Saturday afternoon, that goal was achieved.

No. 10 Fredonia defeated the top-seeded Salamanca Warriors 58-54 to win the Section VI Class B2 title at the Buffalo State Sports Arena.

“It feels amazing. It’s a feeling that you can’t even explain,” said Fredonia senior Ethan Fry. “To win it with these boys, it’s amazing. … It’s a great feeling to win.”

Fredonia senior Jay Hawk said earlier this season after winning a game against Dunkirk that his team had “aspirations of winning sectionals.”

OBSERVER Photo by Ashleigh Brown Fredonia senior Ethan Fry holds up the Section VI championship plaque after the Hillbillies beat Salamanca in the Class B2 championship game Saturday at the Buffalo State Sports Arena.

Recalling that statement Saturday, Hawk remembered what he told his teammates before that game.

“We were coming off a three-game losing streak, and I told the guys in the locker room before the game, ‘No tree has ever grown to heaven without its roots going through hell.’ … That three-game losing streak ended with a loss to Salamanca. We had to avenge that,” Hawk said. “We knew in the locker room before this game, we were right at the gates. We just had to bust our way in.”

Fredonia (18-7) wasted no time jumping out to a lead. Fry converted a layup just 4 seconds into the game to put the Hillbillies ahead.

Just over 90 seconds later, Lucus Brown hit a 3-pointer to put Salamanca (20-3) ahead 3-2. But that lead lasted just 14 seconds, as Hawk responded with a 3-pointer to put the Hillbillies back on top.

Fredonia never trailed from that point on. In all, the Hillbillies maintained a lead for all but 18 seconds of the 32-minute game. But as dominant of a statistic as that was, it does not tell the full story.

OBSERVER Photo by Ashleigh Brown Fredonia's bench celebrates during the Hillbillies' win over Salamanca in the Section VI Class B2 championship game Saturday at the Buffalo State Sports Arena.

The Hillbillies led 21-9 after the first quarter, with a 3-pointer by Davi White concluding the period’s scoring. Fredonia extended the lead early in the second quarter with seven of the first 9 points in the second period. White and Mike Hahn each scored buckets in the final minute of the second quarter to carry a 39-24 lead into the break.

The Fredonia advantage grew to 21 points with 2:43 remaining in the third quarter, as White scored 8 points in the first 5:17 of the period.

“I told them we’ve been here before. We’ve been up, we’ve had to sustain a lead,” said Fredonia head coach Nick Bertrando. “I just knew with these guys, this was a special group. We were going to bend, but we weren’t going to break. Don’t get me wrong, we bent pretty good today, but we didn’t break.”

But basketball is a game of runs, and a team as good as Salamanca was not going out without a fight. What a fight it was.

The Warriors went on an 8-0 run over a two-minute stretch near the end of the third quarter to cut Fredonia’s lead to 47-34. Then, in the fourth quarter, Salamanca managed an 18-3 run — including 9 points by senior Andy Herrick — to pull within two points in the final minute.

“I’m not surprised that he led the comeback,” Salamanca head coach Adam Bennett said of Herrick. “That’s just who he is.”

With 46 seconds left in the game, Fredonia’s lead was cut to 54-52.

“I’m proud of how we fought. I’m proud of the fact that we never backed down and we had a chance to win it at the end,” said Bennett. ” … When we did get down that much in the third, we just said whatever happens, we’re going to go out playing our brand of basketball. They gave it everything that they had and left it out on the court — and as a coach, that’s all you can ask for.”

Salamanca needed one more stop to get the ball back with a chance to tie or take the lead in the final seconds. But with 16 seconds left on the clock, Fredonia’s go-to-guy all afternoon — White — made one more big play, absorbing the contact in the paint and converting a layup, plus the ensuing free-throw for a three-point play to extend Fredonia’s lead back to five points, 57-52.

“Davi White, he went insane,” Fry said. “He was a big part of this for us.”

Still, Herrick refused to give up. He converted another bucket with 5.8 seconds left to keep the game within a possession.

“It was a little nerve-wracking. Obviously there was a little doubt,” Fry admitted. “When a team that good is making a run like that, they’re not out of it until the game is over. Until those final zeros hit, we weren’t satisfied.”

