Temperamental winter weather has caused plenty of havoc with the the Cazenovia boys basketball team’s schedule.
Amid all of it, though, the boys Lakers have maintained a solid mark, and when it resumed action Wednesday night against Hannibal, it played some of its best defense of the season, not letting up until it had smothered the Warriors 65-25.
This result, combined with Cazenovia’s 59-43 win over Pulaski on Jan. 6, helped the Lakers reach the eight-win threshold needed to clinch a Section III Class B playoff berth, doing so with a month to spare.
Against Hannibal, the Cazenovia defense was nearly perfect in the first half. It didn’t allow a field goal during the first quarter, holding the Warriors to a single free throw, and was nearly as stingy in the second period, too.
Thus, despite a fairly modest attack of its own, the Lakers led 24-4 at halftime, and then doubled that point total during a 24-10 third-quarter blitz, Nate Romig leading the way as he poured in 21 points, including three 3-pointers.
Dan Kent hit four 3-pointers and Thomas Bragg connected twice beyond the arc, each of them finishing with 13 points as Hunter Kowaleski, Austin Enders and Kevin Stalder had six points apiece. On Hannibal’s side, just one player, Zach Shortslef (who had seven points), earned more than one field goal.
On Friday night, Skaneateles visited Buckley Gym, and the Laker duel was a close one until a well-timed run in the fourth quarter propelled Cazenovia to a 69-61 victory as its record improved to 9-4.
An early lead dissipated when Skaneateles rallied to tie it, 24-24, by halftime. But Cazenovia’s attack caught fire in the third quarter, establishing a 44-38 lead, and when threatened again, the hosts reeled off nine straight points midway through the final period and never got caught.
Again, Kent was productive from the point, converting three 3-pointers as he and Bragg both got 17 points. Stalder worked inside for 16 points and Romig also hit three 3-pointers on his way to 11 points. This helped overcome big nights from Jake Reed, who led Skaneateles with 27 points, and Jeremy Castle, who added 18 points.
As this went on, Chittenango, who fell to no. 23 in the state Class B rankings following its Jan. 3 defeat to Westhill, improved to 10-1 on the season by going to Phoenix and unloading in a 92-59 win over the Firebirds.
The Bears steadily built a 39-21 halftime edge and just kept going with 53 second-half points. Once more, Zach Falkenburg sparked the effort, pouring in 34 points while adding 10 assists, six rebounds and five steals.
Five Chittenango players scored in double figures. Matt Lanphear, Dylan Voutsinas and Hunter Hendrix each had 11 points, with Voutsinas adding five assists and four rebounds. Paul Wood, with 10 points, was close behind as Brendan Voutsinas added six points and four rebounds.
