Not even two weeks after tasting defeat to East Syracuse-Minoa, the Chittenango boys basketball team had a better time in the rematch.
The Bears found that elusive consistency on its home court Friday night – and it led to a 58-51 victory over the Spartans as Chittenango improved to 5-7 on the season and also improved its post-season hopes.
They had first played Jan. 15, at ESM, with the Bears losing 72-61, mainly because Joe Greco torched them for a career-best 30 points.
Remarkably, Greco did not have a single point on this night. Despite this, the Spartans led 42-39 going to the fourth quarter before Chittenango roared in front and used excellent halfcourt defense to protect that lead.
Devin Christopher led with 16 points, with Mike Scott getting eight of his 14 points at the free-throw line and Brendan Galek adding 13 points. ESM’s Josh Stuper matched Christopher with 16 points to lead his side.
Over at ESM, the Chittenango girls team saw a late lead get away in a narrow 44-42 defeat to ESM. The back-and-forth affair saw the Bears up 34-32 with one period left, but getting just eight points the rest of the way as the Spartans moved ahead.
Sierra Shafer, in defeat, led with 11 points as Haley Landers threw in 10 points. Kaitlin Antelmi gained seven points and Brandy McDermott added six points. Chittenango fell to 3-10 on the season.
Both Chittenango teams take on Mexico late this week, with the boys also getting Fulton on Monday as its playoff push continues.
