To be sure, the Jamesville-DeWitt boys basketball team heard all about what East Syracuse Minoa had done in recent weeks, unleashing magic on its home court.
First, there was the Spartans scoring eight points in the final 30 seconds to upend Fayetteville-Manlius on Jan. 19. Less than a week later, it was ESM rallying from behind to knock off Central Square in two overtimes.
Now it was the Red Rams’ turn to visit ESM last Tuesday night, and with aggression and purpose J-D jumped all over the Spartans and never let them back into the game, prevailing by a score of 73-51.
Essentially, it all got decided when J-D poured in the game’s first 11 points. Not stopping there, the Rams converted on its first five 3-point shots and hit eight of them overall in the first half.
Even when ESM made a brief challenge late in the first quarter, the Rams countered with a 12-1 run, eventually building a 40-18 halftime lead that also withstood a third-quarter incident, including two technical fouls, that forced Payton Shumpert to foul out.
Before exiting, Payton Shumpert had put in 17 points, but Preston Shumpert (16 points), Max Schulman (13 points) and Matt Cieplicki (11 points) also hit double figures.
On ESM’s side, Devin Mascato-Buffaloe earned most of his 16 points in the third quarter, Nick Peterson adding 11 points as Dennis Benjack got nine points and Jack Shields added six points.
J-D was back home Friday to take on PSLA-Fowler, and that game was far tighter – at least for a half, the Rams not able to assert itself until a big third quarter made all the difference in a 66-49 win over the Falcons.
Going into halftime, J-D clung to a 28-27 advantage, but at the start of the second half caught fire, picking up its tempo and leaving PSLA-Fowler behind while outscoring them 27-11 in those eight minutes.
Schulman would lead the way, eventually getting 20 points as Preston Shumpert put in 15 points. Payton Shumpert had 12 points and Cieplicki added 11 points as, for the Falcons, only Tyler Patterson, with 16 points, hit double figures.
ESM, meanwhile, looked to bounce back at Oswego – and did so in the most emphatic way possible, bashing the Buccaneers from start to finish and winning by an 80-38 margin.
Nine of the 10 players that saw action for the Spartans earned at least two field goals. Between them, Benjack and Mascato-Buffaloe hit nine 3-pointers as Benjack had 21 points and Mascato-Buffaloe 14 points. Shields, Matt Burcill-Wright and Joe Copp had eight points apiece.
As for F-M, it had not won since that near-miss at ESM, and fell 76-43 to Henninger last Tuesday night, a game the Hornets actually led 7-4 after one period before the Black Knights used a 25-8 push through the second quarter to regain control.
Ethan Page was the only F-M player to earn more than two field goals, eventually gaining 23 points. No one else had more than Zach Page’s total of five points as Travis Gray, with 18 points, led a well-balanced Henninger attack that included Noreon Williams (16 points), Jonah Alston (15 points) and Tong Mading (14 points).
F-M then faced Liverpool Friday night, and for two quarters played quite well on both ends, entering halftime trailing by a field goal, 32-30, only to see it all get away.
The Warriors beat the Hornets 72-50, doubling up F-M during those last two periods as Kyle Butler (18 points) and Alex Ruston (11 points) led them. Zach Page got 11 points for the Hornets, with Luke Davidson and Jack Nucerino earning nine points apiece. Ethan Page and Kieran Miller both had six points.
