SYRACUSE – As a group, every players on the Liverpool boys basketball team spilled off the court Sunday night at SRC Arena to celebrate with students the Section III Class AA championship they had just won.
The fact that the Warriors were celebrating anything was nothing short of remarkable.
Down by nine points to top-seeded West Genesee with less than five minutes to play, Liverpool, the no. 2 seed, somehow shut out the Wildcats the rest of the way, scored the game’s final 12 points and prevailed 53-50.
“These players dug down and made the plays they needed,’ said Warriors head coach Ryan Blackwell. “I’m so happy for them.”
This unlikely comeback came eight days after Liverpool, trailing by six with 30 seconds left in regulation, came back on this came court against CBA in an epic game the Warriors eventually won in triple overtime.
“We’re as resilient as any team around,” said senior forward Jacob Works.
While it’s difficult to compare the two games, the comeback against West Genesee seemed more unlikely given the way things had unfolded to that point.
Missing all kinds of close-up shots in the second and third quarters, the Warriors, who had rallied from six down to tie it 29-29 at halftime, saw WG battle back in front, at one point, holding Liverpool to just one field goal in a span of eight minutes.
When James Tully hit two free throws with 4:20 to play, the Wildcats led 50-41. Those would be the last points WG would score.
Even as it stared at this deficit, said sophomore forward Andreo Ash, “we just knew that we could come back. At the end of games, we just don’t quit.”
It was Works’ short jumper that began the rally. Then Bruce Wingate ignited the Warriors with a 3-pointer from the outside, followed by a drive, basket and free throw that cut WG’s lead to 50-49.
Blackwell said he had benched Wingate earlier for struggling against the Wildcats’ ball pressure, but when he went back in, he said, “I told him you have to give us something. He proved me right.”
All the while, the Warriors’ defense kept disrupting anything that WG tried, forcing bad passes and shots that flew off target.
“We just locked in defensively and played more efficient basketball,” said Works.
After another stop, Jah’Deuir Reese hit a driving layup with 1:25 left that gave Liverpool a 51-50 lead, but much more drama remained.
Twice, the Wildcats had go-ahead shots go off the rim. Then the Warriors missed and, amid a loose-ball chase, Jordan Cain was fouled with 13.2 seconds left.
Shooting one-and-one free throws, Cain missed the front end. Ash won the scramble for the rebound and was fouled with 9.5 seconds to play.
Also facing a one-and-one situation, Ash made them both. Then the Warriors’ defense chose not to foul, instead closegly guarding the Wildcats as it moved the ball up the court and saw Christian Amica miss a possible tying 3-pointer in the waning seconds.
Ash finished with 15 points, just two behind WG’s leading scorer, Christian Cain. Works got nine points, with Wingate and Jaiden Reynolds adding eight points apiece.
Liverpool now heads to the state Class AA tournament, where on Saturday at Troy’s Hudson Valley Community College it will face Section II champion Green Tech, from Albany, in the regional final.
Green Tech beat the Warrriors 82-75 on Feb. 12. Whoever prevails in the rematch goes to Glens Falls for the March 18-19 state final four.
Works said his team can match what its predecessors did in 2018. “We have the talent to get there,” he said. “It’s just about putting it all together.”
