A 31-point defeat administered by New Hartford on Nov. 26 at SRC Arena had a chance to demoralize the Skaneateles boys basketball team before things really got moving in the 2016-17 season.
But the Lakers didn’t let that happen to them.
Instead, when Skaneateles made the short trip to Jordan-Elbridge for last Tuesday night’s OHSL Liberty division opener, it unleashed a steady, relentless attack that built a comfortable margin and eventually produced a 67-60 victory over the Eagles.
J-E had finished third in the Nov. 25-26 Moravia Tournament (won by Marcellus), but that didn’t matter much as Skaneateles matched its New Hartford point total by halftime of this game, steadily building a 39-27 lead.
That margin grew to 56-40 by the foruth quarter, enough to withstand the Eagles’ late charge as Jake Reed, hitting on four 3-pointers, finished the night with 24 points.
Jeremy Castle, with 13 points, led the supporting effort. Matt Neumann had eight points, with Ben Delasin adding seven points and Seth Lincoln six points. Austin Cassick paced J-E with 20 points, but no other Eagles player scored in double figures as Mason Barrigar and Brandon Wick got nine points apiece.
On Friday night, the 1-1 Lakers would face a Chittenango side that had roared out to a 2-0 start with wins over Central Valley Academy and Hannibal. And the Bears would make it three in a row, withstanding an all-out effort from the hosts to beat Skaneateles 64-59.
Off to a solid start, the Lakers were up 13-11 going to the second quarter, but found itself struggling to contain Chittenango’s 1-2 punch of Zach Falkenburg and Hunter Hendrix, who were the large reason why the Bears went up 30-25 by halftime.
After pulling within one, 43-42, with one period left, the Lakers tried hard to get back in front thanks to outside shooting. Neumann, Reed and Castle each connected on three 3-pointers, Neumann finishing with 15 points as Reed got 14 points and Castle 12 points. Justin McClanahan contributed nine points.
None of this proved quite enough, though, for Falkenburg gave Chittenango 26 points, plus a career-high eight steals. What’s more, Hendrix dominated the glass, earning 18 rebounds to go with his 14 points as Matt Lamphear added 11 points and Sam Hill grabbed nine rebounds.
Skaneateles will take a 1-2 record into Thursday night’s game at Westhill, the 2014 and 2015 state Class B champions who have roared out to its own 3-0 start with wins over Jordan-Elbridge, Hannibal and Fayetteville-Manlius.
