So much surrounding the boys basketball programs at Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse is new and exciting as the two long-time rivals are set to meet this Friday afternoon.
In the Warriors’ case, it’s simply the presence of a new, rebuilt home court with all the modern touches. For the Northstars, it’s having a new coaching staff on hand.
C-NS hired Kyle Martin, the former head coach at SUNY-Purchase, to lead the program in June. In turn, Martin hired two assistants with local ties – former C-NS great Beth Bonin and Brandon Hanks, a star at Henninger.
Martin’s first game in charge would be a big one as the Northstars hosted reigning sectional Class AA champion Corcoran, who itself had a new head coach, Tyquan Horton, making his debut in charge.
And C-NS was ready for it, especially on the defensive side, where it made quite a mark shutting down the Cougars for long stretches of the first half and going on to prevail 57-43.
Corcoran was debuting a brand-new starting five. With more experience in its lineup, the Northstars held the Cougars under 10 points each of the first two periods.
Meanwhile, C-NS’s own attack took a while to fire up, but it still built a 39-29 advantage through three periods and closed it out led by Kevin Felasco, who got 14 points.
Luke Paragon had 12 points, closely followed by Noah Wieczorek (10 points) and Joe Peniziotto (nine points) as Jerrod Hills finished with six points.
Still at home Friday to face West Genesee, the Northstars led most of the first half and staged a fourth-quarter\comeback, only to stumble late in a 53-44 defeat to the Wildcats.
Steady defense throughout the early stages allowed C-NS to weather its own struggles and lead 23-20 at the break before WG, led by Adam Dudzinski (who finished with 19 points), moved out in front in the third quarter.
Breaking out of its own slump, C-NS tied it, 41-41, in the fourth quarter, only to have the Wildcats’ Jack Dalgety hit five straight points to put his side ahead for good.
Ultimately, Dalgety scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, which helped negate a balanced C-NS attack. Felasco again had 14 points, with Wieczorek adding 10 points and Brian Bonin earning 13 points.
Before all this, Liverpool had the honor of playing – and winning – the first Section III boys basketball game of the winter.
The Warriors’ 68-45 romp over Baldwinsville last Tuesday was payback for two painful defeats to the Bees in the 2019-20 season, each of them decided by baskets from J.J. Starling at the buzzer.
Starling is now at an Indiana prep school, and the Warriors jumped all over the new-look Bees, leading 20-8 after one quarter and maintaining that margin over the game’s middle stages.
Then Liverpool closed with an 18-7 push as Jacob Works led both sides with 23 points, followed closely by Andero Ash, who had 17 points. Jaiden Reynolds and Bruce Wingate contributed seven points apiece.
Two nights later, the Warriors had its home opener against East Syracuse Minoa, and it proved quite a thriller, but once again Liverpool finished on top, overcoming a rough start to beat the Spartans 68-65.
ESM got the jump, and built a 31-23 halftime advantage before the Warriors’ offense caught fire in the third quarter, outscoring the Spartans 25-16 in that frame to go in front.
Liverpool kept its poise, along with the lead, down the stretch, overcoming 29 points from ESM guard Jimmy Ferns and 18 points from Devin Mascato-Buffaloe.
Works, with 19 points, and Ash, with 16 points, again led the winning effort, with Bruce Wingate adding 12 points and Jake Socker getting 11 points. Between them, Works and Socker hit on seven 3-pointers.
