Now the hype is over, the spotlight quieted, and the boys basketball teams from Jamesville-DeWitt and Bishop Grimes and can move ahead, perhaps to a post-season rematch, but likely not with the same emotion, or excitement, swirling around Friday night’s encounter.
In the first game Bob McKenney coached against the side he led for so long, the Cobras led most of the way, only to have the Red Rams rally and send the game to overtime, where another comeback was capped by Takuya LaClair’s 3-pointer in the waning seconds that helped give J-D a 69-67 victory.
By now, all were familiar with the backstory – the 19 seasons McKenney spent at J-D, the five state championships, the 378 victories with players that included Andy Rautins, Brandon Triche, Tyler Cavanaugh and Dajuan Coleman, and the sudden, abrupt departure in March 2015.
It was left to see how the home J-D crowd would react to seeing their one-time coaching hero working in front of the other bench, and wearing different trademark suspenders than the red ones McKenney wore throughout his J-D tenure.
Besides that, though, the game was important to both teams. J-D, undefeated at 4-0, sat at no. 14 in the state Class A rankings, three spots behind Grimes, who was 3-1 and no. 11 in the state, its lone defeat coming to defending Section III Class AA champion Bishop Ludden.
With nerves expected on all sides, Grimes handled them quite well during the first quarter, making several defensive stops and streaking out to an 18-10 lead.
Then J-D started to get its attack going, and the Cobras couldn’t do much about it except try and keep pace. By halftime, Grimes was clinging to a 34-31 lead.
Adjusting to the pace, the Cobras gradually restored its margin in the third period, and led 50-43 with one quarter to go, only to go cold early in the final period as J-D, putting together its stretch of the night, tied it, 54-54, with nearly four minutes left.
It wasn’t until a basket with 2:36 left that the Rams took its first lead of the night, 58-56, but that was J-D’s last basket of regulation.
Defenses on both ends made big stops, yet the Rams pushed it too far by fouling Grimes’ Shawn Gashi in the waning seconds. Gashi coolly made both shots, tying it 58-58, and it would go to overtime.
It was Jonah Cummings seizing the momentum for the Cobras in the four-minute OT with a sequence that included taking a charge and then converting a basket (his only one of the night) on the other end, giving Grimes a 64-60 lead.
Again J-D fought back, moving within two, 67-65, with a minute to play, and then made a key defensive stop. As time wound down, Grimes made sure that Buddy Boeheim, who had 30 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and four steals on the night, didn’t get an open look.
However, that left LaClair open, and his 3-pointer with 8.9 secondsd left gave the Rams a 68-67 lead. Then Grimes turned it over again, and in the waning seconds guard Barbaro Noda made three of four three-throw attempts to clinch J-D’s victory.
Aided by the biggest 3-pointer of his career, LeClair had 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists, with Matt Carlin contributing nine points (all from 3-pointers) and eight rebounds. Noda earned seven points and Luke Smith got six points.
Grimes got most of its offense from a quartet of players. Gashi earned 11 of his 25 points at the foul line, with David Mo gaining 19 points, including three 3-pointers. Dom Delvecchio had 11 points and Lucci Vigliotti earned 10 points.
From there, the Cobras would face Fayetteville-Manlius Wednesday in the opening round of the ‘More Than a Game’ Tournament, with the Hornets coming off its first win of the season as it edged Corcoran 51-50.
Up 41-37 going into the fourth quarter, the Hornets had to hang on, not sealing it until a Cougars game-winning shot at the buzzer went off the rim. Tim Zapisek had 18 points, while Ryan Salzberg had 11 points. Henry Josephson added nine points and Nick Perry contributed six points.
As for J-D, it will face its neighbors from Christian Brothers Academy Thursday night at 8:15 in the opening round of the Brothers’ annual Bottar-Leone Holiday Classic. The faces Westhill or Cicero-North Syracuse in Friday night’s championship game.
