Incredibly, the respective boys basketball programs last played each other — according to Post-Journal records — during the first two weeks of … the Nixon Administration. For the record, the Red Raiders prevailed in that game 86-49 on Feb. 7, 1969.

That nearly 55-year drought finally came to an end Saturday evening in the championship game of the Olean Tip-Off Tournament when Jamestown built a 22-point halftime lead en route to a 76-46 victory over the Golden Falcons.

“At halftime, I wasn’t sure who our leading scorer was because the ball was zipping around and different guys were making shots,” said Jamestown coach Billy Miley.

Jaydian Johnson, the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, finished with 19 points, Greg Brumagin had 12, and Dominic Gonzalez and Bishop Butts added 11 apiece to lead the way.

Jamestown’s Elijah Farmer, middle, is surrounded by Falconer’s Zach Markham, left, and Nathan Bailey. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

But Falconer coach Jordan Goold was hardly upset by the loss. In fact, he couldn’t stop smiling after his team completed the weekend 1-1, highlighted by its win over Olean on Friday night.

“It was a great weekend,” he said. “We’ve been anticipating this tip-off tournament and playing against these teams. The thing we said coming into the whole weekend is, ‘To be the best, you have to beat the best.’ If we really want to achieve our goals, we have to go play the good teams and beat the good teams. We beat Olean — a great program — and we got to see what we had against Jamestown — a tougher program — but I saw a lot of good things. … I’m very happy where we’re at.”

The Red Raiders, who shot 30 of 58 from the field, led 16-3 after four minutes and 41-19 by halftime.

“When we get it clicking, it’s good,” Miley said. ” … We’ve got a lot of potential.”

To their credit, the Golden Falcons continued to play hard despite the deficit and used a 22-9 run to pull within 58-44 with just under six minutes left in the game.

Jamestown’s Elijah Farmer, middle, is surrounded by Falconer’s Zach Markham, left, and Nathan Bailey. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

That was as close as Falconer would get as Jamestown closed it out on an 18-2 run.

NOTES: The Red Raiders held a 29-19 rebounding edge and forced 18 turnovers. … Elijah Farmer grabbed seven rebounds, to go along with four assists and three steals, while Johnson and Bishop Butts collected six and five boards respectively. … For Falconer, Mathis Baehr scored 14 points and Roger Markham had 11; Zach Markham grabbed 10 rebounds; and Roger Markham dished out four assists and had two steals. … Jamestown’s Johnson and Brumagin were joined on the all-tournament team by Roger Markham and Baehr of Falconer, Carson Swanson of Westfield and Isaiah Smith of Olean. … The Red Raiders are back in action Friday and Saturday at the Canisius Tournament, while the Golden Falcons are off until Dec. 13 when they travel to Sherman for a nonleague game. … Jamestown also captured the junior varsity title, downing Falconer 70-37. Giovanni Jackson led the way with 19 points, and Jericho Thagard and Hunter Johnson both had 13 for the winners.

JAMESTOWN (76)

Farmer 2 0 4, Gonzalez 4 2 11, Brumagin 4 2 12, Sanchez 3 0 8, Rodriguez 1 2 5, Carlson 2 0 4, Vrist 0 0 0, Butts 5 1 11, Johnson 8 0 19, Lundberg 1 0 2, Totals 30 7 76.

FALCONER (46)

Jamestown’s Greg Brumagin lays in a bucket. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

Fuller 2 1 5, Baehr 5 0 14, Sharpe 0 0 0, Swanson 1 0 2, Brainard 0 0 0, Bailey 2 0 6, RMarkham 4 1 11, Maher 0 0 0, ZMarkham 1 0 2, Binkley 2 2 6, Totals 17 4 46.

3-point goals — Gonzalez, Brumagin 2, Sanchez 2, Rodriguez, Johnson 3, Baehr 4, Bailey 2, RMarkham 2.

Jamestown 23 18 13 22 — 76

Falconer 12 7 17 10 — 46