With each week, each game and each victory, a special season for the Skaneateles boys basketball team turns even more so, whether it’s comfortable or challenging.
And both contests between the Lakers and Jordan-Elbridge certainly fell into the latter category, with Skaneateles needing to go to the final minute to pull through.
The second of these encounters on Thursday night in front of a large crowd in the Lakers’ home gym saw Skaneateles nearly squander a double-digit lead, but get key baskets at key moments from Nate Fouts and Tommy Reed to beat the Eagles 57-50 and move to 15-0.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that can really make things happen,” said Lakers head coach Karl Norris.
Having moved up to the no. 10 spot in the state Class B rankings earlier in the week, Skaneateles still carried a fresh memory of nearly seeing its undefeated mark spoiled by J-E on Jan. 15, a last-second stop required to pull out a 51-50 decision.
Nine days later, it wasn’t much easier, with both teams slow out of the gate amid a first-quarter flurry of rushed shots, blocks and turnovers.
At one point in the second period, the Lakers trailed 13-8, but then put together its most sustained production of the night, going on a 23-4 run that stretched into the third quarter.
Now trailing 31-17, J-E countered with a 10-0 spurt of its own, distinctive because it didn’t feature any baskets from Eagles star Jeremiah Sparks, who had scored 13 points in the first half.
But when Sparks banked in a 3-pointer at the end of the period and flew in for a spectacular rebound basket in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, J-E had whittled the Skaneateles lead to 38-35.
Kept from hitting a single 3-pointer so far, the Lakers got one when it was needed when Fouts, from the right corner, converted from beyond the arc – and was fouled. Fouts hit the ensuing free throw to complete a rare four-point play.
And when J-E again got close, within four, 50-46, with less than two minutes left, Reed stepped up, converting back-to-back baskets to double the margin to 54-46. The Eagles got no closer than five the rest of the way.
Fouts, who also hit two free throws in the final minute, led the Lakers with 18 points. Reed added 13 points as Jack Canty, consistent throughout the night, earned 13 points. Sparks finished with 24 points.
This was the first game for Skaneateles in a week, since it beat Cazenovia 61-45 at Buckley Gym on Jan. 17, using a 15-5 push through the second quarter to take charge. Again, it was balanced between the top three scorers as Reed and Canty both had 15 points, with Fouts adding 13 points.
To get a 16th win in a row, Skaneateles will have to prevail at Bishop Ludden next Tuesday. Norris said that there’s no extra pressure put on his players to stay undefeated, that they’re simply focused on the game or practice in front of them.
