CENTRAL NEW YORK – How the Marcellus boys basketball team would feel about its championship aspirations would hinge on whether it could repeat its Dec. 9 win over Chittenango on its home court Tuesday night.
The Mustangs had already gone for one sweep against a big-time rival when it hosted Skaneateles last Friday night and, in a comprehensive manner, took out the Lakers 58-32.
Neither team started fast, but Skaneateles never could solve a voracious Marcellus defense that made baskets rare and controlled the boards, too.
On his way to a game-high 17 points, Pat Louer grabbed 18 rebounds and added four assists, while Will Burnett got 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals, with Will Kershaw getting 15 points, mostly from three 3-pointers.
Skaneateles did not get double digits in any quarter until the final period, with Patrick Herr earning 10 points as Nate Shattuck contributed seven points
This was on the heels of the Mustangs’ Jan. 17 win over Westhill. The Warriors sought its own big win at Chittenango a week later, only to again fall to the Bears 71-55.
Now, as then, this was a game that went back and forth throughout the early stages and was tight deep into the third quarter, Westhill even 40-40 with Chittenango.
But the Warriors never figured out how to contain the Bears’ brother duo of Ryan and Alex Moesch, who kept tearing through Westhill’s defense throughout the closing stretch.
By the time they were done, Ryan Moesch had 26 points and Alex Moesch 25 points, helped again by Ty Kelly, who poured in 18 points. Each of them were ahead of Westhill’s top scorers as Omar Robinson had 17 points, Kam Langdon got 13 points and Luke Gilmartin added 13 points.
Westhill would get back in the win column Thursday, ripping Mexico 91-42 as all 11 players that saw action got on the scoresheet, with Devin Young stepping up as his 13 points equaled Robinson. Langdon and Shawn Mayes had 12 points apiece, with Gilmartin earning nine points and James Derrick getting eight points.
Away from all this, Solvay was trying to break a six-game skid early last week – and finally did so at Phoenix, battling its way past the Firebirds 62-53.
The Bearcats went up 17-11 by the end of the first quarter, and then outscored Phoenix 18-12 in the third, those long strings generally accounting for Solvay’s winning margin.
Jeff Sharpe led the way, half of his 18 points coming from a trio of 3-pointers. Aaron Trendell also connected three times from long range on his way to 13 points as Nick Commisso had 10 points and Aiyden Geigel seven points.
It would be tougher a day later against Class C contender Weedsport, where Solvay was overwhelmed in a 69-45 defeat that featured an astonishing second quarter.
Solvay led, 16-15, but in those eight minutes it never got on the board, cold shooting and lots of turnovers leading to 27 unanswered points from Weedsport.
Somehow, the Bearcats would play better the rest of the way, Commisso getting 12 points and Geigel nine points, though no Solvay player got close to the total of 22 points from Weedsport’s Lucio Cole.
