Onondaga — A bit of improvisation was involved, to be sure, but the Skaneateles boys basketball team’s appearance at the Hoops for the Hospital Classic at SRC Arena early this week turned into a potential season-defining moment.

It centered on the Lakers attempting to upend undefeated, state Class B no. 9-ranked Bishop Grimes Tuesday night, and despite a strong second-half effort, Skaneateles could not quite recover from what happened in the first half and lost, 67-54, to the Cobras.

With its small, quick lineup and a pressing tempo emphasized by former Jamesville-DeWitt coaching great Bob McKenney, Grimes had roared to a 6-0 start, though that included a close call with Marcellus on Dec. 22 a week before the Lakers got its shot at the Cobras.

Also, Grimes had seen its game against Susquehanna Valley (Section IV) postponed by the bad winter weather that kept the Sabers from traveling north to Onondaga Community College for the occasion, so it had fresh legs in contrast to the Lakers, who had played the night before.

Grimes pushed its way in front and then, in the second quarter, outscored the Lakers 21-11 to build up a 40-25 halftime lead, led by Mark Shattuck, who would finish with 22 points, and A.C. Ater, who had 15 points.

To its credit, Skaneateles did not let the Cobras run away. All through the second half, it made runs, but could not quite put a scare into Grimes despite a well-balanced attack where Jake Reed (15 points), Marc Pietropaoli (13 points), Aubrey Leverich (12 points) and Pete Knupp (10 points) each scored in double figures.

The tournament got underway Monday night with Skaneateles battling neighbor and rival Marcellus, whom the Lakers had beaten 66-55 three weeks earlier.

Here, the score wasn’t that much different, Skaneateles prevailing 67-52 largely on the strength of what it did during the first half. With its defense in top form, the Lakers held the Mustangs in check, and its lead steadily grew to 34-21.

continued — Marcellus did improve on the offensive side in the second half. Every time, though, Skaneateles would meet a Mustangs surge with a run of its own, and Pete Knupp led the way, delivering 23 points, including a pair of 3-pointers and nine successful free throws.

Five of Jake Reed’s 14 points came at the foul line, with Zach Blair adding 12 points and Justin McClanahan producing 11 points. By contrast, Marcellus had just two players reach double figures, with Mike Melnyczuk producing 20 points and Tom Fiacchi adding 10 points.

The loss to Grimes leaves Skaneateles at 6-3 going into the 2016 portion of its schedule, which begins next Tuesday when it hosts Syracuse’s Institute of Technology Central.