At least until next season, it can be safely said that the Morrisville-Eaton boys basketball team has gained control over its neighbors from Hamilton.
The Warriors completed a regular-season sweep of the Emerald Knights Thursday night by going to Hamilton and riding the hot work of freshman Will Thomas to a 57-49.
Having already won the first meeting at home on Dec. 10, M-E now sought success in the rematch at a place its head coach, Chad Snow, knew well — because he attended Hamilton, only adding to the spice of the rivalry.
Such a rivalry can make records meaningless — and sure enough, Hamilton, despite its 1-12 mark, made the Warriors work hard.
All through the first half, the Emerald Knights used a zone defense to try and take out M-E senior forward Ben Thomas, and he only had one field goal. But that left Ben free to pass to his younger brother, Will, for open jump shots, a trend that would continue all night.
Trailing by five late in the half, Hamilton used a pair of 3-pointers to forge a 28-28 tie at the break. They would trade runs in the third quarter, too, as the Warriors went ahead with an 8-0 spurt, only to have the Emerald Knights rally and inch into a 42-40 lead early in the fourth quarter on Keith Upton’s lay-up.
Even when M-E reclaimed the lead, it remained undecided until the Warriors notched the game’s final six points at the free-throw line.
Overall, Will Thomas had 28 points, while Ben Thomas got 11 of his 18 points at the foul line, then added eight assists, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Jamison Maciag had nine points, all from a trio of 3-pointers.
Coley Graham led Hamilton, setting a new career mark with 20 points that included four 3-pointers. Upton added 15 points, while Mikey Jones (seven points) and Dan Meeks (six points) each hit on a pair of 3-pointers.
Both teams were coming off losses on Tuesday night. M-E had run smack into Westmoreland and saw its win streak halted in a 78-52 defeat, while Hamilton struggled again in a 53-41 loss to Oriskany.
In M-E’s case, it did a brave job keeping up with the Bulldogs in the first three periods, as Ben Thomas worked his way to 23 points, while Will Thomas got 11 points and Jamie Maciag gained 10 points.
However, Westmoreland used a closing 30-12 run to establish a lopsided margin. Jason Colburn led both sides with 25 points, adding nine rebounds and seven assists, with Dan DeCarlo (18 points) also controlling the paint. Will Cotter hit three of the Bulldogs’ seven 3-pointers and had 11 points overall.
Hamilton’s defeat to Oriskany carried its own sense of disappointment, especially the way the Emerald Knights played in the first half.
Nearly doubling Oriskany’s output in the second period, Hamilton took a 29-16 advantage to the half, only to give it all up as Oriskany used a 17-4 run to tie it, 33-33.
Oriskany’s momentum continued in the final period as, all told, it won the second half 37-12. Hamilton’s Keith Upton got most of his 14 points in the early going, as Mike Jones earned eight points and Coley Graham earned seven points.
