Having gone in their separate directions following a head-to-head match-up in the Bottar-Leone Holiday Classic, the Christian Brothers Academy and Jamesville-DeWitt boys basketball teams each found success in the first full week of 2016.

Six days removed from winning that tournament with a last-second Charles Pride basket to topple Westhill, the state Class A no. 6-ranked Brothers found Phoenix a far easier assignment as it bashed the Firebirds 81-35.

A 23-6 first quarter set the tone, and CBA hardly let up, eventually getting field goals from 12 different players. Matt Purcell, hitting four 3-pointers, led with 14 points, but Mark Lutz (13 points) and Dan Damico (11 points) were close behind as Pride had nine points and James McGlynn eight points. Nick Aversa had seven points and five assists as Kevin Underwood also got seven points.

Still at home Thursday night, CBA may have expected a bigger challenge from Fulton, but like so many other OHSL Freedom division foes, the Brothers handled the Red Raiders, too, prevailing by a 67-43 margin.

To its credit, Fulton did hang close for a half, using a strong second quarter to move within seven, 30-23, going to the break. Then CBA increased its pressure on both ends, gradually pulling away and keeping most of the Red Raiders, except for Cody Green (who had 22 points), quiet on the offensive end.

Lutz, with 21 points, was the only CBA player to score in double figures, connecting on four 3-pointers. Still, Pride had nine points, while Damico gained eight points and James McGlynn seven points. More importantly, the contributions remained plentiful as, again, 12 players got on the scoreboard.

As for J-D, it ventured to Homer last Tuesday night, and got off to a great start – which proved handy, for while the Trojans played quite well the rest of the way, the Red Rams still prevailed by a 59-50 margin.

All kinds of shots fell in the first quarter, when J-D grabbed a 22-8 lead. But then the Rams slumped, and Homer regrouped, eventually cutting the margin to single digits, 44-36, by the fourth quarter.

Still, J-D was able to withstand all of the Trojans’ late charges, and again the Boeheim brothers were at the forefront. Jimmy Boeheim’s 26 points included four 3-pointers, with Buddy Boeheim contributing 17 points as Matt Carlin got eight points and Darvin Lovette six points. Jerrad Reiner, with 20 points, paced Homer’s efforts.

Back home Friday night to face Oswego, the Red Rams put away the Buccaneers 70-49, a game where the Rams’ defense was superb in the first half and the hosts built a 33-19 lead, something that Oswego could not overcome despite improving its production the rest of the way.

Jimmy Boeheim put up 28 points, as he and Buddy Boeheim both converted on three 3-pointers and Buddy earned 16 points, while Carlin improved to 12 points. Trey Clark and Jake Dumas led the Bucs with 14 points apiece.

Meanwhile, East Syracuse Minoa, trying to stay afloat in the same OHSL Freedom division, hosted surprising Chittenango last Tuesday and could not quite pull off the upset in a 44-41 defeat to the Bears.

Ultimately, the Spartans paid for a poor first half where it fell behind, 24-18, and though it pulled within one, 30-29, with one period left, it could not quite finish off the rally, despite staying in the game until the last possession.

Also, ESM was more balanced in its attack, with Ty Barkins getting 10 points as Colin Sloan and Colton Cwilka had nine points apiece. By contrast, the Bears got all but one field goal from the trio of Hunter Hendrix (16 points), Sam Hill (12 points) and Matt Milliman (11 points), but still won.

The Spartans got overwhelmed at home by Bishop Ludden 90-47 on Friday, a game featuring the Gaelic Knights’ Mika Adams-Woods, who poured in 27 points in the first half alone and 32 points overall. No one on ESM even reached double figures as Barkins, Corey Wolf and Dennis Benjack had eight points apiece, with Derrek Madonna adding seven points and Aaron Clendenin earning six points.