CENTRAL NEW YORK – Though it won the only time they went head-to-head in overtime back on Dec. 15, the Liverpool boys basketball team still found itself looking up at Cicero-North Syracuse through much of this winter.
However, the Northstars’ Jan. 23 defeat at Rome Free Academy combined with a tough Warriors win at Victor meant that the two sides now stood at no. 16 and 17, respectively, in last week’s state Class AAA poll, and RFA was ahead of them at no. 15.
Liverpool took this into last Tuesday’s game at Fulton, one of the stronger Class AA sides, and again leaning on its defense, the Warriors built a healthy margin, then held on late to beat the Red Dragons 59-55.
A low-scoring first half saw Liverpool employ a strategy that it maintained throughout the night, in that it didn’t worry much about standout Gavin Doty but tried to contain all of Doty’s teammates.
And it worked, for though Doty would finish with 32 points, Fulton found itself trailing 46-35 through three quarters before making a furious comeback in the final period.
Much of Liverpool’s offense came from Freddie Fowler, who had 20 points, and Kaelem Haskins, who earned 17 points. Alex Trombley had seven points as Jeff Manuel, so strong against Victor, got nine rebounds and seven blocks to go with six points.
Back home Thursday night to face Corcoran, Liverpool broke out on the offensive end early, and then really picked up the pace in the third quarter on the way to crushing the Cougars 81-46.
Corcoran aimed to push the tempo, but the Warriors again played shutdown defense early and was up 15-6 through one period. Then they traded baskets until that third period where Liverpool netted 27 points to Corcoran’s seven.
Haskins went to the forefront, his 22 points just one of his season-best of 23 from early December against Nottingham. Fowler got 14 points and Trombley earned 13 points, with Manuel adding nine points and Daniel Dunn picking up six points.
It was here that C-NS returned to action, hostting Nottingham Friday night at the Junior High School and maintaining control most of the way while getting a 62-54 win over the Bulldogs.
Steady on both ends, the Northstars were up 30-21 by halftime, but Denarius McCurty, who finished with 27 points, led a third-quarter charge that moved Nottingham within four, 44-40, with one period left.
C-NS maintained its poise, though, and Andrew Benedict nearly equaled McCurty as he gained 25 points. Terrance Coppock finished with 10 points as Nate Francis got nine points, Michael Gallo eight points and Rosco Polos six points.
Moving to 15-2 with that victory, the Northstars host Auburn Tuesday and go to Henninger Friday as Liverpool, with its 15-2 mark, travels Tuesday to Baldwinsville before welcoming Class A front-runner Jamesville-DeWitt on Friday at 6:30.
