When the Cazenovia varsity basketball teams opened their respective 2016-17 seasons on the last night of November, one side was on the road and the other was at home – but it was the road team that enjoyed things a lot more.
The boys Lakers were at Solvay, and in a tightly-fought contest full of all-out effort on both sides, it was one particular stretch that got Cazenovia out in front for keeps and led to a 48-43 victory over the Bearcats.
Neither side was contained too much during the first half, Cazenovia getting a small lead, yet unable to establish a margin as Solvay stayed within two, 29-27, at the break. Then the Lakers cracked down, limiting the Bearcats to two points in the third quarter and seizing a 39-29 edge that held up down the stretch.
Four players accounted for all but one of Cazenovia’s field goals. Kevin Stalder led with 17 points, while Dan Kent got 12 points. Thomas Bragg sneaked into double figures with 10 points as Chris Becker contributed six points. Jake Dippold, with 14 points, was the only Solvay player to score in double figures.
Meanwhile, at Buckley Gym, Cazenovia’s girls basketball team had the misfortune of drawing Bishop Grimes for an opening assignment and the Cobras, out to prove that it can challenge Westhill for Section III Class B honors, unleashed relentless defensive pressure that bottled up the Lakers throughout a 57-14 defeat.
For a brief moment, Cazenovia may have figured it could stay in range, as it only trailed 10-5 after one period. But Grimes’ full-court pressure took a heavy toll and led to a 24-6 second-quarter blitz, and things got more lopsided from there.
Leading a well-balanced Grimes attack, Maria Naylor had 14 points, including four 3-pointers, while center Azariah Wade got 13 points. Abby Wilkinson poured in 11 points as Brianna Squier contributed nine points.
Only three Lakers were able to convert field goals, all in the first three quarters. Saige Ackermann, fresh off leading the Cazenovia girls soccer team in goal-scoring, hit a pair of 3-pointers, while Danielle Tedesco and Lindsey Lawson, each of them standouts on the sectional Class B championship varsity squad, had four points apiece.
Cazenovia’s girls would get a week to recover and practice before visiting Oswego on Wednesday and Hannibal on Friday, but the boys Lakers didn’t get – or want – any luxury of rest.
Instead, it was at Buckley Gym on Friday night for its home opener against 1-2 Jordan-Elbridge, Again, Cazenovia’s defense was superb, but the offense improved enough so that it defeated the Eagles by a more comfortable 56-40 margin.
All through the first half, the Lakers proved stingy, J-E only managing a handful of field goals. That helped to build a 31-18 margin, and though the Eagles caught up a bit in the third quarter, it could not sustain the comeback and Cazenovia pulled further away.
Bragg hit on four 3-pointers and led all individuals with 16 points. Otherwise, things were more balanced and spread out, with Kent contributing 10 points and Stalder getting nine points as Becker improved to eight points and Nate Romig picked up six points.
Having started 2-0, Cazenovia would look for three in a row Tuesday at Homer before a big early-season showdown with its Madison County neighbors from Chittenango, who raced off to its own 3-0 start in the first two weeks of the season.
