It took five games, but the Liverpool boys basketball team finally hit a rough passage right before the holidays.
The 4-0 Warriors visited Nottingham Friday night and saw just how a bigger, faster opponent could operate in prime condition, seeing the Bulldogs pull away in an 81-53 decision that marked Liverpool’s first defeat of the season.
Eight days had passed since the Warriors’ last game, a 61-54 win over Central Square on Dec. 11. Head coach Matt Jacob said that his team may have lost some of the momentum gained from those three straight wins, or started to feel too good about itself.
If so, Nottingham, whose own three-game win streak entering the night included last Monday’s 73-38 pasting of the same Central Square squad Liverpool had to battle, humbled the Warriors in a hurry.
A single sequence midway through the first quarter proved decisive. Liverpool led, 8-5, but in the span of less than a minute the Bulldogs, applying pressure and forcing turnovers, scored four consecutive baskets, igniting a 13-4 that closed the period and put Nottingham in front for good.
Whether it was on the boards or in transition, the Bulldogs kept running away from the Warriors, especially during a 24-point second quarter.
Even when Liverpool tried to get back close, guard Malik Zachery drilled home a 3-pointer in the face of a double team as the buzzer sounded, extending Nottingham’s lead to 42-27 at the break.
Zachery, who finished with 17 points and five steals, hurt the Warriors from the perimeter, but it was forward Nate Knight who applied the clincher with 10 points in the third quarter, everything from a 3-pointer to a breakaway dunk.
All told, Knight had 23 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and four steals, while Jevon Jones had 10 points and six rebounds and point guard Jose Davila dished out eight assists to go with seven points.
Liverpool just could not keep up, despite 16 points from Tyler Sullivan and 13 points from both freshman Naz Johnson (making his first start) and senior Matt Hunter.
The Warriors now get set for Bishop Ludden’s Rosemary Corcoran Holiday Classic, which begins next Friday when Liverpool battles Utica-Notre Dame (who beat Utica Proctor earlier this week) in the opening round.
In contrast to the Warriors’ strong start, Cicero-North Syracuse has faced some struggles, taking its fourth consecutive defeat Monday night at Baldwinsville, falling to the Bees 59-52.
What made this game more frustrating was the fact that the Northstars led through most of the first half, taking a slim 29-25 edge into the break, but then going cold in the third quarter, held to just three points, which gave B’ville plenty of time to move out in front.
During a frantic homestretch, C-NS found its offensive rhythm again, as Brendan Gacek worked his total to 16 points and Anthony Nesci added 14 points, with Nick Antonello adding eight points. But B’ville held on, led by Tim Marshall, who produced 24 points and nine rebounds.
As Liverpool plays in Bishop Ludden’s tournament, CNS would go to the “More Than A Game” Holiday Classic at SRC Arena, meeting defending Class AA champion Utica Proctor on Saturday night and then facing West Genesee or Corcoran on Sunday.
