One more time in a winter that he had made so special for Baldwinsville boys basketball fans, J.J. Starling endeavored to deliver something extra-special.
One 3-pointer fell, and then another, and then another, all in a span of less than 90 seconds in the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s Section III Class AA championship game between the Bees and Corcoran at SRC Arena.
By the time Starling connected on a pair of free throws with 2:39 to play, a 15-point deficit to the Cougars was down to six, and the massive contingent of B’ville fans on hand implored for a defensive stop so that the comeback could continue.
In the dream scenario, that stop would be made and, as the final minutes ticked down, Starling would continue to pour in enough shots to deliver the Bees its first-ever sectional title.
But the reality proved far different as Corcoran kept its poise and pulled away once more, prevailing 70-57 to end its own 20-year sectional title drought.
Entering the game, much of the attention centered around Starling and his Cougars counterpart, De’Jour Reaves, each of whom had topped 30 points in their respective sectional semifinal wins – B’ville over Rome Free Academy, Corcoran over Bishop Ludden.
Also, the two teams had split their regular-season meetings, each side winning at home, and both knowing that, whatever the stars did, others would have to contribute, too.
At the outset, it was Dan Fabrizio doing so for B’ville, hitting on a trio of 3-pointers in a first quarter that ended in a 16-16 tie.
The two sides were still even, 16-16, when Corcoran went on a 9-0 run early in the second period to take the lead for good, in large part due to its dominance on the boards.
During the first half, the Cougars pulled down 29 rebounds to B’ville’s 14, and all of those extra possessions led to more shots and points.
When Dewayne Young hit on five straight points in the last minute of the half, the Bees found itself trailing 39-30 at the break, and it couldn’t do much about it during the third quarter, either, bottled up for long stretches by a swarming Corcoran defense.
In particular, Starling was frustrated. Defended well by Reaves and others, the sophomore sensation did not reach double figures on the board until late in the third quarter, but his five points gave B’ville a pulse for the homestretch ahead.
And when that string of 3-pointers cut Corcoran’s margin to 60-54, part of a string of 13 consecutive points as Starling got 16 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, dreams of a championship were alive again.
Corcoran ended those dreams starting with a big 3-pointer from Arthur Williams with 2:15 to play that initiated a closing 10-3 run.
Reaves finished with 20 points, joined in double figures by Williams (14 points), Young (10 points) and D.J. Haynes (15 points) as Fabrizio got 11 points overall and Bo Nicholson got eight points and 10 rebounds.
B’ville now looked to an uncertain future, not knowing if Starling would stay for his two remaining years as it would also see a senior class that included Fabrizio, Nicholson, Nate Ray and Chase Trombley graduate.
