Massena beats Potsdam; Salmon River loses to Malone despite 25 points from Cook-Francis

By Andy Gardner

The Massena Raiders broke even in games against Canton and Potsdam, and the Salmon River Shamrocks boys lost two straight against Malone and Ogdensburg.

Massena defeated the Potsdam Sandstoners on Friday, Jan. 17. Massena leapt out to a 10-6 lead after the first quarter and was up 29-17 at halftime. They continued their domination by posting a 37-28 score at the end of the third quarter en route to a 58-47 final tally.

Zachary LaBarge led Massena with 14 points. Ethan Firnstein punched in 12 points. Luke Greco had an 11-point game. Chris McGregor fashioned 10 points. Aiden Barney tallied seven points. Two points apiece came from Thomas McGregor and Ryan Herrick.

Three nights earlier, the Raiders went against the Canton Golden Bears but lost in a close game with a 45-42 final score.

On the same night, Salmon River lost to visiting Malone 64-55. The Shamrocks trailed 17-6 after the first quarter and never regained their footing. Malone fashioned a 29-14 lead at halftime, and then increased that to 45-23 at the end of the third quarter. Salmon River rallied in the final quarter but weren’t able to escape a nine-point deficit.

Hawi Cook-Francis scored a game-high 25 points. PJ Ghostlaw tallied 10 points. Kyran Skidders scored eight points. Clayton Jones scored seven points. Logan Lebehn connected for four points. Quinton Carle made a free throw.

Aiden Decillis led Malone with 17 points, including four from the three-point line. Payton Poirier scored 10 points. Keegan Monette grabbed four rebounds and scored nine points. Damien Poirier scored eight points. Jake VaSteenburg scored seven points. Gavin Barse scored five points, Patrick Poupore four and two each came from Alex Preve and Alejandro Sosa. Keith Shafer had three caroms and two steals.

The Shamrocks had a tough Friday, Jan. 17 match against the Ogdensburg Free Academy Blue Devils 93-50.

Despite the wide gap on the scoreboard, Hawi Cook-Francis fired in a game-high 29 points. Logan Lebehn scored six points. Kyran Skidders and Tyler Huto fashioned five points each. Quinton Carle tallied three points. Clayton Jones picked up two points.

MeSean Johnson sparked the OFA offense with 25 points. Jackson Jones and Trent Sargent connected for 20 points each. John Powers IV scored 15 points. David Vernsey scored nine points and Brogan LaRose added four.