Whatever else took place in the 2017-18 season, the Cazenovia boys basketball team could take pride in that it knocked off its neighbors from Chittenango and managed to defeat the reigning state Class B champions from Westhill.
But when the Section III Class B playoff bracket was revealed, the Lakers, as the no. 8 seed, knew that, if it got past no. 9 seed Jordan-Elbridge (which it did in a 58-51 thriller on Feb. 16 at Buckley Gym), another encounter with Westhill likely awaited.
And this time around, the Warriors were at full strength, taking charge against the Lakers in the second quarter of Tuesday night’s sectional quarterfinal and getting away late to hand Cazenovia a 77-55 defeat.
Every Cazenovia player knew that the 60-54 upset it registered against Westhill on Jan. 18 was helped by the fact that the Warriors’ leading scorer, Sean Dadey, was not in the lineup.
Even with Dadey present for this playoff rematch, the Lakers kept up with the Warriors throughout the first quarter, only kept out of the lead because Zechariah Brown hit three 3-pointers for Westhill, including one right before the horn that broke a 12-12 tie.
Far greater damage was done by the Warriors during a 15-2 run in the second quarter. Brown hit twice more beyond the arc and Dadey ran his total to 12 points, so the Lakers went to halftime trailing 40-28.
Despite all this, the Lakers had a glorious opportunity to catch up in the third quarter. Clamping down, Cazenovia’s defense held Westhill without a point for more than four minutes.
Yet the Lakers missed enough shots from the field and at the free-throw line, so it only cut the deficit to 44-37 before John Geer’s back-to-back 3-pointers reinstated the Warriors’ double-digit margin for good.
As Westhill put the game away in the fourth quarter, Geer, hitting five 3-pointers overall, finished with 17 points as Brown ran his total to 25 points and Dadey got 20 points.
What ultimately doomed the Lakers was that no single player got close to those totals, despite a well-balanced attack. Drew Johnson and Thomas Bragg each got 13 points, while Kevin Stalder had 10 points and Dan Kent had nine points. Matt Regan and Ryan Romagnoli had five points apiece.
As Westhill advanced to face Homer in the sectional semifinals Saturday at 6:30 at SRC Arena, Cazenovia’s season finished with a 14-7 record. Kent, Bragg, Stalder, Regan and Joey Gates graduate, with Johnson part of the Lakers’ returning group in 2018-19.
While Cazenovia was knocked out, Chittenango, the no. 3 seed in Class B, kept its sectional title hopes alive by handling no. 6 seed Lowville 72-47 in its sectional quarterfinal.
Lowville had ousted Phoenix 67-55 in the first round, but the Red Raiders ran right into a smothering Bears defense that limited them to five points in the first quarter.
Already with a double-digit edge going into the second period, Chittenango extended it to 36-18 by halftime, and then closed strong with a 20-10 push through the fourth quarter when the Red Raiders tried to make it interesting.
Zach Falkenburg, in his last home appearance, produced 20 points. It was announced earlier in the week that Falkenburg would attend Northern Vermont University, now coached by former OCC coach Dave Pasiak.
Sam Hill stepped up with 15 points, while Dylan Voutsinas had 14 points, including three 3-pointers. Matt Lanphear’s nine points included a pair of 3-pointers as Jacob Burgan produced seven points.
Thesectional semifinal Saturday at 8:15 at SRC Arena pits Chittenango against no. 2 seed Vernon-Verona-Sherrill, a rematch of the 2017 semifinal won by the Bears. Here, the reward is a trip to the Carrier Dome for the March 4 sectional final.
