Manlius — It wasn’t until the penultimate game of the regular season that the Fayetteville-Manlius boys basketball team knew it would get a turn in the Section III Class AA playoffs.
Once it got there, the Hornets, as the no. 8 seed in a nine-team field, knew that any long run would require a big upset – namely, knocking off top seed Liverpool in the quarterfinals Tuesday night, exactly two weeks following an 86-53 defeat to the Warriors on that same floor.
First, though, there was the matter of F-M topping no. 9 seed Rome Free Academy in last Friday night’s opening round, a prospect that was not guaranteed most of the way, though the Hornets would fight off the Black Knights by a score of 70-56.
Ultimately, the first half proved decisive. F-M’s steady production and a forceful defense that lured RFA into turnovers helped create a 35-22 margin, which it protected throughout the last two periods by answering every time the Black Knights threatened to make it interesting.
Fernando Johnson set the pace with 22 points, adding nine rebounds. Jawaan Crouch put together 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals, while Tim Zapisek had 13 points and six rebounds. Ryan Miller stepped up with 12 points and seven rebounds as Isaiah Harris (17 points) and Tashaun Pearson (13 points) paced the Black Knights.
The Hornets were facing RFA because it had eliminated Cicero-North Syracuse in the last game of the regular season, going on the road last Tuesday night and shattering the Northstars’ post-season dreams with a convincing 73-53 victory.
This was the same C-NS side that had beaten F-M 53-45 on Jan. 8 in large measure because it went on a 20-4 third-quarter run. Remembering that outcome, the Hornets wanted payback, especially if it meant ending the Northstars’ season – which it did.
continued — From the moment Johnson netted the game’s first points on a rare four-point play (3-pointer, foul, free throw), the Hornets led and never surrendered that advantage. It started to get away in the second quarter thanks to a 15-2 run, with 10 of those points coming in a row.
Up 42-23 at halftime, F-M then stretched out the margin to 27 at one point in the third quarter, and cruised from there, led by Zapisek, who had 21 points, five rebounds and five assists. Johnson had 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals, with Crouch getting 13 points, six steals, seven assists and five rebounds. Miller and David Stegemann had seven points apiece, with Stegemann also grabbing seven rebounds.
In contrast to F-M’s regular-season finish on the boys side, the girls Hornets had the misfortune of trying to deny Cicero-North Syracuse an undefeated regular season – a quest it could not pull off as it lost, 66-35, to the Northstars.
C-NS entered the night 19-0, no. 2 in the state Class AA rankings and remembering that it had toyed with the Hornets 77-34 a month earlier, scoring the game’s first 18 points and then making a 21-2 run in the second half.
At least the Hornets enjoyed a better start in the rematch, getting baskets on a consistent basis in the first quarter and only trailing by three, 16-13. Though that offense slumped a bit the rest of the half, the Northstars only carried a 29-20 advantage to the break.
But C-NS would gradually get clear over the last two periods, led by 1,000-point scorer McKayla Roberts and Amani Free, who each had 15 points as Beth Bonin, with 12 points, helped them out.
D’Jhai Patterson-Ricks, saddled with foul trouble in the first encounter with C-NS, got far more court time on this night and led her side with 13 points. Abbey Harris and Eliza Mento added seven points apiece.
Despite this, F-M still got the no. 2 seed for the sectional AA tournament and won’t have to worry about C-NS again unless the two met in the finals.
Getting there, though, requires the Hornets to avenge its recent defeat to no. 7 seed West Genesee in Tuesday’s quarterfinal and then beat no. 3 seed Baldwinsville or no. 6 seed Liverpool in Sunday’s semifinal at SRC Arena.
