Chiefs battle one out with rival Chieftains

It’s always an intense battle when rival/neighboring teams meet and a boys basketball match-up Feb. 1 was no exception, as the Cornell Chiefs hosted the Lake Holcombe Chieftains.

“We had a good run in the first half, where we had the game close, within two,” said Cornell coach Marcus Leland. “After that, we lacked intensity and had too many turnovers for us to be successful.”

With some high scoring coming from the Chieftains, the East Lakeland Conference game went the way of the visitors, 70-44.

“We also did not do a good job of finishing shots,” said Leland. “We still played hard in the second half and did a better job of making some of those shots.”

For Cornell, sophomore Dylan Bowe led with 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists, while senior Jake Sikora ended with 12 points. Freshman Blake Anders recorded 7 points and 5 rebounds, while senior Austin Bowe had a big night, with 6 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

Senior Davis Harshman finished with 4 points and 5 rebounds. Sophomore Avery Turany added 2 points and sophomore Jack Blaisdell chipped in with 1 point.

On Lake Holcombe’s side, senior Riley Gingras led scorers, with 22 points, followed by senior Kaden Crank, with 12. Junior Colton Minnick notched 8 points on the night, while senior Brock Flater was next, with 7. Senior Tate Sauerwein was right behind, with 6, and junior Dylan Bowen added 5 points.

Senior Will Kliegle contributed 4 points, and junior Nate Jones, and sophomores Max Sauerwein and Brendan Anders each chipped in with 2 points.

The Chieftains improve their record to 9-7 overall and 6-2 in conference play, while the Chiefs drop to 2-13 overall and 2-8 in conference action. The two teams will meet again in a rematch at Lake Holcombe, Feb. 5.

“We will have to come out with more vehemence on Friday against them, if we want to become successful,” said Leland.