Just like in the post-season a year ago, the Bishop Ludden boys basketball team found itself unable to stop Liverpool.
Hosting the Rosemary Corcoran Holiday Classic, Ludden made it to the finals, but ran right into the defending Section III Class AA champion Warriors, who beat the Gaelic Knights 63-47.
Ludden beat Liverpool in the 2016 Section III Class AA final at SRC Arena, only to have the Warriors avenge that defeat last winter in the sectional semifinals on the way to the title.
Both sides had easily made it through the first round, Ludden handling New Hartford 66-42 and Liverpool avenging a 2016 defeat to Rochester Aquinas 63-49, hinting at what was to come in the final.
All through the first quarter, Liverpool kept giving the ball away, but Ludden couldn’t take full advantage, only gaining a 10-6 lead. Once the Warriors went on an 11-0 run that bled into the second period, it never trailed again.
But the real getaway came late in the half. Over the last 4:51, Ludden was held without a field goal during Liverpool’s 15-1 spurt that created a 39-19 halftime advantage.
Nas Johnson picked up 13 of his 15 points in the first half, while Charles Pride earned most of his 17 points (he was named tournament MVP) before the break.
Just as important was the latest display of the Warriors’ depth. Noah Issakainen hit on four 3-pointers and finished with 13 points overall, bench production that Ludden could not match, though Joe Connor did finish with 16 points and Sh’ikem Lee added 13 points.
Against New Hartford, Ludden built a 40-23 hafltime lead. Connor poured in 20 points, while Lee produced 16 points. Vernell Reid had eight points as Vinny Perrotta paced New Hartford with 19 points.
After the holiday tournament, Ludden rested until last Wednesday night, when it claimed an impressive 72-53 victory over Homer, jumping out to a 26-15 lead on the Trojans by the end of the first quarter.
Maintaining that lead the rest of the way, the Gaelic Knights saw Connor earn 21 points, with Button hitting five 3-pointers on his way to 16 points as Lee got 15 points and Jai Smith had 10 points. Homer’s Bryant Quinlan led all scorers with 23 points.
Elsewhere, Marcellus knocked off Syracuse Academy of Science 51-50 on Dec. 28, with Ben Fedorenko getting 20 points to lead all scorers. Luke Ingianni added 11 points as Grayson Hoag got six points.
A day later, meeting PSLA-Fowler at SRC Arena, the Mustangs could not match that effort, taking a 71-53 loss as the Falcons outscored them 31-19 in the second half, led by Dennis Jones, who poured in 32 points.
No one on the Marcellus roster got close to Jones’ total, as Connor Rogalia led with 12 points. Hoag had eight points, while Ingianni and Sam Grattan had seven points apiece.
Solvay, playing in the Chittenango Holiday Tournament, lost to the host Bears 80-53 in the Dec. 27 opening round.
Chittenango used a 27-8 push to put the game away. Justin Scott still had 23 points for Solvay, with Robby Clark adding nine points and Jaimen Bliss getting seven points. Chittenango hit 13 3-pointers, six of them by Dylan Voutsinas on his way to 23 points as Zach Falkenburg’s 24 points included four 3-pointers
Now Solvay met up with Skaneateles in the Dec. 28 consolation game, and with hot outside shooting zoomed to an early lead that it maintained the rest of the way to beat the Lakers 70-64.
The Bearcats bolted to a 24-15 lead by the end of the first quarter. All through the rest of the game, Skaneateles had plenty of scoring runs, only to have Solvay answer all of them.
Bliss, with 18 points, led the Bearcats as Clark and Scott had 12 points apiece and McKyle Sands got 10 points. Solvay converted on 10 3-point shots to negate the 22 points from the Lakers’ Jeremy Castle and the 17 points from Jack Canty.
A rematch between Solvay and Skaneateles last Tuesday night ended in a different manner, the Bearcats falling to the Lakers 66-60 as it got outscored 21-14 in the third quarter.
Bagozzi and Clark both hit four 3-pointers, Bagozzi finishing with 13 points and Clark 12 points as Elijah Wright got 10 points. McKyle Sands added eight points as Castle, with 17 points, was one of five Lakers to score in double figures.
Jordan-Elbridge lost a 60-46 decision to General Brown on Dec. 30, the Lions erasing the Eagles’ 26-24 halftime lead as Kyle Nichols led GB with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
