No, it did not have the same stakes. And it did not include a wild, buzzer-beating bank shot replayed for a lifetime by players, coaches and fans alike.
But the boys basketball reunion of Cicero-North Syracuse and Utica Proctor, the two combatants in last March’s memorable Section III Class AA championship, in Friday night’s Peppino’s Invitational at Henninger High had plenty of excitement in its own right.
And it also had the same happy result for the Northstars, as it pulled out a 69-65 victory over the Raiders in a game unsettled until Josh Williams sank a pair of clinching free throws with 15 seconds left.
Prior to that, it was senior Zach Coleman providing the main spark for CNS. Nine months ago at Utica Memorial Auditorium, he was on the court, a direct eyewitness when Anthony DelCoro’s desperation 3-pointer crashed off the backboard through the net as time ran out, giving the Northstars a 61-60 win and its first-ever sectional title.
Now Coleman made sure that Proctor did not get revenge – a tall task when, early in the second quarter, the Raiders, sparked by T’Andre Richardson’s 14 first-half points, led 27-19 and was threatening to get away.
With just one field goal to his credit at that point, Coleman took over. In a span of barely a minute, Coleman sank a jump shot, drained a 3-pointer, then added back-to-back lay-ups, all of which pushed the Northstars into a 34-30 lead. That outburst accounted for nearly half the 24 points Coleman would get on the night.
“Our team did a great job distributing,”‘ said Coleman. “They were moving the ball around, and (as a result) my shots started falling.”
Just as important was the contributions Vaughndell Brantley made off the bench. Every time Proctor tried to inch closer, Brantley seemed to provide a key basket. That included back-to-back lay-ups late in the third quarter that expanded the Northstars’ lead to 54-47.
And it was 61-53 in CNS’s favor with less than five minute left when the cumulative full-court pressure put on by the Raiders started to wear CNS down. Gradually, the margin got smaller until, with 2:46 left, Richardson, who matched Coleman with 24 points, hit on a lay-up to tie it, 63-63, capping a 10-2 run.
Staying cool, the Northstars regained the lead when Coleman hit a pair of foul shots with 1:34 left. Then CNS forced a turnover and fast break, capped off by Williams (who had not scored all night) making a key lay-up with 1:13 to play that made it 67-63.
Richardson’s basket cut the margin to two with 52 seconds left, and Proctor got the ball back on a turnover with a chance to tie or go in front – but Riley Moonan made a big steal near the basket, then called time-out in order to maintain possession.
CNS worked the ball until Williams got fouled – and his conversions helped CNS improve to 2-0 on the season, knowing that yet another showdown with the Raiders looms on Feb. 1 in Utica.
Brantley finished with 15 points, while Elliott Boyce earned 11 points. Moonan (seven points) and Dave Jackowski (six points) also had solid showings as, on Proctor’s side, Kerion Barton and Jayson Jackson (11 points each) backed up Richardson. CNS held Raiders star Walkery Mills to just a single field goal and two points.
The Northstars can now look ahead to a visit Tuesday night to Buddy Wleklinski Court to face Christian Brothers Academy, the team it beat 53-47 in last season’s sectional semifinals – and, of course, the alma mater of CNS head coach John Haas, who is enshrined in the Brothers’ Athletic Hall of Fame.
