Spread out across a bracket containing the 19-team field of the Section III Class B playoffs, five area boys basketball teams sought to make it through the opening rounds –and three succeeded.
No one was in a better position than Solvay, the no. 2 seed, who after a 17-day hiatus would enter the fray Saturday when it took on no. 15 seed Oneida, fresh off a first-round win over Institute of Technology Central.
The combination of that long break and an uneven performance nearly derailed the Bearcats, but it battled though and prevailed 58-54 over the Indians.
All game long, it proved close. Solvay erased an early deficit to lead 28-26 at halftime, only to have Oneida inch back in front during the third quarter.
But Jaimen Bliss and Brock Bagozzi led the Bearcats down the stretch. All told, Bliss had 23 points and Bagozzi got 17 points, the pair combining to his six 3-pointers as Blaine Franklin and Elijah Wright had six points apiece.
A night earlier, no. 7 seed Skaneateles hosted no. 10 seed Jordan-Elbridge, and remembering that it lost to the Eagles on Jan. 28, the Lakers avenged it – especially Nate Fouts, who used all of his vast skill to make sure the playoff encounter had a different ending.
Skaneateles won, 70-58, though the margin didn’t reflect the way the Lakers – and Fouts in particular – took over in the game’s middle stages.
After one period, J-E led 14-13, helped by eight points from Alex Pond, but even in those early stages the Eagles struggled to establish its outside shooting.
And when the Lakers’ defense clamped down in the second quarter, limiting J-E to a single field goal, it seized control, with all those stops leading to baskets on the other end.
A trio of 3-pointers from Max Wamp, Tyler DelFavero and Andrew Neumann provided a spark, but Fouts did the rest, using his wide array of skills to thwart everything the Eagles tried to stop him.
With 10 points in that second period, Fouts helped Skaneateles build a 34-22 halftime lead. Then he scored 10 more points in the third quarter as the margin grew as big as 22.
J-E finally started hitting some shots in the final minutes, but by then Fouts had worked his total to 36 points, more than overcoming the 21 points put up by Pond and 14 points from J-E teammate Tyler Waldron.
So it’s Skaneateles against Solvay in the sectional quarterfinals on Tuesday, the winner to get General Brown or Central Valley Academy in the semifinals Saturday at SRC Arena.
On the other half of the sectional bracket, Marcellus held the no. 5 seed and hosted no. 12 seed Holland Patent last Friday, and with a late push the Mustangs fought past the Golden Knights 52-46.
A quiet first half left Marcellus trailing HP 24-20, but its defense remained consistent and the baskets started to fall on a more regular basis to keep the Mustangs’ season alive.
Jared Sammon led with 16 points, followed closely by Luke Ingianni, who had 14 points. Cory Cangemi earned 12 points.
Even better news arrived a day later when no. 13 seed Mount Markham upended no. 4 seed Vernon-Verona-Sherrill 66-62, so Marcellus is at home to meet those other Mustangs in Tuesday’s quarterfinal round.
One night earlier, Westhill took its no. 9 seed to no. 8 seed Cazenovia and was ousted, 62-57, by the Lakers, who avenged a Dec. 23 defeat to the Warriors to earn a shot at top seed and defending champion Lowville.
Fueled by a trio of 3-pointers from Zach Brown, Westhill jumped out to a 21-12 lead, only to get held without a field goal for the last 6 ½ minutes of the first half.
Now trailing 31-24, the Warriors fought back and, early in the final period, used eight consecutive points from James Kelley to inch back in front 43-42.
But Cazenovia countered with an 11-3 run to take the lead for good, and though the Lakers missed some late free throws, it did enough to put the game away after Westhill twice closed the gap to three in the waning seconds.
Kelley, with 19 points, and Brown, with 14 points, paced the Warriors as Luke Gilmartin added nine points. Ryan Romagnoli led Cazenovia with 16 points as Alex Moesch had 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.
