CENTRAL NEW YORK – No matter what they do by themselves, the Jamesville-DeWitt and Bishop Grimes boys basketball teams are always linked by Bob McKenney having coached in both places.
And the possibility of the two of them meeting for the Section III Class A championship presented itself as both made it out of Tuesday’s sectional quarterfinals.
Getting there wasn’t easy for either side. J-D, the no. 3 seed, had to go into overtime to turn back no. 6 seed Whitesboro 46-42 as Grimes, the no. 5 seed, traveled north and rallied past no. 4 seed Watertown 53-50.
All season long, the Rams had played strong defense, but here it was really needed as Whitesboro kept J-D from getting more than nine points in any of the first three quarters.
So although the Rams limited Whitesboro to three points in the second period, it still trailed 27-25 going to the fourth quarter and had to battle hard just to get even, 38-38, as regulation ended.
The four-minute OT period saw J-D hit crucial baskets and hang on, Brendan Kohberger working his total to 21 points and Anthony Stickle adding 15 points as Aidan Bates got seven points.
Up at Watertown, it could hardly have started worse for Bishop Grimes, who saw the Cyclones bolt to a 20-8 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Settling down, the Cobras began to chip away and, more importantly, began to play consistent defense as Watertown could not come close to matching its early pace.
By the fourth quarter, Grimes had caught up, and several more defensive stops down the stretch assured that the Cobras’ season would continue.
Jon Corl paced the attack, earning 21 points, eight of them free throws. Deng Garang finished with 13 points, while Sylvester Seton had 10 points and Jacob Bell got six points.
Trying to make its own history, Manlius-Pebble Hill hosted its first-ever sectional quarterfinal in Class D and, despite a great start, saw its season end with a 47-43 defeat to Old Forge.
Old Forge had gone 6-14 in the regular season, losing its last five games, and were the no. 15 seed in the sectional bracket, but then beat Remsen in the opening round and shocked 19-1, no. 2 seed Sackets Harbor in the second round.
Now MPH sought to end that run, scoring the game’s first 10 points. But Old Forge fought its way back, took the lead by the game’s latter stages and continued its improbable post-season run led by 23 points from Roger McGrady. The Trojans finished its season with an 11-9 record.
