ALL-TIOGA COUNTY BOYS BASKETBALL: WAVERLY’S TOMASSO TOPS TALENTED GROUP (2024-03-22)

Tioga County Sports Report
TIOGA COUNTY — Joey Tomasso’s mere presence on the basketball court inspired Waverly to greater heights this season. The skills which he brought with him made him the best choice for All-Tioga County Boys Basketball “Player of the Year.”

The senior averaged 23.1 pts. per game (416 points) and ended his career with 1,782 points (7th in Section IV all-time). Tomasso also averaged 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.6 steals to lead the Wolverines to a Section IV Class B championship. His stats included 48-percent shooting from the field with 42 3-pointers (39 percent).

Tioga’s Evan Sickler and Newark Valley’s Dan Truesdail share the “Offensive Player of the Year.”

Sickler, a senior, averaged 23.2 points and 3.4 assists per game, and added more than three offensive rebounds per outing. He knocked down 56 3-pointers over 20 games, and finished his career with 1,378 points. He had four 30-point games and scored in double figures in all seven games against state-ranked opponents. He also had four 30-point games and seven 20-point games, and averaged 8.3 total rebounds and 3.2 steals per game.

Truesdail, also a senior, was the highest-scoring forward in the county, averaging 19 points per game. He also dished out 3.4 assists and grabbed three offensive rebounds per outing (10 boards per game overall). He shot 60 percent from two-point range and was a 30-percent 3-point shooter. He had three 30-point outings and seven 20-point games.

The “Defensive Player of the Year” honor goes to Owego’s Joseph Palladino. Despite being built like a wrestler, the senior was one of the most difficult players to move the ball against. One would be hard-pressed to find a more consistent one-on-one defender.

The “Newcomer of the Year” is Candor’s Carson Heidl. Despite playing behind two of the county’s top offensive players he still averaged 7.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. He scored in double digits in seven games and was an inspiration to the team’s mental approach to victory.

Candor’s Nate Thomas and Waverly’s Lou Judson share the “Coach of the Year” honor. Both mentor’s guided their teams to 18-4 records, tops in Tioga County and fifth-best among Section IV’s 67 teams.

A season-opening loss to a Tioga team with minimal practice time (due to an extended football season) did not look good for the Coyotes, but Thomas was able to turn that in his team’s favor as he guided them to their first IAC divisional title and first sectional semifinal since the mid-1980s. Candor gave eventual state champion Moravia two tough battles before suffering losses, and avenged the Tioga loss as well.

Waverly had minimal practice time at the season’s onset (due to football), but Judson was able to lead his charges to a 7-1 start, the lone loss a two-point setback against eventual Section IV Class AA champion Binghamton. All of the Wolverines’ losses came against state-ranked opponents.

ALL-TIOGA COUNTY BOYS BASKETBALL
Player of the Year: Joey Tomasso, Waverly
Offensive Player of the Year: Dan Truesdail, Newark Valley; Evan Sickler, Tioga
Defensive Player of the Year: Joseph Palladino, Owego
Newcomer of the Year: Carson Heidl, Candor
Coach of the Year: Nate Thomas, Candor; Lou Judson, Waverly

First Team
Jakobe Foster, Candor
Dan Truesdail, Newark Valley
Riley Loomis, Owego
Joseph Palladino, Owego
Evan Sickler, Tioga
Joey Tomasso, Waverly
Xavier Watson, Waverly

Second Team
Jadon Heidl, Candor
Jacek Teribury, Candor
Danny Pirger, Newark Valley
Ben Rollison, Owego
Gavin Fisher, Tioga
Valentino Rossi, Tioga
Jay Pipher, Waverly

Honorable Mention
Carson Heidl, Candor
Ryan Rhodes, Newark Valley
Zack Bensley, Owego
Talan Schumacher, Owego
Angela Lo Presti, Spencer-Van Etten
Shea Bailey, Tioga
Hogan Shaw, Waverly
Jake VanHouten, Waverly

NOTE: All-stars are listed alphabetically by school, then name.

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IN PHOTO: Waverly’s Joey Tomasso.