Though it has gone through all sort of ups and downs this season, the Jamesville-DeWitt boys basketball team has also provided a heap of drama, including two overtime victories on the road with some last-second magic from Payton Shumpert.
The Red Rams did this again last Friday night, at Central Square, where Payton Shumpert provided some sweet payback as his buzzer-beating basket produced a 64-62 victory over the Redhawks.
Not only did this win a game, it also allowed J-D to clinch a share of the Salt City Athletic Conference Empire division regular-season title with Auburn, both of them with 11-3 marks. Central Square could also finish 11-3 in league play if it beat Oswego on Monday.
Going into this game, the Rams remembered how the Redhawks beat them 61-53 on Jan. 17, and were well on the way to getting even as it led Central Square 50-45 through three quarters.
Yet all J-D could manage was eight points in the third quarter, allowing the Redhawks to get even, 58-58, and push it to OT, where baskets got scarce and the teams were still tied, 62-62, when J-D got the ball with 7.9 seconds left.
It was inbounded to Shumpert under his own basket. Dribbling up the left side, Shumpert had defenders in front of him, but he still managed to hit a running, contested one-handed shot before the clock expired.
It brought to mind what happened Dec. 29 in the opening round of the CBA Holiday Classic, when Shumpert’s steal and lay-up at the horn sealed a J-D comeback to beat the Brothers 76-74 in OT.
For the night, Shumpert had 13 points, just behind teammate Takuya LaClair, who led his side with 16 points. Marcus Johnson had eight points, just ahead of Teleak Robinson (seven points) and Luke Smith (six points).
Central Square despite having four players score in double figures. Brogan Laux led with 19 points and six rebounds, with Cooper Colesante (16 points), Tim Giblin (13 points) and Slade Springer (12 points, nine rebounds) close behind.
Earlier in the week, J-D routed Fulton 70-28, its second lopsided win in as many games as it already was up 38-13 by halftime and kept going.
Eleven different players got on the scoresheet as Robinson led with 13 points, while Johnson and LaClair had 12 points apiece. Shumpert had seven points and Matt Cieplicki added six points.
While all this was going on, East Syracuse Minoa got roughed up last Tuesday at PSLA-Fowler, taking an 85-49 defeat as the Falcons broke out of an early 14-14 tie by outscoring the Spartans 48-19 over the course of the second and third quarters.
Kevin Richardson still got 14 points, most of it from four 3-pointers, while Emir Karic had 11 points and Devin Muscato-Buffaloe got 10 points. PSLA-Fowler spread things around as Dennis Jones had 21 points, with Jalen Wilhite getting 19 points as Davonta Stackhouse and Tyler Patterson had 18 points apiece.
Visiting Oswego Friday night, ESM turned that around in a big way, bashing the Buccaneers 79-39 as it built up a 39-16 lead by halftime and continued to dominate long after the game was settled.
Hitting on four 3-pointers, Richardson had 18 points overall, while Dan Garris got 11 points. Mascato-Buffaloe and Gabe Holloman had eight points apiece as Dennis Benjack and Colton Cwikla each got seven points and Karic had six points.
While J-D ended its regular season at 14-6, ESM still had to take care of a game Monday with Solvay where the Bearcats had a sectional playoff berth on the line.
