Camillus — Close again – and denied again.
Such was the fate of the West Genesee boys basketball team, who entered Tuesday night’s game against visiting Henninger undefeated, but could not upend the defending Section III Class AA champion Black Knights, who held on late to prevail by a score of 60-55.
Regardless of their respective records in seasons past, WG has always given Henninger a tough time. Now, with a 6-0 record and home-court advantage, it possessed more confidence than ever that it could reverse the course of recent history.
Fired up at the outset, the Wildcats used an 8-0 run to jump out to a 13-7 lead. But the Black Knights made it up on the basis of Destin Blunt hitting three 3-pointers, the last of them tying it, 17-17, as the period ended.
Henninger carried that momentum into a second quarter that would prove decisive. WG was unable to get rebounds on either end, and the Black Knights took full advantage, especially in a 12-3 run late in the period.
Trailing 38-26 at halftime, WG worked on its defense, and proceeded to hold Henninger to just seven total points in the third quarter. Yet it couldn’t make much headway on the other end – at least until Jack Bova’s 3-pointer at the buzzer cut the margin to seven, 45-38.
That set up a tense final period where Troy Temara, held without a field goal in the previous two quarters, emerged again as a threat. Temara contributed a three-point play and then, with 1:26 left, hit on a lay-up that cut Henninger’s margin to three, 53-50.
Now the Wildcats needed a defensive stop – but instead, Drequan Brantley drained a 3-pointer with exactly one minute to play, making it 56-50, and added two more free throws in the waning seconds to hold off WG’s last charge.
continued — Malik Zachery led the Wildcats with 17 points, while Bova gained 14 points and Temara, despite his late-game struggles, earned 13 points. For Henninger, Oray Gayle produced 17 points and Blunt 16 points, with eight of Brantley’s 11 points coming in the fourth quarter. The two teams will meet again Feb. 2.
No one on WG got caught looking ahead to Henninger. In the Wildcats’ visit to Auburn (coached by former Marcellus mentor Jim Marsh) last Friday night, it easily won its sixth game in a row, asserting itself from start to finish as it romped past the Maroons 84-40.
Already with a 17-12 lead, WG proceeded to outscore Auburn 20-8 the rest of the half. And it didn’t let up, going through the fourth quarter 25-5 even with the game well in hand as reserve Lucas Sutherland offered up a dunk, much to his teammates’ delight.
Zachery dazzled with 22 points, while Temara chimed in with 16 points. Senior Tyler Shoults’ 10 points included a pair of 3-pointers as Nate Phillips contributed nine points. Bova and Nate Abdo had seven points apiece.
Moving to girls basketball, West Genesee would take the measure of reigning Class AA superpower Cicero-North Syracuse on Dec. 17, and play a solid second half – but only after it fell far behind in a 66-39 defeat to the Northstars.
C-NS pushed the issue from the outset, and already with an 18-10 lead, it put WG away by outscoring them 18-5 in the second quarter, using its defensive pressure to force a string of Wildcat turnovers and other empty possessions.
By the second half, WG was making some inroads, seeing Elle Lazore pick up 13 points as Madison Smith added 11 points and Mackenzie Smith got nine points. C-NS saw Amani Free pick up 16 points, just ahead of McKayla Roberts (13 points) and Beth Bonin (12 points) as Samantha Tortora added nine points.
continued — Hosting Auburn two days later, WG topped the Maroons 38-29, a game that had lots of defense in the first half, both sides sleepy from the 11 a.m. start and the Wildcats lucky to be in front, 13-9, at the break.
Then WG put together the one run it needed to make, outscoring Auburn 16-7 in the third quarter, and from there it didn’t let the Maroons get close again. Lazore hit four 3-pointers to account for most of her game-high 14 points, with Mackenzie Smith adding seven points. Kyra Bednarski and Madison Smith each got six points.
Now back at the .500 mark (4-4), WG went for more Tuesday night at Henninger and got it, defeating the Black Knights 51-38. Up by just a basket, 21-19, at halftime, the Wildcats seized a bit of control by outscoring the Black Knights 13-8 in the third quarter, and hanging on from there.
Madison Smith had a career-best performance, pouring in 20 points, and Henninger couldn’t focus on her since Lazore was getting 13 points. Bednardski and Mackenzie Smith finished with seven points apiece.
When it heads to the More Than A Game Tournament at SRC Arena, WG’s girls would face 6-1 Fayetteville-Manlius in Monday’s Pool Four opening round, with the winner getting Rush-Henrietta (Section V) or Norwich (Section IV) in the finals a day later.
Meanwhile, the boys Wildcats, in Pool Five of that same More Than A Game Tournament, would play Ogdensburg Free Academy later that night in its opening round, paired together with Utica Proctor and Johnson City.