Part of the reality of high school basketball is that great players don’t stay, and strong programs must find a way to move on from them.
Most of the area’s boys basketball teams are dealing with this situation in one form or another during this abbreviated 2021 season, including West Genesee, who saw Will Amica graduate after he helped the Wildcats win the 2019 state Class AA championship.
For its opener last Firday night, WG visited Cicero-North Syracuse, a team revitalized under first-year head coach Kyle Martin and fresh off a season-opening win over reigning sectional champion Corcoran.
None of this fazed the Wildcats, though, as it prevailed 53-44 largely on the strength of a defense which made key late stops and an attack led by the duo of Jack Dalgety and Adam Dudzinski.
Throughout the first half, WG hung close, and only trailed 23-20 at the break. Then it clamped down further, limiting C-NS to five points in the third quarter while moving out in front.
Fighting back, the Northstars tied it, 41-41, only to have Dalgety score five straight points to put the Wildcats up for good.
Ultimately, Dalgety scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, while Dudzinski got 19 points. Christian Cain had six points as Kevin Felasco (14 points) and Brian Bonin (13 points) led C-NS.
Four other area teams debuted last Thursday, including Marcellus, whose defense was the main factor in a 41-26 victory over the Homer Trojans.
The game was tied, 11-11, when the Mustangs limited Homer to just two points in the second quarter, allowing it to pull ahead for good.
Neither side shot well the rest of the way, but Marcellus kept its advantage as Ryan Sammon finished with 12 points and Matt Kershaw gained nine points.
Westhill, a team long accustomed to seeing stars move on, hosted a Skanetaeles side who had to witness top forward Nate Fouts transfer last May to Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire.
Without Fouts, the Lakers would keep up most of the way, only to have the Warriors gradually pull away and ultimately prevail by a score of 78-61.
Of the new-look Lakers, Colin Gaglione had, by far, the best showing. Gaglione finished with 18 points, with Andrew Neumann getting nine points. Miller Weir (eight points), Tyler DelFavero (seven points) and Max Wamp (six points) were close behind.
Meanwhile, Westhill had a rare instance of three players topping the 20-point mark. Sam Aversa’s 27 points included four 3-pointers as Luke Gilmartin and James Kelly each finished with 21 points.
For Bishop Ludden, who has also seen its share of great players exit through graduations or transfers, another star just might be emerging this winter.
Jarin Beauford all but carried the Gaelic Knights to a come-from-behind, 59-56 win over Bishop Grimes last Friday, taking over in the fourth quarter with a series of baskets to help Ludden erase the Cobras’ 49-40 lead.
By the time the rally was done, Beauford had netted 32 points, with Wol Aman and Grant Baker each getting six points. Grimes lost despite 19 points from Sylvester Seton and 15 points from Jack Gutchess.
Solvay saw all of its starters – Brock Bagozzi, Elijah Wright, Justin Scott, Blaine Franklin and Jaimen Bliss – graduate from its 2019-20 team that reached the sectional Class B final.
In its opener, the Bearcats lost, 66-51, to Weedsport, who won the sectional Class C title a season ago and took charge here with a 20-6 second-quarter run to overcome Solvay’s early advantage.
Gerold Bean still had 21 points for the Bearcats as Antonio Gonzalez got 10 points. Weedsport got a game-high 25 points from Josh O’Connor and 15 points from Mitch Feocco.
