Now that it had finally broken its mid-season six-game skid by completing a regular-season sweep of Corcoran, the Liverpool boys basketball team wanted to do the same to the reigning state champions.
Doing so would mean trying to upend West Genesee’s six-game win streak in last Saturday night’s Pathfinder Bank Classic on the same Allyn Hall floor at Onondaga Community College where it beat the Wildcats on Dec. 10.
Liverpool nearly did so, the game swinging back and forth until the final seconds when WG’s strong free-throw shooting proved a difference-maker, the Warriors taking a 67-62 defeat.
Again, it matched up the last two state Class AA champions. Liverpool had won 66-53 back in that initial meeting, but was in catch-up mode through most of the rematch.
Sparked by six straight points from Will Amica, WG went on an 8-0 run to close the first quarter, and maintained that lead through a foul-filled first half, only to have Liverpool storm back and go in front 40-38 late in the third period before Anthony Dattellas hit six straight points to return the lead to the Wildcats.
After that, no one could get away. Josh Young, with a career-high 22 points, paced a Warriors team that stayed in front for most of the fourth quarter yet never by more than a basket.
And they were tied, 58-58, when Amica made his biggest play of the night, a block on a Warriors breakaway to prevent Liverpool from going back in front with 1:30 to play.
They exchanged free throws before Adam Dudzinski, with 30 seconds left, hit a driving layup to put WG front for good. Trying to answer, the Warriors instead turned it over when Jack Pento stepped on the baseline.
Amica took it from there, hitting on five of six free throws in the waning seconds to give him 22 points for the night as eight of Dudzinski’s 13 points came in the fourth quarter, John Benson adding 11 points.
Aside from Young, three other Warriors reached double figures, Kyle Caves getting 13 points as Jacob Works had 12 points and Romeo Clarke had 11 points.
Before all this, Cicero-North Syracuse, after yet another close call in a defeat to Baldwinsville Jan. 17, rebounded a day later to defeat Rochester’s Edison Tech 64-59.
Dominating the first half, the Northstars led 36-16, and then held on behind Luke Paragon’s career-best 32 points. Tavores Flournory earned eight points, with Jerrod Hills adding seven points.
But C-NS lost 64-48 to Bishop Ludden last Monday night, unable to recover from a first half where the Gaelic Knights steadily built a 38-22 advantage.
Paragon, despite 11 rebounds, was held to just two points. Kevin Felasco led with 15 points, while Hills had 11 points. Brian Bonin and Grant Sennett had nine points apiece as Grant Baker (18 points) and Mykell Kaigler (15 points) set the pace for Ludden.
Then, on Friday night, C-NS fell 68-50 to Nottingham, outscored 38-21 following a close first half as Mazi Jackson had 20 points for the Bulldogs, just ahead of Jaden Ezomo’s 19 points and Marlen Peters’ 16 points.
Paragon and Bonin both finished with 14 points, but no one else on the Northstars hit double figures, Sennett and Joe Penizotto each gaining seven points.
Among this week’s action is a second head-to-head meeting between C-NS and Liverpool, nearly two months after the Warriors won the first encounter in the Peppino’s Invitational at OCC.
