J. P. Butler

Olean

Sports Group Editor at Olean Times Herald

OTH beat writer for the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team.

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Articles

Red-hot Bonnies topple Rams, 89-78

Jan 3, 2024 | oleantimesherald.com | J. P. Butler

The St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team was the unstoppable version of itself on Wednesday night. Only this time, there was no second-half letdown. There was no asterisk denoting that the performance came against one of the lowest-rung teams in the country. There were no lingering underlying concerns, even in victory, about the quality of the offense or an individual player.
Rhinehart, Otto-Eldred sink Olean, 57-42

Dec 30, 2023 | oleantimesherald.com | J. P. Butler

ALLEGANY — Kate Rhinehart missed her first 3-pointer of the morning. As a result, she was a bit hesitant to attempt the second. The junior guard for the Otto-Eldred girls basketball team, however, has a nice stroke, and according to coach Shawn Gray, is “automatic in certain spots.” So, upon sensing this, he called a timeout. “I addressed it with the team,” Gray said. “I asked them, who doesn’t want Kate shooting the ball, raise your hand. Nobody raised their hand.
Thomas, O-E stay perfect, pull away from A-L

Dec 29, 2023 | oleantimesherald.com | J. P. Butler

ALLEGANY -- It might sound silly considering the game was decided by 22 points. This was an Otto-Eldred boys basketball team, however, that entered the primetime billing at the Joe DeCerbo Memorial Holiday Tournament not just unbeaten, but entirely untouched. The Terrors, with four starters back from last year’s PIAA state final four run, had won its first seven games by an average of 35 points. It had topped Galeton in its last outing, 11 days earlier, by 36.
Beardsley, Finn were the architects of all-time seasons

Dec 26, 2023 | oleantimesherald.com | J. P. Butler

There was first, for both teams, a personal demon to expel. Indeed, the Ellicottville boys soccer team had advanced to consecutive Far West Regionals, only to see Fillmore end its season on both occasions. The Fillmore girls team, meanwhile, a year after reaching the New York State Final Four, while gearing up for a return trip, was instead handed a stunning 1-0 overtime defeat by eventual state runner-up Keshequa in the sectional semifinals.
Top teams seek even more success in ‘23-24

Dec 23, 2023 | oleantimesherald.com | J. P. Butler

In pure wins and losses, it was a decidedly strong season for the upper-echelon of Allegany County boys basketball. Indeed, four squads -- Bolivar-Richburg, Cuba-Rushford, Fillmore and Wellsville -- combined to go 65-26 (.714) in 2022-23, averaging 15 regular-season triumphs between them against a 20-game schedule. That marked this quartet’s highest cumulative win total in at least the last decade, six victories more than its next-best total of 59 in 2013-14.
Bona’s offense concerns remain after FAU outing

Dec 21, 2023 | oleantimesherald.com | J. P. Butler

With just under seven minutes remaining in the first half against Florida Atlantic, the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team had an 11-point lead and the ball in its hands. This, perhaps, was the high point of the season, an early pummeling of the No. 15 team in the nation on an unseasonably warm Saturday night, an indication that it could, indeed, play with the biggest of the big boys on its schedule, the first couple of words to the message announcing its arrival.
Amid changing landscape, GV/B, Fillmore, Wellsville remain steady

Dec 15, 2023 | oleantimesherald.com | J. P. Butler

The landscape, again, looks a little different. In 2021, the bulk of Allegany County’s athletics programs followed the lead of Andover and Whitesville, pairing with former rival schools to strengthen and, in some cases, resuscitate their teams and create more playing opportunities. It’s been a mostly positive venture, with the likes of Andover/Whitesville, Genesee Valley/Belfast and Scio/Friendship experiencing tangible success in different sports in the two years since.
Red-hot Bonnies find stride ahead of FAU showdown

Dec 13, 2023 | oleantimesherald.com | J. P. Butler

Early in his team’s evisceration of Niagara, Mika Adams-Woods drove the lane and flipped up a short runner that caromed out. It was the star point guard’s first shot of the night. Incredibly, considering his position, range of shots and the sheer nature of his sport, he hasn’t missed since.
STOWA poised for return to prominence

Dec 5, 2023 | oleantimesherald.com | J. P. Butler

JAMESTOWN — Tyler Taylor was disheartened. A year ago, the Southern Tier Wrestling Officials Association tournament, for which he serves as organizer, was a sad shell of itself. Yes, his committee had resuscitated it following a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19 — a victory on its own — but the time off, uncertainty over its future and an unfortunate scheduling conflict with the NCCC tournament reduced it to a mere eight teams, a fraction of the near-40 it once boasted.
On a destined night, C-R court dedicated to Wight

Dec 2, 2023 | oleantimesherald.com | J. P. Butler

CUBA — Pat Wight has seen his father cry only twice. And though he couldn’t visualize it, he could sense that this was undoubtedly the third time. Early this fall, after having mostly recovered from an illness over the summer, Gary Wight, the legendary Cuba-Rushford boys basketball coach, was diagnosed with another ailment. To that point, the elder Wight, in true Gary fashion, had always quietly pushed back on the idea of a court dedication in his honor.