As it turned out, the last day of the area high school boys basketball season proved the most memorable of all.
On their respective home courts, Fayetteville-Manlius and Bishop Grimes both managed to spoil the plans of their opponents to finish undefeated.
F-M did so with a last second-basket to upend West Genesee 60-59, while Grimes squandered a second-half lead to Fulton, but regrouped to prevail 80-77 in overtime.
So many aspects of the Hornets’ victory was memorable, from the fact that it clinched a winning record for the first time in six years to the way it all ended on Trevor Roe’s driving layup with two seconds to play.
Above all, though, it was F-M knocking off a West Genesee side that had roared through its first 10 games without a loss and had handled the Hornets 56-43 when they first met in Camillus on Feb. 26.
The first indication that the rematch might turn out different was the Hornets’ defense limiting the Wildcats to seven points in the first quarter. Though WG did find its rhythm the rest of the half, F-M did enough on the other end to take a 28-27 lead to the break.
They played on even terms in the third quarter, but early in the final period it appeared the Wildcats were gaining control, inching in front 49-44 midway through the frame.
But led by a senior group who went 2-18 a couple of seasons ago, F-M fought back once more, moving within one, 59-58, and in the final seconds, with WG pressing to prevent any sort of play, James Madill escaped the trap and passed it to Roe, who converted.
Still, the ending was nervous. A full-court Wildcats pass found its way to Max Dennington, who had a shot to win it – but it went off target.
Roe, who had 11 points, was one of four Hornets scoring in double figures. Jack Nucerino led with 18 points, Josh Michel matching Roe’s 11-point total and Luke Davidson getting 10 points.
Just as F-M celebrated a landmark victory for its program, Bishop Grimes authored its own signature win to finish at 6-6 overall against a Fulton side aiming to complete a perfect 10-0 run through the winter.
The Cobras went out in front of the Red Raiders in the second quarter and took a 33-27 lead to halftime, setting up an exciting third quarter where Grimes produced plenty – and was still outscored 25-23.
Down the stretch, Fulton kept its poise and, at 71-71, managed to send the game to the four-minute OT period, where helped by four key points from Jack Gutchess, the Cobras reclaimed the edge.
Hanging on, Grimes got three tremendous individual performances, one of them by Gutchess, who finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds.
A steady contributor all season, Jon Corl set a career mark with 22 points. So did Conner Frigon, who hurt Fulton with seven 3-pointers to account for all of his 21 points as Nader Elturk added eight points.
On the Red Raiders’ side, Jack Broderick had 26 points, 10 of them from successful free throws. Marcus Shepard gained 18 points, while Sam Cotton finished with 17 points.
