By winning the fourth quarter, the Baldwinsville boys basketball team also would win the game Tuesday night at Oswego, taking a 60-56 decision over the Buccaneers.
The Bees improved to 4-12 on the season in a game where it started quite well, then gave away that advantage before regrouping later on.
B’ville constantly tore through Oswego’s defense in a 21-11 first-quarter run, and maintained that margin the rest of the half, going to the break ahead 36-26. The Bucs would rally, though, taking advantage of the Bees’ scoring struggles to pull even, 44-44, with one period left.
Just when it was required, though, the Bees finished strong, inching out in front and staying there, mostly thanks to the duo of Chris Whelan and Kevin Roy.
Whelan finished with 22 points, most of them with inside baskets, while Roy used his drives to the goal to produce 16 points. Casey Murphy added six points. Oswego’s Mac Porter led his side with 19 points.
As for the Baldwinsville girls team, just one win short of playoff qualification, it tried to attain that win at home against Oswego and were within close range when fate again turned against them in a 43-40 loss to the Buccaneers.
B’ville had a near-perfect start, delivering a 15-6 lead, but it could not sustain that margin as Oswego erased most of the deficit by halftime.
The Bees were still up, 30-27, as the final period began, but Oswego caught up. B’ville still had a chance to win, though, before the Bucs’ Michelle Canale got a key steal in the final seconds, leading to a lay-up on the other end.
Megan Collins and Julia Engels led the Bees with nine points apiece. Claire Monnat had eight points, while Lauren McVey picked up six points. Maggie Monnat had just five points. For Oswego, Lindsay Johnson had 14 points and Katie Abramski earned 10 points.