To call it a miracle is too much, but to call it an astounding finish is quite true.
At 5-12, and needing to win each of its last three games to get into the Section III Class B playoffs, the Cazenovia boys basketball team pulled it off, culminating in Tuesday night’s 63-50 victory over Sherburne-Earlville at Buckley Gym.
When the Lakers fell, 77-57, to Institute of Technology Central on Feb. 2, the crisis point was reached, with Cazenovia knowing that any more slip-ups meant the end of its season.
In Section III, a team has to win 40 percent of its games either overall, or in league play or against all foes in its own class. Cazenovia met neither of the last two requirements, but at 5-12 clung to the first of those hopes with three games remaining.
On Feb. 5, the Lakers had to win at Marcellus – and did so, hanging on at the wire to top the Mustangs 38-35, but less than 24 hours later Cazenovia returned to Buckley Gym and, with the same strong defense, pulled away from Altmar-Parish-Williamstown, handling the Rebels 55-30.
Cazenovia was up 12-9 on APW through one quarter, but over the course of the next two periods dominated on both ends, outscoring the Rebels 32-8, and unlike with Marcellus, there wouldn’t be a nervous ending.
Tom Bragg and Daniel Kent both hit on five 3-pointers, with Bragg earning 15 points and Kent adding 14 points. Jake Shaffner contributed six points as APW’s Justin Bristol got 21 points, but the rest of the roster managed just three total field goals.
Perhaps playing in that post-season, win-or-you’re-out mode suited Cazenovia, for in the regular-season finale the same scenario presented itself against 14-5 Sherburne-Earlville and, again, the Lakers flourished.
Starting fast, Cazenovia was up, 15-8, through one period, but the Marauders closed the gap to 26-22 by halftime. This didn’t faze the Lakers, though, as it gradually rebuilt its margin throughout the second half.
Shaffner saved his best game of the season for this moment, pouring in 22 points, including seven successful free throws, while Bragg continued to flourish by scoring 17 points.
Kent had nine points, while Liam Johnson chimed in with eight points. S-E lost despite 16 points from Gavin Giroux, 15 points from Ian Fleming and 14 points from Matt Hull.
This left Cazenovia as the no. 10 seed in the sectional Class B bracket, bound for a first-round game at no. 7 seed Syracuse Academy of Science, a team it lost to twice in the regular season, and originally had a no. 4 seed before it had four wins stripped from them.
Perhaps all that effort just to get into the playoffs took a toll, and the Lakers never got close to the Atoms in a 70-37 defeat. A 21-5 blitz through the first quarter put SAS in control, and Cazenovia wasn’t able to recover, outscored 40-21 in the second half as its season ended with an 8-13 mark.
As for Chittenango, it would return to the sectional Class A playoffs as a no. 11 seed, tasked with going north and trying to upend no. 6 seed Indian River in last Saturday night’s opening-round game.
Even a 24-hour weather postponement could not spare the Bears, who lost, 64-35, to the Warriors. For a half, it stayed within range, only trailing 33-25, but IR added to that margin in a big way in the second half, holding Chittenango without a field goal in the fourth quarter.
Before going cold, Hunter Hendrix had time to post 10 points, with Eli Kim adding nine points and Zach Falkenburg six points. IR got 17 points from Dorian Nicholson and 15 points from Patrick Leonard, advancing to face Utica-Notre Dame in the quarterfinals as the Bears finished at 11-10.
Just before the playoffs, Chittenango broke a four-game skid and clinched a winning record for 2015-16, doing so by going to Phoenix last Tuesday and earning a 62-47 victory over the Firebirds.
Expanding on a 30-25 halftime lead, the Bears put Phoenix away by outscoring them 17-4 in the third quarter. Zach Falkenburg led the way with 19 points, while Kim had 13 points. Nate Falkenburg and Matt Milliman earned nine points apiece as Hendrix contributed six points.
