Thanks to some late heroics from Brandon Roy, the Baldwinsville boys basketball team worked its way to a second-place finish at last week’s Vince Celi Memorial Tournament.
Roy’s last-second basket made the difference as the Bees fended off host East Syracuse-Minoa 68-66 in an exciting opening-round game on Dec. 29.
Following a close first quarter, B’ville used a big offensive surge in the second period to take a 36-29 lead, and the margin grew to 47-38 by the time the third quarter was done.
All that did, though, was set the stage for ESM’s comeback. The Spartans, led by Quadear Mike (16 points), Sharif Nero (15 points) and Tyler Dattmore (12 points), steadily closed the gap and were down three, 66-63, as regulation time wound down.
With 10 seconds left, Greg Raab, with just five points on the day, got open beyond the arc — an converted a 3-pointer, tying the game 66-66 and sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
B’ville did not panic, though. It calmly worked the ball inside to Roy, and the senior’s basket with 1.5 seconds to play ended up being the game-winner.
Roy had 14 points, just ahead of Tyler Monnat, who produced 13 points. Dan Deland stepped up for 10 points as Mike Guinta and Nick Robinson got eight points apiece. Chris Whelan contributed seven points.
Worn out by that game, B’ville somehow had to recover in time for a final against Auburn less than 24 hours later, after the Maroons beat Indian River 64-56 in the other first-round game.
And the game proved close for a while before the Maroons, with a bit more speed and experience, got past the Bees 68-53.
They were tied, 10-10, until Auburn closed the first quarter on a 10-2 run. B’ville pulled back within three, 24-21, in the second period and only trailed by six, 33-27, when they went to halftime.
Early in the fourth quarter, B’ville was still down six, 47-41, but the Maroons promptly went on a 12-4 run to seal victory. Five Maroons finished in double figures, including Kenny Byrd (15 points), tournament MVP Malcolm Bryant (14 points), Julaun Richardson (11 points), LeRon Agee and Sam Wilson (10 points each).
Meanwhile, Whelan led B’ville with 13 points as he and Roy (11 points) both earned spots on the All-Tournament team. Monnat had nine points and Guinta produced six points.
With a 3-6 record, B’ville got a chance to rest for more than a week before returning to action this Thursday at Central Square.
