Two narrow defeats to Fayetteville-Manlius and Oswego left the Cicero-North Syracuse boys basketball team eager to get back in the win column – and it did so twice, with yet another close loss in between.
The Northstars did prove successful against Central Square last Tuesday night, throttling past the Red Hawks 82-48 for, arguably, its most impressive win of the season.
Already with a 19-12 advantage, C-NS really put things away as, over the next two periods, it outscored Central Square 43-16, which gave the entire roster an opportunity to play.
In fact, by game’s end, all 11 players that saw action had at least one field goal. Shakir Thomas finished with 15 points, while Mike Tricarico and Xavier Brown gained 13 points apiece. Sam Nassar and Mike Lumia put up eight points apiece as Logan Roberts (seven points) and Andrew Johnson (six points) contributed, too.
It figured to be tougher Thursday night, when C-NS visited a Nottingham side fresh off a win at Oswego. And sure enough, the Bulldogs, taking full advantage of a late Northstars slump, prevailed by a score of 46-44.
All game long, it went back and forth. C-NS led 13-9 after one period, only to see most of the margin disappear as Nottingham pulled within one, 26-25, going to halftime.
Even when the Northstars restored the lead to 40-35 by the end of the third quarter, it could not pull away, and would pay for it. The Bulldogs held C-NS to four points the rest of the way and would inch out in front.
Roberts had 12 points, with Johnson adding nine points, Brown eight points and Thomas seven points. Nottingham’s Kamron Davis led both sides with 15 points.
Playing Sunday in the Martin Luther King Classic in Erie, Pa., the Northstars again would rebound, easily taking out North Catholic 63-42.
Both team started slow, but North Catholic had it worse, only getting three points in the first quarter. Then C-NS really took control, outscoring the Trojans 20-9 in the second quarter.
Nassar made several key steals on the defensive side to go with his team-high 14 points. Thomas contributed 13 points, while Tricarico, Brian Quartier and Christian Oliver each finished with seven points.
The Northstars are home Tuesday night to face undefeated Utica Proctor, who comes in at 10-0. C-NS beat the Raiders in the 2010 Section III Class AA final.
