Now that it is getting comfortable with the new leadership provided by head coach Scott Cotter, the Marcellus boys basketball team might just begin to flourish.
The Mustangs made a brief Section III Class B playoff appearance in Cotter’s first season at the helm before bowing out to Westhill. But as most of the other local boys teams continued pre-season scrimmages last weekend,, Marcellus was busy winning the Moravia Tournament, with Jordan-Elbridge taking third place.
In Friday’s opening-round game, the Mustangs faced Greene (Section IV), starting and closing fast on the defensive end to record a 55-44 victory over the Trojans.
Marcellus held Greene to five points in the first quarter, and then spent the game’s middle stages fending off all kinds of Greene rallies before its defense regrouped for the homestretch, limiting the Trojans to eight points in the final period.
Tom Fiacchi and Nate Kellar paced the attack, but in different manners. Fiacchi got most of his 17 points in the field, connecting on eight field goals, while eight of Kellar’s 14 points came from successful free throws. Jerrod Gates had eight points, with Nick Femano adding six points and Sam Grattan gaining five points.
In the other opening-round game, J-E, who also got into the sectional Class B playoffs in 2016 before a first-round loss to Canastota, faced host Moravia and was on even terms until a decisive third quarter led to a 73-60 defeat to the Blue Devils.
They were tied, 9-9, after one period and a wild second quarter produced a 30-30 halftime deadlock, but right after the break Moravia remained hot as the Eagles were outscored 23-9 in that frame, accounting for the entire winning margin.
J-E did recover to defeat Greene 66-54 in Saturday’s consolation game, a back-and-forth affair where the Eagles squandered an early lead and trailed, 28-25, at halftime, only to master the third quarter this time around, outscoring the Trojans 22-14 to move in front for good.
And this led to the final, pitting Marcellus against Moravia. Much like it did against Greene, the Mustangs relied on tight defense as the main component of an effort that produced a 57-51 victory and the first-place trophy.
They played on even terms through the entire first half, the lead constantly exchanged. However, the Mustangs inched in front, 33-31, by halftime, and then limited Moravia to just 10 points in each of the remaining two periods to pull it out.
Four players scored in double figures to account for most of the production. Fiacchi finished with 16 points, and Kellar again was close behind, earning 13 points, while Femano and Jerrod Gates earned 10 points apiece.
Marcellus would start out in the OHSL Liberty division Tuesday night at Altmar-Parish-Williamstown, its only action this week. J-E would host Skaneateles on Tuesday before a Friday-night visit to Buckley Gym to face Cazenovia.
