At a rare crisis point, battered by injuries and knowing a large test loomed before the Section III Class B playoffs, the Westhill boys basketball team put its trust in Ryan Roland – and that, plus some well-timed defense, engineered quite a turnaround.

In last Friday night’s game against state Class B no. 10-ranked Bishop Grimes, the Warriors made it clear that it won’t give up its sectional crown without fierce resistance, as it parlayed Roland’s big numbers and a second-quarter shutdown into a 69-45 rout of the Cobras.

Grimes entered the game 17-1, and having beaten Westhill 73-63 on Dec. 6 in the Peppino’s Invitational at Henninger High School before injuries ravaged the Warriors’ lineup, shortening the bench and giving few reasons to think it could turn around that earlier defeat to the Cobras.

All of that changed, though, in the second quarter. Trailing 20-16, Westhill gave up a Grimes free throw – and then, for the last 7:16 of the half, it shut out the Cobras, using man-to-man pressure to force a rash of turnovers and notching 17 unanswered points on the other end, most of them by Roland.

By halftime, it was 36-20 in Westhill’s favor, and it kept pulling further way thanks to Roland pouring in 33 points, plus five assists and three rebounds. Some help came from John Geer, who got 12 points and six rebounds, while Jordan Marcano earned nine rebounds, five assists and seven points. Antonio Scrimale got seven rebounds and three assists.

The Roland show had started three nights earlier, against Marcellus, who was still basking in the glow of clinching a post-season berth through buzzer-beating wins over Syracuse Academy of Science and Institute of Technology Central.

Now, looking to pick off a wounded neighbor and rival, the Mustangs instead got a full dose of Roland in a 69-54 defeat, the game proving close until Roland’s hot shooting sparked a 24-5 Westhill blitz through the third quarter that hinted at what the Warriors would do against Grimes.

By the time he was done, Roland had gained 40 points, a career high, plus five rebounds and three assists. David Straugther (eight points), Owen Matukas (seven points, six assists, three rebounds) and Marcano (six points, five rebounds, four steals) offered some help. No one on Marcellus could come close to Roland’s level of production, though Jerrod Gates did manage 17 points. Mike Melnyczuk, with 12 points, also hit double figures.

Hosting Cazenovia Friday night, Marcellus lost, 38-35, to the Lakers, unable to overcome a game-long offensive slump despite a closing 16-4 push in the fourth quarter. Melnyczuk had 12 points, but no other player had more than five points as Tom Bragg paced the Lakers with 17 points.

In the tune-ups for Tuesday night’s “Holy War” visit from CBA, Bishop Ludden showed more balance and depth in its attack than it had showed all season during last Tuesday’s 77-50 victory over the Chittenango Bears.

Outscoring Chittenango in every period, the Gaelic Knights made the Bears pay for its attention given to Mika Adams-Woods, who had just 10 points, but gladly passed the ball to others and watched them shine.

Matt Hosek benefited the most, hitting six 3-pointers to account for all of his 18 points. Jim Grabowski and Joe Connor had 12 points apiece, with Chris Allen hitting six free throws and joining Adams-Woods by getting 10 points. Chittenango’s Eli Kim led all scorers with 19 points.

Ludden went on to beat Fowler 66-47 on Friday, cruising through Senior Night after a 24-7 first-quarter surge set the tone. Adams-Woods had 14 points, with Connor and Hosek getting 11 points apiece and Jim Grabowski adding nine points and nine rebounds. Sh’ikem Lee had seven points and Ed Walster got six points.

For all that happened elsewhere, it was, perhaps, Jordan-Elbridge supplying the most local drama. Needing one more win to clinch a sectional playoff spot, the Eagles got it last Tuesday night by rallying from behind in the fourth quarter to edge past Hannibal 42-40.

Right from the start, J-E was in catch-up mode, as the Warriors gained an 18-10 first-quarter edge. The Eagles closed within three , 22-19, by halftime, and then mostly relied on its defense to keep Hannibal within its sights.

Then, in a tense fourth quarter, J-E managed to outscore the Warriors 14-7 and pulled it out, led by Brandon Macvicz, a steady player all season, who had 15 points as Lamatt Chisholm added eight points and Dale Wagner got six points. For Hannibal, only Connor McNeil, with 12 points, scored in double figures.

Solvay played a tremendous first quarter last Wednesday night against Syracuse Academy of Science – and then went quiet the rest of the way in a 63-46 loss to the Atoms.

Hot shooting in that opening period helped the Bearcats grab a 23-15 lead. But Solvay only had 23 points the rest of the night, SAS clamping down on defense as, thanks to a 17-6 third-quarter burst, it took the lead for good.

Blake Bagozzi and Mike Yaizzo paced Solvay with 15 points apiece, while Sammy Kippen had eight points and Jake Kyanka six points. The Atoms had four players score in double figures as Khari Odoms led with 20 points, while Nessiah Smith, Kenyang Lual (13 points each) and Noreon Williams (10 points) helped out.

In Friday’s 63-45 defeat to the other Syracuse school in the league, Institute of Technology Central, the Bearcats gradually assumed a 49-32 deficit in the first three periods, unable to recover despite 16 points from Kippen and 10 points from Yaizzo, with Alex Britton adding seven points. James Walker paced ITC with 22 points, three rebounds, three blocks and three steals.