Here was the chance for the Cazenovia boys basketball team to have everyone pay attention to them.
It came last Thursday night, at Buckley Gym, with these Lakers hosting those other Lakers from Skaneateles, who arrived with a 13-0 record and a no. 12 state Class B ranking.
And Skaneateles would make it 14 in a row, turning back Cazenovia 61-45 after a home game two nights earlier where Christian Brothers Academy had shown up, and Cazenovia had pushed them to the wire in a 67-64 defeat.
Hot early shooting had the Brothers in front 22-13 through one period. Cazenovia closed the gap to 30-29 by halftime, with the second half essentially the same scenario as, despite the Lakers’ surges, CBA would stay in front.
As that was going on, Skaneateles nearly blew a nine-point fourth-quarter lead at Jordan-Elbridge, requiring a last-second defensive stop to hang on and win 52-51 over the Eagles.
In its own meeting with a traditional power, Chittenango’s boys basketball team lost 51-31 to Westhill, the game a far cry from the close, tense Section III Class B final the Bears dropped to the Warriors last March at the Carrier dome.
Both sides were cold in the first half, but after a 17-17 tie Westhill took over, outscoring Chittenango 20-7 in the third quarter as Paul Wood was held to two points.
Noah Schnauffer did give the Bears 14 points, with Brian Schermerhorn adding eight points, but it was far from enough as Zach Brown paced the Warriors with 19 points.
On Friday night, Chittenango visited Solvay, and put together one of its best efforts of the season, building a big early lead and hanging on late to defeat the Bearcats 58-54.
Led by Wood and Schnauffer, the Bears roared out to a 24-11 edge by the end of the first quarter. Then it maintained that double-digit lead through the game’s middle stages before Solvay charged late.
Ultimately, Chittenango won because Wood and Schnauffer both finished with 21 points, Schnauffer hitting six 3-pointers. Schermerhorn added eight points and Alex Lum got six points. Justin Scott (16 points) and Brock Bagozzi (14 points) led Solvay’s efforts.
