BINGHAMTON – Everyone associated with the Chittenango boys basketball program felt a colossal weight lifted when the Bears claimed its first Section III championship in 45 years.
Whatever happened afterward would just add to the joy, especially if Chittenango was able to go south to Binghamton and defeat Seton Catholic in the Class B regional final.
And with a minute to go, the Bears led, seemingly on the brink of reaching the state final four in Glens Falls – but the Saints scored the game’s final six points and, by a 69-65 margin, ended Chittenango’s dream season.
For a team that loved to shoot a bushel of 3-pointers, the Bears may have found a mirror image in Seton, who hit 12 shots from outside the arc in the course of winning the Section IV final against Owego a week earlier.
And it was the Saints, not Chittenango, that lit it up more during the first quarter, Seton working its way to a 22-17 advantage, just the first of many surges this game would feature.
They mostly stayed that way in the second period, where it was quickly apparent that Seton was trying to take away the looks of Chittenango’s most consistent scorer, Alex Moesch – which left his younger brother, Ryan, open.
Ryan Moesch had 15 points by halftime, where the Bears only trailed 35-32. Then it pulled even in the third quarter and, when Jed Dawkins scored off a feed from Alex Moesch, Chittenango led for the first time, 41-39.
And it kept going, the Bears capping off a 17-2 run with Bryce Bishop’s 3-pointer that made it 51-42. Chittenango found itself up 53-46 going to the final period, having seen its starting five – Bishop, Dawkins, the Moesch brothers and Ty Kelly- play the entire game so far.
Perhaps that work took a toll, because Seton roared back early in the fourth quarter with a 13-4 spurt that led to another lead change and set up a dramatic conclusion.
Down 62-60, the Bears turned to Alex Moesch, who scored on a drive, was fouled and made the ensuing free throw, inching the Bears in front by one.
Unfazed by this, Seton reclaimed the lead on its next possession and, with a series of free throws, was able to finish it out, overcoming Ryan Moesch’s career-best 28 points.
Alex Moesch finished with 13 points. Bishop got nine points as he and Ryan Moesch combined to hit all seven of the Bears’ 3-pointers on this night. Kelly finished with eight points and Dawkins had seven points.
