CENTRAL NEW YORK – As it made its way into Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division competition, the Fayetteville-Manlius boys basketball team was curious to see where it stood after a split of its first two games.
Going to Nottingham on Dec. 17, the Hornets held the Bulldogs without a field goal for a long stretch, yet still had to hang on and pull out a narrow 43-42 victory.
Nottingham had shot well at the outset, and led 17-9. But then F-M cranked up its pressure and held the Bulldogs to a single free throw for the entire second quarter while its own offense flourished.
They went to halftime with the Hornets in front 23-18, and for the rest of the game it proved tense and tough, F-M needing a series of late stops to preserve its slim margin.
Trevor Roe finished with 12 points, leading a three-pronged attack. Max Danaher earned five of his 11 points at the free-throw line as Luke Davidson added 10 points.
Less than 24 hours later, F-M found itselt at Baldwinsville, pushed hard again for four quarters but again able to win on the road as it topped the Bees 55-44.
It turned out that the first quarter was decisive. Hot from the field, the Hornets accumulated an 18-7 advantage that it would spend the rest of the game protecting against every conceivable B’ville charge.
Mostly, it was Roe and Davidson doing the damage. Inside, Roe picked up 20 points, while Davidson connected on five 3-pointers to account for most of his 18 points as Sam Dunn converted twice beyond the arc on his way to eight points.
F-M’s strong play continued last Tuesday against Utica Proctor, with the Hornets handling the Raiders 59-37 as its defense was sharp throughout the night.
Hot shooting created a quick 21-9 first-quarter margin, and F-M made sure Proctor didn’t answer, never letting it score more than 11 points in any single quarter.
Roe continued to lead the way on offense, earning 18 points as Sam Dunn stepped up with 12 points. Davidson finished with 10 points and Patrick Emery added eight points.
Back on Dec. 18 in the Zebra Classic at Liverpool, Jamesville-DeWitt met Poughkeepsie. It was close until the fourth quarter, when Poughkeepsie outscored the Red Rams 22-14 to prevail 57-42.
Brendan Kohberger led J-D with 13 points, while Aidan Bates had 11 points and Anthony Stickle earned eight points.
The loss dropped the Rams to 1-5 entering last Tuesday’s game against 4-1 Fulton, but in one evening J-D’s fortunes appeared to turn as it shut down the Red Raiders for long stretches and easily prevailed 55-31.
So good was the Rams’ defense that Fulton never scored more than seven points in any of the last three quarters. On the other end, Kohberger got 25 points, nearly half his team’s output, while Bates chimed in with 14 points, most of it from hitting four 3-pointers.
East Syracuse Minoa, who lost to F-M on Dec. 11, earned its first win of the season on Dec. 17, topping PSLA-Fowler by a score of 60-49 to break a four-game skid.
A 23-10 first-quarter surge gave the Spartans a lead it did not relinquish, Jusmin Kalkan leading the way as he earned 20 points, including three 3-pointers. Andrew Graham got six of his 13 points at the free-throw line as Aiden Betts remained steady, earning 12 points.
Then ESM made it back-to-back wins last Tuesday by handling Auburn 59-48, the key sequence an 18-8 third-quarter surge. Cole Thomas led the way, his 17 points ably backed up by Betts’ 16 points and Graham’s 15 points.
