The Solvay boys basketball team had a simple assignment – just get into the Section III Class B playoffs, which required a series of wins in the regular-season homestretch.
And the Bearcats took a crucial step toward that goal by rallying in the fourth quarter last Monday to defeat Skaneateles 57-53.
Solvay was 5-11 going into the game, having split two previous meetings with the Lakers on Dec. 28 and Jan. 2. The third encounter saw Skaneateles lead 16-9 through one quarter and maintain that edge through the game’s middle stages.
However, in the fourth quarter, the Bearcats outscored the Lakers 23-14, with the Bearcats hitting on eight 3-pointers overall, three of them by Robby Clark, who had 16 points as Jaimen Bliss struck twice beyond the arc on his way to 19 points.
Justin Scott had nine points and Brock Bagozzi added six points, all from a pair of 3-pointers. Tommy Reed led all scorers with 21 points, with Justin McClanahan adding 13 points.
Still, two wins were needed, and Solvay got one of them Friday with a 90-46 rout of Altmar-Parish-Williamstown, bolting out to a 73-27 lead through three quarters.
Bagozzi, in particular, lit it up with seven 3-pointers on his way to a career-best 27 points. Scott had 17 points, with Bliss earning 13 points and Jacob Fragale adding 10 points. Kamren Harris gained eight points.
Even with last week’s 2-1 mark, Solvay will need to beat East Syracuse Minoa or Phoenix early this week in order to make the sectional tournament.
Marcellus, who already had its sectional playoff berth secured, took on Mexico and climbed back to the .500 mark (9-9) by defeating the Tigers 51-39, never allowing more than 11 points in any single quarter.
A 16-9 push through the third period helped the Mustangs take control for good as Ben Fedorenko, with 19 points, and Connor Wixson, with 14 points, accounted for more than half the team’s output. All of Michael Jarvi’s nine points came from three 3-pointers.
On Friday night, Marcellus visited Cazenovia and lost, 54-39, to the Lakers, who claimed its eighth win in a row by limiting the Mustangs to six points in the first quarter and seven points in the third quarter.
Those long dry spells proved too much to overcome, though Sam Grattan did earn 13 points. Fedorenko and Liam Tierney had six points apiece as Thomas Bragg (14 points) and Kevin Stalder (11 points) paced Cazenovia. The Mustangs’ regular season would end Monday night at South Jefferson.
