Even as it roared out to a 3-0 start, the Marcellus boys basketball team knew that it wouldn’t find out just how good it was until it went up against the reigning state Class B champions from Westhill.
Those two neighbors clashed last Thursday night, and while the Warriors did not have Owen Matukas in the lineup, it got big nights from Sean Dadey and Zechariah Brown on the way to taming the Mustangs 85-53.
A torrid did not initially faze Marcellus, who only trailed 21-16 after one period. But the Mustangs’ defense could not keep Westhill from adding to its margin as it scored 30 points in the second period, twice the Marcellus total.
The margin got to 69-39 through three periods before it eased up, Dadey striking for 27 points and Brown making sure Marcellus couldn’t key on him by pouring in 22 points. Charlie Bolesh had 12 points as Holden Carroll and Dan Washburn had six points apiece.
For the Mustangs, only Ben Fedorenko, with 15 points, reached double figures. Connor Wixson got nine points, with Sam Grattan, Connor Rogalia, Luke Ingianni and Peter Tuolwecki each finishing with six points.
Two nights earlier, Marcellus had made it three in a row by defeating Fulton 63-55, a result mostly based on the Mustangs outscoring the Red Raiders 14-3 in the second quarter, breaking open a tight contest.
Fulton didn’t go away, recovering to pull within 40-34 by the fourth quarter, but Marcellus held up down the stretch, overcoming 25 points by the Red Raiders’ Jason Knopp that included five 3-pointers.
Five Mustangs scored in double figures, led by Fedorenko, who had 14 points. Wixson got 13 points, with Grattan getting 11 points as Rogalia and Ingianni had 10 points apiece.
Bishop Ludden rebounded from its Dec. 2 defeat to Henninger in the Peppino’s Invitational by routing Victor (Section V) 67-37 in last Tuesday night’s home opener.
Roaring out to a 40-16 lead by halftime, the Gaelic Knights felt no stress from the Blue Devils as Nick Button hit five 3-pointers on his way to 17 points overall. Sh’ikem Lee had 11 points as Ed Walser and Tyler Webster got nine points apiece. Vernell Reid had eight points and Mykell Kaigler produced six points.
Things turned around again on Friday, with Ludden taking a 58-49 loss to Albany Academy (Section II), who built a 35-24 halftime lead and stayed out in front despite the Gaelic Knights holding them to four points in the third quarter.
Joe Connor and Jai Smith, quiet against Victor, each picked up 14 points on this night, with Button adding 11 points and Reid getting six points.
West Genesee, who had won Dec. 2 over CBA, crashed a bit in last Tuesday’s home opener against Utica Proctor, struggling throughout a 64-49 loss to the Raiders.
Proctor used a well-balanced attack to build a 43-22 lead through three quarters. Trent Adamson led with 15 points, closely followed by Anthony Giglio (13 points), Asa Beyah and Landon Johnson (12 points each).
As for the Wildcats, Will Amica, with 18 points, and Lucas Sutherland, with 14 points, had fine showings, with Kam Jones adding nine points, but the rest of the team combined for just two field goals.
Solvay got closer to its first win of the season last Wednesday night, but fell short in a 73-63 defeat to Phoenix, unable to make a massive comeback after the Firebirds outscored them 41-22 over the course of the second and third quarters as Jack Allen had 27 points and Kyle Costello got 25 points.
Still, the Bearcats’ offense sprung to life as Brock Bagozzi finished with 16 points, with Darius Williams and Justin Scott each getting 12 points. Robby Clark (eight points), Jaimen Bliss (seven points) and McKyle Sands (six points) were close behind.
In Saturday’s inaugural Syracuse City School District Invitational at Henninger High School, Solvay faced Institute of Technology Central and took a 68-56 defeat to the Eagles.
Most of ITC’s margin was built in the first half, when it moved in front 38-27. Solvay could not make up that ground despite Scott’s 19 points and Clark’s 12 points as Connor Lee added nine points. Martin Peralta (16 points) and Angel Gomez (14 points) paced the Eagles.
Jordan-Elbridge had a great chance for a big win at Chittenango on Friday night, playing on even terms most of the way, but paying for a rough second quarter in a 67-58 loss to the Bears.
Through one period, the Eagles led 16-11, but Chittenango erased that with a 19-5 blitz through the rest of the half. Then it spent the entire second half matching whatever J-E threw at them.
The Eagles had 15 points from Jeremiah Sparks, 12 points from Colin Barrigar and 11 points from Aidan Carpenter. For the Bears, Zach Falkenburg proved tough to stop, accumulating 32 points, nearly half Chittenango’s output as Dylan Voutsinas added 15 points.
