Much happened to the Fayetteville-Manlius and Christian Brothers Academy boys basketball teams after the Brothers topped the Hornets in the Dec. 29 opening round of the Manny Leone Holiday Classic.
And for the Hornets, it all went well, starting with a 57-53 win over Auburn in the tournament’s consolation game where Trevor Roe set a new career mark with 35 points to help his team overcome a 37-27 halftime deficit.
Even bigger, though, was what followed – back-to-back wins against top SCAC Metro division sides, including on Friday when, just like in last season’s Section III Class AA quarterfinals, it beat Cicero-North Syracuse, this time
C-NS arrived with a 6-1 record, but F-M, feeding off the energy of its home crowd on “Pink Out” night, took charge in the second quarter, clamping down on defense and also getting red-hot from the field.
During that decisive 23-4 surge, Trevor Roe kept firing – and kept hitting, eventually connecting on six 3-pointers on his way to a total of 34 points as Max Danaher (10 points), Chris Cleary (eight points) and Tyler Hutcheson (seven points) helped out. C-NS, in defeat, got 24 points from Reece Congel and 16 points from Michael Gallo.
Before this, F-M faced Nottingham last Tuesday night and, with a sensational effort on defense, got a big 48-43 victory over the Bulldogs.
Nottingham entered the game with a 6-2 record, but found every possession to be a struggle amid the Hornets’ constant pressure, allowing the hosts to steadily gain a 38-30 advantage through three quarters.
To hang on late, F-M needed to diversity its attack – which it did, Michael Hance stepping up for a career-best 17 points as Roe got 14 points and Danaher earned 11 points.
And F-M got another big win on Sunday when it edged reigning sectional Class A champion New Hartford 56-55 in the Mohawk Valley Classic at Hamilton College, a game where it held the Spartans in check most of the first quarter and held on despite Zach Phililpkoski’s three-point play in the closing seconds.
Roe, with 24 points, outscored Philipkoski, who finished with 20 points. Cleary and Hutcheson both finished with 10 points and Danaher added seven points.
CBA’s busy stretch began when it faced Long Island’s Chaminade Prep in the Dec. 30 Leone Tournament final and found itself unable to contain the Flyers’ attack in an 87-70 defeat.
Helped by hot 3-point shooting, Chaminade built a 41-24 advantage by halftime, and the Brothers were in a chasing mode the rest of the night, though Steve DeRegis did hit a career-best eight 3-pointers to finish with 24 points overall. Burns was held to nine points.
Bouncing back, the Brothers achieved a milestone for long-time head coach Buddy Wleklinski last Wednesday when it topped Cazenovia 66-32.
This was Wlekinski’s 550th career victory. Among active Section III coaches, only Bob McKenney (630) and Tom Blackford (592) have more, and he’s fifth all-time in the sectional ranks.
The game typified many CBA wins during that tenure, with dominant defense that especially took hold during a 20-4 second-quarter spurt that all but put Cazenovia away.
Burns, with 14 points, led a well-balanced attack. Luke Boule got 10 points, with Tavin Penix adding nine points and 12 different players picking up a field goal by game’s end.
CBA played back-to-back games on the weekend, starting Friday against Syracuse Academy of Science when the Brothers were pushed into two overtimes and lost, 69-68, to the Atoms.
Down 30-27 at halftime, the Brothers went in front in the third quarter, only to have SAS pull back even by the end of the regulation and, after a low-scoring first OT, get nine points in the second extra period to CBA’s eight.
DeRegis had 20 points, with Boule getting 17 points and Burns 14 points. The Atoms featured Andre Pasha’s 15 points, 20 rebounds, five blocks, three assists and two steals as Davon Perry had 21 points.
Then, in Saturday’s trip to Buffalo to play Timon/St. Jude, the Brothers, with less than 24 hours to recover and a long bus trip, still managed to get back in the win column, rallying past the Tigers 84-70.
A 26-14 third quarter erased Timon’s 45-38 halftime lead, and it got clear as DeRegis got 27 points, most of it from five 3-pointers, and Burns had 24 points, with Will Harrigan stepping up for 17 points and Boule earning 13 points.
Back in action last Wednesday, Manlius Pebble Hill beat Altmar-Parish-Williamstown 71-55, using a 28-point third quarter to break open a close contest. Kevin Frastastitnav led with 24 points, while James Wildhack had 20 points and Qon Ewing added 19 points.
