Senior co-captain Elliot Bowen led the Eagles (12-1, 4-1 CCAA D2 East) with 20 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots while senior co-captain Griffin Chudy added 17 points — including 11 in the decisive fourth quarter — to go along with five assists, four rebounds and three steals.

Guarded by eighth-grader Gabe McCoy for much of the night, Bowen was able to control the Ellicottville offense, not only scoring inside but with his passing out of the high post.

“Sometimes it’s the best senior big guy against the eighth-grade big guy … and Griffin Chudy against our guy. Their two players beat our two players,” Randolph coach Kevin Hind said. “I thought Elliot was better than Gabe right now as an eighth-grader. They were prepared. When you have that guy inside and a couple of shooters to go with him, the more options you have the harder it gets.”

Ellicottville led by 10 at halftime before sophomore Tyler Hind came alive for the Cardinals (7-6, 4-0 CCAA D1 East). Hind, who had just 3 points in the first 16 minutes, exploded for 19 points, including four 3-pointers, in the third quarter. The hosts took a one-point lead into the fourth quarter thanks to senior Isaac Wakefield’s foul line jumper with 26 seconds left.

Randolph’s Calvin George goes in for a layup in front of Ellicottville’s Griffin Chudy during their non-league game Monday night in Randolph. P-J photos by Valory S. Isaacson

“It certainly was not a friendly halftime talk. He needs to attack. … As he showed in the third quarter, he can attack, go downhill and get into the gaps,” Hind said. ” … Our offense is going to be very stagnant if he isn’t putting pressure on them and attacking them.”

Chudy and Hind traded pairs of free throws to open the fourth before another two free throws from Chudy gave the Eagles a 41-40 lead. After a missed Randolph 3-pointer, Chudy converted a three-point play to give his team a four-point lead with 6:13 remaining.

“They definitely kept their composure,” Ellicottville coach Dave McCann said of his veteran team. “Ty got extremely hot there in the third. When he’s hitting from that deep it’s tough to defend. It stretches you out pretty far. I thought the kids stuck together and were able to regather in the fourth.”

Following a Hind bucket, Ellicottville went on an 8-0 run over the next 2:19 with senior co-captains Austin Grinols, Bowen and Chudy providing the offense.

“We don’t necessarily care who takes the shot, but those guys work pretty hard at getting open and put themselves in good positions to take shots,” McCann said. “I trust any one of those guys on the court with the ball in their hands late.”

Ellicottville’s Elliot Bowen (42) defends Randolph’s Gabe McCoy during their non-league game Monday night in Randolph.

Junior Andrew Bernard’s bucket for the Cardinals with 2:55 left ended the run, but by then it was already an eight-point game and the Eagles closed it out with free throws.

“They definitely gave us some easy looks other places that we didn’t convert,” Hind said. “They sent two to Ty and guys were open. There were plays to be made and we have to make them.”

Bowen had 7 points in the first quarter as Ellicottville took a 16-9 lead.

“They used him all night. They ran the offense through him. They did a good job of finding the short corner and scoring from there,” Hind said. ” … Elliot brings a lot of attention. It’s hard to match everywhere.”

Hind converted a three-point play with 5:24 left in the first half for his only points before halftime.

Steven Rowland scored 5 points, including a 3-pointer, in the second quarter as the Eagles built a 27-17 lead.

Hind finished with 26 points and two steals while Bernard added 8 points and nine rebounds for Randolph.

With Ellicottville and Franklinville both returning their entire starting lineups from last season’s Section VI Class D championship game, it seems like the two CCAA Division 2 East teams are on a collision course for the sectional final again this year. To guard against his team looking ahead, McCann has sprinkled in non-league games with Class C Randolph and Chautauqua Lake, a game against Class B1 Newfane and a game against Class B2 Gowanda before the playoffs begin.

“This is a nice regional game for us. Randolph is a really good team. They come out every night and play really hard. We want that physical challenge and that challenge skill-wise,” McCann said. “Ty is a really good guard for only being a sophomore. He’s only going to get better.”

Randolph has likewise littered its schedule with difficult non-league games to go along with a tough CCAA Division 1 East schedule. After already taking on Class A2 Iroquois and Pioneer, Class B2 Southwestern and Section V Class D power C.G. Finney, the Cardinals still have a Saturday date with Tapestry before closing out their league schedule.

“You put these games on your schedule to be challenged as many times as we can,” Hind said. ” … I want to try and create the most challenging, difficult schedule … so we can be better because of it.”

NOTES: McCoy and Calvin George each had five rebounds for Randolph, which was just 4 of 6 from the free throw line. … Rowland had seven rebounds for the Eagles, who went 15 of 22 from the free throw line, including 9 of 10 from Chudy. … Randolph won the jayvee game, 46-36. Tallon Delahoy led the Cardinals with 14 points and Isaac Hind had 12.

ELLICOTTVILLE (55)

Leiper 0 0 0, Stuve 1 0 2, SRowland 3 0 7, Chudy 4 9 17, Grinols 4 0 9, CRowland 0 0 0, Bowen 7 6 20. Totals 19 15 55.

RANDOLPH (44)

Steward 1 0 3, Hind 9 4 26, Wakefield 2 0 5, Donaldson 0 0 0, McCoy 0 0 0, Bernard 4 0 8, George 1 0 2. Totals 17 4 44.

3-point goals–SRowland, Grinols, Steward, Hind 4, Wakefield.

Ellicottville 16 11 10 18 — 55

Randolph 9 8 21 6 — 44

Jayvees: Randolph won, 46-36.