As it always does in the days after Christmas, the Chittenango boys basketball team hosts its own tournament, benefiting the More Than A Game Foundation. The Bears made it to the championship round Tuesday night – where, against defending Section III Class C champion Tully, it saw one bad stretch make the difference in a 51-46 loss to the Black Knights. Hot at the start, Chittenango solved Tully’s stingy defense and took a 19-10 lead. That margin held until early in the second half, when the Black Knights went on a 20-7 tear that put them ahead for good. Try as it could, the Bears could not quite catch up, though Brendan Galek had 14 points, Mike Scott 10 points and Mike Moon nine points. Dan Morse, with 14 points, and Marcus Warner, with 11 points, led Tully’s effort. Reaching the final was easy enough, as Chittenango faced Canastota and pulled away in the second half of a 68-39 victory over the Raiders. Playing 16-minute halves in this tournament (instead of the usual four eight-minute quarters), the Bears watched as Canastota hit plenty of shots in the first half, keeping pace with Chittenango. Thus, the hosts only led 34-28 at the break – a situation it took care of by clamping down on the defensive side in the second half, forcing Canastota to go cold. Brendan Galek finished with 18 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Mike Scott had 12 points as Mike Moon got all nine of his points from a trio of successful 3-point attempts. On Canastota’s side, Jeff Merrell had 12 points and Ron Vaccaro contributed 10 points. Before Chittenango met Tully in the final, Canastota faced Camden (who lost 60-39 to the Black Knights) in a consolation game that came down to the final shot as the Blue Devils scraped past the Raiders 38-37. Canastota had a 37-32 lead with 1:35 left after Merrell’s 3-pointer, but Camden pulled within one as John Gums hit on back-to-back baskets and, more importantly, Brad Olden and James Mason missed front ends of one-and-one free-throw opportunities. Camden, down one, 37-36, had a chance to win it in as time ran out. With just one second left, Cody Bourgeois, off a missed shot, saw his rebound attempt ram off the backboard through the net as the buzzer sounded. Incredibly, it was the only time all night that the Blue Devils led.