If such a thing as divine inspiration exists, the Christian Brothers Academy boys basketball team possessed it Monday night as it defeated Jamesville-DeWitt 83-64 in the opening round of the annual Bottar-Leone Holiday Classic on Buddy Wleklinski Court.
From the 11 different 3-point shots that swished through the hoop in the first three quarters to the 15-4 run that closed out the game, the Brothers displayed plenty of skill against a Red Rams team it had rarely beaten in recent years.
Far more importantly, though, CBA offered a proper salute to one of its own students immersed in the fight of his life.
Ever since his diagnosis May 29, the same day he was supposed to play for CBA’s baseball team in the Section III Class A final against Jamesville-DeWitt at NBT Bank Stadium, junior Jack Sheridan has battled leukemia.
Wanting to do something for Sheridan, two CBA students, Annie O’Brien and Gerald Seals, arranged an “Orange Out” for the game against J-D, selling out 300 orange T-shirts, at $10 apiece.
Much of the CBA student section, along with dozens of fans and both the Brothers and Red Rams’ basketball teams, donned the T-shirts on Monday. They read “Jack’s Army” on the front, with the hashtag #prayforjack and his baseball number, 16, on the back.
Best of all, Sheridan himself attended the game with his family. When introduced before tip-off, he received a long standing ovation, and at halftime O’Brien and Seals presented a total check of $3,330, all of which is going to Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital. Sheridan’s mother was also treated to a day spa session.
Special as all of this was, the game also proved memorable because the Brothers, from start to finish, kept frustrating a J-D side that simply could not keep up.
It was Monte Stroman’s 3-pointer, just past the midway point of the first quarter, that put CBA ahead for keeps, and it was plenty more outside shots that allowed the Brothers to lead by as much as 15 in the opening half before taking a 50-39 edge to the break.
All told, CBA connected nine times outside the arc in the first half, making J-D pay for trying to take away the Brothers’ size advantage. Stroman had three of those 3-pointers, and so did freshman Charles Pride, who notched 18 of his team-high 20 points before halftime.
J-D didn’t vanish, though. Led by Dom DeRegis (21 points) and Isaiah Williams (15 points), the Rams, trailing 60-43 in the third quarter after Stroman pulled off a rare four-point play, went on a 12-0 run to tighten things up.
But nothing was going to stop the Brothers on this special evening. Even when J-D took away the outside shooting options in the fourth quarter, CBA simply went inside and got key late baskets from Emmett Dunn, Jack Carey and Dan Damico to put the game away.
Stroman finished with 16 points, while Dunn put together 14 points. Carey and Matt Burns had nine points apiece and Nick Aversa contributed seven points.
This put CBA into Tuesday night’s tournament final against undefeated Henninger, who had to rally late to fight past St. Joseph’s (Buffalo) 61-58 in the other opening-round game. It was a rematch of the Dec. 5 season opener in the Peppino’s Invitational where the Black Knights held off the Brothers 78-72.
On its home court, though, the Brothers would get even, beating Henninger 53-48 in a physical battle where CBA kept squandering leads, but did not break down.
Twice in the first half, the Brothers had comfortable leads, starting the game on a 12-2 run and then going in front 24-13 in the second period. Each time, the Black Knights fought back, closing the gap to 30-27 by halftime, and then taking a 40-38 lead to the fourth quarter.
Down the stretch, though, the Brothers proved tougher, gaining a 47-42 lead. After Henninger closed the gap to 47-46, Burns hit a clutch 3-pointer with less than a minute to play, and the Black Knights never could answer.
All told, Burns had 14 points, the same total as Carey, who also had a career-best 14 rebounds. Pride added 11 points and Aversa seven points as Henninger’s Romero Collier led his side with 19 points, six assists and six steals.
Before that, J-D bounced back from its loss to CBA, hammering St. Joseph’s 75-49 in the consolation game. Already in front 16-11, the Red Rams proceeded to outscore the Marauders 46-25 over the course of the next two periods to put the game away.
Brian Cieplicki, with 16 points, led a well-balanced J-D attack that flourished despite DeRegis getting held to just two points. James Boeheim hit three 3-pointers to account for most of his 15 points as Adrian Autry contributed 12 points and Rahmel Smith produced 11 points.
