ONONDAGA COUNTY – All roads for the West Genesee boys basketball team now lead to Liverpool, who denied the Wildcats the Section III Class AA title last winter with a late-game comeback.
Now the two sides will clash again this Friday night, having earned the best records in the area large-school ranks over the course of the first month of the season.
WG, at no. 22 in last week’s state Class AA rankings, started 2023 with a comprehensive effort in last Tuesday’s 93-65 win over the Corcoran Cougars.
What was a close contest broke open when the Wildcats outscored Corcoran 28-11 in the second quarter, red-hot from the field and also making a series of defensive stops
Christian Cain, with 24 points, led four WG players in double figures. Christian Amica had 18 points, with Jordan Cain getting 15 points and Jalen Zachery adding 11 points as all of Joe Cavallo’s nine points came from three 3-pointers.
Impressive again on Friday against Nottingham, WG topped the Bulldogs 79-55 in a game that was tight most of the way until the Wildcats pulled away with a 22-4 fourth-quarter blitz.
Gary McLane, contained in the Corcoran game, led this time with 21 points. Christian Cain (18 points) and Jordan Cain (15 points) were close behind, Amica finishing with 12 points.
Last week also included Skaneateles putting its six-game win streak on the line at Bishop Ludden, and the Lakers seeing that streak get ended by the Gaelic Knights, who prevailed 69-53.
Just 2-5 going into the game, Ludden jumped all over Skaneateles, leading 19-7 after one period, only to have the Lakers make up most of that ground and only trail by two, 29-27, going into the break.
Then the pace quickened again and the Gaelic Knights pulled away for good, led by Aidan Mahar, who set a career mark with six 3-pointers on his way to 24 points overall.
Joe Dunham got 13 points, four steals and three blocks. Tim Dunham and Mike Masterpole each had 12 points, Dunham adding six rebounds as Jahzar Greene had eight points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals.
In the face of all this, Skaneateles only had two players reach double figures. Tyson DiRubbo put up 22 points, while Nate Shattuck had 13 points as Ethan Hunt got seven points.
A tough test awaited Ludden Thursday against Bishop Grimes, and while the Gaelic Knights were even most of the way, one rough stretch proved costly in a 60-48 defeat.
Grimes outscored Ludden 19-8 in the third quarter to build on its 31-27 halftime lead, and it was too much to overcome, though Greene and Tim Dunham both had 12 points and Greene got five assists. Joey Adamo had nine points, Masterpole eight points and Joe Dunham seven points.
Skaneateles, visiting Phoenix on Friday, handled the Firebirds 46-39, its defense again the key reason why it reached the midway point of the regular season with a 7-3 mark.
Back on Dec. 29, Skaneateles had defeated South Jefferson 66-59 for its sixth win in a row, a game that was close from start to finish as the Spartans, despite a 3-4 record, stayed within range thanks to 21 points from Curtis Staie and 16 points from Nolan Widrick.
Four Lakers hit double figures, led by DiRubbo, who got most of his 19 points from five 3-pointers. Hunt had 17 points, while Nico Decker had 12 points and Shattuck earned 10 points. Patrick Herr added eight points.
Ludden did close the week well, defeating Buffalo’s Cardinal O’Hara 76-42 as it rolled to a 19-3 first-quarter lead and cruised from there, Aidam Mahar getting most of his 19 points from four 3-pointers as Joe Dunham had 15 points and Joey Adamo added 12 points.
