Time, and the crowded nature of its schedule, may have caught up to the Cazenovia boys basketball team.

Instead of a chance to regroup and feel good about itself following a Jan. 9 victory over Solvay, the Lakers had to turn right around and, two nights later, take on struggling Hannibal – and couldn’t pull it off, falling to the Warriors 49-46.

Hannibal arrived at this game with a 1-13 record, having bottomed out a week earlier when it scored just nine points against Solvay. Yet it found inspiration when facing Cazenovia, overcoming an early 11-7 deficit and, by the end of the third quarter, inching out in front by a one-point margin, 31-30.

During a tense fourth quarter, Cazenovia tried whatever it could to regain the advantage, seeing Tom Bragg put in 14 points and Hans Kattrein add 11 points, but the Warriors, desperate for any kind of win, always found an answer.

Five different players had six or more points in Hannibal’s well-balanced attack. Connor McNeil led with 11 points, but Brett Draper (nine points) and Tim Maynes (eight points) were close behind as Andrew Wheeler added seven points and Eric Hoppins earned all six of his points at the free-throw line.

Just 24 hours later, Cazenovia went to Oneida, where Jake Shaffner returned to the lineup and the offense picked up, but it still wasn’t enough to turn things around as the Lakers took a 61-53 defeat to the Indians.

Here, the first half proved decisive. Oneida gained a 34-23 edge in those first two periods, led by Jeff Coulter, who finished with 19 points, five rebounds, five steals and four assists as Josh Hood added 12 points and Erik Wuest 10 points.

Fighting back, Cazenovia made up some of the ground in the second half, but not all of it despite Shaffner contributing 13 points. Bragg also had 13 points, adding seven rebounds, while Hunter Kowaleski paced the Lakers with 15 points.

After all this, the Lakers had to host two-time defending state Class B champion Westhill Friday night at Buckley Gym. The Warriors, showing that it was poised for at least another sectional title run, quieted Cazenovia in a 65-35 decision.

Steadily, Cazenovia saw itself fall behind, 29-16, by halftime, and it never was able to get its attack going in the face of Westhill’s man-to-man defense.

Bragg led with just seven points, while Matt Regan and Shawn Cunningham got five points apiece. By contrast, Kameren Jackson (13 points), Ryan Roland (12 points) and David Straughter (10 points) each hit double figures for the Warriors.

While this went on, Cazenovia’s girls basketball team, who had last Tuesday’s game at Hannibal snowed out (it will get made up Jan. 27), visited Westhill, the same defending sectional champion it nearly beat at home back on Dec. 2.

But the rematch wasn’t as close, the Lakers falling to the Warriors 59-37 in a game where the start of each half proved important. Westhill zoomed out in front 23-10 in the first quarter, and then used an 18-8 third-quarter push to settle matters.

Danielle Tedesco and Saige Ackermann led the Lakers with eight points apiece. Lucy Connor and Kaylee Cunningham each got six points, but they trailed Westhill’s main threats as Delaney Martin led the Warriors with 18 points and seven rebounds, with Katelyn Karleski adding 14 points and Mary Kate Washburn getting nine points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Falling to 4-7 on the season, the girls Lakers have back-to-back home games this week against Vernon-Verona-Sherrill and Jordan-Elbridge, the same schools the Cazneovia boys face, but they do so on the road Tuesday and Friday.