ONONDAGA COUNTY – Though they are located close to each other, East Syracuse Minoa and Bishop Grimes do not carry much of a mutual sporting history.
So when they meet, it’s important, as was the case last Monday night when the Spartans met the Cobras in boys basketball and ESM got the best of it in a 58-50 decision.
Looking to climb back to the .500 mark after going 3-4 in February, the Spartans played superb defense in the first half, holding Grimes to a handful of baskets while establishing a 31-16 advantage.
Only in the fourth quarter did the Cobras, trailing 46-28, make a belated surge, but the Spartans had done an effective job containing them and balancing its own attack, even with top scorer Devin Mascato-Buffaloe held to three points.
Nick Brown, with 16 points, was one of four ESM players to score in double figures. Matt Burchill-Wright had 13 points, with Jimmy Ferrns and Gavin Houghtaling earning 12 points apiece.
Jack Gutchess, Grimes’ top scorer, had 10 points, matched by Seth Murphy, while Jon Corl had nine points. Sylvester Seton and Jon Farstler had six points apiece.
Grimes didn’t stay down for too long. In fact, just one night later, it traveled to Homer and, in its fourth game in six days, the Cobras easily defeated the Trojans 53-37.
Gutchess had nearly half his team’s output, finishing with 24 points. Of his teammates, only Corl, with nine points, had more than one field goal.
ESM, meanwhile, won again on Wednesday night, its defense again in the spotlight as it held Central Square to a mere 11 points in the first half on the way to a 44-37 win over the Redhawks.
Ferns remained the focal point, getting 16 points as Mascato-Buffaloe rebounded to earn 10 points and Brown had eight points. On Central Square’s side, only Richard Kaschel, with 11 points, reached double figures.
Bishop Grimes would meet with more frustration Thursday night when it dropped a 61-59 decision to Bishop Ludden.
Neither side would pull away, and Grimes was up 45-43 going to the fourth quarter, but could not hold on as Ludden’s Grant Baker hit a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left to put his team in front for good.
Grimes lost despite Deng Garang getting 19 points and Cori adding 15 points. Seton had 10 points and Gutchess earned eight points, while Baker had 22 points, most of it from six 3-pointers, and Jarin Beauford added 20 points.
ESM won again on Saturday, handling Cortland 66-58 largely on the basis of outscoring the Purple Tigers 25-15 in the third quarter after the two sides played to a 30-30 halftime tie.
Mascato-Buffaloe led with 17 points, but Houghtaling was close behind, earning a season-best 16 points. Ferns finished with 14 points and Stephen Graham got into double figures with 10 points.
Even more impressive was Grimes’ 62-54 victory over Westhill, fueled by a 22-8 second-quarter push as Seton led the way with 19 points, helped by Corl and Garang, who each gained 10 points.
Manlius-Pebble Hill took a 1-2 record into last Monday’s game against Onondagda, where it took a 72-52 defeat to the Tigers.
OCS got away with a 27-11 push through the second quarter, led by Messiah Bey, whose 19 points and 17 rebounds complemented a 20-point effort from Will’Zarion Jones.
On the Trojans’ side, Alex Abrams led with just 10 points. Closely following him, Qon Ewing had nine points, with Ryan Kinane getting eight points, Miguel Gonzalez seven points and Tommy Wildhack six points.
Then MPH got its second win of the season Wednesday against Fabius-Pompey, prevailing 63-49 over the Falcons largely on the strength of a 20-6 run it made through the second quarter.
Helped by a trio of 3-pointers, Abrams led with 21 points. Johnny Gruninger stepped up with 13 points as Isiah Clary gained 10 points and Andrew Warren had six points.
Playing again on Saturday, MPH lost, 68-50, to Onondaga, with Wildhack getting 13 points to pace the Trojans as Nate Recor led the Tigerrs with 20 points.
