Thanks to Eric Ball and Frank Majka, the Bishop Grimes boys basketball team is enjoying its best run of the 2007-08 season.
Following up on its win at Marcellus on Jan. 16, the Cobras came home last Friday night and rode big performances by Ball and Majka to topple 11-3 Westhill in a 62-54 decision, which was the team’s fourth win in a row.
The Warriors won the first meeting on Dec. 11, but Grimes had improved a lot and had found cohesion in the five weeks since, which it would show here.
Before Westhill could even get settled, the Cobras put intense pressure on them in the first quarter and held them to just four points. Grimes continued to assert control until it went to the break nursing a 27-14 lead.
Led by Mike Stirpe, who finished with 17 points, the Warriors made its charge during the third quarter and closed within four, 40-36. But with Ball and Majka controlling the paint, Grimes pulled clear down the stretch.
Accounting for exactly half of the Cobras’ offense, Ball finished with 31 points, a season high. He had 10 field goals, including both of his team’s 3-pointers, and added nine successful free throws.
Majka wasn’t quiet, either, earning 15 points, as Mike Stone added six points. Aside from Stirpe, Dan Ross and Matt Noonan were the main Westhill threats, with 10 points apiece.
Newly dangerous, the Cobras (9-7) host Solvay Wednesday night.
