Regardless of what happens the rest of the way, the Chittenango boys basketball team is assured of a winning record for the 2015-16 regular season.
Zach Falkenburg made sure of that fact when the Bears hosted East Syracuse-Minoa last Wednesday night and Falkenburg put together the best performance of his career, carrying his side to a 67-57 victory over the Spartans as Chittenango improved to 10-5 overall.
Following a tightly played first half, the Bears, up by just one point (27-26), proceeded to outscore ESM 20-12 in the third quarter, and Falkenburg had much to do with it, using everything from long jump shots to free throws to add to his total.
By the time it was done, Falkenburg had converted 11 field goals, four of them 3-pointers, and seven foul shots for 33 points overall. Help came from Eli Kim, who had 13 points, and Hunter Hendrix, who had eight points. They helped overcome an ESM attack where five players had eight or more points, but none more than Colin Sloan’s total of 14 points.
Good as this felt, Friday’s game against Fulton brought a severe letdown for the Bears, who fell to the Red Raiders 73-37.
Everything for Chittenango was a struggle, especially in a first half where it couldn’t make many baskets and Fulton got hot, especially in the second quarter, when it outscored the Bears 25-9.
Eventually, the deficit grew to 62-25 before the Red Raiders let up in the fourth quarter, having seen 1,000-point scorer Cory Green pile up 33 points to nearly match Chittenango’s entire output. Josh Hudson added 21 points and 10 rebounds as Matt Lamphear paced the Bears with 13 points, while Hendrix got nine points.
Originally set for three games last week, the Chittenango girls basketball team had that work curtailed by the winter snows that caused schools across the area to close.
But once play resumed for the Bears, it put together an impressive effort against Phoenix last Thursday night, dominating most of the way and beating the Firebirds 49-35 to improve its record to 5-9.
All through the first half, Chittenango’s defense made things miserable for Phoenix, especially when it held the visitors to three points in the second quarter. This created a 30-13 halftime margin that it built to 43-18 before easing up in the fourth quarter.
Megan Pierce led the Bears, earning 13 points. Katy Myka finished with 10 points, while Alex Shomeaker earned seven points, just ahead of Trisha Whaley (six points) and Morgan Shoemaker (five points). Caitlyn Connolly (15 points) and Samantha Doupe (11 points) did well for Phoenix, but Chittenango held the rest of the Firebirds to just three total field goals.
Two full weeks remain in the regular season, with the boys Bears only in action this week in a Friday-night trip to Mexico, a day before the Chittenango girls face those same Tigers, still in need of some wins to gain Section III Class A playoff eligibility.
