Just when the Cicero-North Syracuse boys basketball team finally got some good news, it had to rest a bit.
Five days passed from the Northstars’ 62-54 conquest of West Genesee in the consolation game of the Juggler Classic at SUNY-Utica Tech until its return to the court Friday to face Oswego.
And maybe that small amount of rust led to a frustrating finish, as some late heroics pushed the Buccaneers past the Northstars 52-49.
Having lost to Nazareth in the opening round in Utica, few gave the 2-10 Northstars a great chance to beat West Genesee, who carried a 5-6 mark.
But in a first-half burst on inspiration, CNS jumped out to a 36-22 halftime lead, its outside shots falling as the Northstars would finish with eight 3-pointers before the game was done.
Despite a second-half Wildcat comeback, the Northstars held on behind Deyon Smith Jr. earning a career-best 17 points and John Howell adding 14 points.
Eric Munoz and Andy Falvey got seven points apiece, as Brett Smith finished with six points. Jack Conboy, in defeat, led WG by getting 17 points of his own.
This sent CNS toward its came with Oswego carrying some momentum, but it would not last.
Throughout the first three periods, CNS found itself cold from the field, allowing Oswego to take a quick lead and pull away a bit. By the time they got to the fourth quarter, the Northstars stared at a 41-32 deficit.
Slowly, CNS ate away at that deficit in the fourth quarter, and by the last minute had tied it, 49-49. One more defensive stop could mean overtime.
The Bucs didn’t want that, though, and with 2.4 seconds left, Eric Schrader got open and hit a 3-pointer to break the tie, and it turned out to be the winning basket.
Schrader finished with 14 points, as he and Joe Bucher (19 points) accounted for much of Oswego’s production.
Meanwhile, Brett Smith had nine points to lead a balanced CNS attack where Eillott Boyce had eight points, Deyon Smith and Falvey each had seven points and John Howell added six points.
CNS would get two more chances at home to turn things around, greeting Fayetteville-Manlius on Wednesday and Nottingham on Saturday night.
