A state championship garners anyone respect, regardless of what happens in the season that follows.
It’s no different for Westhill boys basketball, placed at no. 2 in the first state Class B rankings of the winter, trailing only LaSalle Academy, from the Catholic High School Association.
At home last Monday night, Westhill moved to 5-0 and rolled past Hannibal 84-33. Westhill dominated this Warrior clash from the outset, gaining a 69-17 edge by the end of the third quarter.
All 12 players that saw action for Westhill got at least one field goal by game’s end. Sean Dadey had 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals, with Zechariah Brown getting 13 points and Dan Washburn adding 10 points.
Holden Carroll, Ryan Gilmartin and Chris Holt each had eight points, just ahead of John Geer (seven points) and Liam Sanborn (six points), while Corey Frassica earned a team-best five assists.
On Friday night, Westhill took on its neighbors from Solvay and made its six wins in a row, cruising past the Bearcats 72-42 as it roared out to a 26-12 lead through one period and steadily added to that margin until reserves took over in the fourth quarter.
Dadey poured in 24 points, with Brown getting 15 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and Geer adding 10 points. Carroll had seven points as Gilmartin and Sanborn had six points apiece. For Solvay, Robby Clark led with 13 points as Jaimen Bliss had nine points and Justin Scott got seven points.
Westhill’s neighbors from Bishop Ludden would play three times in four days, and in the middle came a thriller against Utica-Notre Dame that went to overtime before the Gaelic Knights, paced by Jai Smith’s triple-double, outlasted the Jugglers 98-91.
It nearly proved a disaster, Ludden seeing a double-digit lead melt away as UND outscored them 31-18 in a wild fourth quarter, with Dante Griffin (30 points) and Treijen Garrett (28 points, including five 3-pointers) leading the Jugglers’ comeback.
Somehow, the Gaelic Knights regrouped and took control in OT behind Smith, the big freshman who did it all, from 23 points to career-best totals of 18 rebounds and 11 blocks.
UND couldn’t concentrate on Smith because Nic Button was hitting five 3-pointers on his way to a career-best 29 points. Also, Joe Connor poured in 22 points as Sh’ikem Lee (14 points) and Ed Walser (10 points) also hit double figures.
A night earlier, Ludden paid a visit to Hannibal, where it rebounded from a Dec. 8 defeat to Albany Academy in a big way, routing the Warriors 84-27.
A 27-6 first quarter set the tone and, eventually, all 12 Gaelic Knights that saw action gained at least one field goal, with Smith getting 18 points. Connor gained 16 points, with Walser earning 10 points. Tyler Webster (nine points) nearly joined them in double figure as Mykell Kaigler had eight points.
Marcellus met up with rival Skaneateles last Friday, and its offense went dry in a 58-40 defeat to the Lakers.
Much of the game was close, with the Mustangs held to five points in the second quarter. Yet the outcome was still in doubt as Marcellus only trailed by five, 32-27, going to the fourth quarter, when things got away.
Just four Mustang players registered baskets as Connor Rogalia had 16 points and Ben Fedorenko had 12 points, followed by Connor Wixson (seven points) and Luke Ingianni (five points). Skaneateles got 18 points from Jeremy Castle and 15 points from Tommy Reed.
Solvay, who had a game with Skaneateles snowed out mid-week, earned its first win of the season last Monday as the Bearcats topped Mexico 51-40.
A small halftime lead disappeared on Solvay when the Tigers tied it, 36-36, but the Bearcats controlled the fourth quarter, holding Mexico to just four points and doing enough on the other end.
Mostly, it was Scott pacing Solvay, as his 20 points included a pair of 3-pointers, but some help came from Bliss, McKyle Sands, Darrius Williams and Connor Lee, who each had six points.
In its only action last week, Jordan-Elbridge lost Friday to Institute of Technology Central 61-53, with the Eagles falling to 1-3 ahead of a meeting Monday with Solvay and a Thursday clash with Marcellus.
