Even with as much progress as the Marcellus boys basketball team has made this winter, it remains a few steps from the top of the OHSL Liberty division ranks.

Westhill still remains the standard, as it proved in last Thursday night’s showdown with the Mustangs. Mostly leaning on its defense, the state Class B no. 5-ranked Warriors turned back Marcellus and prevailed by a 58-45 margin.

Marcellus had lots of momentum thanks to its last-second win over Skaneateles on Jan. 6, but that dissipated during a first quarter where Westhill sprinted out to a 21-9 lead. That gave the Warriors more freedom on the defensive end to apply its pressure and not let the Mustangs respond.

Though the margin remained the same, Westhill wasn’t content with a 34-21 halftime lead, instead limiting Marcellus to seven points in the third quarter to extend that lead to 52-28, more than enough as a late Mustangs charge only made things a bit closer.

Sean Dadey, with 15 points, four steals, three rebounds and three assists, led the Westhill charge as Kameren Jackson contributed 10 points and 11 rebounds. Owen Matukas earned eight points as Antonio Scrimale got six points and five assists.

Westhill’s defense was most effective on Nick Femano and Tom Fiacchi, holding them to three combined field goals. That was something Marcellus could not overcome despite Nate Kellar earning 16 points and Connor Wixson getting 12 points, with Ben Fedorenko adding six points.

As that went on, West Genesee, whose first-place CNY Counties League showdown with Liverpool was postponed last Tuesday (the makeup is Jan. 24), pulled things together to stay undefeated, beating Henninger 76-70 to earn its ninth consecutive victory.

A long-time nemesis for the state Class AA no. 22-ranked Wildcats, the Black Knights were struggling under new head coach Mo Speights, who took over after Erik Saroney left for Onondaga Community College, where he’s led the Lazers to a no. 1 national ranking.

WG didn’t mind the turnaround, steadily working its way to a 55-34 lead through three quarters, and then hanging on against Henninger’s late charge led by Drequan Brantley, who poured in a game-high 27 points.

Jack Bova hit seven 3-pointers for the Wildcats and led his side with 24 points, while Malik Zachery had 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Lucas Sutherland had a strong night, too, earning 16 points, six rebounds and four blocks as Will Amica contributed eight points.

Three area boys teams had played the night before, with Bishop Ludden and Jordan-Elbridge each earning victories.

Ludden, gearing up for its “Holy War” against CBA in the Pathfinder Classic at Le Moyne College, rolled past Oswego 75-38, the game quickly controlled by the Gaelic Knights when it raced to a 25-8 lead by the end of the first quarter. It also bashed the Buccaneers during a 23-9 third-quarter push.

With a busy schedule ahead, Ludden used everyone on the roster, and 11 different players earned field goals, with none getting more than the 14 points put up by eighth-grader Jai Smith. Mika Adams-Woods and Keandre Sanders each had nine points as Ed Walser, Joe Connor and Nick Demonte had eight points apiece and Kenan Curry contributed seven points.

J-E, meanwhile, was getting quite an effort from Dale Wagner as it rolled past Phoenix 61-42 to improve its record to 4-7. Accounting for nearly half his team’s offense, Wagner set a career mark with 30 points, connecting on 11 field goals, two of them 3-pointers, and adding six free throws.

Much of this was done after the first quarter, when the Eagles fell behind 18-15. Dominating the Firebirds the rest of the way, J-E featured Wagner, but got help from Collin Barrigar (eight points) and Mason Barrigar (seven points), which helped to overcome the 22 points scored by Phoenix’s Jack Allen.

On Friday night, J-E won again, topping Hannibal 49-43 when it rallied from a 29-24 third-quarter deficit with a far more balanced attack than it showed against Phoenix.

Wagner led the way, but only had 12 points, getting help from Brandon Wick, who had 10 points, plus Aidan Carpenter, who got nine points as Mason Barrigar contributed eight points.

Ludden played on Friday and plowed past Cortland 46-34, mostly leaning on its defense and only having four players score baskets. But Connor, with 20 points, and Adams-Woods, with 18 points, helped the Gaelic Knights prevail.

Solvay also played on Wednesday night, but lost to Skaneateles 56-46 in a game where a strong second quarter gave the Bearcats a 27-20 halftime lead, but it vanished when the Lakers outscored them 22-8 in the third quarter.

Still, Solvay showed some signs of improvement as Shawn Edwards finished with 17 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Jake Dippold finished with 13 points, while Brady Preble earned eight points. Jake Reed led the Skaneateles comeback as he poured in 24 points.