Never mind the 4-16 record, or all the pain that went with it. The Jordan-Elbridge boys basketball team is a post-season winner.

Giving itself all the satisfaction it could possibly want, the no. 9 seed Eagles went to Solvay last Saturday and shocked the Bearcats, 58-54, in the opening round of the Section III Class B-1 playoffs.

It helped J-E, for sure, that it had played Solvay twice in the regular season, neutralizing some of the nerves a post-season game provides.

What’s more, the Eagles didn’t panic when, in the first half, Solvay raced to a solid lead. It adjusted on defense, started to same some baskets of its own, and went to halftime staring at a modest 29-24 deficit.

Soon enough, J-E would be in front. Getting hot at just the right time, the Eagles sent the Bearcats reeling with a 20-8 domination of the third quarter to pull in front.

Down the stretch, Solvay would make its own big run, but J-E held on for its biggest victory in years.

Jason Coleman, a steady force all season, paced the Eagles with 21 points. The real surprise, though, was seeing Neil Recckio step up to score 14 points, a season high, as Tyler Williams contributed 12 points.

Solvay’s Joe Barnello led both sides with 22 points. Andrew Lucio had 10 points, with Cameron Stanek adding seven points and Nick Carl earning six points.

This earned J-E the chance to pull off another shocker, if it could knock off 20-0 top seed Sherburne-Earlville in the B-1 semifinals.

Alas, the Marauders got rid of those notions, beating the Eagles 69-41. In defeat, Nick Chartrand and Colby Barriger each had 11 points, while Recckio had nine points.