Perhaps there’s no such thing as an ideal time for the Chittenango boys basketball team to have to confront Jamesville-DeWitt.
It certainly wasn’t the ideal time last Friday night, when the Red Rams, carrying all sorts of motivation, beat the Bears 107-55.
First of all, the Rams were going for its 37th win in a row, which dates back to its 2008 state and Federation Class A championship run.
Also, J-D wanted to give its head coach, Bob McKenney, his 400th career win, of which 255 have come (against just 50 losses) with the Red Rams.
Most of all, it was Senior Night for J-D, with Syracuse University-bound Brandon Triche as the featured attraction, determined to go out in a big way.
All this translated into the Bears surrendering 38 points in the first quarter, watching as the margin grew to 85-36 by the close of the third period. Even with limited minutes, Triche still finished with 30 points.
Meanwhile, Chittenango saw Mike Major lead his side with 10 points, just ahead of Chris Greene, who had nine points. Andy Moth (eight points) and Steve Mesmer (six points) also had solid showings, too.
In girls action back home, Chittenango met J-D and put up a good battle, but a poor third quarter proved costly in a 57-48 loss to the Red Rams.
Fresh off big road wins at Mexico and Cortland, J-D did not intimidate Chittenango all that much. Throughout the first half, the Bears kept the pace reasonable, and at the break it only trailed by one, 23-22, with a real chance for a surprise.
But the Rams took away that surprise by outscoring the hosts 21-9 in the third quarter. In particular, Alyssa Gratien put a torch to the Bears’ defense, converting six 3-pointers and setting a career high with 29 points.
Fighting to the end, Chittenango saw Maggie Kendrick earn 13 points, Kayleigh Clark pick up 12 points and Jessica Antelmi add 10 points. Amber Strickland (eight points) nearly reached double figures, too.
In the last week of the regular season, the Bears would host Fowler and Mexico before finishing Friday at East Syracuse-Minoa.
