A boys basketball season without the incentive of a playoff or championships only lent more meaning to the traditional rivalries some teams enjoyed.
That certainly was the case for Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse, who squared off for the first of two meetings Friday afternoon and played with a playoff-like intensity.
Start to finish, it proved close, with the game in doubt until the waning seconds and the Warriors quite happy to escape with a 74-71 victory and its perfect record intact.
The game’s pattern did not take long to emerge. Liverpool could work for points inside as C-NS hinged its success on finding the range from the perimeter.
And it worked for both sides in a back-and-forth first half. Though Andreo Ash and Jacob Works produced plenty for the Warriors, Luke Paragon and Kevin Felasco both hit on three 3-pointers to help the Northstars keep up.
It resulted in a 36-36 halftime tie, and even when Liverpool inched back in front during the third quarter, C-NS didn’t let the game get away. Neither side would lead by more than five points the entire second half.
Clinging to a 71-69 edge in the final minute, the Warriors got a driving basket from Nick Toscano, who earned most of his 10 points in the second half.
C-NS answered, again cutting it to two, 73-71, and when Jake Socker missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw chance, the Northstars rebounded, but with a chance to tie or win it in the closing seconds, it instead turned the ball over under heavy pressure from Liverpool’s defense.
Jah’Deuir Reese hit a late free throw, and the Warriors prevailed, having seen Ash pick up a game-high 23 points and Works add 17 points as Bruce Wingate had 11 points and Jared Reynolds had eight points.
Paragon paced C-NS with 19 points. Brian Bonin had most of his 15 points in the second half to match Felasco’s total, with Noah Wieczorek contributing 13 points.
Liverpool arrived at this game sporting a 3-0 mark, having followed up wins over Baldwinsville and East Syracuse Minoa in the opening week with last Tuesday’s 75-62 victory over Henninger.
Quick starts to each half made the difference. The Warriors steadily built a 16-9 advantage by the end of the first quarter, then traded baskets with the Black Knights the rest of the half.
Then Liverpool outscored Henninger 26-16 in the third period, ultimately putting four players in double figures.
Again, Works was at the forefront, gaining 22 points, but Andero Ash was right behind getting 18 points and Jake Socker provided an outside punch, his four 3-pointers leading to 16 points overall as Bruce Wingate had 12 points.
C-NS, meanwhile was 2-1, having taken a loss to West Genesee on Feb. 12 but rebounding in a big way last Wednesday when it traveled to Fayetteville-Manilus and, led by Brian Bonin and Luke Paragon, handling the Hornets’65-47.
It didn’t matter that F-M had started 2-0, for in the first half the Northstars dominated on both ends of the floor, building a 40-23 margin the Hornets could not overcome.
Between them, Bonin and Paragon hit on six 3-pointers, Bonin earning 24 points and Paragon close behind as he got 21 points. Jerrod Hills added seven points as, for F-M, only Josh Michel (13 points) scored in double figures.
