All the pressure was off for the Cazenovia boys basketball team since, by defeating Jordan-Elbridge on Feb. 1, it reached the eight-win threshold necessary to reach the Section III Class B playoffs.
And perhaps that simple fact had a lot to do with how well the Lakers played last Tuesday night at Buckley Gym against visiting Hannibal, dominating on both ends during the first half on the way to a 66-46 win over the Warriors.
This was the same Hannibal team that, 24 hours earlier, nearly knocked off 17-1 Skaneateles, narrowly falling to those other Lakers 58-56, and having put so much energy into that effort, it may have left the Warriors flat as it traveled to Cazenovia.
Whatever the circumstances, these Lakers gave Hannibal a much tougher time than the other Lakers did, holding them under 10 points in each of the first two periods while hitting plenty of its own shots and opening up a 38-16 lead by halftime.
That proved too much for the Warriors to overcome as Drew Johnson put in 18 points, but was far from Cazenovia’s only scoring threat. Ryan Romganoli, Alex Moesch and Ty Freyer each hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 10 points apiece.
Now, if Cazenovia can beat Altmar-Parish-Williamstown on Monday night after last Friday’s original date was snowed out, it would get to the .500 mark at 10-10 – which it did with ease,
Chittenango had its own easy win last Tuesday, against Homer, prevailing 70-37 to also reach the eight-win plateau and lock up its place in the sectional tournament.
The Bears roared out to a 43-10 advantage by halftime, rarely allowing anything from the Trojans while converting a string of baskets. Paul Wood earned most of his 21 points during this stretch, including a trio of 3-pointers.
Close behind Wood, Noah Schnauffer hit four 3-pointers on his way to 15 points overall, with Vincente Cameron getting 10 points and Jan Hartman finishing with nine points.
At Institute of Technology Central 24 hours later, the Bears did not cool off. Instead, Wood had an even bigger outing as Chittenango pushed past the Eagles 68-54.
Steadily, the Bears built its margin through the first three quarters, eventually going in front 50-36, and Wood would pour in 31 points overall, but he was far from alone.
Between them, Wood, Cameron and Schnauffer had all but three of Chittenango’s field goals, Cameron setting a career mark with 18 points and Schnauffer getting all of his 15 points from five 3-pointers.
Back home Friday to face Phoenix, Chittenango went for its fourth win in a row and 10th overall, and got it, surviving a 47-44 defensive struggle with the Firebirds.
After a solid first half where it went out in front 33-24, the Bears slumped throughout the second half, having to rely on a series of late stops to keep Phoenix from catching up.
Again, most of the offense centered around Wood and Schnauffer as Wood finished with 25 points and Schnauffer, again, used five 3-pointer to produce all of his 15p oints.
All that was left for the Bears was Monday’s trip to Oneida, then a wait for a couple of days until the sectional tournament bracket was announced, with a likely first-round game on Friday.
