Baldwinsville — No matter how many times it has attempted to kick-start its winning process, the Baldwinsville boys basketball team still finds itself in a season-long learning process, and the lessons are piling up – as are the defeats.
The Bees hosted its neighbors from Liverpool last Monday night at the Baker High School gym, and to some degree stayed with the Warriors – but only after a brutal first quarter that decided matters in a 77-47 defeat.
Liverpool, under the coaching direction of former Syracuse University great Ryan Blackwell, had just picked up a major win at West Genesee on Jan. 7, rallying in the fourth quarter to pull it out and prevent a third consecutive loss after falling to Rochester Aquinas and Henninger in its previous two games.
B’ville saw, first-hand, just how important that West Genesee win was, for a confident Warriors side gave the Bees all kinds of early trouble, not letting up until the hosts stared at a 22-4 deficit.
Gradually, the margin kept growing, even as B’ville settled down. Jordan Fragale put together 11 points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds, while Chris Taylor and David Cerqua earned six points apiece, but Adam Seguin was held to a single field goal while picking up four rebounds.
Tyler Sullivan and Will Cutler proved tough to stop for Liverpool, Sullivan finishing with 25 points and Cutler getting most of his 20 points from four 3-pointers.
What made it more ironic for the Bees was that it was slated to face West Genesee next on Wednesday before it got snowed out. So it was idle until Friday night, when another neighbor, Cicero-North Syracuse, paid a visit and, again, the fourth quarter proved damaging to B’ville in a 63-59 loss to the Northstars.
During the game’s middle stages, the Bees appeared to gain some control, outscoring C-NS 20-14 in the second quarter to pull out in front. As the final period started, B’ville still led, 51-44, but at just the wrong moment its defense faltered, and the Northstars pounced, outscoring the Bees 19-8 in those last eight minutes.
Seguin’s great effort included 19 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, while Gell had 12 points and five rebounds. Fragale got 11 points, seven assists, three steals and three rebounds as Cerqua contributed six points. For C-NS, Keegan Wright, with 17 points, seven assists and five rebounds, led the rally.
Having fallen to 2-10 on the season, B’ville would look to recover in games this week against Auburn and Whitesboro.
