CENTRAL NEW YORK – An 8-0 tear through its December slate had positioned the West Genesee boys basketball team squarely atop the Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division standings.
Staying there would require the Wildcats to get through a series of crucial tests on Tuesday nights, starting this week at Fayetteville-Manlius and continuing seven days later at Liverpool.
Of course, WG, owning the no. 21 state Class AA rankings, did not want to get tripped up in the games leading up to F-M, and it would not.
Making it nine in a row last Tuesday against visiting Baldwinsville, the Wildcats got a career-best performance from Jayden Macknail and strong defense in the early portion of a 61-49 win over the Bees.
That it got so close was a tribute to the way B’ville fought back in the second half after WG held it to just seven points in each of the first two quarters.
Up 33-14 at the half, the Wildcats saw that margin shrink in the third quarter, the Bees ultimately getting 16 points from Eli Taft and 13 points from Greg Marinelli as Jason Bifulco got 11 points.
However, WG never was seriously threatened, in large measure due to Macknail pouring in 17 points to match Christian Cain’s total. Christian Amica had nine points, with Jordan Cain getting seven points and Gary McLane six points.
Traveling to Utica Proctor two nights later, the Wildcats made it 10 in a row, making its critical move after halftime in order to turn back the Raiders 73-64.
Though staked to an early advantage, WG saw Proctor cut away at it and only trail by three, 32-29, at the break. But that was before a third quarter where the Wildcats, excellent on both ends, outscored the Raiders 21-8.
Amica led the charge, pouring in 20 points as Christian Cain again finished with 17 points. Jordan Cain again produced off the bench, getting 14 points as MackNail and Jack Parrott had six points apiece. Proctor’s Trae Quan Le had a big night, earning 27 points.
Then, in Saturday’s game against visiting Henninger, WG was red-hot at the start, and rode that for the rest of the afternoon to a 59-52 win over the Black Knights that made it 11 in a row.
By the time the first quarter ended, the Wildcats had a 24-13 advantage, with Christian Cain constantly working his way through Henninger’s defense and drawing contact.
As the game wore on, the Black Knights chipped away, getting 15 points from Lanair McMurren, 14 points from Darrell Washington and 12 points from Ja’Quair Lewis.
Yet WG answered enough and kept its lead, Cain earning 11 of his 24 points at the free-throw line as Amica chimed in with 12 points. Macknail and Kerrick Albright had six points apiece.
This followed a girls basketball game between WG and Henninger on Friday where, at last, the Wildcats saw a close game go its way as it beat the Black Knights 52-49.
Henninger had erased an early deficit to go up 29-26 at halftime. But WG caught up and, in the fourth quarter, limited the Black Knights to six points to break out of a 43-43 tie.
Erin DiPaola put in 15 points, with Hannah Sparks stepping up to earn a season-best 11 points. Cecilia Sidorovski got all of her nine points from three 3-pointers as Julia Miller put up six points.
