Now it was time for the West Genesee boys basketball team to see if it could hold on to the Section III and state Class AA championships it earned in memorable fashion one year ago.
The Wildcats’ 12-game win streak and SCAC Metro division regular-season title meant that it would hold the top seed and a first-round bye, awaiting to see which set of Black Knights – either no. 8 seed Henninger or no. 9 seed Rome Free Academy – would face them in the quarterfinals.
It was RFA pulling away to prevail 75-57, so the game is a rematch of the 2019 sectional semifinal that WG claimed, the winner this time to get no. 4 seed Baldwinsville or no. 5 seed Auburn at SRC Arena in the sectional semifinals next Sunday afternnoon.
Not far behind them, Bishop Ludden holds the no. 3 seed, having put together its own 17-3 regular season to match WG, with two of the Gaelic Knights’ defeats coming to “Holy War” rival Christian Brothers Academy.
However, Ludden did sweep its other main private-school rival, Bishop Grimes, completing that sweep in an 80-70 decision last Monday night.
Trailing 17-12 after one period, the Gaelic Knights outscored the Cobras 45-32 over the course of the next two quarters, and hung on down the stretch despite a furious Grimes effort that included 20 points from A.J. Burnett and 17 points from Joe Wike.
Mykell Kaigler led Ludden with 25 points, with Monte Johnson hitting a trio of 3-pointers on his way to 19 points. Nazier Kinsey got 10 points as Grant Baker had nine points and Jarin Beauford had eight points.
The sectional quarterfinal next Tuesday pits Ludden against no. 6 seed Nottingham, with the winner getting to next weekend’s semifinal against no. 2 seed Corcoran or no. 7 seed Utica Proctor in Sunday’s semifinals.
