Eight consecutive victories meant that the Bishop Grimes boys basketball team had a perfect run through January. Doing so in February isn’t required – but something close to it could mean another Section III title run.
The most recent of these eight straight wins took place Friday night as the Cobras, even without a key player in the lineup, pulled away from visiting Auburn and defeated the Maroons 83-66.
Grimes was without senior swingman Jonah Cummings, the team’s third-leading scorer with more than 11 points per game, who was sidelined due to illness.
Fellow senior Paul Cifonelli took Cummings’ spot in the starting five, but Dom Delvecchio maintained his sixth-man role, and played it to perfection on this night, making up for Cummings’ lost production.
Auburn had won 11 in a row at one point this season, yet had lost its previous two games to Bishop Ludden and Syracuse Academy of Science. Still, it started well at Grimes, grabbing a 13-6 lead, but it didn’t last.
In a run that bridged the first and second quarters, the Cobras outscored the Maroons 21-4, most of it the work of guards Shawn Gashi and Lucci Vigliotti. Then Delvecchio, with a pair of timely 3-pointers, pushed Grimes’ lead to double digits before Auburn, overcoming some foul trouble, cut the margin to 41-36 by halftime.
Still within range, the Maroons saw Grimes get away when it closed the third quarter on a 12-2 run, extending its lead to 63-46. It got more lopsided from there as Gashi finished with 25 points and Vigliotti got 24 points, the pair combining for six 3-pointers as Delvechhio gained 12 points and David Mo earned nine points.
This begins a tough regular-season homestretch for Grimes, who on Wednesday hosts the same SAS team that beat both Auburn and Jamesville-DeWitt in recent weeks, and then on Friday the Cobras venture to Bishop Ludden, hoping it can improve upon the lopsided 56-35 defeat it took to the Gaelic Knights on Dec. 9.
J-D also played on Friday night, at Cortland, and handled the Purple Tigers 78-56, a steady performance that saw the Red Rams gain a 41-24 margin by halftime and then cruise from there led by Ronald Lewis, who set a career mark with 20 points and added seven points.
That took pressure off Buddy Boeheim, who still had a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, plus five assists. Darvin Lovette contributed 14 points, with Matt Carlin getting seven points and eight rebounds as Trey Greene had eight points and seven rebounds.
One of the big games remaining on J-D’s regular-season schedule is this Saturday night’s visit from Christian Brothers Academy as part of a girls/boys doubleheader. The Brothers beat Fulton 69-42 Friday, building most of that margin on the Red Raiders during a 38-15 first-half push.
Kevin Underwood again put up big numbers, earning 30 points as Peyton Shumpert contributed 12 points. No one else had more than Malcolm Jackson’s total of six points as Jake Gugula, with 12 points, was the lone Fulton player to score in double figures.
The struggles of Fayetteville-Manlius continued Friday with a 62-51 loss to Corcoran, who worked its way to a 33-24 halftime lead and kept the Hornets from getting much closer despite 27 points from Tim Zapisek. Ryan Salzberg added nine points as the Cougars’ Ryan Kisselstein had 16 points and 16 rebounds, with Daimarr Miller adding 14 points.
Before anyone else played last week, East Syracuse Minoa did so, hosting Central Square on Wednesday and overwhelmed in a 68-43 defeat. Already trailing 30-20 at halftime, the Spartans saw any hope of victory dashed when the Redhawks outscored them 26-12 in the third quarter.
No ESM player scored in double figures. Colton Cwikla and Kevin Richardson each had eight points, while Jon Atkinson and David Dabrowski got six points apiece. For Central Square, Slade Springer stood out with 18 points and 16 rebounds as Dante Rogers added 13 points and Cooper Colesante got 12 points.
On Saturday, ESM lost, 67-55, to Homer, a game where the Spartans were within close range most of the way, yet could not put together a sustained run to make the Trojans worry a bit more.
Cwikla was outstanding, though, putting up a season-high 23 points that included three 3-pointers. Gabe Holloman earned 14 points as Dabrowski added 10 points. Homer had a bit more depth, with Riley McEvoy (23 points), Jacob Rivers (16 points) and Kyle Hess (11 points) leading that effort.
