Naiche Cook had done it again, executing the steal on Payton Shumpert’s pass and watching as the clock ran out on the East Syracuse Minoa boys basketball team’s 49-47 victory over Jamesville-DeWitt on Friday night.
Within seconds, Cook was joined on the floor by teammates and black-clad students celebrating a landmark victory for the Spartans, who have spent years attempting to catch up to the dynastic Red Rams and, now, had finally done so.
“They (J-D) have a rich history,” said Cook. “But we just had to show them that we’re here.”
“It was a team effort,” said senior center Nick Peterson. “Everyone hustled.”
Indeed ESM is quite present, now sitting at 9-1 overall, but none of the Spartans’ previous eight wins this winter carried the emotional weight of this one, and it was a special event regardless of the circumstances.
Together, J-D and ESM held the third annual “Hoops For Courage” event, raising money for Camp Good Days and Special Times, the organization whose goal is improving the quality of life for children battling cancer, along with their families, in the Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo areaa.
From the sale of 325 long-sleeve T-shirts at $20 apiece to basket donations and raffles, they had already raised far more than the $2,500 achieved by this same event in 2019, where the money was used to take a whole group of kids to a day at Seabreeze Water Park near Rochester.
They played a girls/boys doubleheader, with the J-D girls easily prevailing 68-35 in the opener. After a special performance of “Lean On Me” by the J-D Choir and a group picture with all the basketball players plus honorary players from Camp Good Days, the boys game got underway and would carry a playoff-like intensity from start to finish.
Peterson set the tone with six early points and two blocks as the Spartans bolted to a 12-5 lead, but the Rams caught up by the second quarter, led by Preston Shumpert, who had 10 first-half points.
ESM hung in there even though it went more than eight minutes without a field goal, only trailing 25-23 at halftime and not letting J-D extend its margin beyond seven, 32-25, in the third quarter.
Peterson, playing with four fouls, returned to the court at the start of the fourth quarter, helping the Spartans pull even, 37-37. J-D edged back in front and, with two minutes left, Payton Shumpert’s 3-pointer made it 47-43, but the Rams would not score again.
Pure grit and determination led to several offensive rebounds and a Nick Brown basket with a minute to play, cutting ESM’s deficit to two. Then Devin Mascato-Buffaloe made a clutch steal and put in the tying basket with 37 seconds left.
Even at 47-47, J-D dribbled up the middle, perhaps looking for the last shot in regulation, but instead Cook pulled off the biggest steal of his career, driving to the basket and, with 5.1 seconds to play, getting fouled.
Cook said he took his time at the line, and calmly sank the first free throw. After a time-out, he made the second one, and though J-D still had time, Cook pulled off another steal that clinched the Spartans’ victory.
Peterson finished with 14 points and Cook had 11 points. Payton Shumpert had 15 points, one more than Preston Shumpert as Matt Cieplicki gained 11 points.
Neither side tripped up last Tuesday in their respective tune-ups, ESM roaring past Oswego 71-42 as J-D had little trouble handling PSLA-Fowler 84-50.
It was a steady effort for the Spartans against Oswego, with a 51-28 margin established through the first three quarters. Peterson had 22 points as Jimmy Ferns had 11 points, with Cook and Joe Copp getting eight points apiece.
As for J-D, after back-to-back defeats to St. Joseph’s (Buffalo) and Saratoga Springs, it took out some frustrations on PSLA-Fowler, deciding matters against the Falcons with a 24-4 second-quarter blitz.
Cieplicki led with 17 points, while Gunther Schnorr emerged as a threat by earning 15 points, mostly from three 3-pointers. Preston Shumpert had 10 points as Payton Shumpert and John Marshall-Withers each got nine points and Brian King earned eight points.
And to its credit, right after the loss to ESM, J-D prevailed Saturday over Amherst (Section VI) 74-60. Payton Shumpert poured in 25 points, with Preston Shumpert getting 14 points and Cieplicki adding 13 points.
