A single result, in late November, may not have a large impact on what follows in the ensuing three months for the Cicero-North Syracuse boys basketball team. Or it might pave the way to a turnaround season.
Either way, the Northstars’ 56-54 victory at Corning last Saturday night proved a welcome boost for a side that didn’t’ even reach the Section III Class AA playoffs a season ago and, at the very least, wants to correct that portion of the narrative this winter.
For more than three quarters, things did not go well for C-NS. Every time it tried to put together a run, Corning answered it, and the Northstars trailed, 47-38, going into the fourth quarter, that deficit growing to 13 with three minutes left.
Desperate, C-NS went into a press, forced a string of Corning turnovers, and whittled that deficit down to one, 54-53, with 20 seconds left. When Corning missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw, the Northstars rushed down the court.
Working off of a triple screen, Chris Stowell, on the perimeter, took a pass from Jaysaun Gunn and, with three seconds to play, drained the go-ahead 3-pointer. It capped a night where Stowell finished with 11 points and Gunn led with 13 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Alex Gray gave C-NS a double-double, earning 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Lorenzo Thompson, with 12 points and four rebounds, made it four Northstars to score in double figures. Eric Bowen contributed three steals and three assists.
C-NS makes another long road trip this Friday to Rome Free Academy and then is off until the Dec. 16 home opener against CBA. Meanwhile, Liverpool opens this Saturday night against Bishop Ludden at SRC Arena in the Peppino’s Invitational, on the same court where the Warriors lost to the Gaelic Knights in last March’s sectional final.
