Six minutes of brilliance propelled the Liverpool boys basketball team to end 18 years of waiting for a Section III championship.
The Warriors sprinted out to a 21-1 lead on Henninger in Sunday night’s sectional Class AA final at SRC Arena and rode that momentum all the way to a 73-51 victory over the Black Knights.
“We attacked from the opening tip and never let them back in it,” said Warriors forward Cooper Chaffee.
At the root of this blitz was what took place the last time Liverpool met Henninger on Jan. 31. The Warriors lost, 55-47, on its home court, part of a late-season surge by the Black Knights that carried them from a 3-7 start all the way to the sectional final.
Combine that motivation with the scars still present from dropping last year’s sectional final to Bishop Ludden, and Liverpool arrived at this title game with more than enough motivation.
“They remembered that feeling (from 2016) and they knew what was at stake,” said Warriors head coach Ryan Blackwell.
As things got underway, Henninger found itself staring at intense man-to-man pressure, not the zone defense it solved at Liverpool the last time around. It rattled the Black Knights, to the point where it would not convert a field goal until the last minute of the first quarter.
Meanwhile, Charles Pride, who had plenty of experience in championship games while playing at Christian Brothers Academy, set the tone on offense by scoring 10 points in that opening period.
The rest of the Warriors fed off Pride’s output and kept building the margin until it was 21-1 at the six-minute mark, creating a large margin for error that would come in handy.
Henninger recovered enough to climb back within single digits late in the second quarter, helped by the fact that Pride and Nahjier Johnson each picked up three fouls. It got as close as seven, but Liverpool restored the margin to 38-26 by halftime.
Then Chaffee took over.
In a move similar to his seven-point run that turned around the sectional semifinal against Ludden, Chaffee notched six points in a 9-0 Warriors run during the third quarter, and ultimately netted 19 second-half points.
“Cooper plays his best on the weekend,” said Blackwell.
Despite that foul trouble, Johnson still finished with 13 points, and the Warriors’ superior depth was on display as Noah Issakainen picked up eight points and Kyle Butler added six points.
Having finally delivered a first sectional title since the Paul Seymour-led Liverpool side won it all in 1999, the Warriors now want a spot in the state final four in Binghamton.
To get it, Liverpool will need to beat Section II champion Bethlehem in this Saturday’s Class AA regional final at SRC Arena. Given its depth, size, talent and athleticism, the Warriors are confident that its list of accomplishments in 2016-17 won’t end with a sectional title.
“We just need to not back down, keep attacking and don’t be afraid,” said Chaffee.
