It would only figure that the Christian Brothers Academy boys basketball team, in order to repeat as Section III Class A champions, might need to get through Jamesville-DeWitt again.
As the sectional Class A playoff bracket was set up, the Brothers had the top seed and the Red Rams the no. 4 seed. But while CBA enjoyed a first-round bye, J-D had to get through last Friday’s opening-round game with no. 13 seed Cortland, a team it beat 66-42 earlier in the week.
Little would change in the rematch between J-D and Purple Tigers – except for the numbers. The Rams put up more baskets and won by an 83-60 margin, setting up a quarterfinal Tuesday with no. 5 seed Whitesboro (who beat Mexico 57-39) as the Brothers take on no 9 seed New Hartford, who ousted Vernon-Verona-Sherrill 67-44.
If CBA and J-D win these games, they’ll gather at SRC Arena Friday night at 5:30 for the sectional final, one round earlier than their title-game showdown of 2015.
All of these projections would mean little if J-D didn’t first get past Cortland. A high-scoring first quarter on both sides didn’t prove advantageous to Cortland, who then got held to six points in the second period as the Rams claimed a 37-21 halftime margin.
Through an active second half, J-D kept adding to that margin and, more importantly, displayed a diverse attack that placed five players in double figures, led again by Jimmy Boeheim, who earned 22 points.
Darvin Lovette managed 15 points, while Buddy Boeheim contributed 14 points. Close behind them, Matt Carlin and Rahmel Smith earned 10 points apiece. In defeat, Cortland’s Nick Craig led his side with 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Back on Tuesday, J-D overcame an early deficit to Cortland by nearly doubling the Purple Tigers’ total in the last three quarters, outscoring them 56-29 as Jimmy Boeheim hit five 3-pointers and earned 24 points overall. Smith and Buddy Boeheim each had 10 points, with Carlin (nine points) and Lovette (eight points) close behind.
CBA maintained that top seed despite seeing yet another opportunity to upend Bishop Ludden in the “Holy War” fall just short last Tuesday night on the Gaelic Knights’ home floor, the Brothers battling to the final whistle before taking a 52-49 defeat.
Back on Jan. 16, at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall, the Ludden-CBA rivalry saw one of its all-time great individual performances when Mika Adams-Woods piled up 37 points and the Gaelic Knights toppled the then-undefeated Brothers 67-58.
Even though the lineups were essentially the same on both sides, Ludden had to know that CBA would not let Adams-Woods run over them again, and indeed, without the key contributions of the rest of the roster, the Brothers may have prevailed in this series for the first time since 2012.
Physical at the outset, Ludden nearly got into the double-bonus at the free-throw line in the first quarter, yet only managed a 12-10 lead. CBA was content with the whistles as long as Adams-Woods didn’t break out since it had a deep bench and could manage foul trouble.
Indeed, though the Gaelic Knights led 25-21 at halftime, the Brothers kept things within sight, and took the lead late in the third quarter. But then Jim Grabowski, without a basket at the time, rattled off six consecutive points, helping Ludden regain that four-point margin, 39-35, with one period left.
No one was getting away here, and though Adams-Woods still led Ludden with 14 points, the Brothers pulled back within one, 46-45, with a minute to play.
Just when it was needed, Grabowski hit a rebound basket with 40 seconds left. CBA missed the front end of a one-and-one, and was forced to foul Chris Allen, whose two free throws made it 50-45.
But the Brothers weren’t done. Mark Lutz was fouled making a 3-point shot with 21.2 seconds to play, and made the ensuing free throw. Suddenly, the margin was one, 50-49.
Unable to get the steal, CBA had to foul Matt Hosek with 15.2 seconds left. Hosek made both free throws and stretched the margin back to three. Still with a chance to force overtime, the Brothers saw Adams-Woods block one shot and another fall well short as the horn sounded, Ludden winning again and finishing its regular season at 17-3.
Allen produced nine rebounds to go with his six points, while Grabowski gained eight points. In a game filled with fouls (41 of them), the Gaelic Knights converted 20 of 31 at the line, with CBA converting 17 of 21 free throws.
Lutz, with 16 points, and Charles Pride, with 19 points, accounted for much of CBA’s production as Ludden’s defense, strong all night, held the rest of the Brothers to just three combined field goals.
