Fredonia senior Ethan Fry made sure his last Dunkirk-Fredonia game was one that will be hard to forget not just for him, but for everyone in attendance. The Fredonia senior posted a triple-double in his final rivalry game to carry the Hillbillies to a fourth consecutive season sweep of the Dunkirk Marauders 78-55 in a Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 West basketball contest on Thursday. Fry finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists in the victory.

“As a little kid when I first moved here from Texas, we came to these Fredonia-Dunkirk games. I grew up watching these guys play. To have a triple-double in probably the biggest rivalry game around here, it’s huge,” Fry said.

For a senior with plenty of highlights to look back on during his multi-sport excellence at Fredonia, Fry said last night’s performance was “definitely near the top of the list.”

However, as great as the final result was for the Hillbillies, it wasn’t all Fredonia, by any means. Dunkirk (1-12, 0-7) held the lead for nearly the entire first quarter, sparked by a thunderous breakaway slam dunk by Lorenzo Lewis just 13 seconds into the game.

Dunkirk’s Lorenzo Lewis throws down a dunk. OBSERVER Photo by Ashleigh Brown

“It’s exciting. When he hit that, it felt like the game was over,” Dunkirk head coach Sixto Rosario said of Lewis’ dunk. “The fans were great. They came out to support their teams.”

Over the next minute, Greg Orcutt followed with a pair of 3-pointers to put the Marauders ahead 8-3 just 1:13 into the game.

“Honestly, we expected it. The energy in this place was phenomenal from both sides. We knew that this was not going to be an easy game,” said Fredonia head coach Nick Bertrando.

“We’ve battled adversity all year. The mindset is bend, but don’t break. We let up a couple buckets and that was expected. It’s Dunkirk-Fredonia, big plays are going to happen. You’ve just got to come back stronger,” Fry said.

Fredonia (12-5, 5-2) trailed for all but 27 seconds of the opening quarter, as the Hillbillies finally evened the score at 16-all with 14 seconds left in the period on a 3-pointer by senior Sal Tabone.

Fredonia’s Jay Hawk lines up a jumper as Dunkirk’s Lorenzo Lewis defends during Thursday’s CCAA Division 1 West game in Dunkirk. OBSERVER Photo by Ashleigh Brown

“What I was seeing early on is they were hitting their shots, they were driving to the basket, everything was going well,” said Rosario of his team’s opening quarter. “These guys can play with anybody. …Playing with (Fredonia) and keeping up with them, they can do that. I was proud of them.”

The first half of the second quarter was back and forth, with Dunkirk pulling ahead on three separate occasions. But after Dunkirk’s lead extended to 26-22, Fredonia responded with the next 12 points — eight from Mike Hahn including a pair of treys, a game-tying layup by Jay Hawk, and a go-ahead layup by Davion White. Fredonia led 34-28 at the end of the first half.

The Hillbillies took control in the second half with a 23-14 third-quarter advantage and a 21-13 closing quarter to ensure every one of the Fredonia seniors never lost to Dunkirk in their time on Bertrando’s varsity team. Bertrando’s record against Dunkirk improved to 9-0.

“I’m so excited for these seniors to be able to go out on this note in Dunkirk in the fashion they did,” Bertrando said.

In addition to Fry’s triple-double, Hawk stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points and 17 rebounds, including 11 offensive.

“The mindset with all the seniors was just come and have fun. It’s the last time we get to play in this atmosphere,” Fry said. “… It was just, have fun. Enjoy this last rivalry game because there’s nothing like it.”

Fredonia also had a pair of juniors step up with double-digit scoring performances, as Hahn had 17 points, including five 3-pointers, and White had 12 points, paced by 8 points in the third quarter. White also had seven rebounds and three steals, while Hahn had five rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

Fry and Bertrando both highlighted how Fry’s triple-double is a credit to the team for making shots when Fry found them open.

“It was a great team win. I couldn’t have done it without the boys hitting shots and getting me open,” Fry said.

“Ethan mentioned it, but I don’t think he could have done it without his teammates,” said Bertrando. “The fact that he had a triple-double in assists means that other guys stepped up and did their role.”

After a game-high 23 points in the last meeting between Dunkirk and Fredonia, Lewis led Thursday’s contest with 21 points to lead all scorers once again. Orcutt added 13 points for the Marauders, including a trio of 3-pointers.

For the second time this season, Fredonia responded to a loss by defeating rival Dunkirk. The first win over the Marauders began a six-game winning streak, and now the Hillbillies hope to carry the momentum forward once again.

“You’re getting closer to the end. Everybody is kind of getting that itch for the playoffs. Hopefully, we can continue to get better every single day, keep going on that upward trend and make a big playoff push,” Bertrando said.

Up next, the Hillbillies host their other rival, Southwestern, on Monday. The Marauders travel to Allegany-Limestone on Monday.

FREDONIA (78)

Hahn 6 0 17, Ferguson 0 0 0, Whitfield 3 1 7, Fry 7 3 20, Hester 0 0 0, Drummond 1 0 3, Putney 0 0 0, Tabone 1 0 3, White 4 3 12, Hawk 7 2 16, Riddle 0 0 0, Hall 0 0 0, Totals 29 9 78.

DUNKIRK (55)

Thomas 3 0 8, Lewis 9 2 21, Rodriguez 3 0 6, WSantiago 0 0 0, Orcutt 5 0 13, Hernandez 0 0 0, Strong 0 2 2, MSantiago 1 0 2, Nunez 1 0 3, Tell 0 0 0, Totals 22 4 55.

3-point goals — Hahn 5, Fry 3, Drummond, Tabone, White, Thomas 2, Lewis, Orcutt 3, Nunez.

Fredonia 16 18 23 21 — 78

Dunkirk 16 12 14 13 — 55