By that stage of the evening, they had reason to celebrate.

Smith, the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, scored 19 points; Benjamin had 16; Polino collected 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds; and Myers chipped in 9 points to send the Eagles to a 64-53 victory over Southwestern.

The win improved Ellicottville’s record to 2-1, while the Trojans dropped to 1-2.

“They played outstanding today,” Eagles head coach Dave McCann said. “They played great team basketball in the first half, in particular, when we shared the ball really well. We had a lot of assists, leading to open shots and we were making shots. They definitely showed what they’re capable of doing, and I still think we can get a little bit better.”

Southwestern’s Landon Hooks shoots from deep during the championship game of the Southwestern Holiday Tournament on Saturday at Southwestern High School. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

That should give opponents on Ellicottville’s schedule pause this winter.

“I thought (Smith) was fantastic today,” McCann added. “He can score at different levels and he showed that today. Dom had a great weekend, (too). I thought those two guys (were) outstanding.”

Landon Hooks paced Southwestern with 21 points, including 16 in the first half, but the hosts managed just 21 points after intermission and endured two prolonged scoring droughts that proved to be the difference.

Until late in the third quarter, however, the game was close — Ellicottville and Southwestern were tied 32-all at the break — but the Eagles outscored the hosts 12-0 during a four-minute span to take control 51-43 advantage in the first minute of the fourth quarter. The Trojans did trim the deficit to 53-50 with five minutes remaining, but that was as close as they would get.

“Either we were tired or fell asleep a little bit defensively in the last four minutes,” Trojans head coach Aaron Emley said. ” … They made their shots and played hard and you saw their intensity pick up those last few minutes.”

CONSOLATION

WESTFIELD HOLDS ON

Grant Beadle scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked three shots, and Nolan Anderson added 10 points, eight boards and four steals to send Westfield to a 47-41 win over Frewsburg in a rough-and-tumble game.

The Wolverines’ 12-2 run during a seven-minute stretch of the third quarter broke open a close one and they hung on for the victory to even their record at 1-1.

For Frewsburg (0-3), Jaden Collver scored a game-high 19 points to go along with nine rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot. Trent Lewis chipped in 9 points, six rebounds and five assists.

NOTES: Joining the Eagles’ Smith on the all-tournament team were teammate Polino, Hooks of Southwestern, Beadle of Westfield and Collver of Frewsburg.

CHAMPIONSHIP

ELLICOTTVILLE (64)

Benjamin 6 1 16, Myers 3 1 9, Tirado 2 0 5 Smith 8 1 19, Palmatier 0 0 0, Gascon 0 0 0, John 2 1 5, Polino 5 0 10, Totals 26 4 64.

SOUTHWESTERN (53)

Harris 3 2 8, Hooks 8 1 21, Edwards 4 0 9, Charles 1 0 3, Waite 2 1 5, Markham 3 0 6, Casselman 0 1 1, Totals 21 5 53.

3-point goals — Benjamin 3, Myers 2, Tirado, Smith 2, Hooks 4, Edwards, Charles.

Ellicottville 14 18 19 13 — 64

Southwestern 12 20 11 10 — 53

CONSOLATION

FREWSBURG (41)

Cusimano 0 0 0, Weaver 1 0 3, Signorino 0 0 0, Lewis 3 2 9, Beckstrom 4 0 8, Hultberg 1 0 2, Collver 9 1 19, Munday 0 0 0, Totals 18 3 41.

WESTFIELD (47)

Paddock 2 0 5, Baum 0 0 0, Stein 1 0 3, Tuah 0 3 3, Swanson 1 5 8, Thomas 1 0 2, Anderson 4 2 10, Ramm 1 0 2, Beadle 7 0 14, Totals 17 7 47.

3-point goals — Weaver, Lewis, Paddock, Stein, Swanson.

Frewsburg 6 12 8 15 — 41

Westfield 10 14 14 9 — 47

MAPLE GROVE TIP-OFF TOURNAMENT

WARRIORS DOWN DRAGONS IN FINAL

BEMUS POINT — Highlighted by his six 3-pointers, Carlton Farmer scored 22 points to lead Salamanca to a 63-41 victory over Maple Grove in the championship game.

The Warriors (4-1), who outscored the Red Dragons 37-18 in the second half, also received 11 points from Payton Maybee, 9 from Dominick Hill and 8 from Payton Bradley.

For Maple Grove (1-3), Liam Colburn and Aiden Dahlberg both had 9 points and Liam Price added 8.

SALAMANCA (63)

Farmer 7 2 22, Bradley 3 2 8, Hill 4 1 9, Farnum 1 0 2, Ghani 2 3 7, Taylor 1 0 2, Maybee 5 1 11, Kalyan 0 0 0, Romero 1 0 2, Totals 24 9 63.

MAPLE GROVE (41)

Reynolds 3 0 7, Carlson 0 0 0, Price 2 3 8, Mason 1 2 5, Johnson 0 0 0, Yohe 1 0 3, Colburn 1 6 9, Dahlberg 3 3 9, Totals 11 14 41.

3-point goals — Farmer 6, Reynolds, Price, Mason, Yohe, Colburn.

Salamanca 18 8 23 14 — 63

Maple Grove 9 14 10 8 — 41

CARDS DOMINATE CONSOLATION

BEMUS POINT — Broden Brooks scored 19 points to lead Randolph past Pine Valley 76-31 in the consolation game at the Maple Grove Tip-Off Tournament.

Kevin McElwain provided another 16 points and Syrai Johnson had 14 for the Cardinals.

James Greene paced Pine Valley with 15 points.

RANDOLPH (76)

Pihlblad 1 0 3, Beaver 3 0 9, McElwain 5 2 16, Johnson 6 0 14, Brooks 7 0 19, Foster 1 0 3, Finch 1 0 3, Beaver 3 0 9. Totals 27 2 76.

PINE VALLEY (31)

Reger 0 1 1, Hohl 2 0 5, Rogers 2 1 5, Bell 1 0 3, Sunick 0 2 2, Greene 7 1 15. Totals 11 5 31.

3-point goals–Pihlblad, Beaver 3, McElwain 4, Johnson 2, Brooks 5, Foster, Finch, Beaver 3, Hohl, Bell.

Randolph 25 12 28 12 — 76

Pine Valley 12 12 1 6 — 31

COUGARS PREVAIL

NORTH COLLINS — Cassadaga Valley upended North Collins 45-35 in nonleague action.

For North Collins, Eli Hoffman scored 14 points and Karter Bartholomew added 12.