Still in the process of introducing a new starting five, the Cicero-North Syracuse boys basketball team did not get much help from the tough schedule it had to encounter in two high-profile weekend games.
First, the Northstars faced Nottingham in last Saturday’s Peppino’s Invitational at Henninger High School, where it played well for most of the game, but paid for a poor start in a 69-58 defeat to the Bulldogs.
More than a week removed from getting just 36 points in its Nov. 30 season opener at Webster Thomas, C-NS displayed much better offensive fluency in its second outing.
That only took place, though, after Nottingham opened the game on a 14-1 spurt and led 21-8 after one period, mostly on the strength of sinking four 3-pointers, two of them by Jaquan Adams.
It took Michael Lumia to kick-start the C-NS attack, as his 12 points in the second quarter prevented the Bulldogs from pulling away. Still, Nottingham took 45-30 lead to the break, paced by Josh Ivey’s 13 points.
The second half proved a futile chase for the Northstars, who trailed by as much as 23 in the fourth quarter before a furious late surge brought some positive feeling back.
Lumia cooled off, but still led his side with 15 points. Xavier Brown, with 12 points, and Brian DeMonte, with 11 points, also reached double figures as Mike Tricarico added nine points. Ivey’s game-high 23 points included three 3-pointers, with Tyquan Rolon adding 16 points and Adams finishing with 12 points.
A night later, C-NS found itself at the Carrier Dome, taking on Class AA favorite Fayetteville-Manlius in the nightcap of the Tip-Off Classic. At times, it played well, but the Hornets proved too tough and pulled away, beating the Northstars 73-48.
Attempting to slow F-M down, C-NS actually led 9-7 late in the first quarter, but that was where the Hornets’ John Schurman started to take over. The junior, who had just 14 points the day before in a loss to Bishop Ludden, had a pair of baskets late in the period, and F-M took a 15-12 lead.
That was just the warm-up, though. Schurman hit on his first 3-pointer of the season early in the second quarter, and drained another on his way to 10 points in that frame and 16 for the half.
As a result, C-NS trailed 38-27 at halftime, and threatened to get back in it when back-to-back 3-pointers from Lumia early in the third period quickly cut the Hornets’ lead to 38-33.
But F-M countered with an 11-2 run, six of the points coming from Tomer Nesher, who would finish with 19 points for the night. And the Hornets got away in the latter stages, Schurman exiting after he had posted 27 points, including an eight-for-eight night at the free-throw line.
Again, Lumia led C-NS, earning 13 points, with Brown adding 10 points and DeMonte picking up seven points. Now at 0-3, the Northstars would again pursue that first win of the season when it hosted Johnson City (Section IV) on Friday.
