If the Skaneateles boys basketball team’s season didn’t reach a low point when it dropped a last-second decision to Marcellus on Jan. 6 for its second defeat to the Mustangs in a 10-day span, it may have found the nadir in its next outing – but recovered just in time.
Mired at 3-7, the Lakers were trailing 1-8 Solvay midway through last Wednesday night’s game, only to see Jake Reed lead a third-quarter turnaround that ultimately propelled Skaneateles to a 56-46 victory over the Bearcats.
For a while, it looked like the Lakers hadn’t recovered from those Marcellus battles. A trade of baskets broke up in the second quarter when Shawn Edwards, who finished with 17 points, and Jake Dippold, who finished with 13 points, led a strong second-quarter Solvay surge.
Outscored 16-7 in that frame, Skaneateles stared at a 27-20 deficit. It did not blink, though, as Reed caught fire in the third quarter, arguably the most important eight minutes of the Lakers’ season, and propelled the hosts to a 22-8 run.
Never caught, Skaneaeles saw Reed finish with 24 points, helped a bit by Jeremy Castle, who had 10 points. Ben Delasin and Matt Neumann gained seven points apiece.
Looking for back-to-back wins, Skaneateles went east to Buckley Gym Friday night and faced Cazenovia, keeping pace most of the way in this Laker duel, but victimized by timely runs in a 69-61 defeat.
An early Cazenovia 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, which proved decisive..
Reed stayed in top form, though, pouring in 27 points as Castle earned four 3-pointers to account for most of his 18 points and Justin McClanahan added seven points. On Cazenovia’s side, Thomas Bragg and Dan Kent both had 17 points, with Kevin Stalder adding 16 points and Nate Romig getting 11 points.
On Thursday night, the Skaneateles girls basketball team went to Cazenovia and lost a 42-36 decision.
Even as Skaneateles tried to establish its attack, Cazenovia was putting freshman Lindsay Lawson into a central role as she and Daneille Tedesco accounted for the entire offense, the hosts inching into a 23-22 lead by halftime.
That margin grew to 33-29 by the end of the third quarter, and Tedesco had scored 15 points. But Lawson had 16 points, and she didn’t stop there, either, joining her teammates in holding Skaneateles to seven points in the fourth quarter while scoring five of her side’s nine points to finish with 21 points overall.
