Four games into the season, the Marcellus boys basketball team is perfect.
The Mustangs’ fourth consecutive victory was earned last Wednesday night, at Pulaski, where a stingy defense ruled in the game’s opening stages and paved the way as Marcellus went on to top the Blue Devils 59-43.
Even as its own offense faced some early inconsistency, the Mustangs could afford patience since it held Pulaski to just three points in the first quarter. And it didn’t change much until the second half, by which point Marcellus had a double-digit advantage and.
Jerrod Gates put away 20 points to lead the Mustangs. Nick Femano, with 12 points, and Sam Grattan, with 10 points, also reached double figures as Tom Fiacchi finished with eight points and Nate Kellar got seven points. Pulaski’s Noah Smith led both sides with 22 points, but no other Blue Devil had more than six points.
Two nights later, East Syracuse Minoa paid a visit. Even though it was a Class A opponent, the Mustangs handled the assignment, taking charge early in the second half and going from there to beat the Spartans 64-52.
Much of the first half was a tense, low-scoring exchange. Neither side could make a sustained run and Marcellus only led, 25-24, at the break, but it proceeded to outscore ESM 18-8 in the third quarter, holding on to that margin through a string of late free throws.
The Spartans could never contain Fiacchi, who recorded 25 points, including three 3-pointers. Femano added 13 points as he and Fiacchi combined to convert 11 free throws, while Gates earned nine points and Kellar again finished with seven points. Gabe Holloman led ESM with 12 points as Dennis Benjack added 11 points.
No local side in the early portion of the season was as busy as Jordan-Elbridge, who already had six games in the books by the time the Eagles visited Solvay last Friday night, and all of that seasoning seemed to pay off for the Eagles, who topped the Bearcats 63-50.
Throughout the game, J-E added to its early lead, outscoring Solvay in every quarter without one spectacular burst. Nine different Eagles scored as Aidan Carpenter and Jonah Patrick each got 12 points, with Colin Barrigar adding 10 points. Mason Barrigar had nine points and Brandon Wick contributed seven points.
Meanwhile, Solvay tried to keep up, but was betrayed by its lack of depth. Just five different Bearcats managed a field goal, negating the fact that Shawn Edwards, with 17 points, and Jake Dippold, with 15 points, had the top two individual efforts.
To start the week, J-E was 1-3, but it gained its second victory last Monday when it held off General Brown 66-61. The Eagles gained an early lead amid a fast tempo and eventually had a 52-42 edge through three quarters, which was needed since the Lions cut into that margin down the stretch.
Austin Cassick, with 16 points and seven rebounds, led the attack. Dominic Walborn had 14 points and four rebounds, with Mason Barrigar adding 13 points an four steals and Dale Wagner getting 11 points and seven rebounds.
All of this, plus eight points, five assists and four rebounds from Carpenter, helped J-E fend off the work of General Brown teammates Kyle Nichols and Cameron Giruzzi, as Nichols got 21 points, including three 3-pointers, and Giruzzi added 20 points.
Then it was off to Cortland Wednesday night, where the Eagles started and finished well, but had lots of problems containing the Purple Tigers in the middle stages of a 67-57 defeat.
J-E’s 13-12 advantage through one period vanished when Cortland proceeded to outscore them 45-30 over the course of the next two quarters. Sheridan Crane led that Purple Tigers charge and finished with 27 points, helped by Rory Hines (12 points) and Will Price (10 points).
Unable to keep up with that pace, the Eagles still had Mason Barrigar hit three 3-pointers on his way to 20 points overall, while eight of Wagner’s 13 points came at the free-throw line and Collin Barrigar earned all of his 12 points from four 3-pointers.
Solvay had gone to Mexico last Tuesday night and struggled to find much production in a 55-38 defeat to the Tigers. Much of that deficit was built in the first quarter, when Mexico raced out to a 17-7 edge.
For the rest of the game, the Bearcats tried to catch up, and were within six, 38-32, before falling back in the fourth quarter, with no one scoring in double figures as Josh Posnick led with nine points, while Dippold and Edwards had eight points apiece.
By contrast, Mexico depended heavily on three players, seeing Dakota Deasy put home 20 points, while Zach Lawler got most of his 15 points from three 3-pointers and Dylan Delong contributed 11 points.