At last separated from the shadows of their more glamorous neighbors, both of East Syracuse-Minoa’s basketball teams had a week to flourish – and did so.
To start with, both of ESM’s teams both won last Tuesday over Homer, with the boys Spartans prevailing by a 62-50 margin and the girls nearly doubling up the Trojans in a 57-29 romp.
Of the two, the boys game was much closer, even though ESM bolted to a 21-7 first-quarter lead. Homer cut the gap to 32-24 by halftime, but it just could not get closer as the Spartans maintained a comfortable margin throughout the last two periods.
Eyan Underwood led the way with 22 points. Sean Richardson contributed 18 points, while Jah-Meer McDuffie managed 10 points. Corey Beeles added nine points.
Defense helped the ESM girls win big, as it held Homer in check through most of the night, steadily working its way to a 42-17 lead by the end of the third quarter.
Sydni Eure set the pace for the Spartans, earning 11 points, though Danielle Ventrone was close behind as she got 10 points. Ashely Scalzo managed eight points and Stephanie Edmonds got six points. No Trojan player would score in double figures.
Following that, the Spartans beat Chittenango 43-26 Thursday night, overcoming an early deficit by holding the Bears to just two points in the second quarter, and then going on a decisive 18-7 run in the third period.
Haley Wise emerged as ESM’s big threat on this night, picking up 14 points. Eure had eight points, with Danielle Yates contributing six points.
A night later, the boys Spartans smashed Chittenango 77-31, turning the game into a rout starting in the second quarter with a 15-4 spurt and continuing through the rest of the night.
Richardson, who finished with 23 points, got close to the Bears’ entire output. McDuffie also improved, to 17 points, while Underwood managed 14 points. Brandon Breen and Greg Fingar had seven points apiece as Beeles contributed six points.
To cap off this 3-0 week that pushed ESM over the .500 mark (6-5), the boys Spartans went to Sunday’s Pathfinder bank Zebra Classic at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall and, against Fowler, made an impressive second-half comeback to defeat the Falcons 67-64.
An evenly played first half saw the two sides match point totals and go to the break tied, 32-32, but Fowler threatened to get away when it outscored ESM 20-13 in the third quarter. Just as quickly, though, the Spartans made it back and turned to its stars to control the final period, nearly doubling the Falcons’ output, 22-12, and pulling out the victory.
Richardson, named the game’s Most Outstanding Player, worked his total to 24 points, adding 10 rebounds, while Underwood had 16 points and McDuffie picked up 10 points and five blocks. Wil Northcut paced the Falcons with 23 points.
Manlius-Pebble Hill’s boys, with a Section III Class C playoff spot clinched, cooled off a bit last Wednesday in a 66-54 defeat to Pulaski.
The 6-2 Blue Devils broke through the Trojans’ normally stingy defense right from the start, grabbing a 27-21 halftime lead. MPH tried to counter, as Dan Byrnes had another big night, with 30 points, 13 of them from free throws, and Joey Cerio added 10 points, but Pulaski prevailed as Caleb Sedore had 25 points and 12 rebounds, with Cody Mosher adding 16 points.
On Friday night, MPH lost again, 57-51, to the same Tully team it beat 51-49 early in December. A strong first quarter put the Trojans in front, 19-15, but the Black Knights rushed ahead 34-29 by halftime.
Even though MPH cut the margin to 43-42 going to the fourth quarter, Tully got away in the late going, overcoming 17 points from Cerio and 16 points from Byrnes. The Black Knights’ Steve Schoemaker had a big night, pouring in 26 points and adding 10 rebounds.
