For as much potential as the Baldwinsville boys basketball team possesses, it still is in a search for some consistency during the crowded early portion of its schedule.
The Bees had gone 2-1 in a four-day opening stretch from Dec. 3 to 6, getting quality wins over Jamesville-DeWitt and Central Square, but falling to New Hartford despite a 36-point effort from J.J. Starling.
And B’ville stumbled again last Monday night at Bishop Grimes, unable to quite make up a late deficit in a 62-55 defeat to the Cobras.
Grimes had edged Schenectady in overtime on Dec. 7 in the Peppino’s Invitational at SRC Arena, and would carry that momentum over into its home opener.
Like every other opponent facing the Bees, the Cobras’ aimed to contain Starling, and did a reasonable job, limiting him to a season-low 23 points.
Strong all-around defense keyed the Cobras as it built a 27-23 halftime edge. Then it broke out in the third period, outscoring B’ville 21-15, which allowed it to withstand a late comeback attempt.
Grimes’ Ian Denton managed to outscore Starling as he finished with 24 points, half of it from four 3-pointers. Bo Nicholson gave B’ville nine points, while Nate Ray had eight points and Chase Trombley got six points.
On Friday, the Bees would have its first Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division game against Cicero-North Syracuse, who was 1-2, including close defeats to Rome Free Academy and Liverpool.
And it proved another showcase for Starling, who proved far too difficult for the Northstars to contain – and that helped B’ville roll to a 66-45 victory.
Trailing early, the Bees took care of that problem with a 22-5 blitz through the second quarter, much of it due to Starling, who would get close to matching C-NS’s entire output.
Hitting on three 3-pointers and 12 free throws, Starling had 35 points overall, with Nicholson getting 10 points as Ray and Chase Trombley both got six points.
Less than 24 hours later, B’ville was in Albany, taking on Green Tech, and made it back-to-back wins, pulling away from the Eagles in an 86-72 decision.
It was a blistering pace most of the way, the Bees gaining a 44-35 halftime edge, but not getting away from Green Tech until the final minutes.
Improving from his C-NS effort, Starling got 37 points, converting on 10 free throws as he drew plenty of contact, but Nicholson was big, too, pouring in a career-best 21 points as Dan Fabrizio got most of his 16 points from five 3-pointers.
Now, as it goes to Fayetteville-Manlius on Tuesday, the Bees sport a 4-2 record. B’ville is back home Friday night to face Nottingham, and Starling enters the week just 36 points short of 1,000 for his career, a milestone he should achieve before the week is out.
