Going into February, each of the Fayetteville-Manlius basketball teams are showing good form – even if they’re not at full strength.
The boys Hornets, playing without Brian Zapisek, still won at home Friday night, defeating West Genesee 59-48 to improve its record to 11-3.
At the same time, the girls Hornets went to Camillus and continued its outstanding season, moving to 12-1 with a 59-49 victory over the Wildcats.
F-M’s boys were well-rested, having not played in a week since it beat Central Square Jan. 22. But it also didn’t have Zapisek, who had a sprained ankle.
Rather than risk a further injury to Zapisek, whose 19.4 points per game leads the CNY Counties League, head coach Tom Blackford sat him out for West Genesee, counting on the fact that the rest of the Hornets could step up.
They did so, especially on the defensive side. Reverting to a style of play that had worked in years past, F-M applied constant pressure, and never let WG score more than 10 points in any single period.
Meanwhile, the Hornets’ offense hardly tailed off, as it bolted out to a 48-28 lead by the end of the third quarter and breezed home.
Jack Giles, with 12 points, led a well-balanced attack where Mike Lee achieved a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Mike O’Neil and Lewis Kelley each had nine points as 10 different F-M players had at least one field goal. Eric Spencer led West Genesee with 12 points.
Over in Camillus, the F-M girls team had all kinds of early trouble with a West Genesee team only carrying a 6-9 record into the night.
With red-hot shooting in the first quarter, the Wildcats claimed a 20-15 lead and, despite cooling off in the second period, still led 29-27 going into the break.
The third quarter turned everything around. With the duo of Emily Trapani and Ali Pliszka turning in a long series of baskets, the Hornets outscored WG 23-10 in that frame and took the lead for good.
All told, Trapani had 21 points, exceeding her season average, while Pliszka’s 15 points included a trio of 3-pointers. Charlotte Beers had 10 points as Alexis Rios produced six points. WG saw Deanna Apps earn 12 points and Katie Kolinski add nine points.
F-M’s girls will play three times next week, hosting Utica Proctor and playing in Central Square’s Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament on the weekend. The boys Hornets have a tough Tuesday trip to Proctor before meeting Baldwinsville on Friday.
