RED-HOT WAVERLY CRUISES TO 86-15 WIN OVER NEWARK VALLEY

By: Tim Birney | Waverly Athletics | February 24, 2021 | Photo courtesy Matt Patton

WAVERLY — Waverly raced out to a 21-point first-quarter lead, and cruised to an 86-15 win over Newark Valley on Senior Night here Wednesday night in IAC boys basketball action.

One night after connecting on a school-record 15 3-pointers in a win at Tioga, the Wolverines canned 13 on their home floor and shot 51 percent (33 of 65) from the field.

Freshman Joey Tomasso, who had 25 points and seven 3-pointers in the first half Tuesday, knocked down a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter, and scored 11 points, and junior Davis Croft nailed a pair of 3-pointers to fuel a 26-5 blitz in the opening eight minutes.

“Joey (Tomasso) picked up right where he left off (Tuesday) night with three quick 3-pointers,” said Waverly coach Lou Judson. “We had six 3-pointers in the first quarter … we played very well in the first quarter, and shot the ball extremely well again.”

The Cardinals have lost back-to-back games since coming off a Covid-19 quarantine.

“Newark Valley is coming off a 10-day quarantine, they haven’t had a practice, and they played Owego (Tuesday) night,” said Judson. “So, they’re playing back-to-back games without any practices, they don’t have their legs.

“We played very well tonight against an under-manned team that’s going through some tough times right now,” he added.

Seniors Ryan Lambert and Aidan Westbrook combined for 19 points in the second quarter as Waverly  used a 29-2 run to up its lead to 53-7 at the half.

Croft drained three more 3-pointers in the third quarter, and seniors Peyton Bowen and Kobe Decker each added four points as the Wolverines increased their lead to 77-13 entering the final eight minutes.

Croft led Waverly with 15 points on 5-for-5 shooting from behind the 3-point arc, while Tomasso had 14 points, including four 3-pointers, and three rebounds, Lambert scored 14 points, and Westbrook had 12 points and three rebounds.

Junior Brennan Traub had nine points and three boards in the win, while junior Brady Blauvelt had six points on two 3-pointers, and grabbed a team-high six rebounds, Bowen had six points, four rebounds, and four steals, Decker had four points and four boards, and junior Caden Hollywood chipped in with four points.

Jacob Armstrong led Newark Valley, now 0-3, with four points.

Waverly, now 5-1, travels to Horseheads Thursday.