by E. Jay Zarett

West Genesee and Bishop Ludden’s boys basketball teams met in the Section III playoffs each of the last two years, in the quarterfinal round, the Gaelic Knights winning on both occasions.

Now, as the top two seeds in the 2017 edition of the sectional tournament, they were lined up to meet for the title – but neither would get there.

Despite a fourth-quarter comeback bid, the no. 2 Wildcats were topped by no. 6 Henninger, 63-59 in last Saturday’s sectional AA semifinal at SRC Arena, right after the top-seeded Gaelic Knights fell to no. 4 seed Liverpool 60-54 in a rematch of the 2016 sectional final.

In the case of WG, its season ended at the expense of a Henninger side it beat in early January before the Black Knights won 11 of 12, including its playoff rematch with the Wildcats.

“The win is big for the program,” Henninger head coach Gilbert Speights said. “We competed all year and played hard.”

Henninger jumped out to an early first quarter lead and maintained its advantage for the game’s opening 12 minutes. A jumper by WG’s Lucas Sutherland briefly put his team ahead 25-24, but a lay-up from Black Knights guard Kaijah Rodgers quickly put the Black Knights back in front.

With under a minute left to play before halftime, a 3-pointer by Jack Bova (his only basket all night) and a transition dunk by Sutherland put the Wildcats up, 32-30, heading into the locker room. That lead didn’t last long, either, as Henninger tied it, 40-40,  midway through the third quarter and ended the period with a 48-43 advantage.

“I thought that our guys stuck to the defensive game plan,” Speights said. “I thought that we rebounded really well and we executed.”

Henninger extended its margin to double digits in the fourth quarter and led by as much as 12, but over the next four minutes, the Wildcats cut into its deficit, and with under a minute to go, Malik Zachery nailed a long 3-pointer to make it a one-possession game.

However, Rodgers hit a clutch free throw with just under 20 seconds remaining to secure the victory for Henninger. Rodgers totaled 12 points in the contest, just behind Requan Porch (14 points) and Jaden Graves (13 points) as part of a balanced Black Knights attack.

“I feel like everybody on our team is underrated, as far as every aspect of the game,” Rodgers said. “We are just still trying to prove everybody wrong.”

Sutherland and Zachery each tallied 20 points to lead the Wildcats, and Nate Phillips added nine points, but WG could not overcome Bova’s struggles and saw a remarkable season that started with 10 straight wins conclude at 17-4.

Just before that, in the first sectional semifinal, Ludden tried to beat Liverpool for a third straight time, just as it had on this same court a year ago in the title game and again in early December in the adjacent Allyn Hall.  But the Warriors would not let that happen.

Gaelic Knights star guard Mika Adams-Woods found his rhythm early, scoring nine points in the opening quarter, but he got little help and Ludden trailed, 21-12, after the first eight minutes.

During the second quarter, Adams-Woods continued to carry the scoring load, knocking down a 3-pointer to cut the Gaelic Knights deficit to seven early in the period and, just prior to halftime, converting on consecutive lay-ups to shrink Liverpool’s lead to 33-30.

Ludden tied the score at 38-38 near the midway point of the third quarter, pulled in front and maintained that lead until the opening minutes of the final period. Then Liverpool’s Cooper Chaffee scored seven consecutive points and Ludden never managed to recover.

The Warriors advantage grew to as many as eight in the game’s final minutes before a small rally by Bishop Ludden shrunk the deficit to 57-54. But with 36 seconds remaining, Liverpool’s Charles Pride grabbed an offensive rebound and converted at the rim, sealing the Warriors’ win and, ultimately, a spot against Henninger in the sectional final.

Adams-Woods tallied 26 points, while Joe Connor had 11 points. Keandre Sanders and Ed Walser had six points apiece. Chaffee led Liverpool with 19 points, with Pride (13 points) and Nahjier Johnson (11 points) also reaching double figures.