ONONDAGA COUNTY – The ever-changing picture of which area boys basketball team held the upper hand in the OHSL Liberty division shifted again in favor of Skaneateles thanks to a pair of wins against its main rivals.
Already at 9-1 overall, the Lakers gained its most impressive win of the season last Tuesday against 8-2 Westhill, getting off to a near-perfect start and riding that all the way to an 81-67 victory over the Warriors.
Everything went right in the first quarter for Skaneateles. On one end, it could not miss a shot and, on the other end, it kept making stops while Westhill was cold from the field.
It translated into a 27-5 margin, and the Lakers built its lead to 45-19 by halftime before the Warriors finally began to make up some ground in the second half.
All the while, Colin Gaglione lit up Westhill, hitting on 14 field goals on his way to 33 points overall. Jude Pascal’s 15 points included three 3-pointers as James Musso and Marcus McClanahan had nine points apiece and Colin Sweet earned eight points.
In defeat, the Warriors saw Luke Gilmartin pour in 25 points, with Omar Robinson adding 16 points and Kam Langdon finished with 14 points.
Now it was Skaneateles against Marcellus last Thursday night. With a chance to avenge its only loss this season, the Lakers did so, grinding out a 46-41 victory over the Mustangs.
Playing at the tempo it wanted, Marcellus jumped out to a quick 13-6 edge, only to surrender all of it by halftime as Skaneateles claimed a 21-19 advantage.
They stayed close and were tied, 30-30, going to the fourth quarter, but the Lakers fought back in front and managed to stay there with several key defensive stops.
As that went on, Westhill beat Homer 60-34, though it didn’t put the game away until it outscored the Trojans 20-3 in the fourth quarter. Langdon led with 18 points as Gilmartin, Robinson and Charlie DeMore had seven points apiece.
Even bigger for the Warriors was Saturday’s 69-43 romp over Utica Academy of Science, once the state’s top-ranked Class B team.
Trailing 15-11 early, Westhill caught up by halftime and dominated the second half, outscoring the Atoms 38-14 as Mayes had 19 points, six rebounds and four assists. Gilmartin gained 15 points and Robinson added 11 points.
Skaneateles continued its hot streak that same day at Weedsport, prevailing 59-44 to improve to 12-1. A 19-9 push through the third quarter proved decisive as Gaglione had 17 points, Sweet got 11 points and Pascal earned 10 points.
Before all this, Marcellus fought to 52-47 win over Institute of Technology Central the Mustangs outscoring ITC 18-4 in the third quarter to erase a 25-20 halftime deficit as Mitch Donegan led with 16 points and Will Burnett added 13 points.
Solvay won last Tuesday over Cazenovia 65-56, the difference a first half where the Bearcats were stingy on defense while establishing a 31-20 margin it kept the rest of the way. Gerold Bean hit four 3-pointers on his way to 21 points overall, with Jeff Sharpe getting 14 points, Nick Commisso 13 points and Tom Venturini nine points.
Jordan-Elbridge was overwhelmed by 64 first-half points from Chittenango in an 87-43 loss to the state Class B no. 16-ranked Bears. Caleb Rouse, with 16 points, and Cory Henderson, with 11 points, accounted for most of the Eagles’ offense.
Then J-E lost 73-52 to Altmar-Parish-Williamstown, even though Rouse (14 points), Nolan Brunelle (13 points), Jack Barrigar (11 points) and Henderson (10 points) all scored well. On Saturday, the Eagles fell 60-55 to Clinton.
