Early last week, each of the varsity basketball teams at Bishop Grimes picked up high-profile victories that boosted confidence and provided momentum for the rest of the month of December.
Fresh off a thrilling overtime win over Schenectady in the Dec. 7 Peppino’s Invitational at SRC Arena, the boys Cobras returned home last Monday and prevailed again, toppling Baldwinsville 62-55.
Like every other opponent facing the Bees, the challenge was containing sophomore sensation J.J. Starling, and Grimes 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.
Ian Denton managed to outscore Starling as he finished with 24 points, half of it from four 3-pointers. Byam Mugushu had nine points, while A.J. Burnett, whose last-second basket in OT beat Schenectady, had six points.
At Solvay on Wednesday, the Cobras did not have a letdown, winning 76-68 in a game where it tore out to a 27-10 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Bearcats made up some ground in the middle stages, but could not catch up.
Then Grimes faced Mekeel Christian Academy, from near Albany, on Friday night, and took its first defeat of the season, falling 84-81 to the Lions in overtime.
What made this particularly frustrating was that the Cobras dominated the first half, steadily gaining a 45-27 advantage, before Mekeel made up some ground and then, in the fourth quarter, outscored Grimes 26-14.
That tied it 73-73 and forced OT, where Grimes was bested despite 19 points from Burnett, 15 points from Jack Gutchess and 14 points from Denton. Mugushu earned nine points and Sylvester Seton got seven points.
As this went on, the Bishop Grimes girls, after dropping a close decision in its Dec. 7 opener at Indian River, turned it around last Monday, this time making a late comeback of its own as it went to Westhill and beat the Warriors 50-43.
Trailing 17-10 after one period, the Cobras made up most of that deficit over the game’s middle stages, then went out in front for good in the fourth quarter, ultimately outscoring Westhill 15-7 in those last eight minutes.
Lora Marial set a career mark with 20 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Help came from Rhonee Shea Pal, who had nine points, and Jenna Sloan and Alicia Kelly, with six points apiece.
Just as important was the way Grimes’ defense contained Westhill outside of Jenna Larrabee, who managed 18 points, though no one else had more than the six points put up by Catherine Dadey.
Each of the Grimes teams would take on Cazenovia Monday night and then face Syracuse Academy of Science on Friday.
