Part of the task for the West Genesee boys basketball team, if it wanted to truly ascend to the top of the Section III Class AA heap, was defeating opponents that had constantly thwarted the Wildcats in seasons past.
On consecutive Tuesday nights, WG, playing at home, would have those opportunities, and a week before defending sectional champion Henninger arrived, the Wildcats seized the first of those chances when it used two different sustained runs in the second half to turn back Fayetteville-Manlius 66-58.
Though it lacked the star power (John Schurman and Jake Wittig) it had in recent years, the Hornets still had plenty of talent and athleticism on hand, and could go on hot streaks, something the Wildcats had to answer – and it helped that WG finally had Malik Zachery available after sitting out the team’s first four games with a wrist injury.
During a tight first half, neither side led by more than four points. F-M’s Jawaan Crouch scored all 11 of his team’s first-quarter points, but even with that, the Wildcats kept pace, seeing Zachery ease back into the rotation with several key plays, including a jumper that inched his team in front, 28-27, going to halftime.
At the start of the third quarter, WG switched to full-court pressure, and the result was a 12-0 blitz. Eventually, the Wildcats built a 46-33 edge, but that didn’t last, either. F-M’s Tim Zapisek notched seven of his 14 points during a 17-4 push that, capped by Nick Goodfellow’s 3-pointer, forged a 50-50 tie with less than six minutes left.
But it was the Wildcats making the decisive surge, answering with a 10-0 run that put them in front for good. Jack Bova had five of those points, part of a career night where he piled up 24 points, including six 3-pointers.
Troy Temara added 20 points and 13 rebounds, building up those numbers despite missing three different dunks. Zachery had eight points, including a steal and layup that capped off that late 10-0 run, while Chris LaValle haad eight points, sealing the win by making all four of his free throws in the final minute.
For F-M, Crouch cooled off in the second half, but still set his own career mark with 23 points, plus seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Tyler Papa chimed in with 10 points and eight rebounds,
Due to that win by the boys side, West Genesee had a chance for a basketball sweep if the girls side could prevail at F-M, but it could not quite keep up with that group of Hornets, who improved to 5-0 by handing the Wildcats a 57-43 defeat.
WG had just finished second in the Norwich Tournament, beating Union-Endicott 65-63 in the first round Dec. 11 behind 21 points from Elle Lazore and 19 points from Camryn Chawgo, but falling in the finals to host Norwich 45-33.
And the F-M game was part of a stretch where the Wildcats would play five times in nine days, culminating with Thursday’s battle against defending Section III Class AA champion Cicero-North Syracuse, adding to the difficulty.
The game’s pace picked up in the second quarter, with F-M grabbing a 26-20 edge going to halftime. Then the Hornets outscored WG 19-12 in the third quarter and got away, seeing D’Jhai Patterson-Ricks earn 15 points as Abbey Harris and Carly Assimon earned 13 points apiece.
On WG’s side, eight different players earned at least one field goal, but none had more than the 13 points put up by Chawgo, with Lazore adding 10 points and no one else getting more than Haley Collins’ total of five points.
