Though forced to take a different approach in the absence of Jesse Gates, the Liverpool boys basketball team handled it well at the outset, earning victories over Baldwnisville and Auburn.
And the Warriors nearly pulled if off again Friday night at Corcoran, only to give up the last eight points of the night as it lost to the Cougars 87-79.
It amounted to a possible Class AA playoff preview. Liverpool came in with a 10-4 mark, while Corcoran was 11-2 and still carried realistic hopes of getting the top seed for the tournament in three weeks’ time.
Together, the two sides produced an exciting, fast-paced contest – with one scary interlude.
That took place in the last minute of the third quarter. Down by two, 59-57, Liverpool forced a turnover and Adam Misener moved to the basket, with Corcoran guard Dewan Bohannon right behind.
Misener went in for a lay-up. Bohannon blocked the ball on the way down and was called for goaltending, tying the game 59-59. But as he came down to the ground at an awkward angle, Bohannon braced his right leg on the padded side wall – and his left hip gave out from under him.
Writhing in pain, Bohannon was treated for 30 minutes and eventually taken out in a stretcher. Fired up to win for their fallen teammate, Corcoran grabbed a 68-61 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Liverpool clawed back, even taking a 77-76 lead on Richard Green’s basket with 2:03 left. The Cougars’ Riley Stroman hit a 3-pointer, but Green answered with another basket with 1:30 left, tying it 79-79.
But that would be the Warriors’ last two points. Marsean Brown used two free throw with 1:21 left to break the tie, and he scored again off a steal with 1:02 to play. Four more points in the final minute sealed Corcoran’s win.
All game long – before and after Bohannon’s injury – the Warriors and Cougars set a torrid pace, leaving each side’s defense ineffective.
Misener’s 10 first-quarter points pushed Liverpool ahead 19-17,and Connor Rogers took over in the second period, getting 13 of this 17 points in that frame. All through the half, though, the Warriors had trouble keeping Corcoran from dominating on the boards and scoring baskets off second and third shots.
In the third quarter, the Cougars led by as much as nine, 52-43, but again Liverpool rallied, setting up all the events of the homestretch.
Green finished with 21 points, just ahead of Misener, who had 17 points. Rogers had 17 points and Ian Hamm added 13 points. Brown led both sides with 26 points, while Stroman got 17 points and forward Algeron Torrence earned 16 points.
At the same time, Liverpool’s girls team could not keep Corcoran, unbeaten and ho. 3 in the state AA rankings, from improving to 14-0 as it beat the Cougars 58-43.
The first half proved decisive. In the face of Corcoran’s intense defensive pressure, Liverpool could only manage a handful of baskets, falling behind 33-16.
Faring better in the second half, the Warriors outscored the Cougars, yet could not get any single player hot. Its leading scorer, Ally Zywicki, had just nine points, with Nicole Ciricillo and Lyteshia Price each adding six points.
Meanwhile, the Cougars saw Zephrah Pam step up for 19 points and Carrie Blunt earn 16 points.
Both Liverpool teams play Rome Free Academy on Tuesday, and the girls Warriors move on to play in Central Square’s Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament on Feb. 5 and 6.
