About the only good thing that came from Cazenovia’s defeat to Skaneateles last Monday night was that its nine-game win streak broke up before the post-season, so it didn’t end things.
Still, it was a missed opportunity for Cazenovia, for a win would have eliminated Skaneateles from post-season contention. Instead, the Laker duel turned in the host’s favor when Justin McClanahan heaved a shot beyond mid-court that found the net at the halftime horn.
That unlikely basket cut Cazenovia’s halftime lead to one, 33-32, and while the visitors did restore the margin in the third quarter, it could not withstand a desperate closing charge from the host Lakers.
Skaneateles closed the game with a 23-11 push, going in front and staying there as McClanahan finished with 23 points, with Tommy Reed getting 17 points and Jack Canty earning 14 points.
This helped negate some solid efforts on Cazenovia’s part as Dan Kent got most of his 21 points from five 3-pointers. Kevin Stalder worked inside for 18 points, while Thomas Bragg finished with 14 points.
When Cazenovia faced Homer a night later at Buckley Gym, it turned into a marathon, dragging through three overtimes before the Lakers fell to the Trojans 68-64.
A low-scoring first half saw Cazenovia erase an early deficit to tie it, 20-20. The second half reversed those trends, with the Lakers going in front by as much as eight, only to have Homer rally.
With 2.4 seconds left in the fourth quarter and his team down 44-41, Homer’s Casey Hayes drilled a 3-pointer that forced OT. The first extra period didn’t feature much offense, just four points each as Justin Wainwright’s basket tied it again for the Trojans.
The second OT picked up the pace, Homer going in front 55-52 and ready to end it before Kent’s clutch 3-pointer with 11 seconds left prolonged the drama further.
By the third OT, Bragg, Johnson and Stalder had all fouled out. Still, it was 64-64 when, with a minute to play, Steve Walter converted to put Homer in front for good. A pair of Wainwright free throws clinched it.
Before they exited, Johnson had put up 17 points, Stalder got 15 points and Bragg had 13 points. Matt Regan added 10 points and Kent nine points as Walter (22 points) and Wainwright (20 points) led Homer.
While all this was going on, Chittenango also had back-to-back games to close the regular season, winning them both and clinching the Onondaga High School League Central division regular-season championship.
With an 11-1 league record (14-5 overall), the Bears were one game ahead of Westhill, who went 10-2 in league play, losing to both Chittenango and Cazenovia in January while some of its top players were injured.
The Bears hosted Institute of Technology Central last Monday night and fought to a 60-52 victory over the Eagles, playing solid defense while building a 27-20 lead by halftime.
As the pace quickened, Chittenango fended off all of ITC’s charges with Zach Falkenburg netting 28 points. Dylan Voutsinas had 13 points, with Sam Hill adding 11 points.
Then, against Mexico 24 hours later, the Bears secured the outright league title, shutting down the Tigers in a 58-25 romp.
Chittenango held Mexico to a single free throw in the first quarter and five points overall in the first half. Having built that 35-5 margin, the Bears could afford to relax and rest its starters for the playoffs head.
Before exiting, though, Voutsinas put up 14 points and Hill had 10 points. Falkenburg had six points, but so did Matt Lanphear and Lucas Spiridilozzi as Jacob Burgan got five points and 10 different Chittenango players got on the scoresheet.
