All the stories and all the controversy was done now, so Bob McKenney could turn his full attention to trying to turn the Bishop Grimes boys basketball team into a contender again.
The first steps were taken by the Cobras when it appeared in last weekend’s Oneida Tournament, and all went well, with Grimes snaring the first-place trophy and doing so with a fast, frenetic style that could work well against any kind of opposition.
In the opening round, Grimes faced Mount Markham, and with big point totals in the game’s middle stages, it roared to an 84-54 victory over the Mustangs.
Employing a small, guard-oriented lineup, the Cobras were already in front, 17-9, when it spent the second and third periods putting in baskets at will, outscoring Mount Markham 54-26 during those decisive frames.
A.C. Ater led the way with 23 points, most of it from five successful 3-pointers. Luciano Vigliotti converted four times beyond the arc and finished with 18 points, while Shawn Gashi had 13 points. Jason Baker, David Mo and Jonah Cummings had seven points apiece.
On that same day, Jamesville-DeWitt, under new head coach Jeff Ike, stood up quite well in a season-opening test against annual Class AA power Utica Proctor, with the third quarter making the difference as the Red Rams lost, 82-76, to the Raiders.
All through the first half, J-D and Proctor exchanged the lead, and went to intermission tied, 32-32. But then the Raiders outscored the Rams 23-15 in the third period, something J-D could not quite overcome.
Despite the loss, Buddy Boeheim delivered 28 points, including five 3-pointers, and Jimmy Boeheim added 26 points as Darvin Lovette gained 12 points. Proctor had its own star turn, though, from Jalen Hawkins, who got 30 points and had help from Landon Johnson (16 points), Romel Poole (14 points) and McKinley West (12 points).
Bishop Grimes met Vernon-Verona-Sherrill in Saturday’s final of the Oneida Tournament, a game that broke open for the Cobras in the second half as it went on to defeat the Red Devils 82-62.
Having beaten rival Oneida the day before, VVS attempted to keep pace for a while, but Grimes took the lead in the second quarter. After a brief power outage at the end of the third period, the Cobras proceeded to outscore the Red Devils 21-9 the rest of the way.
Ater garnered tournament MVP honors, piling up 28 points in the final, which included five more 3-pointers, plus nine successful free throws. Gashi, with 19 points, offered the inside compliment to Ater’s outside shooting as Mark Shattuck added eight points. For VVS, only Davey Moffett, with 18 points, scored in double figures.
J-D will play in the Peppino’s Invitational at Henninger High School this Saturday against Fairport, from Section V. Christian Brothers Academy, the defending Section III Class A champions, will be there, too, taking on Utica Proctor Friday and Liverpool on Saturday as Grimes, on Friday night, takes on Westhill.
Before all this, East Syracuse Minoa debuted last Tuesday night at home, against Marcellus, and ultimately paid the price for a poor second quarter in a 50-44 defeat to the Mustangs.
Under new head coach Scott Cotter, Marcellus broke open a close game by outscoring the Spartans 19-5 in the second quarter. Trailing 32-16 at the break, ESM used a 15-7 push through the third quarter to move back within single digits, but didn’t get the run it needed late.
Gabe Holloman and Dave Dabrowski still finished with 13 points apiece, while Ty Barkins had 12 points, but the rest of the Spartans managed just three total field goals. Marcellus carried a deeper roster, with seven different players hitting at least one field goal as Mike Melnyczuk earned 16 points and Tom Fiacchi added 15 points.