While it already loomed as an important contest among top Class B contenders, Tuesday night’s boys basketball clash between Skaneateles and Solvay gained more stature after the events that led up to it.
Exactly one week earlier, the undefeated, state Class B no. 7-ranked Lakers were stunned by Homer 61-56 just as the Bearcats made its way to Marcellus and took out the Mustangs 59-52.
Fresh off a Jan. 2 win at Westhill, Solvay found itself in an intense fight against Marcellus as, for three quarters, neither team could get away from each other or put up any kind of sustained scoring run.
Only in the final period did the Bearcats go in front for good, and a balanced attack helped. Jaimen Bliss led with 15 points, while Brock Bagozzi had 13 points and Elijah Wright got 11 points. And all of this came after Justin Scott left the game with an injury.
For Marcellus, who suffered its second consecutive defeat, a trio of players accounted for most of the production, Matt Kershaw getting 15 points as Jared Sammon had 14 points and Luke Ingianni got 13 points.
Far more surprising than this was the defeat 7-0 Skaneaateles took on its home court. Though most figured the Lakers would take a regular-season defeat somewhere, it wasn’t supposed to take place at the expense of a Homer side that entered the night with a 2-4 record.
But the Trojans steadily built a 32-27 halftime and answered every time the Lakers tried to catch up, with Derek Fickett and Mikyle Franklin each getting 18 points as Jarrett Wilbur had 13 points and Jake Atkins had 12 points.
All of them topped the Lakers’ main threat, Nate Fouts, who was held to 11 points, something Skaneateles could not overcome despite 19 points from Jack Whirtley, nine points from Nick Wamp and eight points from Tyler DelFavero.
Despite this setback, Skaneateles displayed plenty of character by traveling to Vernon-Verona-Sherrill two nights later and delivering a tough 50-44 victory over the Red Devils.
With its 7-2 start, VVS had sneaked into the no. 30 spot in the state Class B rankings before a defeat to Rome Free Academy earlier in the week.
Against the Lakers, the Red Devils were held to exactly 11 points in all four quarters, prevented from a sustained outburst.
Only in the final minutes did Skaneateles secure the win, led again by Fouts, whose 21 points accounted for nearly half his team’s output. Whirtley and Alex Neumann had eight points apiece, while Max Wamp had seven points.
As a follow-up on Friday, Skaneateles defeated Mexico 52-39 as it trailed 17-9 through one period, but then shut down the Tigers and used a 19-8 third-quarter spurt to go in front. Fouts had 22 points and Whirtley added 12 points.
Marcellus, meanwhile, gutted out a 44-32 win over Phoenix, easing up a bit after jumping out 19-2 on the Firebirds in the first quarter. Sammon led the way, earning 20 points, with Kershaw and Will Kimber earning eight points apiece.
Westhill, a week removed from the loss to Solvay, roared back to form on Friday against visiting Jordan-Elbridge with its best all-around performance of the season as it took out the Eagles 69-47.
Ignoring J-E’s 6-3 record, the Warriors outscored them 42-25 in the second and third quarters and Zach Brown was unstoppable, earning a season-high 35 points, including seven 3-pointers.
Elliott Rouse kept the Eagles from focusing on Brown as he poured in 16 points, while Westhill held Dakota Holbrook to three points, something Owen Barrigar (15 points), Alex Pond (13 points) and Jeremy Melfi (11 points) could not make up for the Eagles.
J-E had beat Chittenango 57-52 eariler in the week, holding the Bears to six points in the first quarter, going out in front and then spending the rest of the game fending off all of Chittenango’s charges.
Tyler Waldron led with 20 points, with Holbrook getting 15 points as Pond had 11 points and Myles Town earned eight points. For the Bears, only Tyrus Kelly, with 14 points, hit double figures.
Solvay paid for not having Scott in the lineup on Saturday against Christian Brothers Academy, falling 67-47 to the Brothers as CBA’s long-time head coach, Buddy Wleklinski, earned his 500th coaching victory.
