In back-to-back home games, the Skaneateles boys basketball team aimed to make it three in a row against OHSL Liberty division foes — and did so.
The Lakers’ home opener against Solvay last Wednesday night was mostly a defensive affair. Battling through it, Skaneateles squeezed out a 43-41 win.
Solvay arrived with plenty of confidence, having just beaten Marcellus earlier in the week, and it methodically contained the Lakers through much of the night, too.
But staring at a 31-28 deficit going into the fourth quarter, the Lakers found a higher gear, spreading its attack around and producing just enough to come back and finish on top.
Tyler Pundt led the way, with 11 points. Close behind him, Gregg Cooper had nine points, while Eric Richards got seven points. Scott Castle and Jake Tracy gained six points apiece.
Together, this balance provided a stark contrast to Solvay’s effort, as Joe Barnello led both sides with 16 points, but no other Bearcat had more than seven.
Two nights later, the Lakers hosted Faith Heritage, and were in trouble for quite a while before a great fourth-quarter comeback produced a 65-61 victory over the Saints.
Ahead early, Skaneateles then fell into major trouble when Faith erupted for 26 second-quarter points and went ahead for quite a while.
Still down 54-45 with one quarter to play, the Lakers tightened its defense and made all the baskets down the stretch, outscoring the Saints 20-9 to turn it all around.
Richards and Cooper led that turnaround, each of them finishing with 18 points. Devlen Murphy contributed 10 points, including both of his team’s 3-pointers, while Scott Castle threw in seven points. Andy Loucy led the Saints with 17 points.
Skaneateles now would really get a measure of itself, as it will host Westhill on Wednesday and Cazenovia on Friday night, neither of which had lost a game entering this week.