Skaneateles — When it got a look at the Section III Class B playoff bracket, the Skaneateles boys basketball team saw that it had the no. 5 seed – and a very reasonable path to go deep into the tournament.
To get that far, though, first required the Lakers beating no. 12 seed General Brown in last Saturday’s opening round, and despite waiting a bit longer to get started, Skaneateles more than made up for it – and also saw senior Pete Knupp make some history as it eliminated the Lions 65-48.
They were supposed to play Friday night, but the bad winter weather in the north country kept General Brown from travel. So it was made up a day later, and wasting little time, the Lakers sprinted out to a 20-8 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Knupp went to the free-throw line, a frequent occurrence. Here, though, the foul shots meant a bit more because it helped him surpass 1,000 career points, a milestone noted with a stoppage of the game, an ovation and a plaque.
Once play resumed, Skaneateles kept adding to its margin, eventually grabbing a 38-21 halftime lead. For the rest of the game, any time the Lions tried to cut into that margin, the Lakers provided an answer.
Knupp, who averages better than 20 points per game, did a lot better here, going with 28 points, including six successful 3-pointers. Jake Reed hit three times beyond the arc on his way to 15 points, while Marc Pietropaoli had 10 points and Sam Duggan added nine points. Tom Dupee led General Brown with 20 points.
This will lead Skaneateles to the Class B quarterfinal Tuesday at no. 4 seed Sherburne-Earlville, who knocked out South Jefferson 59-51. The winner heads to Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall Saturday at 4 p.m. for the semifinal against top seed Bishop Grimes or no. 9 seed Canastota.
continued — Even before the sectional tournament, Skaneateles would stay busy with back-to-back games earlier in the week that would help dictate just what seed it would get.
The first one was easy enough as the Lakers blasted Hannibal 85-38. With steady production and solid defense, Skaneateles gained a 36-13 lead on the Warriors by halftime and did not let up one bit, getting red-hot from the perimeter as the team as seven different players combined for a season-best 16 3-pointers.
Five Lakers ended up scoring in double figures against Hannibal, led by Justin McClanahan, who broke out by hitting five 3-pointers and getting 17 points overall. Most of Knupp’s 15 points came from a trio of treys as Pietropaoli produced 12 points. Matt Neumann joined Reed as they each finished with 10 points and Seth Lincoln nearly was a sixth player in double figures, earning nine points.
It would get tougher 24 hours later at Syracuse Academy of Science, where the Lakers looked to atone for a 72-65 defeat to the Atoms on Dec. 22, but could not quite do so, thi time falling to SAS by a 73-59 margin.
For all that followed, the first quarter proved decisive. Skaneateles found itself unable to contain a well-balanced Atoms attack and fell behind, 21-10, and the deficit grew to 40-25 at halftime before the Lakers settled down on the defensive end in the second half.
As the Lakers tried to rally, Reed put up 19 points, including three 3-pointers, while Knupp had 14 points. Pietropaoli and Duggan had eight points apiece as McLanahan and Zach Blair each finished with five points.
SAS had too many answers, though, starting with Noreon Williams, who poured in 17 points, but was closely followed by Symir Torrence and Jessie Murray, who had 14 points apiece, and Nessiah Smith, who had 13 points.
