Skaneateles — This was the closest thing to “Rivalry Week” as the Skaneateles boys basketball team could muster, with two long-time OHSL Liberty division antagonists paying a visit and a chance for the Lakers to double up on its 2-0 start – which it did.
Still glowing from Zach Blair’s last-second basket that beat Jordan-Elbridge on Dec. 5, the Lakers welcomed Marcellus last Tuesday night with a quick start and a steady performance that produced a 66-55 victory over the Mustangs.
Marcellus had undergone a coaching change in the off-season, with long-time mentor Jim Marsh going to Auburn and 2009 Marcellus graduate Scott Cotter taking over. At 1-2, the Mustangs were looking for a signature early-season win at the expense of its neighbors, but wouldn’t find it.
Skaneateles jumped out to a 19-12 lead by the end of the first quarter. And for the rest of the game, a pattern emerged where the Lakers couldn’t get away from the Mustangs, but didn’t let Marcellus make up much ground, either.
Marc Pietropaoli produced a team-high 17 points, but Jake Reed, with 15 points, and Pete Knupp, with 13 points, weren’t far behind, combining for five 3-pointers between them. Sam Duggan added six points as, for Marcellus, Mike Melnyczuk had 19 points, with Tom Fiacchi adding 14 points and Jerrod Gates 10 points.
Just as interesting was what would happen Thursday night, when Skaneateles hosted Cazenovia, a team that had only started its season two days earlier (falling to Vernon-Verona-Sherrill in overtime) because many members of its squad were still in transition from football and a run to the state Class B championship.
To a degree, Skaneateles would take advantage of these circumstances, though it still required plenty of work down the stretch, plus a career-best effort from Knupp at the free-throw line, to win by a 70-60 margin.
continued — Both sides were cold from the field in the first quarter, Cazenovia seizing an 8-6 lead. That didn’t last long, though, as Skaneateles inched in front, 24-21, by halftime, leading to a wild third quarter that featured plenty of production.
Still, Skaneateles clung to that three-point advantage, 45-42, and in the final minutes pulled it out by not getting impatient when Cazenovia’s strategy of constant fouling meant a steady parade to the line.
Knupp, in particular, was targeted, but he made Cazenovia pay for it, sinking 20 free throws to run his total to 36 points. But Knupp didn’t work along, either, as Reed finished with 11 points and Sam Duggan added 10 points. Blair contributed eight points. (
Meanwhile, Cazenovia’s Hunter Kowaleski gained 19 points, but none of his teammates hit double figures. Jake Shaffner, the quarterback of that football state championship team, and Tom Bragg each had nine points, with Chris Becker gaining seven points and Dan Kent adding six points.
In pursuit of a fifth straight win, Skaneateles hosts Solvay Tuesday night, leading to a big game next Friday against two-time defending state Class B champion Westhill and a Dec. 22 meeting with Syracuse’s Institute of Technology Central.
