To win on a consistent basis, any team, especially at the high-school level, needs to adapt to circumstances and pull through even when some things aren’t working.

The Cazenovia boys basketball team is slowly becoming one of those teams, again showing its quality last Wednesday night when it went to Hannibal and beat the Warriors, 57-54, in the OHSL Liberty division opener for both sides.

Roaring out of the gate, the Lakers seized an 18-5 lead by the end of the first quarter, only to see Hannibal stabilize itself, then slowly eat into that big margin throughout the second half.

As the pace quickened in the fourth quarter, Cazenovia stayed cool and kept up, hanging on mainly by sinking all 11 free throws it attempted in that final frame, a remarkable display of accuracy under pressure.

Each of the Lakers’ top six scorers converted at least two free throws, with Peter Lokai and Tom Eschen each making four on their way to eight and six points, respectively.

Aaron Burbidge paced Cazenovia with 14 points, while Cody Ash got 10 points and Trent Widrick threw in seven points. Jeff LaMont (19 points) and Chris Swain (15 points) led Hannibal’s comeback effort.

Cazenovia, off to a 3-0 start, now got a full week of practice to hone things again before returning to action this Friday, at Jordan-Elbridge.