Area boys basketball teams were in different stages of where they stood relative to wanting to appear in the Section III playoffs later this month – and Jordan-Elbridge was in the best position of all, having clinched a post-season berth with last week’s three-game sweep.
The Eagles started getting there with the effort it put together in last Monday night’s game against Skaneateles, where Jeremiah Sparks could not be stopped and J-E beat the Lakers 69-56.
Trailing 15-12 after one quarter, J-E turned to Sparks, who kept tearing through the Skaneateles defense during a 39-25 push through the second and third periods that put the Eagles in front.
Sparks burned until the closing stretches, finishing with 34 points, nearly half his team’s total, plus 11 rebounds, three blocks and three steals.
Aidan Carpenter and Brandon Wick, with eight points apiece, provided some help, as did Dakota Holbrook (seven points) and Zak Curtis (six points). Wick added seven rebounds and Carpenter picked up five steals, plus four rebounds.
J-E then made it back-to-back wins on Friday by going to Mexico and routing the Tigers 60-27.
Already up 28-15 at halftime, the Eagles outscored Mexico 22-3 in the third quarter to pull further away, Sparks getting 19 points as Holbrook put up 11 points. Wick had nine points as Alec Henderson got six points.
A day later, hosting Altmar-Parish-Williamstown, J-E had a chance to get that playoff-clinching eighth win, and did so with ease, ripping the Rebels 63-33 as it bolted out to a 34-10 halftime lead and never got caught.
Combined, Sparks and Holbrook, with 19 points apiece, outscored the entire APW roster. Eight other Eagles earned at least one field goal, adding further depth.
On Friday night, Marcellus hosted Solvay, requiring just one more win to clinch a sectional playoff berth, the Mustangs were unable to get on track, slumping as the Bearcats roared to a 43-35 victory.
The Bearcats entered the game 4-9, in far greater need of wins to improve its post-season chances, and earned it by shutting down Marcellus for long stretches of the game.
From the time it jumped out to a 14-7 first-quarter lead, Solvay had control. Then it reinforced that point by outscoring Marcellus 15-9 in the third quarter to take a 38-27 edge, one the Mustangs could not overcome.
Aside from its strong defensive effort, each of the eight Bearcats players that saw action got at least one field goal, with Justin Scott leading the way as he earned 14 points. The rest was spread out, with Elijah Wright and Jamien Bliss each getting six points. Sam Grattan led the Mustangs with 10 points as Luke Ingianni had seven points.
Earlier in the week, Marcellus had a big letdown from its romp over Skaneateles on Jan. 19, falling 53-32 to Utica Academy of Science last Tuesday as it was held to exactly eight points in every single quarter by a stingy Atoms defense.
Only Ben Fedorenko, with 14 points, found any kind of consistency, but it got drowned out as UAS saw David Henderson earn 16 points and get 15 rebounds, with Ryan Maddox adding 12 points and Damoy Allen adding 11 points.
Solvay played last Wednesday against Hannibal and gained a 51-32 victory over the Warriors, taking over with a 15-5 push through the second quarter that accounted for most of the eventual winning margin.
Brock Bagozzi had a superb effort, earning 21 points, including three 3-pointers and eight successful free throws. Help came from Wright (seven points) and Scott (six points) as James Somers paced Hannibal with 13 points.
