For its 2012-13 season opener, the West Genesee boys basketball team chose the same Carrier Dome court that it hopes to return to later this winter with a championship on the line.

Here, though, it merely encountered Rochester’s School of the Arts, which proved to be an easy conquest as the Wildcats rolled past the Silver Hawks by a score of 83-41.

A long time spent among the middle or lower ranks in the CNY Counties League ranks have made head coach Fred Kent’s Wildcats a hungry group, and the pre-season buzz surrounding WG had been mostly good. Now it was time to see if that optimism was accurate – or misplaced.

It took just 12 seconds to get an answer. After 6-foot-7 junior center Shane Temara won the opening tip, he flashed open on the wing, took a pass – and slammed it home, a dunk that set the game’s tone.

WG had a 10-3 lead before the game was three minutes old. Temara showed his range with a 3-pointer late in the first quarter and added a three-point play, his eight points producing an 18-14 lead by the end of the period.

Strong rebounding helped the Wildcats cover up for a series of missed shots from up close, and senior Phil Allen’s quartet of baskets keyed a second-quarter surge that included another slam from Temara. By halftime, both Temara (12 points) and Allen (10 points) were in double figures, and WG’s advantage had grown to 38-24.

to make sure that the Silver Hawks didn’t come back, WG stepped up its game in the third quarter on both ends. A string of 3-pointers by Allen, Jimmy Cunningham and Michael Henry, plus baskets off SOTA turnovers, stretched the margin to 65-34 and allowed the Wildcats to use much of its bench in the final period.

WG’s game at Baldwinsville, scheduled for Tuesday, was moved to Dec. 20, so the Wildcats next take the court for Thursday’s home opener against Rome Free Academy.

Just before West Genesee took the court, Marcellus met archrival Skaneateles, in pursuit of its first win of the season.

For three quarters, the Mustangs stayed right with the Lakers, but it all fell apart in the fourth quarter, resulting in a 59-41 defeat to the Lakers.

Having started 0-2 with defeats to Cazenovia and Jordan-Elbridge, Marcellus did not want a three-game skid. But neither did Skaneateles, who had opened with defeats to Westhill and Syracuse Academy of Science. This made it an urgent matter for both sides.

They played with that urgency – and intensity – throughout the first quarter. Marcellus led most of the way, but Austin Gardner’s six points pushed Skaneateles in front 13-11.

Each side was error-prone in the second period, and as a result, neither of them could make any sustained run or lead by more than a field goal. So it only figured that the game went to halftime in a 25-25 deadlock.

This air-tight battle continued into the third quarter, with five early lead changes. Again, no one could separate, and again when the horn sounded it was even, 37-37, turning it into an eight-minute game.

And it was there that Skaneateles took charge, going on a 14-0 run. All the while, the Lakers’ defense kept applying pressure, forcing Marcellus into rushed shots and turnovers. The Mustangs did not score for more than six minutes until Ben Powers’ breakaway lay-up with 1:58 left, but the damage had been rendered.

Chris Knupp would lead Skaneateles with 14 points, just ahead of Austin Gardner, who poured in 13 points. Bobby Leslie finished with seven points.