Gowanda Small Town Times

[photo] Gowanda’s Quentin Centner (#1) goes up for a shot early in the season opener home game against North Collins on November 27. Also seen is Troy Jimerson (#44).

The first measurable snow of November 2023 arrived on the 27th, just in time for the start of the Winter sports season. A Gowanda Varsity girls basketball non-league game at Jamestown was postponed due to possible storm conditions in the Southern tier. The game was rescheduled for December 12. That left the Gowanda Varsity boys basketball team with the honor of having the first game of the Winter season all to themselves. They hosted North Collins for a non-league match-up that was very competitive and hard fought.

North Collins scored the first two points in the game. Quentin Centner quickly put Gowanda on top from 3-point range. North Collins had their last lead in the game with a pair of foul shots put them up 6-5. Gowanda’s Trelin Warrior answered with a 3-pointer. A couple Warrior fast break baskets later and Gowanda held a 12-8 lead. North Collins battled back to tie at 12 before Gowanda pulled away again. North Collins tightened things once more and came to within one at 16-15 with a basket with 0:39 left in the 1st Quarter.

Gowanda came out fast in the 2nd Quarter with seven unanswered points capped with a Everett Stevens 3-pointer. Gowanda grew that 23-15 lead to 33-22 as halftime neared. A field goal and foul shot in the last 30 seconds of the half upped the North Collins total to 25 by the intermission.

North Collins got off to a good start in the 3rd Quarter narrowing the Gowanda lead to 35-33 and, then, tying the game for the second time at 37. Gowanda went on another run exploding their advantage to 52-38. A late North Collins basket saw the period end with a score of 52-40. A 20-point 4th Quarter was North Collins’ best production of the game, but only enough to close the gap by three points. Gowanda spent the last minute of the game repeatedly at the foul line making 6 of 10 shots to close out the game with a 69-60 win.

Leading the Panthers scoring were Trelin Warrior 21 points) and Quentin Centner (17 points). Right behind was Blake Herman with 9 points. Also scoring for Gowanda were Troy Jimerson (5 points), Seth Geiger (4 points), Croix Snow (4 points), Dominick Whalen (4 points), Everett Stevens (3 points) and Logan Roff (2 points).