Dealt its first small bit of adversity this winter, the Bishop Grimes boys basketball team responded the way a championship squad would do.
The Cobras won three straight games in the week that followed its Jan. 17 defeat to Syracuse Academy of Science, none of them more important than last Friday’s impressive 93-76 victory over Institute of Technology Central.
Going in, the Eagles were on a major roll, having won nine in a row, the last two of them against SAS (where James Walker had 40 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists) and a 78-73 win at Westhill two nights before coming to East Syracuse.
Also, Grimes remembered how close it came to losing to ITC the first time they met on Dec. 8. That 77-74 escape on the Eagles’ home court had featured a 31-point effort from Luciano Vigliotti, and the rematch would include another star turn from another Cobras guard.
In this case, it was Shawn Gashi, who kept getting open, kept firing outside shots – and made them, setting a career mark with 34 points that included five 3-pointers, seven other field goals and three successful free throws.
It was Gashi sparking Grimes during the second and third quarters, where it outscored the Eagles 57-38 amid a frantic pace. Up 71-48 going to the fourth quarter, the Cobras could afford to relax a bit, as ITC made a belated charge.
To help out Gashi, four other Cobras scored in double figures. Mark Shattuck and Dom Delvecchio each finished with 12 points, while Johnny Wike had 11 points and Jonah Cummings had 10 points. Vigliotti, while not getting close to his first effort against the Eagles, still had seven points.
From a defensive standpoint, Grimes did a terrific job on ITC’s most dangerous player, James Walker, who had torched SAS for 40 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists a week earlier. Having held Walker to 17 points in their first meeting, the Cobras’ guards took turns harassing him again, and Walker got just 12 points here, though Tr’Von Balaam (34 points) and Iquail Dancil (17 points) had big nights for the Eagles.
Right after Grimes lost to SAS in the opening round of its own MLK Tournament, it bounced right back in Monday’s consolation game of the MLK Tournament, defeating St. Francis Prep 71-60.
Leading a well-balanced attack, Vigliotti produced 15 points, with Wike gaining 14 points. Cummings provided a spark with 13 points as A.C. Ater gained 10 points, with Shattuck (eight points) and David Mo (seven points) close behind.
But that single defeat cost Grimes in the state Class B rankings, as it fell to no. 13, two spots behind Westhill at no. 11. Not worrying about this, the Cobras made it back-to-back wins on Wednesday, pulling away for a 71-48 victory over Jordan-Elbridge.
They were actually tied, 17-17, before Grimes buried the Eagles with a 45-13 blitz through the second and third periods. Amid all this, five Cobras reached double figures as Ater, Wike, Shattuck and Delvecchio each finished with 11 points and Gashi added 10 points. Vigliotti gained eight points.
