ONONDAGA COUNTY – In many ways, the Baldwinsville boys basketball team’s season would peak with its overtime win over Rome Free Academy in the Feb. 18 opening round of the Section III Class AA playoffs.
Little was expected of the Bees after going 5-15 in the regular season, so the fact that, after so many close defeats in the winter, it was able to win one of those tight ones, helped by Eli Taft’s 33 points, made all the struggles worthwhile.
Still, B’ville could produce an even bigger moment if it went on the road Tuesday and upended no. 3 seed Christian Brothers Academy in the sectional Class AA quarterfinal.
But the Brothers quickly put an end to those thoughts, getting off to a fast start and never letting the Bees recover in a 70-51 decision.
That first quarter saw CBA tear right through B’ville’s defenses and establish a 25-10 advantage. For a while, the Bees kept it there, but then were outscored 21-13 in the third quarter, preventing any sort of comeback.
Jason Bifulco finished with 14 points, just ahead of Taft, who got 12 points as Nick Hollingshead hit a trio of 3-pointers to account for all of his nine points.
For the victorious Brothers, who advanced to face Liverpool in the sectional semifinals, Braeden Burns continued his big late-season surge, earning 23 points. Joe Nicholson had 11 points, with Steve DeRegis getting 10 points off the bench as Dan Anderson had nine points.
Contrasting this was seeing B’ville’s girls basketball team, the no. 2 seed in its Class AA sectional bracket, go out and defeat no. 7 seed Henninger 70-53 in its sectional quarterfinal.
Two regular-season wins against Henninger did not guarantee anything this time around, and after a week’s rest the Bees were sharp from the outset, eclipsing whatever the Black Knights could produce.
By halftime, B’ville led 33-24, but it stretched the margin to double digits in the third quarter and stayed there behind a three-pronged attack, all generated by its veterans.
Ola Bednarczyk led the way, putting in 22 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Sydney Huhtala finished with 16 points, Kyrah Wilbur close behind as she worked in the paint for 15 points.
Now another set of Black Knights, from no. 3 seed Rome Free Academy, awaits in Sunday’s semifinal at Onondaga Community College’s Allyn Hall, with the winner to get Cicero-North Syracuse or Liverpool in the March 5 sectional title game.
