Before it closed the regular season with yet another attempt to alter the course of its “Holy War” rivalry with Bishop Ludden, the Christian Brothers Academy boys basketball team first had to get through some other OHSL Freedom division foes – which it did.

In last Tuesday night’s visit to Oswego, the Brothers, still at no. 19 in the state Class A rankings, took charge early and, while not getting too far away, still handled the Buccaneers and prevailed by a 64-48 margin.

CBA doubled up Oswego 18-9 in the first quarter and set the game’s tone. Then it calmly answered every Bucs charge in large measure thanks to senior Mark Lutz, whose game-high 22 points included four 3-pointers.

Charles Pride helped out, earning 11 points, while Kevin Underwood and Matt Purcell finished with seven points apiece. Oswego had no one near Lutz’s totals, though the Bucs got 13 points from Trey Clark, 12 points from Jake Dumas and 10 points from Mike Poston.

When the Brothers visited East Syracuse Minoa Friday night, it found little stress there, either, beating the Spartans 83-37, the issue essentially decided in a first quarter where CBA could not miss and grabbed a 35-5 lead.

Again, Lutz, with 20 points, led the way, with Pride contributing 12 points. Underwood and Nick Aversa got nine points apiece, just ahead of Jack Carpeneter (eight points), and Zeff Edenfield (seven points) as ESM saw Gabe Holloman earn 11 points and Ty Barkins add eight points.

But then CBA returned home Saturday to take on Nottingham, the last regular-season home game for an accomplished senior class that included Lutz, Nick Aversa and Nate Brower.

And the Brothers didn’t spoil the occasion, beating the Bulldogs 58-41, though the getaway didn’t take place until the third quarter. A low-scoring first half on both sides left CBA clinging to a 21-18 edge before it outscored Nottingham 25-12 in that pivotal third period.

For the third game in a row, Lutz got past the 20-point mark, finishing with 21 that included a trio of 3-pointers. Aversa also connected three times beyond the arc on his way to 11 points as Pride added 10 points, Underwood seven points and Dan Damico six points.

Jamesville-DeWitt would play four games in five days, which started when the Red Rams hosted Mexico last Tuesday night and cruised to a 57-45 victory over the Tigers.

For much of the game, J-D controlled matters, starting with a first quarter where it held Mexico to four points. Though the tempo changed, the margin kept growing, the Rams eventually in front 49-29 by the time they reached the fourth quarter, so it could afford to relax a bit.

Darvin Lovette’s evolution as a primary offensive threat continued as he poured in a team-high 20 points. Right behind him, Jimmy Boeheim had 14 points, with Buddy Boeheim contributing 12 points as Matt Carlin got eight points. For the Tigers, Dakota Deasy had 15 points and Dylan Delong added 14 points.

A night later, J-D hosted Vernon-Verona-Sherrill, honored its seniors and beat the Red Devils 79-62, building most of its margin during a 43-28 first half. The Rams kept that margin behind Jimmy Boeheim’s 32 points, with Lovette getting 16 points and Buddy Boeheim 14 points. Rahmel Smith got seven points as Davey Moffett led VVS with 25 points, nine of them free throws.

Then J-D ventured to Fulton Friday night and got passed in the fourth quarter of a 72-68 loss to the Red Raiders. For most of the night, Fulton hung close and traded baskets, but saved its best work for the final period, when it outscored the Rams 24-14 and prevailed.

And it happened despite 26 points from Jimmy Boeheim and 21 points from Buddy Boeheim that included four 3-pointers. Lovette added 10 points as Red Raiders Tyler Lee led the comeback, finishing with 25 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, with help from Josh Hudson, Tyler Shaw (15 points apiece) and Cody Green (12 points).

This all ended Saturday afternoon with J-D’s game against Mekeel Christian Academy, from the Albany area, and the Rams lost again, 67-56, unable to rally from a 42-23 halftime deficit despite a big day from Lovette, who finished with 24 points. Buddy Boeheim had 12 points, but Jimmy Boeheim was held to nine points as Carlin got seven points.

Manlius-Pebble Hill, who has sprung a few surprises this winter, did so again last Wednesday, improving its record to 6-10 when it when it edged LaFayette 72-71, getting a fourth-quarter comeback and another big performance from Joe Cerio.

Though it led 18-12 after one period, the Trojans slumped in the game’s middle stages as the Lancers outscored them 49-29 in the next two periods. Despite this, MPH battled back and, in the fourth quarter, went on a 19-10 push to reclaim the lead and hang on.

Cerio had a lot to do with it, not letting up until he had produced 35 points, with help from Bryce Church, who had 15 points, and Jayson Staiger, who got 12 points. On LaFayette’s side, Chris MacMackin had 23 points, with Jordyn Marchiano getting 16 points as Levi Krebs and Ryan Agedal each got 12 points.

But the Trojans lost Friday to Fabius-Pompey in a wild 84-75 game where a 42-35 halftime lead vanished, the Falcons outscoring MPH 25-13 in the third quarter to go ahead for good.

Cerio and Church each hit on four 3-pointers and each finished with 28 points, yet it wasn’t enough. Staiger added eight points and Saad Burkhari seven points as F-P put five players in double figures, led Chad Steinmetz (21 points), Gabe Ray and Zach Sheridan (15 points each).