Waterville boys basketball took No. 2 seed Cooperstown down to the final minutes, but lost by nine in the first round Class C matchup.
The Hawkeyes won 71-62 for their third win over the Indians this season. Waterville lost 65-52 and 70-58 to Cooperstown as well.
At Cooperstown, freshman Cole Pearsall’s 21 points paced the Indians, who also had 16 points from fellow freshman Tyson Maxam, whose third technical got him ejected from the game with 9 seconds left. Junior Connor Marriott scored 13, seniors Nathan Johnson 6 and Darren Johnson 3, 2 from Jake Neff and 1 from Gabe Williams.
All three of the top scorers had 5 rebounds, while Marriott and Maxam also had 6 assists apiece. The Indians end the season at 7-14.
In their last game of the regular season before the playoffs, Waterville lost their rematch with Utica Academy of Science 59-52.
A slow first half from the Indians left them with too little, too late in a fourth quarter rush to try to win the game.
Both teams used a possession to get into the game with Waterville's ending in a missed shot and UAS's ending in a steal and layup for Connor…