CENTRAL NEW YORK – Back when the West Genesee boys basketball team upended Marcellus in the Dec. 30 final of the Manny Leone Holiday Classic, there was a question of whether it would knock the Mustangs from the top of the state Class B rankings.
Not at all, as it turned out.
Still with that no. 1 spot, Marcellus opened 2024 last Tuesday with a resounding performance against Jordan-Elbridge, dominating in all phases of the game to beat the Eagles 84-40.
Even though Will Kershaw sat out again, the Mustangs went on a first-quarter rampage, making everything and forcing turnovers to lead to more baskets, eventually building a 33-9 margin.
Though not able to keep up that absurd pace, Marcellus still saw 11 different players net at least one field goal, led by Mitch Donegan’s 25 points and Dom Gosh-Sandy’s 12 points.
Tucker Burnett had eight points, with Codey Kociela and Austin Raicht each getting seven points as Will Burnett and Max Chapman had six points apiece. Half of J-E’s offense came from Nolan Brunelle’s 20 points.
To its credit, J-E rebounded Saturday with a 56-36 victory over Lyme, with Brunelle nearly equaling Lyme’s output by himself as he got 30 points. Including six 3-pointers. Wyatt Werth got all of his 12 points from three 3-pointers.
West Genesee gained another big win at Liverpool, where it finally got the best of its nemesis of the previous three seasons when it beat the Warriors 65-58 in overtime.
WG had lost six straight to Liverpool, including the last two Section III Class AA title games and a win over the Wildcats in the Dec. 1 season opener at Jamesville-DeWitt.
Here, though, a tight, tense struggle would see neither side able to get away throughout all of regulation. Despite another strong defensive effort, Liverpool would see WG push the game to OT tied at 50-50.
Then the Wildcats got the baskets it needed in the four-minute extra period, plus key free throws as Jordan Cain got 21 points, Gary McLane had 18 points and Sincere Smith added 14 points. Liverpool’s Freddie Fowler, with 23 points, topped all scorers, but of his teammates only Kadem Haskins, with 10 points, got to double figures.
WG had barely survived a test at East Syracuse Minoa two nights earlier, hanging on to win 57-56 as it nearly surrendered a 47-42 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Ultimately, what cost ESM was a second quarter where it managed just nine points to WG’s 15 along with its inability to contain Cain, who had 23 points. McClane and Cain had eight points apiece.
Westhill was no. 7 in the state in Class A and would travel Friday to face no. 23-ranked Jamesville-DeWitt, reuniting two old-time rivals in the same class for the first time in two decades.
And it turned out to be a forgettable one for the Warriors, who were cold from the outset and could not overcome that slump in a 63-44 defeat to the Red Rams.
Both sides struggled at the outset, but J-D’s Jackson Saroney broke the game open by netting 13 of his 14 points in the second quarter, and the Rams, sparked by his work, built a 44-20 lead by the third quarter.
Shut out the entire first half, Kam Langdon would take off late with 21 second-half points as Eli Prince added 16 points, but J-D still rolled behind Saroney, Alan Zanders, Trent Hughes (13 points each) and Terrell Willis (12 points).
To get its 2024 slate underway, Bishop Ludden fed off the momentum of winning its own Rosemary Corcoran Holiday Classic Dec. 27 and 28 and got an impressive 79-52 win over Phoenix.
Ignoring the Firebirds’ 6-2 record, the Gaelic Knights constantly worked the ball inside, resulting in easy baskets and a steady climb toward a 68-38 lead through three periods.
Tim Dunham led with 24 points, adding four rebounds. Freshman Liam Sheard got 13 points, with Joe Dunham adding eight points as Mike Masterpole and Colden Sheen had seven points apiece.
Skaneateles moved its record to 6-3 last Thursday by defeating Homer 59-44. A 30-13 rush through the first quarter decided matters early, Reed Danforth hitting four 3-pointers on his way to 23 points as Charlie Girzadas finished with 16 points.
Solvay took a 70-54 defeat to Phoenix last Tuesday, the Firebirds using a 20-8 third-quarter push to break out of a 32-32 halftime tie. A.J. Trendell led the Bearcats with 13 points, Chris Nichols adding 10 points and Landon Raymond nine points/
