Undefeated and in the state Class AA rankings, the West Genesee boys basketball team were continuing to meet the high expectations set for them when the season started.
And whenever adversity has popped up for the state Class AA no. 17-rated Wildcats – such as not having Will Amica in its lineup – it managed to still pull through, as it did in last Tuesday night’s 56-43 victory over Fayetteville-Manlius.
Winless so far in SCAC Metro division play, the Hornets managed to go in front 29-23 by halftime, but WG picked up its defensive pressure on all fronts and limited F-M to a handful of field goals from there.
Meanwhile, Lucas Sutherland had to carry the Wildcats’ attack, and he did so, putting in a season-best total of 28 points. None of his teammates got close to that mark, though John Benson and Jack McLane earned seven points apiece.
On a busy Monday night, Westhill served notice that it was ready to rise back to the top of the OHSL Liberty division as it went to Cazenovia and put away the Lakers 67-42 at Buckley Gym.
This was, in many ways, a textbook Warriors performance, starting with stingy man-to-man defense that held Cazenovia to a mere nine points in the entire first half.
Even though the Lakers got out of that slump, Westhill still built a 53-23 lead through three periods as Zach Brown poured in 24 points, with Eliot Rouse getting 12 points. Dan Washburn and Jack Mooney each got seven points and Liam Sanborn added six points.
Marcellus broke into the win column at Cato-Meridian, edging the Blue Devils 48-47 in a game that was tight from opening tip to final horn.
The Mustangs pulled through largely thanks to Jared Sammon and Grayson Hoag as Sammon had 22 points and Hoag earned 15 points, most of it from three 3-pointers. Combined, the pair made 13 of the team’s 14 field goals.
A night later, Marcellus lost, 53-37, to Mexico, who pulled away in the latter stages, led by Will Ruby (13 points) and Jared Perkins (12 points) as Hoag and Kyle Brown had 11 points apiece for the Mustangs, Sammon adding eight points.
But Marcellus roared back Thursday to beat Homer 57-35, outscoring the Trojans 36-15 in the second half as Sammon led with 13 points. Matt Kershaw (12 points) and Tristan Jarvy (10 points) also reached double figures, Hoag adding eight points.
Solvay and Jordan-Elbridge would meet each other at week’s end, but only after both of them rebounded from lopsided defeats the week before.
J-E, routed at CBA on Dec. 14, claimed a tense 36-34 battle with Phoenix, but only after making a massive fourth-quarter comeback.
The Firebirds led 16-6 after one period, and with both sides cold, still had a solid margin until the fourth quarter, when the Eagles held them to three points and got the baskets it needed to catch up.
Jeremiah Sparks had 16 points, helped by Dakota Holbrook (nine points) and Deacon Hill (six points) as, for Phoenix, Jack Allen (21 points) and Adam Hahn (11 points) netted all but one of the team’s field goals.
Solvay, by contrast, rolled past Oneida 67-45 to recover from getting routed at Bishop Grimes Dec. 14. A 20-9 push through the second quarter helped the Bearcats take charge after the Indians led early.
Robby Clark led Solvay with 15 points. Close behind him, Justin Scott and Elijah Wright had 11 points apiece as Blaine Franklin got eight points. Brock Bagozzi and McKyle Sands each had seven points.
Then Solvay went to Onondaga Wednesday night and beat the Tigers 68-51, putting together another 20-9 run, this time in the first quarter to go out in front of OCS for good.
By game’s end, each of the nine Bearcats players that saw action got at least one field goal. Scott led the balanced attack with 15 points, while Bagozzi and Clark each got 12 points and combined to hit five 3-pointers. Connor Lee had nine points and Sands got six points.
