How to improve on an historic season?
In the case of the Liverpool boys basketball team, it would mean getting back to the state Class AA final four and, perhaps, bringing home the program’s first-ever state championship.
Nothing less is in the mind of head coach Ryan Blackwell and his players in 2017-18. True, a strong senior class departed, including the likes of Jonah Harder, Devan Mederios, Cooper Chaffee and Nick Windhausen.
However, unlike many other top local teams, the Warriors did not see talented underclassmen leave for prep schools. Having Charles Pride and Naj Johnson back for their senior seasons instantly makes Liverpool one of the sectional favorites, regardless of who else is on the roster.
Yet what was evident last Saturday night as the Warriors flattened Bishop Grimes 79-47 in the Peppino’s Invitational at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall was that opponents could play a heavy price for fixating on Pride and Johnson.
To start with, Liverpool’s defense suffocated the Cobras, holding them without a field goal for the game’s first seven minutes as it built an 18-1 lead.
And even when Grimes started to find the basket on a consistent basis in the second quarter, the Warriors had a ready answer, closing that period on an 11-0 run to take a 48-25 lead to halftime. By then, six different players had hit on 3-point shots.
All told, Liverpool hit on 11 3-pointers, none more spectacular than Pride’s full-court heave that found the basket at the end of the third quarter.
What was more, the Warriors had a near-perfect scoring balance, with eight different players scoring at least six points, but none more than Pride’s total of 12 points, which he augmented with eight rebounds and five assists.
Alan Willmes had 10 points and five rebounds, with Johnson getting nine points and five rebounds. Noah Issakainen, Joe DeSocio, Jake Piseno and Nick Klein each got eight points, with Kyle Butler gaining six points.
By the time Liverpool took the court, its neighbors from Cicero-North Syracuse (whom the Warriors face Dec. 22) were already 3-0, having claimed a tournament in New Hartford on Nov. 24-25 and then rallying past Corning (Section IV) 46-40 in last Friday’s home opener.
During a rough first half, the Northstars were cold from the field. Trailing 29-16 at the break, C-NS ate into that margin in a bit in the third quarter, setting up a near-perfect effort in the final eight minutes.
The Northstars outscored Corning 17-2 in the fourth quarter to go in front. Riley Hogan worked his total to 14 points as Jaysaun Gunn added 11 points. A.J. Forney had six rebounds and four assists to go with his five points.
C-NS would go for four in a row Tuesday against Rome Free Academy before hosting CBA Friday night. Liverpool makes a weekend trip to the Rochester area, where it plays East (Section V) Saturday and Elmira (Section IV) on Sunday afternoon.
