Without much extra effort, the Bishop Grimes boys basketball team stormed through the Chittenango Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in the waning days of 2008.
The Cobras’ journey began with last Monday’s opening-round game against Canastota, which turned into a rout in the second half as it beat the Raiders 61-30.
A steady, solid first half pushed Grimes ahead 33-23, but it was far from satisfied. Turning up the defensive pressure, the Cobras nearly shut out Canastota the rest of the way, holding it to just seven points in that time frame.
Each of the 11 Grimes players that saw court time got at least one field goal. Mike Stone led with 13 points, while Mike Sugamosto got 10 points. Steve Dillmore, Luke Tucci and Tavon Moore each had six points.
In Tuesday night’s final, Grimes met Waterloo, who knocked off host Chittenango 43-40 in the other part of the opening round.
The title game did not prove to be too close, as the Cobras rode a huge performance from its sophomore star to beat Waterloo 73-44.
Stone tore through Waterloo’s defense whenever he felt like it, pushing Grimes to a 42-20 halftime lead, and any time the Cobras got thereatened, Stone would answer with another big basket.
By game’s end, Stone had 32 points, including four 3-pointers, as he took home the tournament’s MVP trophy. Sugamosto earned eight points, with Antron Irby (seven points) and Dillmore (six points) close behind.
Grimes, having improved to 4-3 on the season, is scheduled to host both Manlius-Pebble Hill and Cazenovia early next week before a tough Friday trip to Skaneateles.
