All the familiar elements for the Westhill boys basketball team were firmly in place during Wednesday night’s 59-35 romp over Marcellus in the Section III Class B semifinals at Onondaga Community College – especially the defensive part.
Long known for shutting down an opponent when nothing else seems to work, the no. 3 Warriors methodically put the no. 10 seed Mustangs away, keeping Marcellus from an upset bigger than the road wins it pulled over Sherburne-Earlville and General Brown to get this far.
So, in defense of the sectional Class B title it won a year ago, the Warriors (16-5) will square off with no. 1 seed Skaneateles (19-1) Saturday at 4:30 at Utica Memorial Auditorium for the championship. The Lakers bashed Bishop Grimes 69-39 in the other semifinal on Tuesday, also played at OCC.
Even though it beat Marcellus twice in the regular season, Westhill did not assume that it would be as easy in the third encounter – which likely was part of the reason why it would never trail on this night.
The Warriors notched the game’s first six points. Despite Marcellus head coach Jim Marsh calling two different time-outs, the Mustangs remained cold throughout the first quarter, only managing five points.
As usual, Westhill applied man-to-man pressure, harassing the Mustangs wherever the ball went and causing all sorts of bad shots and turnovers. The only drawback was that the Warriors’ own attack was erratic in the first half, allowing Marcellus to hang closer than it liked.
Just when it was required, though, Westhill’s two top offensive threats delivered. After the Mustangs closed the gap to 22-16 late in the half, Nathan Nigolian hit on two free throws, then converted a traditional three-point play, giving him 11 points for the half and his side a 27-16 edge going to the break.
The game turned early in the third quarter. Marcellus had pulled within 27-20 and nearly made it four, only to see a 3-point attempt rattle in and out of the basket. Immediately after, Justin Biles and Kevin McAvoy hit on back-to-back 3-pointers, and the Warriors’ margin was back at double digits to stay.
McAvoy helped in that getaway. Of his 18 points, 11 came in the third quarter, as Ryan Conroy picked up seven of his 11 points in the final period and Nigolian finished with 15 points. Biles, despite foul trouble, still had seven points. Marcellus, whose season finished with a mark of 11-10, saw Steve Raven post 11 points and Kyle Hastings add nine points.
Westhill now looks to avenge two regular-season losses to Skaneateles, who has won 17 in a row. The Lakers’ strong core of four seniors – Kevin Rice, Pat Roberts, Paul O’Donnell and Mike Richards – is eerily similar to the senior-heavy Warrior squad that made it all the way to a state championship in 2010, so it’s fitting that Skaneateles will have to knock off the current Westhill edition if it wants a sectional title.
