Of all the boys basketball games that took place during the 14th annual Peppino’s Invitational at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall, none had more excitement, or a more dramatic finish, than Fayetteville-Manlius defeating Rome Free Academy 74-71.
That’s because the Hornets trailed by as many as 20 points in the third quarter, only to storm back helped by a barrage of 3-pointers from the likes of Khai Pugh, Tyler Schneider and Alex Bychkov.
It was capped when when Schneider drained another long outside shot and drew a foul, completing a rare four-point play in the final minute to tie it, 71-71.
Then F-M made one more defensive stop, setting up an opportunity that Pugh cashed in when his 3-pointer at the horn swished. All told, Pugh had 17 points, with Brad Porcita adding 15 points. Bychkov and Schneider had 13 points apiece.
A day earlier, F-M had faced Christian Brothers Academy at OCC, and it turned into a hard-fought affair with plenty of struggles on both ends, but the Hornets doing enough to defeat the Brothers 51-43.
Hurt by a long first-quarter scoring drought, CBA fell behind, with the Hornets gaining a 26-20 lead by halftime. All through the second half, any time it was needed, F-M could get a timely 3-pointer, whether it was Pugh,Schneider or Nick Papa hitting it.
Another big 3-pointer by Procita, along with some key free throws, helped F-M overcome a rough fourth quarter. Procita finished with 11 points as Pugh led with 17 points and Schneider got 10 points. Aaron Clendenin led CBA’s effort, earning 15 points.
In Saturday’s game at OCC, CBA went up against West Genesee, expected to contend for Class AA honors again. And the Brothers lost to the Wildcats 69-51, an early lead vanishing when the Wildcats outscored them 39-18 over the course of the second and third quarters.
Clendenin had 18 points, with SirVocea Dennis getting nine points, but WG got hot starts from Will Amica, who poured in 25 points, and Lucas Sutherland, who had 18 points.
Then F-M returned to the court to face Rome Free Academy on Saturday and trailed by 20 in the third quarter, only to make a sensational comeback to stun the Black Knights 74-71.
F-M had opened last Tuesday at Utica Proctor. The Hornets lost, 61-46, to the Raiders, its offense never getting on track until the fourth quarter, by which point Proctor held a 41-23 lead. Pugh still finished with 15 points, while Procita had 13 points, but the rest of the F-M roster had just five combined field goals.
Two other local teams opened on Friday night, with East Syracuse Minoa falling to Marcellus 54-45 and Manlius-Pebble Hill handled by Faith Heritage 72-28 in the opening round of a tip-off tournament where the Trojans also fell 64-34 to Blessed Virgin Mary.
ESM steadily fell behind Marcellus 31-21 by halftime, cutting into that margin in the third quarter thanks to Dennis Benjack, who would eventually lead both sides by scoring 23 points.
Gabe Holloman had 11 points, with Devin Mascato-Buffaloe adding nine points, yet the Mustangs held on with a bit more depth as five player had six or more points, with Ben Fedorenko (14 points) and Sam Grattan (12 points) leading the way
