In its only game last week, the West Genesee boys basketball team took care of important business that went beyond just adding to its win total.
During the Wildcats’ 54-31 victory over Fayetteville-Manlius, senior forward Lucas Sutherland earned his 1,000th career point. That came on a 3-pointer late in the contest, which gave Sutherland 21 points for the night.
Sutherland is the 12th WG player to get to 1,000 points. Jeff O’Conner holds the school record of 1,347 points, set in the early 1990s. Kam Jones had 10 points and Will Amica seven points as the Wildcats improved to 12-2 overall.
A night earlier, Jordan-Elbridge took aim at Skaneateles for the second time in as many weeks, bent again on yanking the Lakers from the unbeaten ranks.
Back on Jan. 15, the Eagles got close on its home court, but took a 52-51 defeat. Nine days later, at Skaneateles, J-E again had Skaneateles worried, but again could not quite complete a late-game comeback and fell 57-50 to the Lakers.
Both teams were teams slow out of the gate amid a flurry of rushed and blocked shots, which played into J-E’s favor as it took a 13-8 lead in the second quarter, only to get outscored 23-4 on a Lakers run that stretched into the third period.
Now trailing 31-17, J-E countered with a 10-0 spurt of its own. When Jeremiah 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.
Then Lakers sophomore Nate 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, Tommy Reed converted back-to-back baskets to double the margin to 54-46. The Eagles got no closer than five the rest of the way.
Sparks finished with 24 points, while Tyler Waldron had 10 points and Alex Pond got all of his nine points from three 3-pointers. Fouts led the Lakers with 18 points, with Reed adding 14 points and Jack Canty 14 points.
Meanwhile, other local teams had ups and downs, but Westhill got a much-needed home victory against Cazenovia on Friday, working hard late to edge the Lakers 59-55.
Neither team could gain any kind of separation during the game. Even when Westhill inched its way to a 26-21 halftime lead, Cazenovia kept with them, and even inched in front, 41-40, early in the fourth quarter.
However, the Warriors went back in front late and hung on as Zach Brown and Liam Sanborn each hit four 3-pointers, Brown finishing with 18 points and Sanborn getting 13 points as Dan Washburn had 10 points. Cazenovia’s Drew Johnson led all scorers with 20 points.
Then Westhill defeated New York City’s Community Health Academy of the Heights 84-53 on Saturday, with all 12 players that saw action getting on the board, but the highlight Brown’s career-best nine 3-pointer that accounted for most of his 29 points.
Marcellus got toppled at home last Tuesday in a 67-58 defeat to those same Cazenovia Lakers , a result made more painful by the fact that the Mustangs led most of the game, eventually building a 48-40 lead through three quarters.
Yet the Lakers dominated the fourth quarter, catching up quickly, then taking the lead and pulling clear in large part due to Johnson, who earned 31 points, 15 of them from successful free throws.
Most of Matt Kershaw’s team-high 20 points came in the early going. Connor Rogalia had 10 points, with Jared Sammon adding nine points as Ryan Romagnoli (14 points) and Kevin Ammann (10 points) helped Johnson out.
Still at home Thursday to face Institute of Technology Central, Marcellus managed to turn things around, putting away the Eagles 61-49.
Quick out of the gate, Marcellus led 19-10 after one period. Then it spent the game’s middle stages protecting that advantage as ITC took until the second half to get baskets on a consistent basis.
Still, the Mustangs stayed out in front by having four players score in double figures. Sammon, with 17 points, led the way, but Kershaw was close behind with 16 points as Rogalia earned 12 points and Luke Ingianni finished with 11 points.
Then the Mustangs faced Watertown Saturday, sitting at 7-7 and looking to both climb above the .500 mark and clinch a sectional playoff berth.
Solvay got a much-needed 76-41 win over Homer last Friday night as it used a 26-12 second-quarter push to get away. Brock Bagozzi led with 18 points, while Jacob Fragale had a career-best 15 points. Justin Scott got 14 points and Elijah Wright added 11 points.