But once Fry was fouled as soon as the ball was inbounded, Fredonia’s senior co-captain walked the length of the floor to the free-throw line. Fry knew that with just one free throw, his dream of earning a blue patch would finally come true.

Fry thought, “Just don’t miss.”

Fry sank the first free throw, then Bertrando called a timeout to let his team soak up the moment.

“I called that time out just to congratulate these guys for a hell of a run,” Bertrando said.

“It felt great knowing that sealed the deal,” Fry said.

White led Fredonia with 21 points, including all 8 points in the third quarter for the Hillbillies. White also had 11 rebounds and two blocks. Fry had 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. Hawk had 9 points and a team-high 18 rebounds, along with three assists and three blocked shots. Hawk also was named the Character Athlete award winner for Fredonia in the game.

“I’m excited for these guys. It’s all about them,” said Bertrando. “Every single timeout, before the game, and every single time we huddled, I told them two things: ‘Believe in each other and trust your training.’ We had just enough to come away with one.”

Fredonia’s seniors: Fry, Hawk, Keegan Whitfield, Sal Tabone and Mike Riddle were able to avoid a second red patch to commemorate a runner-up finish in the Section VI playoffs this year. All five seniors were on the sectional runner-up football team this past fall, but now all five get to boast a blue patch as sectional champions on the hardwood this winter.

“It feels amazing. We came up short in football, but we got the job done this time,” Hawk said. “We’re not getting two red patches this year.”

With the victory, Fredonia also finally got its revenge on Salamanca. The Warriors won both meetings in the regular season, including a 68-46 win on Jan. 10 in Salamanca, then again on the road 70-61 on Jan. 30 in Fredonia. Saturday’s victory for Fredonia ended Salamanca’s 14-game winning streak, which began with a win over the Hillbillies nearly two months ago.

In addition to 14 points from Jaxson Ross and 11 points from Lucus Brown, Herrick led Salamanca in the final game of his career with 23 points, including 11 points in his final period of play. Herrick and Zaron Tucker are the only two seniors on the Warriors.

“That’s why this hurts. We weren’t trying just to win a sectional title, we were trying to battle as hard as we could to extend our season with them,” said Bennett.

Herrick — the Character Athlete award winner from the Warriors — played his final minutes of basketball for the Warriors. Herrick was born with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that heavily impacts the lungs. Despite daily treatments and medication, Herrick has fought through his diagnosis to play the game he loves — even through the pandemic. His No. 30 was retired on Senior Night.

The senior leader who has meant so much to the Salamanca basketball program throughout his career will be missed by many, especially his coach.

“He got the Character Athlete award and he walked back — I’m trying my hardest not to break down — Andy looks at me and smiles, and says ‘Coach, we don’t have any regrets. We worked as hard as we could.'” Bennett said. “If that’s not emblematic of who he is as a person, I don’t know what is. The kid has been dealt every bad card that you can be dealt in life, and he’s handled it with such grace and maturity. That’s about the 10,000th lesson that he’s taught me in the time that I’ve been honored to coach him.”

Fredonia now advances to the Class B crossover game on Tuesday at 6 p.m. to face Lewiston-Porter, which won the Class B1 title Saturday by defeating Cheektowaga 91-66. The winner of the crossover will advance to the Far West Regional game to determine a state semifinalist.

“It feels great. We got another game, and hopefully it keeps going,” Fry said. ” … I don’t want the ride to end.”

FREDONIA (58)

Hahn 2 2 7, Whitfield 1 0 3, Fry 5 3 15, Putney 1 0 3, White 6 6 21, Hawk 2 5 9. Totals 17 16 58.

SALAMANCA (54)

Ross 5 0 14, Isaac 1 0 2, ABrown 1 0 2, Galante 1 0 2, LBrown 3 4 11, AHerrick 9 5 23. Totals 20 9 54.

3-point goals–Hahn, Whitfield, Fry 2, Putney, White 3, Hawk, Ross 4, LBrown.

Fredonia 21 18 8 11 — 58

Salamanca 9 15 10 18 — 54