Continuing to pick up speed on the eve of the Section III Class AA playoffs, the Cicero-North Syracuse boys basketball team earned its fourth win in five games last Tuesday night when it took care of defense once more in a 55-36 conquest of Baldwinsville. Through a quiet first half, CNS steadily worked its way to a 24-17 lead, but the real move came in the third period. Again, the Northstars shut down an opponent, holding B’ville to a scant six points as it nearly doubled its offensive output, working its lead to 41-23. John Howell, a week removed from his trip to the hospital caused by an injury in the double-overtime loss to Liverpool, led CNS with 13 points. Andy Falvey had 10 points, while Mike Freytag got eight points and Jason Williams added six points. For the Bees, Nick Robinson had 10 points. A big test of this late CNS surge will come Friday night, when the Northstars visit Utica Proctor, a team also enjoying its own hot streak in the second half of the season, beating Class AA contenders like Henninger, Corcoran and Liverpool.