A strong finish to the regular season meant that the Skaneateles boys basketball team achieved a 6-5 record in the Onondaga High School League Liberty division.
That alone would put the Lakers into the Section III Class B playoffs, since a .400 win percentage was required and Skaneateles was well above it. Yet the chance to get a .400 overall record at 8-12 remained within the Lakers’ grasp heading into last Tuesday’s regular-season finale at Hannibal.
With the pressure off after a Feb. 3 win over Phoenix secured that playoff berth, the Lakers, especially Matt Neumann, unloaded on the Warriors in the first quarter of a 70-55 victory, accounting for most of that eventual margin by outscoring Hannibal 22-9 in a decisive first quarter.
It stayed that way until the third period, when Skaneateles nearly doubled the Warriors’ total, 23-12, and got away as Neumann kept on firing 3-pointers and making them, six in all, on his way to a career-best 29 points.
Between Neumann, Jake Reed and Jeremy Castle, that trio accounted for most of the Lakers’ damage, Reed and Castle each finishing with 13 points. By contrast, only one Hannibal player, Connor McNeil, scored in double figures, earning 15 points.
Next Wednesday, Skaneateles will find out where it will start the sectional tournament, likely with a first-round game on Feb. 17.
