Both of the Liverpool basketball teams engaged in holiday tournament action – and both would go 1-1, giving itself a small amount of momentum for 2011.
The girls Warriors went south, to the Binghamton area, for the Pete Hyde Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Johnson City, and won Monday in the opening round over Maine-Endwell 52-40.
With the game played in two halves (instead of the usual four eight-minute quarters), Liverpool steadily worked its way to a 25-19 halftime lead. Though M-E never really went away, the Warriors maintained a comfortable working margin in the second half.
Ally Zywicki hit all three of her team’s 3-pointers and had 16 points overall. Nicole Ciricillo chimed in with 12 points, while Lyteshia Price gained nine points. Katie Dalton and Sydney Chalifoux earned six points apiece.
In its division final on Tuesday, the Warriors faced Binghamton, and put up plenty of points – just not enough, though, as it lost to the Patriots 68-60.
A strong first half left Liverpool out in front, 31-28, but Binghamton stormed back with a red-hot offense that proved too much to handle. Ciricillo finished with 16 points, with Zywicki adding 13 points and Lyteshia Price earning 10 points.
Nina Tassone had eight points as she, along with Zywicki and Ciricillo, each hit on a pair of 3-pointers.
Liverpool’s boys team, meanwhile, still was in search of a win as it began play Monday in Bishop Ludden’s Rosemary Corcoran Holiday Classic.
West Genesee didn’t help in the cause, beating the Warriors 69-47 in the opening round. Though its production never wavered, Liverpool could not keep up with the Wildcats, who amassed a 56-38 lead by the end of the third quarter.
John Foley led with 10 points, with John LaRue (nine points), Tyler Bliss (eight points) and Mike Russo (six points) close behind. WG’s Eric Spencer led both sides with 20 points.
As the Wildcats went on to beat Ludden in the championship game, Liverpool turned to its 3-point shooters and, finally, earned a win over Onondaga 55-45 to salvage a third-place finish.
Down 22-10 at one point in the first half, the Warriors came all the way back to take a 26-25 halftime lead. It stayed close until the fourth quarter, when Ben Peet hit a trio of 3-pointers and Adam Misener connected twice beyond the arc to put Liverpool ahead for good.
Showing nice balance, Peet, Misener and Hamm each finished with 14 points, though it was Connor Rogers that claimed a spot on the All-Tournament team. Liverpool’s teams start 2011 action next week with games against Oswego and Fayetteville-Manlius.
