IAC BOYS BASKETBALL: U-E RIDES BIG THIRD QUARTER TO 75-48 WIN OVER TIOGA (14 PHOTOS) (2023-01-24)

Valley Sports Report
TIOGA CENTER - Tioga jumped out to an early lead, but Union-Endicott, after being held to 28 first-half points, poured in 32 points in the third quarter en route to a 75-48 win here Tuesday night in non-league boys basketball action.

The Class A U-E Tigers improve to 11-3 on the season, while the Class C Tioga Tigers fall to 7-5.

Junior Evan Sickler drained a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter to help Tioga to a 12-8 lead after the first eight minutes, but the rest of the game was all U-E.

"We started off the game very well played with good intensity and played great defense," said Tioga coach Brian Card. "I felt like our half-court defense was very good all night, however, our transition defense was not very good once we got tired.

"We also stopped boxing out ,and they got a lot of offensive rebounds.

"Union-Endicott’s athleticism got to us in the third quarter. We had a ton of turnovers against their press," noted Card. "We tried to force a lot of passes against their 3-2 zone. They got a lot of easy layups off some steals.

"Overall, I thought we played a very good game against a very talented team," added Card. "Union-Endicott is a Class A state-ranked team, and I thought we played a very tough game against them."

Card is still confident in his team’s potential.

"We have quite a few things to work on before the end of the season," he said. "If we can fix a few things, we are going to be a very good team come playoff time."

Sickler and sophomore Shea Bailey each knocked down 3-pointers in the second quarter, but U-E outscored Tioga, 19-8, to take a 28-21 lead at the half.

Larry Morse and Nick Lang combined for 22 points to fuel a 32-15 U-E run in the third quarter that extended the lead to 60-36 entering the final eight minutes.

Sickler led Tioga with 26 points, while Bailey scored nine, junior Ethan Perry added five, and junior Valentino Rossi chipped in with four points.

Tioga returns to action Friday at Marathon.

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IN PHOTO 1: Tioga’s Valentino Rossi. … PHOTOS COURTESY OF CRISTINA ROSSI.

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