OBSERVER Photo by Scott Kindberg Fredonia’s Donovan Dowdy takes the ball to the basket during Friday’s CCAA Division 1 boys basketball game at Falconer.

FALCONER — Fredonia boys basketball coach Nick Bertrando admitted his team had a few things to iron out as January comes to a close, but outside of about a three-and-a-half minute stretch of the third quarter Friday night, the Hillbillies looked pretty impressive.

Shooting 6 of 10 from the arc, Ashton Putney scored 22 points to go along with three rebounds, four assists and a steal, and Colin Luce added 20 points, five rebounds, two steals, three blocks and an assist to pace Fredonia to a 61-42 victory over Falconer in a Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 game at the Falconer High School gym.

“I’m extremely proud of our guys against a very, very good team,” Bertrando said. ” … Colin and Ashton have really shouldered the load the past two games, but that’s also a compliment to the rest of these guys, because they’re finding them and finding them in situations and spots on the court where they are well adept at scoring the ball and playing to their strengths.”

The win raised the Hillbillies’ record to 7-6 overall and 3-3 in the division, while the Golden Falcons fell to 8-7 and 4-5.

“They controlled the game pretty much the entire game,” Falconer head coach Jordan Goold said. “It was their game. … We started the game 4-0, but they just kicked our butts. They got to the middle and got open threes. They got everything they wanted. Luce and Putney shot the ball really well.”

Luce scored 8 points and Putney drilled a pair of treys to help build a 19-6 advantage after the first quarter, a lead that grew to 34-17 by halftime.

Falconer did a nice job to get back within striking distance as it started the third period on a 10-0 run, trimming the deficit to 34-29 with 3:44 remaining, courtesy of 6 points from Zach Markham and 4 by Roger Markham.

But the Hillbillies finished the period on a 11-4 run, highlighted by 7 points from Putney and a field goal apiece from Luca Gullo and Donovan Downey. Armed with a 12-point lead, the visitors outscored the hosts 16-9 in the final eight minutes to win going away.

“I was so pumped up,” Goold said. “I thought we gave ourselves a chance, but it’s a game of runs. Just as quick as we made our run, they made a run and we were back where we started.”

Roger Markham led the Golden Falcons with 12 points, which was 10 below his average, Zach Markham added 11 and Max Parmentier chipped in 9.

“To play the team defense we did against (Roger Markham), who is one of the top scorers and athletes in all of Section VI in any classifications … I was just extremely proud of how intense they played on both ends of the floor, and the execution on the offensive side of things,” Bertrando said.

Fredonia will be back in action Monday at nonleague Lake Shore, while Falconer will entertain Dunkirk in a CCAA Division 1 contest.

“If we can continue to play with the intensity, the passion, the desire and the execution we played with tonight, we’re hopefully going to be in some ballgames,” Bertrando said.

NOTES: Dowdy grabbed six boards, dished out three assists and had two blocks; Gullo contributed four rebounds and four assists; and RJ Koopman added four rebounds, five assists and one steal for Fredonia.

FREDONIA (61)

Luce 9 1 20, Dowdy 3 0 6, Gullo 2 3 7, GPutney 0 0 0, Koopman 2 0 4, APutney 8 0 22, Lincoln 0 0 0, Hall 1 0 2. Totals 25 4 61.

FALCONER (42)

Delaney 2 0 5, RMarkham 5 2 12, Bianco 0 0 0, Parmentier 4 1 9, Brainard 0 0 0, Bailey 2 0 5, Maher 0 0 0, Nutt 0 0 0, ZMarkham 5 1 11. Totals 18 4 42.

3-point goals–Luce, APutney 6, Delaney, Bailey.

Fredonia 19 15 11 16 — 61

Falconer 6 13 14 9 — 42