One victory signaled an intention to reclaim its top spot among area Class AA teams. Another victory – and the manner in which it was earned – indicated that something special might happen again.
What Liverpool did to upend West Genesee 67-53 and Corcoran in consecutive games last week was quite memorable, each in their own way.
In particular, the Corcoran game, played last Saturday at Nottingham as part of the Syracuse City Invitational, would make a quick and permanent mark in the memory bank of Warriors players and fans alike.
With the score tied and time winding down in regulation, the ball found its way to Romeo Clarke in the corner, and at the buzzer the senior tried a twisting jump shot from the left corner that swished through the net, producing a 66-64 victory.
So ended a wild and exciting game that featured a month’s worth of lead changes and momentum shifts. A key to it was the way Liverpool hung close throughout the first half, even though Corcoran led 39-34 at the break.
The Warriors’ defense held the Cougars to five points in the third quarter as it moved in front, 47-44, and the fourth quarter would only ramp up the drama.
Down 49-47, Corcoran hit on seven straight points, but Liverpool countered with a 10-2 run. And it clung to a slim margin all through the waning minutes.
Finally, with the margin down to 64-62, Corcoran got the ball and D.J. Haynes drove to the basket, his driving lay-up tying it with 13.4 seconds to play.
Clarke broke that tie, though, with only his second basket of the game. It was Kyle Caves (18 points) and Jacob Works (14 points) getting most of the production.
J Young earned eight points, with Jacob Vacco and Jack Pento getting seven points apiece. Corcoran lost despite a game-high 24 points from 1,000-point man De’Jour Reaves.
Something rare and unique happened last Tuesday night at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall – namely, a regular-season boys basketball league contest that just happened to feature the last two state Class AA champions.
Liverpool didn’t care much for the circumstances, because it just wanted to land a victory over West Genesee and formally announce its presence as a championship contender – which it did.
Setting the game’s tone, Liverpool’s defense limited the Wildcats to four points in the first quarter, and though the pace picked up from there, Liverpool answered WG’s surges and led 27-22 at halftime.
Then the Warriors all but put the game away in the third quarter, outscoring them 23-9. Works led with 18 points, with Caves getting 12 points as Vacco had eight points. Josh Young and La-Teef Edwards had six points apiece.
As Liverpool was defeating West Genesee, Cicero-North Syracuse was taking on Christian Brothers Academy and enduring its third close defeat in as many outings, falling to the Brothers 69-66.
Both sides entered the game 0-2, and ultimately the Nortshtars paid for a first half where its attack could not quite get going, C-NS ultimately taking a 34-25 deficit to the break.
That margin remained until the fourth quarter when the Northstars, down 52-43, nearly caught up, Brian Bonin working his way to 18 points as Luke Paragon got 14 points and Grant Sennett had 13 points. Brayden McLean and Jerrod hills had eight points apiece.
To hang on, CBA needed Sam Haas to earn most of his 23 points from five 3-pointers, helped by Dan Anderson, who had 16 points, and Colin Kelly, who got 11 points.
C-NS could not break into the win column on Friday, either, falling 66-45 to Baldwinsville despite having a 15-12 lead through one period.
Led by J.J. Starling, the Bees outscored the Northstars 22-5 the rest of the half and never got caught, Starling not letting up until he had put 35 points on the board. By contrast, Sennett paced C-NS with just 12 points, Bonin adding 10 points as Luke Paragon had nine points.
