With the game tied, an archrival poised for possible payback and the home fans in full throat, Marcellus boys basketball guard Nate Kellar knew what he had to do.
Kellar would make his way through the defenders and convert the go-ahead basket in the waning seconds, and the Mustangs would hang on to defeat Skaenateles 48-46 last Friday night, its second win over the Lakers in a nine-day span.
These same teams had met at Skaneateles Dec. 28 in the first round of the ‘Hoops for the Hospital’ Tournament, and Marcellus had pulled it out, 68-64. The Mustangs had gone on to lose the final to Susquehanna Valley 59-47, unable to overcome a 30-20 halftime deficit despite 10 points from Kellar and 14 points from Nick Femano.
Barely a week later, the rematch carried even more drama. Far tougher on the defensive side than it was in the first meeting with the Mustangs, Skaneateles fought its way to a 23-23 halftime tie and then appeared to take over in the third quarter, grabbing the lead and extending it to 39-33 when Kenny Peterson hit a long 3-pointer at the horn.
Unfazed by this, Marcellus stayed within range and then caught up when Kellar, relatively quiet to that point, made back-to-back baskets that, with 2:20 left, gave the Mustangs a 46-45 lead.
Defensive stops on both ends followed, but the Mustangs gave Skaneateles a chance to go back in front when it fouled Justin McClanahan with 25 seconds left. But McClanahan hit only one of the free throws, tying it at 46-46.
Marcellus originally planned to have Kellar work it inside to his forwards, Jerrod Gates or Nick Femano. But Kellar instead drove through an opening in the Lakers’ defense and, with six seconds left, hit the go-ahead layup. Though it had time for a winning shot, Skaneateles could not answer.
The winning basket gave Kellar 11 points, in between Gates’ total of 12 points and Femano’s total of 10 points. Jake Reed led Skaneateles with 18 points, while Jeremy Castle got nine points.
Bishop Ludden had its own memorable moment on Friday night at Mexico as its junior guard, Mika Adams-Woods, surpassed 1,000 career points during the Gaelic Knights’ 51-36 victory over the Tigers.
Entering the game with 992 points, Adams-Woods quickly got that 1,000th point in the first half, joining Doug Smith, Dan Kaigler, Brian Montanaro, Pat Campolieta, Ben Hackett, Terry Smith and Paul Walker as Ludden players to reach that mark.
All told, Adams-Woods had 26 points, helping Ludden maintain its double-digit edge after it held Mexico to two points in the first quarter. Sh’ikem Lee added eight points as Dylan Delong, with 15 points, and Dakota Deasy, with 13 points, accounted for most of Ludden’s offense.
Earlier in the week, Ludden roared back from its initial blemish (a loss to Rochester Aquinas in the Dec. 28 final of the Rosemary Corcoran Holiday Classic) by starting last Tuesday’s game against Fulton with 29 first-quarter points.
The margin grew to 42-14 by halftime, and the Gaelic Knights went on to rout the Red Raiders 82-38. Eighth-grader Jai Smith had his best game yet, pouring in 14 points. He and Adams-Woods, who finished with 22 points, led an attack where Ed Walser got 10 points and three other reserves – Nick Demonte, Nic Button and Joey Desocio – earned eight points apiece.
