Whether the dynamic in the Section III Class A championship chase has changed or not, one indisputable fact it that, for the time being, Christian Brothers Academy does not hold complete dominion over its neighbors from Jamesville-DeWitt.

Just two nights removed from a 24-point defeat to Bishop Ludden, the Red Rams somehow shook this off and, in its most complete all-around performance of the season, upended the Brothers 66-62 last Friday night to reclaim its status as a title contender.

CBA was coming off its first defeat of the season, to that same Ludden squad on Jan. 16 in the Zebra Classic, but had handled J-D 78-60 back on Dec. 29 in the Bottar-Leone Holiday Classic, so the Brothers had no reason to figure that, with the same personnel on both sides, such a drastically different result would take place.

But fired up by its home crowd, the Rams traded baskets with CBA throughout the early stages and then, in the second quarter, broke through the Brothers’ normally tight defenses and gained a 38-34 edge going to halftime.

Throughout a low-scoring third quarter, J-D stayed in front, and it kept its poise in the homestretch, too, in large part because it did not rely as heavily on the singular talents of leading scorer Jimmy Boeheim, who still finished with 22 points, but had a lot more help.

Darvin Lovette set a new career mark, earning 16 points, while Buddy Boeheim got 14 points. Barbaro Noda and Matt Carlin had six points apiece, all of which effectively countered CBA’s production. Charles Pride paced the Brothers with 17 points as Dan Damico (13 points) and Matt Purcell (11 points) also got to double figures. Nick Aversa had seven points and Paul Aversa contributed six points.

None of this seemed likely after J-D had played Ludden, hoping that the Gaelic Knights would have a letdown after stopping CBA again. Much to the Red Rams’ dismay, that did not happen, Ludden rolling past J-D 75-51 in large part because it had a diverse attack to go with a defense that gradually took control.

Ludden got alerted to the task early when J-D forward Jimmy Boeheim notched 13 first-quarter points. Eventually, the Gaelic Knights withstood that storm and led, 24-18, at the end of that period, and from there gradually took charge.

Up 40-28 at halftime, Ludden got away and, unlike with CBA, didn’t need Mika Adams-Woods to put up career-high numbers. Instead, Adams-Woods, with 23 points, gladly shared the glory with Matt Hosek and Chris Allen, who earned 12 points apiece, and Jim Grabowski, who had 11 points.

Jimmy Boeheim finished with 29 points, more than half of J-D’s output. Buddy Boeheim chipped in with 11 points, while Barbaro Noda gained six points. Combined, the rest of the J-D squad had just two field goals – but would produce a lot more, especially Lovette, against the Brothers.

Elsewhere in boys basketball, East Syracuse Minoa lost, 67-57, to Chittenango last Wednesday night, the game played on even terms until the third quarter, when the Spartans, only trailing by one, 27-26, saw the Bears outscore them 20-12 in those eight minutes, accounting for most of the eventual margin.

Colin Sloan still led ESM with 14 points. Ty Barkins earned 11 points, while Colton Cwikla and David Dabrowski earned nine points apiece. Derrek Madonna added eight points as, for Chittenango, Zach Falkenburg erupted for a career-best 33 points, including four 3-pointers and seven successful free throws.

Hosting Phoenix two nights later, the Spartans bounced back, winning 64-59 in a game that went back and forth all night, ESM trailing before it outscored the Firebirds 18-10 in the fourth quarter to pull it out

Barkins gained 20 points, with Gabe Holloman adding 12 points. Dabrowski and Corey Wolf had eight points apiece as Cwikla and Madonna both got six points. It was just the Spartans’ third win of the season.

Manlius-Pebble Hill took a 53-38 defeat to Onondaga last Wednesday night, seeing the game get away when the Tigers outscored the Trojans 21-7 in the third quarter, the only sustained outburst by either side. Joe Cerio, with 24 points, accounted for most of MPH’s production, but only four players scored points for the Trojans, half of OCS’s total. Akim Betsey paced the Tigers, earning 18 points.