As an extra treat, the Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool boys basketball teams could end up facing each other in the Northstars’ annual Holiday Classic.
They’ll both go into the tournament in a good mood following big wins Tuesday night, as the Warriors claimed a 63-62 classic over Oswego and the Northstars went to Christian Brothers Academy to claim a 71-63 victory over the Brothers.
Any time C-NS plays CBA, it carries extra meaning for head coach John Haas, who attended CBA and starred in three sports, playing under the Brothers’ head coach, Buddy Wleklinski, and earning a spot in that school’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
On this night, Haas would leave quite happy, especially given the fact that the Northstars would fall behind early and rally to go in front early in the second half.
Trailing 17-12 after one period, C-NS stayed patient, and then dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Brothers 20-7 in that frame to turn a deficit in to a 48-38 lead.
CBA never recovered, as the Northstars hit a series of free throws down the stretch to prevail. Brian DeMonte led with 20 points, most of it from four 3-pointers, while Michael Lumia earned eight of his 17 points at the foul line.
Mike Tricarico had 10 points, with Nate Tyrrell adding nine points and Xavier Brown gaining seven points. In defeat, the Brothers got 15 points from Jack Pfohl and 12 points from Charlie Russo.
Liverpool had a week to recuperate from an 81-60 defeat to Utica Proctor on Dec. 11, a game where it was close until the Raiders dominated the fourth quarter.
For a while, it looked like the problems persisted, as Oswego grabbed a 20-12 lead in the first quarter and kept it the rest of the half, the Warriors staring at a 34-26 deficit at the break.
All of a sudden, Liverpool’s defense clamped down, and as with C-NS at CBA, the turnaround was quick. The Warriors outscored the Bucs 19-7 in the third quarter to speed out in front, 45-41.
Through a tense final period, Oswego tried to regain the edge. Somehow, Liverpool held on, mostly due to the work of Caleb Taylor.
Of Taylor’s 20 points, seven of them came in the fourth quarter, including a pair of clutch free throws with four seconds left that turned out to be the winning points.
Four Warriors finished in double figures, as Hector Oyola got 14 points, Mike Russo earned 12 points and Dom Pirro added 11 points. By contrast, only one Oswego player, Dustin Sands, was as productive, matching Taylor’s total of 20 points.
For the C-NS Holiday Classic, Liverpool meets 3-0 West Genesee in the opening round on Dec. 27, while the host Northstars draw Class A contender New Hartford. Games continue on Dec. 28, with both sessions getting underway at 5:15.
