to take a tough shot, then they got the offensive rebound. They, they would take another shot and get the offensive rebound. … Then they’d end up scoring. Those multiple opportunities psychologically and physically wear you down on defense.”

Fredonia sophomore Davion White eventually tied the game at 54, but Kennedy followed with a 3-pointer and a bucket inside to give Southwestern a 59-54 lead.

Hillbillies senior Nick Whitfield, who led all scorers with 30 points, made it a three-point game with 2:44 remaining, but again the Trojans’ offensive rebounding proved advantageous when Pannes cashed in another extra opportunity to make it 61-56.

“I think we need more than just Nick. Tonight we had three guys in double figures,” Bertrando said. “If we can get other guys besides Nick and Ethan (Fry) to step up offensively, I think that’s going to bode well for us moving forward.”

Ni hit a 3-pointer with 56 seconds left, but White answered with a 3-pointer of his own, and following a turnover, senior Nick Creeley cashed in two free throws to tie the game at 64.

With 34.4 seconds left, Southwestern could’ve run the clock all the way down before shooting, but Ni felt like he had enough space in the corner to put up what turned out to be the game-winning 3-pointer.

“He’s been in our program for a long time,” Emley said of Ni. “His season is kind of like our last few games; it was a slow start, but lately … the last four or five … he’s been coming on.”

The Hillbillies eventually inbounded with 16 seconds left and Fry eventually found the ball at the top of the key, but when he couldn’t find an open look he swung it to Creeley in the corner. His tying 3-point attempt came up short.

“When you are down 3, they kind of know what you are looking for,” Bertrando said. “We were able to get a decent look, it just didn’t fall.”

Kennedy led the way for the Trojans with 20 points, four steals and three assists while Pannes recorded a triple-double with 15 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Ni finished with a career-high 19 points.

Fredonia opened the game with an 8-0 run, but the Trojans closed to within 13-10 late in the period before Whitfield hit a 3-pointer.

Southwestern eventually went on a 10-0 run to tie the game at 23-all and took its first lead on a Kennedy 3-pointer with 2:06 left in the first half.

Whitfield hit a free throw to tie the game at 34 with 4:00 left in the third quarter, and neither team led by more than five the remainder of the way.

The Trojans (8-11) moved into a third-place tie with Allegany-Limestone in the league with matching 5-4 records. Southwestern hosts the Gators in its regular-season finale Wednesday.

“We play a really tough nonleague schedule. … We don’t schedule any slouches,” Emley said. ” … I think we’re playing our best basketball right now so I’m excited about that.”

Fredonia fell to 10-8 overall and 3-6 in the league. The Hillbillies finish their regular season at nonleague East Aurora on Monday before traveling to D1 West rival Dunkirk on Wednesday.

“Regardless of the outcome, what we just experienced is invaluable moving forward,” Bertrando said. “To be able to play in an opponent’s gym with both sides bringing an awesome fan base tonight … it really did have a playoff atmosphere.”

NOTES: Southwestern finished 22 of 52 (42.3%) from the field, including 11 of 31 (35.5%) from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 14 times. … Fredonia finished 20 of 39 (51.3%) from the field, including 7 of 16 (43.8%) from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 14 times. … Southwestern won the jayvee game 40-28. Brody Larson led the Trojans with 12 points and Luca Gullo led the Hillbillies with 11.

FREDONIA (64)

KWhitfield 0 1 1, Fry 3 0 8, Quinn 0 0 0, Creeley 4 3 12, NWhitfield 9 11 30, Schrader 1 0 3, Hawk 0 0 0, White 3 2 10. Totals 20 17 64.

SOUTHWESTERN (67)

Kennedy 6 5 20, Bogdanowicz 0 0 0, Hayes 3 0 9, Pannes 5 4 15, Lemk 2 0 4, Ni 6 3 19, Miller 0 0 0. Totals 22 12 67.

3-point goals–Fry 2, Creeley, NWhitfield, Schrader, White 2, Kennedy 3, Hayes 3, Pannes, Ni 4.

Fredonia 16 10 20 18 — 64

Southwestern 10 20 16 21 — 67

Jayvees: Southwestern won 40-28.