With the conclusion of its season at hand, the Baldwinsville boys basketball team wanted to spring at least one surprise to give itself momentum for the future.
One such chance arrived in last Tuesday night’s game against visiting Corcoran, where for three periods the two sides traded baskets and traded the lead, but in the final minutes an upset chance got away from the Bees as it lost, 61-57, to the Cougars.
This was the same Corcoran team that had knocked off Liverpool on Jan. 27 and had twice dropped close decisions to defending Section III Class AA champion Henninger, one of them going to double overtime.
Scared by none of this, nor by the Cougars’ 11-5 record or by the fact that it lost to this same squad 73-60 on Dec. 22, B’ville dictated the pace throughout the first half, only trailed by a basket, 24-22, at the break, and then, even as Corcoran tried to speed things up, the Bees went along.
So as the fourth quarter began, B’ville led, 42-41, but despite some late surges, the Cougars regained the lead and held on, led by the duo of Marquis Gilbert, who finished with 21 points, and Tim Tatum, who finished with 20 points.
B’ville’s Adam Seguin matched Gilbert by getting 21 points, adding six rebounds. Jordan Fragale earned 12 points and 10 assists, while Matt Dickman gained nine points and five rebounds. Mitch Gage had six points and five rebounds as Gabe Horan also had five rebounds.
Then, on Thursday night,, B’ville visited West Genesee, remembering that it nearly upended the playoff-bound Wildcats in a 53-50 defeat in early December. Two months later, it wasn’t as tight as the Bees fell by a 62-54 margin largely due to a second quarter where everything went wrong.
Cold early shooting on WG’s part helped B’ville inch into an 11-6 lead. Just as with Corcoran, though, the Bees could not keep that advantage, and the fall was swift during that pivotal second period where the Wildcats, even without star guard Malik Zachery in the lineup, started making everything and, combined with strong defense, went on a 22-4 spurt.
For the rest of the game, B’ville looked to recover, but only Seguin, with 16 points, hit double figures as Dickman and Ryan Gell got nine points apiece. David Cerqua and Alex Robinson both had six points, but Fragale was held to a single field goal. On WG’s side, Troy Temara led with 19 points as Nate Phillilps added 16 points and Chris LaValle got 12 points.
Going to Fayetteville-Manlius a night later, the Bees were now little more than a spoiler, trying to keep the Hornets from clinching a sectional playoff spot – but it could not do so, falling to the Hornets 68-50.
A close game broke open when B’ville got outscored 14-6 in the second quarter. It spent the rest of the night in catch-up mode, but no one had more than the eight points put up by Seguin (who added seven rebounds) and Fragale (who got four points and four assists). Chris Taylor added six points.
By contrast, F-M’s Jawaan Crouch had a big night, with 21 points, four rebounds and four assists, while three others – David Stegemann, Ryan Miller and Josh Loeffler – got nine points apiece, Stegemann adding 11 rebounds.
B’ville returns home Tuesday night, ending the regular season by hosting Henninger as it comes off last Friday’s loss to Liverpool.