CENTRAL NEW YORK – As it neared the decisive month of February, the West Genesee boys basketball team wanted to make sure that it stayed right on the heels of Liverpool in the regular-season SCAC Metro division race.
WG first played last Monday night against Baldwinsville, and a big third quarter made all the difference as, by a 60-44 margin, it completed a regular-season sweep of the Bees.
Unlike their first meeting Dec. 20, this one was close early, B’ville only down 23-20 at halftime. But the Wildcats started the second half with a 20-6 push through the third period.
Leading the way, Christian Amica had 16 points and Christian Cain added 13 points, with Jordan Cain getting nine points. Gary McLane had seven points as Joe Cavallo and Sincere Smith had seven points apiece.
At Utica Proctor 24 hours later, the Wildcats had a far easier time of it, routing the Raiders 70-44 as it clamped down on defense throughout the first half, steadily building a 35-15 advantage.
Not only was it a comprehensive win, but it was done without any player getting more than Christian Cain’s total of 11 points. Jordan Cain added 10 points, as did Jalen Zachery, with Cavallo getting nine points and McLane eight points.
Now WG visited Cicero-North Syracuse on Friday night, having handled the Northstars 77-55 when they first met in December – and even without Amica in the lineup, the Wildcats again prevailed in the rematch, this time 59-47.
For a while, it looked to be another rout, WG stifling on the defensive side as it built a 40-20 lead by the third quarter, only to get held without a field goal for more than five minutes.
Led by Andrew Benedict, who had 13 of his 27 points, C-NS went on a 17-1 run and got within four, 41-37, only to see the Wildcats answer with a decisive 11-0 push to start the final period.
Smith, starting in place of Amica, had 11 points, trailing only Christian Cain’s 15 points as Jordan Cain got 10 points and McLane and Zachery nine points apiece.
Jordan-Elbridge, once 8-1 ,had lost four in a row going into last Monday’s game at Faith Heritage, but finally broke that skid by defeating the Saints 67-58.
This one wasn’t easy, either, as the Eagles traded baskets with the Saints most of the way before its defense made several key late stops and it outscored Faith 17-9 in the fourth quarter.
Jack Barrigar poured in 28 points, including five 3-pointers. Nixon Karcz stepped up with 15 points, while Nolan Brunelle finished with 12 points.
At Altmar-Parish-Williamstown on Friday, J-E made it back-to-back wins, prevailing 69-47 by outscoring the Rebels in every single quarter.
Hitting seven 3-pointers between them, Barrigar earned 21 points and Brunelle had 19 points. Brian Tanner, Cory Henderson and Preston Murray had six points apiece.
Playing less than 24 hours later, J-E made it three in a row, topping Lyme 75-52 to get to 11-5 and clinch a winning record for the regular season.
Zooming to a 45-18 advantage by halftime, the Eagles saw Brunelle hit six 3-pointers and a lot of other shots, too, on his way to 33 points overall. Barrigar helped with 14 points and Murray contributed 11 points.
