East Syracuse — Even a late-season stumble at Westhill could not prevent the Bishop Grimes boys basketball team from snaring the top seed in the Section III Class B playoffs, with quite a favorable path to the Feb. 27 title game at SRC Arena.
By stark contrast, the girls team at Bishop Grimes was placed in a no. 8 seed, which didn’t cause any immediate trouble, but still leads to a quarterfinal trip to top seed and defending champion Westhill that offers a storyline all too familiar to Cobras fans.
A year ago, when Grimes was the top seed in the Class B girls sectional tournament, it hosted no. 8 seed Westhill – and lost, 46-44. That game was a bitter end to a glorious 18-2 season, and made more so by seeing the Warriors go on to win the sectional title.
Now, though, the roles are reversed, at least in seeding terms. Grimes is the hungry no. 8 seed, bent on payback for 2015, and Westhill holds the top seed, carrying a 15-game win streak, but quite wary after a tough road win over the Cobras on Feb. 6.
To set this up, Grimes first had to get past no. 9 seed Adirondack in last Friday night’s opening round in East Syracuse – which it did in a lopsided 65-10 win where the Cobras shut out the Wildcats in the first quarter and accumulated a 23-0 lead.
Adirondack didn’t get on the board until the second period, and by then it was overwhelmed by the defensive pressure Grimes put on them. It also proved a memorable night for senior Katy McInerney, who more than doubled the Wildcats’ output by scoring a career-best 24 points, adding three steals and three rebounds.
Grimes didn’t have to lean on Azariah Wade, though the sophomore forward still had 10 points and eight rebounds. Ten different players got at least one field goal, with Abby Wilkinson picking up eight points and Liz Wolaver contributing seven points.
continued — As the top seed in the boys sectional Class B bracket, Grimes got no protection, since the field included 16 teams. Thus, the Cobras had to play a first-round game against no. 16 seed Holland Patent, which it handled with ease, rolling to an 83-49 victory over the Golden Knights.
During the opening period, Grimes blitzed HP with 30 points, the most it had scored in any first quarter all season. The margin grew to 52-21 by halftime, and from there the Cobras used everyone on the roster, eventually getting field goals from 12 of the 14 players that saw action.
Johnny Wike earned most of his 14 points from four 3-pointers. A.C. Ater earned 11 points, with Shawn Gashi adding 10 points as Luciano Vigliotti (nine points) and Mark Shattuck (eight points) also got close to double figures.
So while the Grimes girls makes its fateful trip to Westhill, the boys are at home Tuesday night facing no. 9 seed Canastota in its Class B quarterfinal, the Raiders having edged no. 8 seed Jordan-Elbridge 70-67 to get this far.
A win would put the Cobras into Saturday’s semifinal against no. 4 seed Sherburne-Earlville or no. 5 seed Skaneateles Saturday at 4 p.m. at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall.
