Just before the Section III Class B playoffs, the Solvay boys basketball team had to defeat Phoenix last Tuesday night, and with a big lead going into the fourth quarter, things looked good.
Eight minutes later, it had all changed. With a stunning rally, the Firebirds beat the Bearcats 91-79.
It all started to get wild in the third quarter. Trailing 41-38 at halftime, Solvay caught fire and outscored Phoenix 33-17 in that frame to grab a 71-58 lead.
But at the worst possible time, the Bearcats’ defense fell apart, allowing the Firebirds to dominate the fourth quarter. In particular., Phoenix’s Jack Allen stepped up, running his total to 37 points as Alex Sisera (19 points) and James Lynch (15 points) helped out.
A great effort was put in by Solvay’s Justin Scott, who set a career mark with 29 points. Brock Bagozzi had 21 points, all from seven 3-pointers, while Jaimen Bliss earned 15 points.
One night earlier, Solvay played at East Syracuse Minoa, where it fell short in a 67-48 defeat to the Spartans.
The game was tied, 16-16, through one quarter, but ESM took over in the middle stages, outscoring the Bearcats 35-19 in the second and third quarters, too much to overcome.
Elijah Wright still had 12 points, with Robby Clark adding 10 points. Bagozzi and Scott had eight points apiece as Gabe Holloman paced the Spartans with 20 points, helped by Kevin Richardson (13 points) and Colton Cwikla (12 points).
The lead-up to the sectional playoffs for Bishop Ludden included one last regular-season stop at Bishop Grimes, which gave Donnelly one last chance to coach against his one-time teammate at Potsdam State, Bob McKenney.
It went to overtime as the Gaelic Knights edged the Cobras 70-63. Grimes led most of the first half, only to have Ludden hold them to 10 points in the third quarter to go in front.
Fighting back, the Cobras got it to overtime at 55-55 its efforts led by T.J. Bradford, who led all scorer with 26 points, nearly half his team’s output.
But Ludden took control in the four-minute extra period as Jai Smith gathered 20 rebounds to go with his 16 points and Joe Connor had 19 points, plus 12 rebounds. Nic Button added 14 points.
Marcellus closed its regular season at South Jefferson where, like what happened to Solvay against Phoenix, it saw a big fourth-quarter lead get away in a 68-58 overtime defeat to the Spartans.
A solid first half on both ends had the Mustangs in front, and it still led 43-34 going to the fourth quarter. But then South Jefferson took over, outscoring Marcellus 17-8 the rest of regulation as Andrew Estal, who had 25 points, led the rally.
Stunned by this, the Mustangs could not recover in the OT period, though Connor Wixson finished with 15 points as Sam Grattan got 13 points and Luke Ingianni 12 points. Grayson Hoag and Michael Jarvi had seven points apiece.
Playoff-bound Jordan-Elbridge honored its seniors before last Tuesday’s game against Blessed Virgin Mary and then defeated the Saints 55-28 to finish its regular season at 13-7.
Though it led 26-13 at halftime, it wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Eagles felt safe, closing with a 19-5 push. Jeremiah Sparks and Aidan Carpenter each had 12 points, while Dakota Holbrook had nine points and Brandon Wick had six points.
