‘Extraordinary’ Horde wrestlers place third in 19-team tourney
The Granville wrestling team had a strong showing at the 50th annual Hubie Wagner Tournament in Middlebury, Vermont.
The Golden Horde placed third as a team in the 19-team field.
All but two of the matches won by Granville wrestlers were by pin.
“It’s a very fun year,” said Granville coach Steve Palmer. “Pretty extraordinary.”
Brent Perry won the title at 195 pounds for the Golden Horde.
Perry went 5-0 before winning his semifinal by a 6-0 decision. In the championship round, he pinned his opponent in 4:53.
Nathan Barber at 138 pounds and Jaxon Torres at 145 pounds also reached the finals before collecting second-place finishes.
Brandon Beaver placed third at 170 and AJ Landon was third at 182. Nick Crum was fourth at 132.
Scott Wittman lost in the quarterfinals and Timothy Lotz lost in the consolation semifinals for the Golden Horde.
Granville boys drop holiday tournament
The Granville High School gym played host to one of the area’s longest-running high school sports events as four teams faced off in the 43rd annual American Legion Post 323 Holiday Basketball Tournament.
Joining Granville in the tournament were Burr and Burton of Manchester, Vermont, Corinth and Grace Christian of Bennington, Vermont.
In the opening round Granville rolled to an 82-42 victory over Grace Christian to advance to the title game.
This game was never in doubt as Granville raced out to a 24-6 first-quarter lead and extended the margin to 50-13 at the half.
“Last week we had two really tough games with Hadley and Lake George so it was nice to at least come out here today, get things rolling early and just play Granville basketball,” said Golden Horde coach Justin Nassivera.
Granville dominated the paint in the first quarter with Will Jennings scoring eight points and Alex Torres six.
“We’ve been struggling against zone defenses. We knew they were going to play zone. That’s why Alex got the start tonight,” Nassivera added. “The deal was to pound the ball inside to Alex and Will and establish it right away. And we did.”
Caleb Nelson finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds and five assists to lead the Golden Horde.
Jennings recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Matthew Barlow added 11 points, Torres 10, Cody Nelson seven, Nathan Williams six and Trey Senevey six.
Vuc Zuvovic led Grace Christian with 23 points.
With the win Granville moved on to the championship game against Burr and Burton.
“They beat us last year in our tournament,” Nassivera said. “It’s always a tough game for our guys. They’ve got some size inside as well so it should be a good game.”
In the final, Burr and Burton continued to be a thorn in the side of Granville. The Bulldogs defeated the Golden Horde for the third straight time dating back to pre-Covid 19 to claim the championship of the tournament, 50-47, Thursday evening. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for Granville after dropping the season opener to South Glens Falls.
Burr and Burton rallied from a 15-point first half deficit and took advantage of Granville’s struggles at the free throw line to earn the crown.
“We shot nine for 17 from the foul line,” Granville coach Nassivera said after the game. “If we make those we win the game.”
The Golden Horde appeared ready to finally solve Burr and Burton early on. Granville led 13-8 after the first quarter and seemed to take control in the second. A 10-0 run pushed the lead to 27-12, the biggest lead of the game.
A 7-0 run by Burr and Burton closed the gap to 27-19, but Granville took a 33-21 lead to the locker room.
The contest turned on a dime in the third. Granville went ice cold, not scoring a point until 1:35 remaining in the stanza. The Bulldogs outscored the Golden Horde 14-4 in the frame to pull within 37-33.
In the fourth a pair of Will Jennings baskets made it 41-37, but Burr and Burton took over after that. A pair of foul shots by Will Amedin gave the Bulldogs a 45-44 lead. A 3-pointer by Callum Morell made it 48-44 and Burr and Burton held on the rest of the way.
Amedin scored 22 points to pace the Bulldogs.
Caleb Nelson scored 22 points for Granville. Cody Nelson scored eight points. Jennings and Senevey added six points each.
Granville is now 5-2 on the season.
Amedin was named the tournament Most Valuable Player. Also named to the All-Tournament team were Morell, Caleb Nelson, Braydin Stone of Corinth and Vuc Zuvovic of Grace Christian.
Corinth defeated Grace Christian 54-52 in the consolation game.
Horde wrestlers, 4-1, finish second in duals
After a successful meet in Middlebury, the Granville wrestling team was right back at it on Saturday when they made the short trek across the Vermont border for the Slater Duals in Fair Haven.
The Golden Horde faced off against Mount Anthony, Fair Haven, Springfield, Colchester and Oneonta in dual meets.
Granville finished the day with a record of 4-1, defeating Fair Haven, Springfield, Colchester and Oneonta, while falling to Green Mountain State powerhouse Mount Anthony.
The Golden Horde placed second overall for the meet.
“It was a fantastic finish for second place,” said Granville coach Steve Palmer. “The day was loaded with difficult match pairings to get some matchups for team wins.”
Granville defeated Springfield, 66-12, Fair Haven, 48-9, Colchester, 35-33 and Oneonta, 42-30.
Mount Anthony defeated the Golden Horde, 56-16.
“We pinned where we had to (and) toughed out some non-pin losses for our team points,” Palmer added.
See “Horde tops Hartford in tournament, 58-44” in Hartford sports round-up for more on Granville girls basketball
