A loud statement was made by the West Genesee boys basketball team. And both of the teams at Bishop Ludden remain in control of their biggest rivalries.
Those were the big takeaways from Saturday’s Pathfinder Bank Zebra Classic, held for the first time at Le Moyne College’s Henninger Athletic Center and featuring five games over the course of the afternoon and evening.
Of them, the first game carried the most meaning, from a prestige standpoint. West Genesee’s boys brought a 9-0 record, a no. 22 state ranking and a lot to prove into its clash against state no. 9-ranked Shenendehowa – and passed every possible test to pound the Plainsmen 77-58.
Going in, WG knew that its best path toward a win against Shen traveled through its guard tandem of Malik Zachery and Jack Bova, and neither of them would disappoint.
Shots started falling early as the Wildcats led the Plainsmen 24-15 after one period. When Shen tried to close the gap late in the half, WG answered with six straight points, capped by Zachery’s 3-pointer that made it 40-29 at the break.
That momentum carried over into the third quarter, where WG outscored Shen 21-13, essentially putting the game away. Zachery finished with 24 points, while Bova kept hitting 3-pointers (six of them) on his way to 22 points and Lucas Sutherland picked up 14 points. Luke Hicks led the Plainsmen with 28 points.
At the other end of the slate was the nighttime renewal of the boys basketball “Holy War” between Bishop Ludden and Christian Brothers Academy, and the recent trend of this series toward the Gaelic Knights continued as a long mid-game spurt subdued the Brothers and led to a 53-41 victory.
Back in January 2009, Ludden and CBA met at Le Moyne, and the Gaelic Knights were shut out in the first quarter on the way to another defeat at a time where the Brothers dominated the ‘Holy War’.
If there is such a thing as getting even with an entirely different roster eight years later, Ludden did so, erasing CBA’s 17-14 second-quarter lead in the most emphatic way possible while wearing throwback brown-and-white jerseys from St. Anthony’s as CBA donned red-and-white St. Vincent’s jerseys as part of the Zebra Classic’s annual salute to the Parochial League.
First, the Gaelic Knights cranked up its defense, not allowing a point for the rest of the first half (the Brothers missed eight straight shots) as it took a 30-24 lead. Then Ludden extended CBA’s drought through the first four minutes of the third quarter.
By then, Ludden had registered 24 unanswered points to take a 38-17 lead. While the Brothers whittled the margin down to 11 in the fourth quarter and the Gaelic Knights struggled late at the free-throw line, the outcome was settled.
Mika Adams-Woods again paced Ludden, earning 21 points. Joe Connor added 11 points, with eighth-grader Jai Smith adding 12 rebounds to go with six points. Nic Button had seven points and Ed Walser got six points. On CBA’s side, Kevin Underwood had 17 points and Dan Damico got 14 points.
Right before the ‘Holy War’, there was the girls basketball neighborhood classic between Bishop Ludden and Westhill, where the state Class B no. 3-ranked Gaelic Knights completed a regular-season sweep of the Warriors, hanging on late for a 63-56 victory.
These teams had met Dec. 21 at Westhill, and Ludden had won it 55-41 by breaking open a close contest in the fourth quarter. Here, the Gaelic Knights would nearly get victimized by the Warriors’ own strong finish.
While both teams were productive in the early going, Ludden still gained the lead, and dominated the second quarter, too, leading by as much as 20 and heading into the break with a 40-22 advantage.
Westhill showed its toughness, though, by eating into that large deficit throughout the course of the second half and also getting the Gaelic Knights’ top players into foul trouble. Mackenzie Martin, scoring 15 of her 22 points in the second half, led that Warriors’ push.
Still, the Gaelic Knights would stay in front, led again by Danielle Rauch, who poured in a game-high 27 points. Laura Patulski had 12 points, while Karleigh Leo had nine points. Meg Sierotnik had nine rebounds, eight assists and six steals to go with five points as Ally Weigand earned six points.
Martin was one of four Westhill players to score in double figures. Brigid Heinrich had a season-best 14 points as Katelyn Karleski and Morgan Elmer earned 10 points apiece.
Also as part of the Zebra Classic, Solvay faced Institute of Technology Central and lost, 67-51, unable to recover from a first quarter where the Eagles outscored them 17-3. Jake Dippold still had 20 points to lead the Bearcats as Shawn Edwards added 13 points and ITC’s Tr’Von Balaam poured in 29 points.
