Through plenty of ups and downs and weather interruptions, the Cazenovia boys basketball team made it through the first half of its regular season at 6-4, a respectable mark with a chance to still grow into a contender.
Over the next two games, that growth happened with back-to-back home wins over each of last year’s Section III Class B finalists.
First, there was a win over reigning state Class B champion Westhil on Jan. 19, and then on Tuesday night with a suffocating defensive effort that resulted in a 42-39 victory over Chittenango.
Of the two, the win over the Bears may have carried more satisfaction. Westhill was without its top player, Sean Dadey, in the lineup. By contrast, Chittenango was at full strength, and the natural rivalry between the two Madison County neighbors added to the flavor, too.
From the outset, the Lakers’ defense set out to smother the Bears, and did so quite well as it limited Chittenango to a single field goal in the first quarter, rarely allowing open shots, and even when they were found, the Bears kept missing.
Only Cazenovia’s own struggles on the offensive end kept things close. Neither team managed a single point in the last four minutes, 44 seconds of the half, so despite missing just four field goals, the Bears only trailed 18-10 at the break.
Kevin Stalder notched five points during an 11-0 run in the third quarter that appeared to put the Lakers in control. Trailing 29-13, Chittenango switched to full-court pressure, and the result was an 11-0 answer that made the game close again.
Even when Cazenovia stretched its lead to 37-28 in the fourth quarter, the Bears weren’t done, staying within range until a wild final 40 seconds.
Dylan Voutsinas hit a 3-pointer for Chitenango, only to have Cazenovia break the pressure with Matt Regan’s lay-up that made it 42-37, but with 16.9 seconds left Falkenburg was fouled on a 3-point try.
Falkenburg made the first two free throws, and while he missed the third, the ball ricocheted out of bounds off a Lakers player. So the Bears had a chance to tie it with another 3, but Noah Schnauffer’s attempt was off target, and Cazenovia was able to run out the clock.
Stalder finished with 18 points, matching Falkenburg’s total, and got more help from Thomas Bragg, who had nine points, and Dan Kent, who had eight points. Chittenango’s next-highest scorer, Matt Lanphear, had just six points.
Cazenovia couldn’t celebrate too much, though, because it had to face another solid Class B team, South Jefferson, 24 hours later, though the Spartans were coming off a defeat to Indian River the night before.
There wasn’t a letdown for the Lakers, who prevailed 61-50 in a game where neither side could make a sustained run until the third quarter, when Cazenovia’s attack jolted to life.
Outscoring South Jefferson 23-13 in that third period, the Lakers saw Bragg lead the way, eventually getting 21 points as Kent hit three 3-pointers on his way to 13 points. Drew Johnson also finished with 13 points as Stalder gained 10 points. The Spartans had 17 points from Jacob Hess and 14 points from Andrew Estal.
Then, on Friday night, Chittenango made an impressive recovery from those struggles at Cazenovia, going to Homer and earning a 65-56 victory over the Trojans.
Even though Homer was 9-3 going into the game, it fell behind 28-24 by halftime, and the Bears outscored them 20-14 during the third quarter to build a double-digit edge that held up.
Largely, it was a two-man show as Falkenburg poured in 28 points and Voutsinas, helped by five 3-pointers, added 21 points. Sam Hill added eight points as Stephen Walter (15 points) and Bryant Quinlan (13 points) paced Homer.
At 9-4 and with a post-season berth safely secured, Cazenovia would rest a week and then go to Phoenix Wednesday, returning to Buckley Gym Friday for another key test against Homer. Chittenango (8-5) would go to CBA Tuesday and Hannibal on Thursday.
