Entering the regular-season homestretch, boys basketball teams at Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse were on even terms thanks to a split of their two head-to-head encounters, and both were safely qualified for the Section III playoffs, taking away some stress.
Still, there was plenty of room to improve, as C-NS found out in a big way when it went to Baldwinsville last Tuesday night and got pushed around in a 72-42 loss to the Bees.
This was the same B’ville squad that the Northstars defeated 52-45 on Dec. 21, though the Bees did not have one of its top scorers, Jake Marshall, in the lineup.
Marshall was here now, and in front of his home crowd he helped propel the Bees in front of C-NS 40-24 by halftime, setting a pace that the Northstars were unable to handle.
No single C-NS player could consistently produce against B’ville’s defense as Nick DeMonte led with 10 points, while Justin DelVecchio had nine points. Connor Unger had seven points and Zach Turtschin added six points.
Meanwhile, Marshall led both sides with 22 points, getting ample support from Bo Nicholson, who set a career mark with 18 points that included three 3-pointers. J.J. Starling earned 17 points.
Back home Friday night, C-NS would take on Henninger, who at 6-10 still needed two wins in its last four games to secure a sectional playoff berth.
Showing some remarkable resilience and ability to forge ahead from a bad result, the Northstars defeated the Black Knights 53-45, and what made it more impressive was how badly things started again.
Henninger, who lost the first meeting between these two 47-46 early in January, shut down C-NS (10-7) for large portions of the first half, and went to the break in front 23-14.
Whatever was said during halftime resonated for C-NS, though, because in the third quarter it caught fire, stunning Henninger with a 24-11 push to take the lead and then keeping it down the stretch.
DelVecchio had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, with DeMonte getting 14 points, four rebounds and four assists. Unger and Kyle Haas had eight points apiece, Anthony Tricarico adding six points.
Liverpool, meanwhile, hosted Fayetteville-Manlius, and with the pressure of trying to make the playoffs out of the way, the Warriors, on Senior Night, took over in the second half to defeat the Hornets 70-51.
Neither side could gain any sort of margin until Liverpool, only ahead 32-30 at halftime, tightened up on defense and, with a series of turnovers, got more possessions – and ultimately, more baskets on the other end.
Kyle Butler made his last regular-season home game count as he poured in 18 points, while Alex Ruston had 11 points. Jacob Works and Ryan Valentine finished with eight points apiece, with Jake Piseno earning seven points and Kyle Caves earning six points.
What was left for the Warriors were two regular-season road trips to Henninger and Nottingham, while C-NS, after its own game with Nottingham, goes to F-M Friday and CBA on Feb. 11.
