For much of its history, the Baldwinsville boys basketball team has not come close to the sort of exalted status it is experiencing this season.
Now the heights, and the stakes, are far bigger as on Saturday night at SRC Arena, the Bees will seek the Section III Class AA championship when it takes on the Corcoran Cougars.
All of it started with last Tuesday’s wild turn of events in the sectional quarterfinal round. B’ville, the no. 4 seed, handled Auburn 78-44, then watched as top seed and defending state champion West Genesee was stunned by no. 9 seed Rome Free Academy.
So instead of a showdown with the Wildcats, it was the Bees against the Black Knights in Sunday’s AA semifinal at SRC Arena, the Bees eager to avenge a 63-61, last-second defeat to RFA on Jan. 20.
And it did so, prevailing 74-55 in a game that featured plenty of sophomore sensation J.J. Starling, but also a fine effort from the guys around him.
Just like every other opponent this season, the Black Knights were bent on quieting Starling, which it did in the first quarter after he hit an opening-minute 3-pointer. But senior forward Bo Nicholson made up for it by pouring in 10 points to stake the Bees to an 18-13 lead.
That margin grew to 28-19 midway through the second quarter despite just two field goals from Starling. Gradually, RFA cut the margin to two, but baskets by Starling and Braden McCard extended the Bees’ advantage to 32-26 going to the break.
With neither team able to put together a run, Starling went to work midway through the third quarter, starting with a powerful dunk from the baseline and a 3-pointer from the top of the circle.
Even more damaging was the 11-0 run that bridged the third and fourth periods, started by a Starling 3-pointer and culminating with Ben Bifulco converting from long range that made it 58-40, far too much for RFA to overcome.
Nicholson finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds to complement Starling’s 31 points and 10 rebounds as Chase Trombley had seven points and Dan Fabrizio got six points.
B’ville shot 54 percent (27-for-50) from the field, including 11-for-22 from 3-point range as it also out-rebounded the Black Knights 33-25. Damien Call led the Black Knights with 22 points as he became that school’s all-time leading scorer.
Now it’s the Bees against Corcoran, who is seeking its first sectional title since 2000. Those two teams split their regular-season meetings, with the Cougars’ De’Jour Reaves having netted 30 points of his own in his team’s semifinal win over Bishop Ludden.
