As a whole, the area’s group of high school boys basketball teams were undergoing unusual amounts of struggle, at least when compared to their usual form.
One exception was Fayetteville-Manlius, who began its Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division slate last Friday after two weather-postponements of a game with East Syracuse Minoa, which will get made up Dec. 27.
Against Corcoran, the Hornets found itself in a tight, tense battle from the opening tip, but here F-M could not conjure up late-game magic and lost to the Cougars 61-57.
A strong start had the Hornets in front 18-14 after one period. Gradually, Corcoran got the lead by halftime, and though F-M had plenty of good runs in the second half, the Cougars kept answering.
Khai Pugh finished with 20 points, helped by the trio of Tyler Schneider (11 points), Nick Papa (10 points) and Brad Porcita (eight points) as Corcoran had five players with eight or more points, led by Daimarr Miller, who had 21 points as Vinnie Frena added 14 points.
Having lost to F-M at home the week before, Jamesville-DeWitt stewed for a week on that result, then resumed action last Friday against Oswego and unloaded on the Buccaneers from the outset in a 75-27 romp.
Nothing went wrong for the Red Rams as it tore out to a 23-4 edge by the end of the first quarter. It kept going from there, J-D seeing 12 different players pick up a field goal by game’s end.
Max Schulman led with 14 points, hitting on three 3-pointers and getting three assists. Matt Cieplicki also had 14 points as Kendale Thompson got 11 points and six rebounds. Teleak Robinson had eight points. Marcus Johnson and Cameron Daley had six points apiece.
Bishop Grimes was also having problems, dropping its fourth straight game last Monday night when it went to Syracuse Academy of Science and fell 52-44 to the Atoms.
A low-scoring first half saw the Cobras unable to maintain its early edge. Still, neither side would make any kind of sustained run until the fourth quarter, when SAS outscored Grimes 21-14 to get clear.
T.J. Bradford still finished with 16 points, while David Mo had 13 points. Gus O’Connell and David Cifonelli each had six points as Anthony Butera had 18 points for the Atoms, with Zevion Derby (13 points) and Zachaeus Smith (10 points, 10 rebounds) helping out.
Both Grimes and Christian Brothers Academy went to Buffalo’s Daemen College Sunday for the inaugural Thruway Challenge, a series of four games against Buffalo-area private school teams that also included Bishop Ludden and Syracuse Academy of Science.
And it was here that CBA earned its first win of the season, rallying to knock off St. Joseph’s 66-59 as it erased a 31-20 halftime deficit in the third quarter and then outscored the Marauders 22-15 in the final period, Sean Miller hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer.
Aaron Clendenin led with 21 points, while SirVocea Dennis had 16 points as he and Avion Othman (10 points) both hit on key free throws in the closing minutes. Mike Hakizimano had seven points and Malcolm Jackson contributed six points.
Bishop Grimes lost, 71-63, to St. Mary’s, unable to hold on to a 29-23 halftime lead despite a career-best 19 points from Tong Mading as Mo got 18 points and Bradford contributed 12 points.
ESM, idle for two weeks since a Dec. 1 loss to Marcellus, returned on Friday to face Carthage and gained its first win of the season, pulling away to beat the Comets 58-42.
The long layoff affected the Spartans early, as it only scored six points in the first quarter. But ESM made up for it with defense, limiting Carthage to a combined 12 points in the second and third periods as it moved out in front.
Steady production created a double-digit margin by the fourth quarter as Gabe Holloman finished with 17 points, seven of them free throws. Jack Shields had 11 points, with Dennis Benjack adding 10 points as Colton Cwylka had seven points and Ermin Karic had six points.
Manlius-Pebble Hill, in its only action last week, remained winless, falling 73-27 to Port Byron.
