CENTRAL NEW YORK – Five area high school boys basketball teams had to go through opening-round games in the Section III playoffs Friday night – and four of them prevailed.
In the case of Fayetteville-Manlius, advancing in Class AA meant ending the reign of 2020 sectional champion Corcoran – which it did, the no. 5 seed Hornets earning a 66-54 win over the no. 12 seed Cougars.
Even in a down season, Corcoran could not be taken lightly and, seeking to avenge two regular-season losses, stayed close with F-M most of the way, led by Amir Reaves, who had 21 points, and Jazier Hardemen, who had 14 points.
What kept the Hornets in front was the way it answered every time the Cougars tried to get close, leaning heavily on Trevor Roe, who poured in 33 points, more than half of it from six 3-pointers.
Luke Davidson (10 points), Max Danaher (nine points) and Chris Hoalcraft (seven points) offered enough support to help F-M secure a berth in the sectional quarterfinal against no. 4 seed Cicero-North Syracuse.
A terrific season for Manlius-Pebble Hill continued in the opening round of the Class D sectional tournament as the no. 10 seed Trojans went north and knocked off no. 7 seed Copenhagen 50-44.
MPH trailed 16-9 after one quarter, but gradually made up that deficit in the game’s middle stages until it took the lead in the third quarter, its defense ultimately holding the Gold Knights to just 16 second-half points.
James Wildhack, with 17 points, paced the Trojans’ attack. Qon Ewing finished with 13 points and seven rebounds as Ryan Kinane got nine points and nine rebounds. Kevin Frastastitnav had seven points and six rebounds.
Moving to Class A, Jamesville-DeWitt entered as the no. 3 seed and, still burning from seeing its 13-game win streak end at Fulton in its regular-season finale, took it out on no. 14 seed Oswego.
The Red Rams bashed the Buccaneers 67-35, a more lopsided result than their two regular-season meetings in large part due to the relentless defensive pressure J-D used to wear Oswego down.
Already with a comfortable lead, the Rams outscored the Bucs 35-12 in the second half and spread things around, too, not leaning as much on Brendan Kohberger, though he did lead with 19 points.
Anthony Stickle, with 14 points, and Ben Schellinger, with 10 points, also hit double figures, with Aidan Bates getting eight points and Dan Aannan seven points as J-D earned a quarterfinal home game against no. 6 seed Whitesboro.
As that went on, Bishop Grimes, carrying the no. 5 seed in Class A, easily withstood a challenge from no. 12 seed Central Square, the 62-51 margin not reflecting the Cobras’ efforts.
Strong defense on one end and consistent offense on the other had Grimes steadily working its way to a 37-18 halftime lead, and the margin grew bigger in the third period before the Cobras eased off late.
Jon Corl led the way with 22 points, supported by Deng Garang and Jon Farstler, who hit eight 3-pointers between them and had 13 points apiece as Grimes advanced to a quarterfinal against no. 4 seed Watertown.
Only East Syracuse Minoa was unable to advance, the no. 9 seed Spartans upended in Class A when it lost 56-48 to no. 9 seed Auburn.
Looking to get a shot at top-seeded New Hartford, ESM jumped out to a big early lead and was up, 17-9, through one period, and even when it cooled down the Spartans still took a 25-20 lead to the break.
Auburn never led until the middle of the third quarter, but once it took the lead it never gave it back, led mostly by DeSean Strachan, who poured in 28 points. The Spartans’ season concluded with a record of 9-12.
