Now that it had its confidence restored, the Liverpool boys basketball team could not wait to enter the regular-season homestretch, even if it includes its annual trip down the road to face its rivals from Cicero-North Syracuse, who is just glad to be on the brink of returning to the Section III Class AA playoffs after a one-year absence.
Both of these teams enter the last week of January in a good frame of mind, coming off home victories last Friday night as the Warriors, claiming its third win in a row, smashed Nottingham 73-36, while the Northstars needed a big fourth quarter to get past Auburn 72-63.
Of the two, the C-NS game with Auburn carried more urgency. At 6-8, and staring at a tough regular-season homestretch that includes West Genesee, Corcoran and Fayetteville-Manlius, the Northstars wanted to feel a bit more secure about its post-season hopes.
Getting past Auburn, whom it beat in a tight 69-67 decision back on Dec. 15, wouldn’t prove easy. The first half featured wild mood swings, with C-NS sprinting to an 18-8 lead, only to see its defense burned in a second quarter where the Maroons couldn’t miss and roared to a 36-29 edge by the time they reached the break.
The pace remained frantic in the third period – but at least the Northstars adjusted to it and ate into Auburn’s lead. Then, in the final period, increased defensive pressure paid off as C-NS held the Maroons to just nine points and roared out in front to stay.
Brendan Gacek and Keegan Wright both produced double-doubles, Gacek getting 19 points and 11 rebounds and Wright nearly matching those totals by earning 18 points and 10 rebounds. A.J. Nesci also had 18 points, tacking on six assists and four rebounds, while Alex Gray had 10 points and six rebounds.
None of this drama was felt down the road at Liverpool, where the Warriors followed up routs of Baldwinsville and Auburn the week before by doing the same to Nottingham to improve to 11-3 on the season.
The first quarter set the night’s tone, with Liverpool sprinting out to a 20-10 lead. Then, over the course of the next two periods, it outscored the Bulldogs 36-15, erasing any possible suspense and allowing the entire roster to see some game action.
Tyler Sullivan produced 14 points, leading a well-balanced attack where Nate Cutler got 13 points and Naz Johnson earned 12 points. Will Cutler gained nine points as Rashon Crenshaw finished with six points.
Aside from hosting Liverpool, C-NS would also meet West Genesee on Wednesday night, just as Liverpool gets a test at Corcoran.
