Though they had slightly different results in their various holiday tournaments, a trio of area high school basketball teams would have strong follow-up efforts on the first Friday of 2020.
East Syracuse Minoa bounced back well from its first loss of the season to Whitesboro in the Dec. 28 title game of its holiday tournament, romping past PSLA-Fowler 70-46 to improve to 7-1.
With Devin Mascato-Buffaloe earning 12 points and eight points apiece from Nick Peterson and Naiche Cook, ESM worked its way to a 39-22 halftime advantage on the Falcons.
That margin continued to grow, Mascato-Buffaloe finishing with 23 points overall. Peterson had 14 points, with Jimmy Ferns stepping up late to get 10 points.
And now ESM eagerly awaits its chance this Friday to upend full-time neighbor and long-time nemesis Jamesville-DeWitt, who endured back-to-back defeats on either end of the new year.
A Dec. 28 loss to St. Joseph’s (Buffalo) was followed, for the Red Rams, by a visit to Saratoga Springs last Friday where the reigning Section II Class AA champion Blue Streaks prevailed 64-56.
Hot 3-point shooting on Saratoga’s part built a double-digit advantage before J-D charged late in the first half, cutting the Blue Streaks’ lead to 34-28.
The Rams got within two ilate n the third quarter, 43-41, but Saratoga spread the margin out and held on late. In defeat, Payton Shumpert led with 15 points, with Trey Autry (13 points) and Matt Cieplicki (12 points) close behind.
Closer to home, Christian Brothers Academy did not have a letdown after its Bottar-Leone Holiday Classic finals win over Henninger, traveling to Utica-Notre Dame last Friday and defeating the Jugglers 68-54.
Jumping out 19-5 in the first quarter, the Brothers essentially spent the rest of the game nursing that margin, seeing its offense jump to life thanks to some fine outside shooting.
Dan Anderson produced nearly half his 25 points from four 3-pointers, while Sam Haas converted twice beyond the arc on his way to 16 points. Colin Kelly added 12 points as Jason Boule had eight points.
But CBA’s win streak was halted Saturday in Buffalo by the same St. Joseph’s team that had knocked off J-D the week bfore.
The Marauders topped the Brothers 63-58, doing so by closing on a 19-9 run to overcome CBA’s 49-44 lead gained in the third quarter. Haas still had 18 points, with Anderson adding 13 points as Kelly and Boule got 11 points apiece.
On that same day and on that same court, Bishop Grimes beat another Buffalo-area school, Cardinal O’Hara, 73-68, and did so by outscoring O’Hara 27-14 in the fourth quarter after trailing most of the way.
Leading the comeback, Jack Gutchess finished with 22 points and A.J. Burnett earned 21 points. Joe Wike had nine points and Ian Denton had eight points.
Fayetteville-Manlius had beaten Utica-Notre Dame the week before, and at 4-3 had a great chance at a signature win when it hosted Corcoran, only to see its late comeback fall just short in a 65-63 defeat.
All through the first three quarters, the Cougars played at the tempo it wanted and, despite some solid production of its own, the Hornets had difficulty keeping up.
Then, trailing 57-44 going to the fourth quarter, F-M started hitting a barrage of outside shots, erasing most of its deficit while its defense caused all sorts of stress for Corcoran.
Yet it was the Cougars, clinging to a two-point edge in the final seconds, making the last stop as two F-M shots to tie or win it went off target.
Still, it was quite an effort, James Madill getting 14 points as Trevor Roe had 12 points, with Luke Davidson and Jack Nucerino earning 10 points apiece as Ethan Page and Charlie Gadsden each got eight points. DeJour Reaves paced Corcoran with 25 points.
Manlius-Pebble Hill earned its second win of the season last Friday when it handled Stockbridge Valley 63-39. James Kelly poured in 25 points, including five 3-pointers, while Shontez Anderson had 15 points.
