Already this season, the West Genesee boys basketball team has shown that it can win games in vastly different manners – at times leaning on defense, other times able to outscore its opposition.
The latter took place for the Wildcats in last Tuesday night’s home opener against Corcoran, where Marquis Gilbert put on a show for the Cougars, but the Wildcats still proved just a bit better, prevailing by a 72-69 margin for its third victory in a row.
All through the game, Corcoran found that it could hurt WG with hot shooting, and Gilbert, in particular, caused some damage, pouring in 32 points (surpassing 1,000 for his career), including four successful 3-pointers, as the two sides traded the lead, neither side getting away.
But it was the Wildcats owning the final push, outscoring the Cougars 19-13 in the fourth quarter after trailing 55-53 through three frames, and once again Troy Temara led his side, finishing with 23 points, including six successful free throws.
The difference was that Temara had a bit more help than Gilbert did. Owen Cross set a career mark with 17 points, while Jack Bova chimed in with 13 points. Tyler Shoults (nine points) and John Zerkle (six points) also had solid outings for the Wildcats.
On Friday night, WG took its 3-0 record to Cicero-North Syracuse, who had won two straight following an 0-2 start. But the Wildcats put a quick end to that brief Northstars win streak, again leaning on its defense as the main factor in a 54-45 victory.
Fired up in front of its home crowd, C-NS took an early lead, and maintained it throughout the first half. At the same time, though, it couldn’t get away, allowing WG to creep within one, 24-23, going to halftime, and then take the lead when it held the Northstars to nine points in the third quarter.
As it pulled away, the Wildcats proved that it did not need big production from Temara, who had just four points. Instead, it was Bova crushing C-NS with five 3-pointers to account for most of his 19 points, with Cross adding 11 points and Chris LaValle 10 points as Nate Phillips contributed eight points.
Meanwhile, West Genesee’s girls basketball team continued to flourish against its early schedule, venturing to Corcoran last Wednesday night and getting off to a near-perfect start in a 51-23 romp over the Cougars.
Corcoran, under the direction of interim head coach Chris Lydon as Section III all-time wins leader Jim Marsh continues to battle cancer, had all kinds of trouble in the first quarter, turning it over and seeing the Wildcats convert it into points, all leading to a 21-4 margin.
From there, WG didn’t let up, limiting the Cougars to nine points in the second half. Elle Lazore led the attack, earning 17 points, while Madison Smith earned 11 points. Camryn Chawgo finished with eight points and Mackenzie Smith gained six points.
This led to a non-league game Friday at Norwich, where WG faced the host side from Norwich in the opening round and pulled out a thrilling 65-63 victory to make it four in a row.
The Wildcats and Purple Tornadoes played on even terms throughout the first half and were tied, 29-29, at the break. No one separated the rest of the way, either, but WG sneaked out in front in large part due to hot outside shooting.
Lazore improved to 21 points, making five 3-pointers, while Chawgo connected twice beyond the arc and poured in 19 points. Madison Smith stepped up, getting 11 points, while Meghan Mello gained eight points.
On Tuesday night, WG’s boys team puts its 4-0 mark on the line against visiting Fayetteville-Manlius (3-1), followed by a Friday trip to Auburn and a crucial Dec. 22 meeting with defending Section III Class AA champion Henninger.
As for the girls Wildcats, it also plays F-M, Auburn and Henninger, but in the middle of that stretch will test itself against mighty Cicero-North Syracuse on Thursday night.