CENTRAL NEW YORK – In the first week of January, the Jordan-Elbridge and Westhill boys basketball teams each absorbed their first defeats of the season – the Eagles to Fabius-Pompey, the Warriors to Chittenango.
Still, both were firmly planted in their respective state rankings (Westhill no. 15 in Class B, J-E no. 19 in Class C) and, in the week that followed, tried to resume winning form.
In J-E’s case, that meant a Jan. 5 win over Onondadga and, in last Monday’s game against Manlius Pebble Hill, got off to a near-perfect start that proved the difference in beating the Trojans 51-35.
Making all kinds of stops on defense and shooting well on the other end, the Eagles found itself in front 22-5 after one quarter, a margin it more or less protected the rest of the evening.
In addition to consistently keeping MPH quiet, J-E saw Nolan Brunelle pour in 21 points, most of it from four 3-pointers, adding four assists and three steals. Cory Henderson had 12 points and five rebounds, with Preston Murray getting 10 points and four rebounds as Jack Barrigar amassed 10 rebounds.
Good as this was, it did not carry over into last Wednesday’s game at Port Byron, where a tight defensive battle went 51-45 in the Panthers’ favor.
Both sides found it difficult to score early, though J-E did a slightly better job of it, especially in the second quarter as it inched into a 21-15 advantage.
Then it all changed in the third quarter, Port Byron breaking through and outscoring the Eagles 20-9 to take a lead that it would not relinquish down the stretch led by Dominic Laframboise’s 22 points and Dalton Clark’s 14 points.
Much of J-E’s production came from Brunelle, whose 25 points included five 3-pointers. Barrigar had eight points, with Brian Tanner adding seven points.
Another big test came on Friday against perennial Class C contender Weedsport, and the Eagles struggled again in a 63-41 loss where it fell behind 38-20 by halftime and could not recover.
Barrigar and Nixon Karcz both had 11 points, but Brunelle was held to seven points and none of them could contain Weedsport’s Ryan Adams, who hit six 3-pointers on his way to 26 points overall.
Westhill, in its first game since the Chittenango loss, faced Institute of Technology Central last Tuesday and again put up big numbers during a 92-62 victory.
Unstoppable in the first half, the Warriors built a 57-26 edge and ultimately saw 10 different players get on the scoresheet, led by Omar Robinson, who had 24 points.
Shawn Mayes and Kam Langdon got 16 points apiece, while Eli Prince got eight points. Charles DeMore and Devin Young each had seven points.
With a big game against Marcellus looming early this week, Westhill took out Hannibal 67-39 on Thursday to improve to 9-1 as Langdon gained 20 points, Mayes had 16 points and Robinson earned 10 points.
Then Westhill beat Homer 79-50 on Saturday, again led by Langdon, who had 22 points, and Mayes, who got 19 points. Luke Gilmartin contributed 11 points as the Warriors built a 39-20 lead by halftime and cruised from there.
Bishop Ludden continued its up-and-down season last Tuesday with a 75-56 loss to Section II’s Mekeel Christian, a game where it was outscored 23-10 in the first quarter and spent the rest of the night trying to catch up.
Joey Adamo led the Gaelic Knights, getting most of his 14 points from four 3-pointers. Aidam Mahar connected three times beyond the arc on his way to 13 points as Mike Masterpole had eight points and Joe Dunham six points.
At Syracuse Academy of Science two nights later, Ludden lost to the Atoms 60-52, Davon Perry’s 28 points helped to overcome Tim Dunham’s 20 points and eight rebounds, A 78-57 loss to Catholic Central followed on Saturday despite Mahar’s 20 points and five rebounds.
