Only one point separated the two teams at the end of each of the first three quarters, and several possessions in the final minute of the game had the result hanging in the balance.

But it’s how you finish that matters most, and on Friday night, it was the visiting Huskies who did just enough to win.

Olean turned a five-point deficit into a 50-45 victory with the final 10 points of the game to defeat Dunkirk in a Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 boys basketball game at Dunkirk High School.

“Turnovers were the difference. We’ve got to protect the ball,” said Dunkirk head coach Sixto Rosario. ” … There were a lot of turnovers, and I think that’s what ultimately turned the game.”

OBSERVER Photo by Ashleigh Brown Dunkirk’s Greg Orcutt scores on a layup during Friday’s CCAA Division 1 boys basketball game against Olean at Dunkirk High School.

Early on, Dunkirk (3-9, 1-6) took a 10-9 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the first quarter on a deep 3-pointer from Greg Orcutt. The two teams traded layups to end the frame with a one-point Dunkirk advantage.

Dunkirk extended its lead to 18-13 in the second quarter on an Orcutt layup, but it was Olean (6-6, 5-2) that led by a point after the second quarter thanks to an 8-2 run to end the period.

Olean’s lead grew as Dunkirk’s offense went cold to start the second half. The Marauders did not score at all in the first half of the third quarter, allowing the Huskies to extend the lead to 27-20. But from there, the Marauders got going all of a sudden, first with a fast-break layup by Avery Krystofiak, then a 3-pointer by K’Vion Tell to bring the score within a bucket.

It was then that the Marauders got a spark off the bench from an unexpected source, Camryn Martucci. Known more for his abilities on the football field than on the hardwood, Martucci translated his hard work into three buckets within a two-minute stretch as the two teams passed the lead back and forth.

“Martucci is a little bit different. He’s a football player, but he has passion. He’s been in the gym trying to get better. … He’s been that guy that has come in raw but is just working hard. He’s a workhorse,” Rosario said. “I’m proud of him. I was surprised, but I looked at it and said, ‘I’m not taking him out.'”

Down a point on its final possession of the third quarter, Olean got a go-ahead 3-pointer in the corner from Mykel Rivera, who fell to the floor as he shot the ball. After the ball went through the net, Rivera made a shooting gesture that resulted in an immediate technical foul. Orcutt split the pair of technical free throws, which preserved Olean’s one-point lead entering the final period.

Tell scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to put Dunkirk ahead 40-36. A few minutes later, holding a 42-40 lead, Logan Denson hit a 3-pointer in front of the Dunkirk bench at the halfway point of the fourth quarter. Rosario was laughing and cheering, beaming with pride as he went down the bench slapping hands with each of his players on the bench to celebrate the moment he envisioned for the seldom-utilized senior.

“I laughed because I was excited. I was so proud of him for hitting that shot,” Rosario said. “It energized everybody.”

After Denson’s shot fell, the Marauders led 45-40, halfway through the final period. But from there, rather than riding the high of that momentum swing, it was the little things that began to pile up against Dunkirk, one by one until the final buzzer sounded.

Olean tied the game on a 3-pointer from Joe Mest with 1:40 remaining. The Huskies then took the lead on the fast break. Dunkirk took a timeout down 47-45 with a minute left to play.

Dunkirk had two attempts from the paint in the final minute that could have tied the game, but neither shot fell. Still, the Marauders forced a turnover on Olean’s ensuing possession and called a timeout with 27.8 seconds left.

Even after calling a timeout to settle down and prepare with the shot clock turned off, the inbound pass was thrown into traffic and Olean came away with a turnover.

“We’ve got to move more to create space and get the ball in to the right person,” Rosario said.

From there, the Huskies missed the second of two free throws, then missed a rushed putback attempt on the offensive rebound. Dunkirk came away with the ball down three points, with 15.9 seconds left.

Needing a 3-pointer to tie, Orcutt hurried a shot falling backward near his own bench with less than eight seconds left on the clock. The shot missed the rim and backboard entirely and went off a teammate with 5.9 seconds remaining. Olean hit two free throws to close the game on a 10-0 run to secure the victory.

“We need to fix those little things, and they are easy fixes. They are just simple things that we’ve got to fix,” Rosario said.

Dunkirk’s leading scorers on the season, Orcutt and Tell, each scored 10 points in Friday’s loss. Instead, it was Malik McCall who led the Marauders on the night with 11 points.

“I challenged them in the locker room that it just can’t be two guys to win these games in this stretch, someone else has to stand up,” Rosario said. “Malik has been working all offseason and in practice. Finally, to see that, to see him be that guy to step up, I’m just so proud of him.”

Olean was led by Rivera with 14 points, including nine points in the third quarter. Dominic Giovine had 11 points, including nine points in the first half. Luca Quinn added 10 points.

Despite the loss, Rosario was pleased with the effort from his team, especially on the defensive end.

“We played together well on the defensive end. Some things we let get by, but I loved the passion to want to win,” Rosario said.

Holding Olean to 50 points and receiving contributions from players other than the usual leaders — Orcutt and Tell — left Rosario feeling optimistic for what is to come from the Marauders moving forward.

“We worked together as a team. It was a lot of good stuff,” Rosario said. “… I think we’re going to be OK from here on out.”

Up next, the Marauders hit the road to face Falconer on Tuesday in another CCAA Division 1 contest. The Huskies host Depew this afternoon in a nonleague game. Olean is at Salamanca on Tuesday.

OLEAN (50)

Hoffman 1 2 4, Quinn 4 1 10, Bohdanowycz 2 0 4, Teachman 0 0 0, Giovine 5 1 11, Mest 2 1 7, Rivera 3 6 14. Totals 17 11 50.

DUNKIRK (45)

Tell 4 0 10, McQuiggan 0 0 0, McCall 4 2 11, Martucci 3 0 6, Strong 0 0 0, Orcutt 4 1 10, Krystofiak 2 0 4, Denson 1 0 3, Paz-Rojas 0 0 0, Cheverez 0 1 1. Totals 18 4 45.

3-point goals–Quinn, Mest 2, Rivera 2, Tell 2, McCall, Orcutt, Denson.

Olean 11 10 15 14 — 50

Dunkirk 12 8 15 10 — 45