In order to still have a chance at maintaining their respective Section III championship win streaks, the Bishop Ludden and Westhill boys basketball teams had to go through very different experiences in their respective semifinal games on Sunday at Onondaga Community College.

The Gaelic Knights had to rally from a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit with a fierce late charge to force overtime and then beat Nottingham 60-51 in the AA semifinal at SRC Arena, scoring 21 of the game’s final 23 points to set up a title game against Henninger.

Earlier that day, at the adjacent Allyn Hall, the Warriors had no trouble at all in its Class B sectional semifinal, pulling away from Cazenovia 74-38 and earning a berth in the finals against Syracuse Academy of Science.

As the no. 3 seed in the AA bracket, Ludden knew that Nottingham, the no. 2 seed with a 17-3 record, would pose quite a challenge with its inside strength and strong guard play.

What the Gaelic Knights did not expect, though, was how poorly it would play in the first half, missing all kinds of shots and letting the Bulldogs build a double-digit lead.

Trailing 29-16 at the break, Ludden could not make much headway for much of the second half, either, despite a terrific effort from freshman point guard Mika Adams-Woods, who carried the Gaelic Knights’ offense and hit several key shots to keep it within range.

But as the fourth quarter wore on, Nottingham opened the door by missing free throws. Then, with 1:35 to play and Ludden still trailing 49-42, Bulldogs point guard Malik Zachery, fouled out.

Without its primary ball-handler, Nottingham wilted under Ludden’s full-court pressure, and after baskets by Matt Hosek and Zach Walser cut the deficit to 50-48, the Bulldogs tried a long pass that sailed too far, leading to another turnover and a chance for the Gaelic Knights to tie it.

At first, the Bulldogs’ pressure denied any sort of Ludden shot. But with 5.6 seconds left and another chance to inbound it under the basket, Adams-Woods found Walser open in the paint, and the senior forward sank the lay-up that tied it, 50-50, and forced overtime.

Stunned by the turn of events, the Bulldogs managed just a single free throw in the extra period. Ludden, by contrast, got baskets from Walser and Jack Rauch, and with the shot clock running down in the final minute, Adams-Woods converted an off-balance 3-pointer that clinched it.

All told, Adams-Woods has 27 points, nearly half of Ludden’s total. Walser overcame foul trouble to get 11 points, while Rauch had 10 points. Jose Davila led Nottingham with 15 points.

Contrasting all of this drama was the easy time that Westhill, the top seed in Class B, roared past Cazenovia, getting atonement on the same Allyn Hall floor where it lost to Henninger Jan. 31.

The Warriors did so by beating a Cazenovia side that held the no. 4 seed, but whom it handled 70-36 at Buckley Gym on Jan. 23, and did so again here by nearly an identical margin.

Both teams had a quiet start, but that started to change late in the first quarter as a string of baskets helped Westhill build a 16-7 lead. But the big move came early in the second period, when Ryan Roland’s outside shooting ignited a 14-6 run.

Not content with that, Westhill got points from five different players in a 10-0 spurt late in the half. Only Kevin Ridings’ 3-pointer stopped that string, but Cazenovia still trailed, 40-18, at the break.

All through those pivotal early stages, Westhill’s man-to-man defense honed in on denying the ball to Ryan Henderson, the Lakers’ hottest hand throughout the sectional tournament. Henderson, indeed, would struggle throughout the game.

By far, Cazenovia’s brightest spot on this day was Kevin Ridings. During the third quarter, Ridings got hot from the field, earning 12 of his team-high 17 points. No other Cazenovia player had more than five points on the day.

Westhill still stretched out its lead to 60-33. Jordan Roland picked up nine of his 23 points during that period, and when the margin got to 64-33 early in the fourth quarter, all of Westhill’s starters went out of the game.

Ryan Roland finished with 11 points, while Reynolds got 10 points. Jeff Lobello had nine assists and four rebounds to go with his seven points as Brian Daily contributed eight points.

Next Sunday at SRC Arena, Westhill meets Syracuse Academy of Science. a team it beat twice this season (85-57 on Dec. 17 and 70-40 on Jan. 13), in the Class B final at 2:45. The AA final between Ludden and Henninger tips off at 6:30.