All it took for the Jamesville-DeWitt boys basketball team to reclaim its normal spot in the state Class A rankings was a nine-game win streak and a blowout over the East Syracuse Minoa side it lost to earlier this season.
Still, the Red Rams, at no. 26, were only three spots ahead of the Spartans (no. 29) in that state poll, and both looked to impress during the last full week of the regular season.
The key game for J-D was Friday’s rematch with a Central Square side it had beat 54-37 in December but now sported the same 15-4 record that the Rams did.
Despite all the improvement the Redhawks had made, though, its nine-game win streak ended at the Rams’ expense as, by a 53-40 margin, J-D extended its win streak to 11 adn proved it could win an important game in a style other than one with which it was comfortable.
Having started out 18-7, the Rams hit a lull in the waning seconds of the first quarter when it stalled for the last shot of the period, only to have Central Square’s Braden Eiffe steal the ball and convert a layup on the other end.
That sparked a 9-0 run for the Redhawks, and the Rams, held to four points in the second period, only led 22-18 at halftime.
Here was where J-D’s defense took charge, holding Central Square without a field goal for more than six minutes and staying patient with its attack, which would pay off.
The Rams outscored the Redhawks 11-3 early in the final period, and Payton Shumpert led them. Of his 17 points, 10 of them came in the fourth quarter as Autry added 11 points and Preston Shumpert had 10 points.
Prior to that, J-D went to Auburn Tuesday night and, against a Maroons side it fought hard to beat 66-61 on Jan. 17, did much better in the second encounter.
The Rams won 78-57, and what made it more impressive was that Auburn started well, leading 19-14 after one period before J-D took over in the middle stages, outscoring the Maroons 45-21 in the middle two quarters.
Payton Shumpert, with 22 points, and Preston Shumpert, with 18 points, led the way again, but John Withers was close behind them, earning most of his 17 points from four 3-pointers as Autry got eight points.
ESM, a week removed from the loss to J-D, was back in winning form last Tuesday as, hosting Cortland, its defense smothered the Purple Tigers for long stretches on the way to a 68-33 victory.
Steadily, the Spartans pulled away from Cortland in the first two quarters, gaining a 45-16 advantage. Eventually, all nine players that saw action got at least one field goal.
Devin Mascato-Buffaloe led ESM with 18 points, hitting on four 3-pointers. Nick Peterson had 12 points, with Jimmy Ferns getting eight points as Joe Copp and Stevie Graham had seven points apiece.
With its own game against Central Square looming on Tuesday right before the Section III playoff pairings were announced, ESM would host Liverpool Friday in a non-league clash – and it proved a thriller.
Down 29-24 at halftime, the Spartans caught up in the third quarter and seized a 42-41 lead when Mascato-Buffaloe hit a 3-pointer as the period ended.
They went back and forth from there, ESM leading 55-53 on another Mascato-Buffaloe 3-pointer with two minutes, but Liverpool regaining the lead before the Spartans tied it in the final seconds.
Only in the four-minute OT period did the Warriors go in front for good, handing ESM a 68-65 defeat despite Mascato-Buffaloe’s 25 points, plus 16 points from Naiche Cook as Peterson added 11 points. Romeo Clarke (22 points) and Jacob Works (20 points) paced Liverpool.
In other weekend action, Bishop Grimes lost, 57-54, to Syracuse Academy of Science despite Joe Wike’s 21 points, but Manlius-Pebble Hill pulled out a 69-64, double-overtime victory over Port Byron a night after it lost 71-49 to Cato-Meridian.
Against Port Byron, the Trojans rallied from a 36-20 halftime deficit and outscored the Panthers 17-7 in the fourth quarter to get it to OT. Winning it required Shontez Anderson to earn 26 points and 20 rebounds along with Alex Abrams earning 20 points.
