By the time they arrived at Onondaga Community College’s SRC Arena Sunday afternoon for the Pathfinder Bank Zebra Classic, the Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse boys basketball teams both were in need of a victory, and not just because temporary bragging rights in this long-time rivalry were at stake.
True, the Northstars had struggled all winter, but now the Warriors were in close to must-win mode, having lost three straight games as the glow of a 4-0 start had faded and the team had lost five of eight since.
Liverpool would find the lift it needed, combining the strong outside shooting of brothers Nate and Will Cutler with another productive effort from Tyler Sullivan to pull away in the second half and defeat C-NS 63-44.
What had hurt the Warriors during its recent skid was not having a full lineup on hand, having seen Matt Hunter and Sumit Singh miss recent games due to injuries. Both were back in the lineup to face the Northstars.
Understandably, C-NS focused its defensive energy on Sullivan and Naz Johnson, considered the Warriors’ two most dangerous players, but it was Nate Cutler, coming off the bench, who would start to help the Warriors gain control.
A pair of 3-pointers by Cutler late in the first quarter helped create a 16-10 margin. Then he connected twice more beyond the arc in the second period, and that, paired with Sullivan’s seven points, pushed the lead to double digits before the Warriors went to the break with a 29-20 edge.
Early in the third quarter, C-NS moved within five, 31-26, but that didn’t last long. Now it was Will Cutler hurting the Northstars, hitting on a pair of 3-pointers to stretch Liverpool’s margin back to a comfortable level before the period was done.
Sullivan then put the game away by scoring seven of his game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter. Nate Cutler finished with 15 points and Will Cutler 10 points as Singh and Johnson added six points apiece.
For C-NS, Nick Antonello led with 13 points, but no one else got to double figures. Brendan Gacek finished with eight points, while Steven Theetge earned seven points.
With the win, Liverpool improved to 8-5, the eight wins enough to clinch a Section III Class AA playoff berth, which C-NS might find difficult to attain, having fallen to 2-10.
C-NS had started its week last Tuesday night by facing Nottingham, a team it had beaten way back on Dec. 6 in the Peppino’s Invitational at Henninger.
But the Bulldogs had gone 8-1 since, and it here it would get revenge on the Northstars, prevailing 59-46 in large part due to the defense it played during the first half.
Staying within range, C-NS only trailed, 19-13, through one period, but it got held to six points in the second quarter, leading to a 29-19 halftime deficit.
As the second half wore on, the Northstars would try to rally, but no one got more than Gacek’s total of 12 points and seven rebounds. Theetge and A.J. Nesci had nine points apiece. For the Bulldogs, Malik Zachery led with 20 points, while Nate Knight managed 11 points and 10 rebounds.
A night later, Liverpool took a more lopsided defeat. Rochester Aquinas was undefeated and no. 13 in the state Class AA rankings coming into the game, but the Warriors still couldn’t prevent a second-quarter barrage from the Little Irish in an 80-57 defeat.
Already with a 19-12 lead, Aquinas proceeded to do whatever it wanted during that second period, scoring 33 points in that frame, eventually gaining a 52-23 advantage that Liverpool could not overcome, despite improved play the rest of the night.
Sullivan only managed nine points. Will Cutler led with 11 points, with Johnson adding 10 points. John Marino picked up eight points and Nate Cutler managed six points.
Tough as that was, Friday night’s 67-65 overtime loss to Auburn proved more disappointing, if only because Liverpool, trailing 34-21 at halftime, made it all the way back, completing most of the comeback in a 22-12 fourth-quarter dash.
Tied 60-60 at the end of regulation, the Warriors could not quite make another rally in the OT period, even with 14 points from Sullivan and 10 points each from Johnson and Nate Cutler. Brandon Derouchie added eight points. Kevin DiCola (20 points) and Hakeem Ali (19 points) led Auburn’s effort.
C-NS had to run into the other top city contender, Henninger, on Friday and were overwhelmed in a 71-43 defeat to the Black Knights, the second to Henninger in as many months.
The Northstars’ deficit grew to 37-20 by halftime and never shrank behind a relentless Henninger attack led by Shaitique Blatche (15 points), Romero Collier (14 points), Destin Blunt (12 points) and Keisean Scott (10 points). Gacek, for his part, had 14 points and six rebounds, with Theetge getting eight points and Neci getting seven points and eight rebounds.
