Now it was the turn of fans in Mexico and Cortland to be treated to the fast-paced, exciting show that is the Jamesville-DeWitt boys basketball team.
Of course, the opposition treats every game with the Red Rams as their proverbial Super Bowl, and J-D knows it.
Thus, it wasn’t a huge surprise to see Mexico hang around for a while with J-D in last Tuesday’s game before the overwhelming force of the Rams produced an 82-57 victory over the Tigers.
Throughout the first half, J-D found itself still gearing up, perhaps an aftershock of the team’s all-out effort against Rush-Henrietta during the Peppino’s Classic at Henninger three nights earlier.
As a result, when they went to the break, the Rams only led Mexico 37-28. But that didn’t last long, as J-D found its signature groove in a 31-point third quarter that ended any Tiger dream of an upset.
Brandon Triche, coming off his 38-point showcase against Rush-Henrietta, had 23 points this time around, while Alshwan Hymes earned 16 points. DaJuan Coleman and Steven Thompson earned eight points apiece, while Zach Firestone and Zach Chinouma each had seven points. For Mexico, Shaughn Perkins led the way with 18 points.
J-D saw its Friday-night trip to Cortland postponed until the next afternoon by a winter snowstorm. All that delayed, though, was a chance for the Red Rams to put on quite a show early in its 92-57 romp of the Purple Tigers.
Determined not to let Cortland get any notion of staying close (as Mexico did), the Red Rams flattened them with a 30-9 first-quarter display, which included a series of dunks that served as a not-so-subtle reminder of its capabilities.
By the time the third quarter was over, it was 77-43, and J-D could rest its starters. Triche and Coleman each finished with 17 points (a season high on Coleman’s part), while Steven Thomson picked up 11 points. Chinouma and Lamar Kearse earned nine points apiece as Firestone (eight points), Demetrius Mitchell (seven points) and Hymes (six points) all helped out. Trevor Williamson led Cortland with 18 points.
On Tuesday night, J-D will be favored to end Utica Proctor’s long home win streak, the precursor to a three-day appearance at the Stop DWI Tournament in Binghamton that commences on Sunday afternoon.
