Onondaga — When the Bishop Grimes boys basketball program brought in Bob McKenney as head coach, it was dreaming about just the occasion it will have next weekend, when it plays for the Section III Class B championship.
Getting to that point required some hard work throughout the sectional tournament, none of it more stressful than Saturday’s Class B semifinal at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall.
Here, the top-seeded, state no. 15-ranked Cobras trailed by double digits late in the first half, only to erase all of that margin and, by the fourth quarter, take over to defeat the Lakers 67-51.
From a purely numerical standpoint, this was a more decisive victory than the two Grimes earned over Skaneateles in the regular season, but neither of those games (won by scores of 67-54 and 81-67) had the stakes of this one, nor did they have the crisis point the Cobras would face.
Determined to reverse those earlier results, Skaneateles frustrated the Cobras with tight defense throughout the game’s opening stages, not getting discouraged even though Grimes led, 14-11, early in the second quarter.
Then the Lakers made its big move. Zach Blair led Skaneateles, netting 10 points in the first half, including consecutive baskets that capped a 15-2 run and pushed Skaneateles out in front. When Blair netted a 3-pointer late in the second quarter, the Cobras’ deficit stretched out to 31-20.
“We were in a little bit of trouble,” said McKenney.
At the same time, though, the Lakers weren’t capitalizing on its trips to the foul line. All game long, the free throws kept bouncing off the rim, Skaneateles eventually missing 12 of 22 at the line and leaving the door open for a Grimes comeback.
And it was Shawn Gashi sparking that rally, hitting on back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the Skaneateles lead to 31-26. Once the third quarter started, Grimes picked up its pressure on both ends, and it got the Lakers’ key players into serious foul trouble.
continued — Right after Johnny Wike’s 3-pointer pushed Grimes in front 45-42 at the end of the third quarter, Pete Knupp, who led the Lakers with 19 points, picked up his fourth foul in the opening seconds of the final period.
Though Knupp didn’t foul out, two other starters, Sam Duggan and Jake Reed, did leave early, and Skaneateles couldn’t prevent Grimes from taking charge with a decisive 13-0 run.
Wike, in particular, hurt the Lakers with his contributions late in the game, earning 13 of his 17 points in the second half – and he did it all as a sixth man coming off the bench. McKenney said that Wike’s acceptance of that reserve role has played a key role in his team’s success.
Gashi also finished with 17 points and A.C. Ater, who was a constant Lakers target throughout the game, still led the Cobras with 19 points. David Mo added six points.
And this brings the Cobras (21-2) to the sectional Class B final next Saturday against Syracuse Academy of Science, which tips off at 2:45 at SRC Arena.
Grimes originally split its two regular-season games with the Atoms, but SAS had to forfeit its Jan. 17 win over the Cobras in East Syracuse because it had used an ineligible player.
That dropped the Atoms from a no. 4 to no. 7 sectional playoff speed, but it didn’t stop SAS from knocking off no. 2 seed and defending state champion Westhill in the quarterfinals and then topping no. 3 seed Institute of Technology Central 70-65 in the semifinals.
McKenney said he knew the challenge of SAS would be a great one, but that just getting to this point is exciting enough.
“It’s going to be great fun,” said McKenney. “We’re thrilled to be still playing.”
