CAMILLUS – To quite a lot of the big crowd gathered Friday night for the boys basketball showdown between Liverpool and West Genesee, the story played out in an eerily familiar manner.
Once again, the Wildcats were in control late in the fourth quarter. Once more, the Warriors wrested away that control and, when all was finished, had a valuable, timely victory in its possession.
What made this 64-59 overtime decision so satisfying from Liverpool’s perspective was not just that it had pulled off another unlikely comeback that harkened back to its rally from nine points down to snatch the Section III Class AA final 11 months ago.
It was because the Warriors were not at full strength. Bruce Wingate was out, Liverpool missing its second-leading scorer and rebounder and the one person, in theory, most likely to take pressure off junior forward Andreo Ash.
And though WG did not have one of its key players, Gary McLane, in the lineup, too, it still had plenty on hand and threatened to blow out the Warriors early, going on a 19-2 run that bridged the first and second quarters.
Without a basket for nearly seven minutes, the Warriors maintained its patience and, in the third quarter, staged its first rally, an 18-5 push mostly led by Jah’Deuir Reese, who had eight points in that surge.
When Ash rebounded a missed free throw home early in the final period, Liverpool was within one, 41-40, only to see WG counter with an 11-0 run, eight straight points from Christian Amica followed by a Christian Cain 3-pointer.
Then, as he did in their Jan. 13 meeting (which also went to OT), Ash took charge, his six straight points cutting the Warriors’ 52-40 deficit in half in the span of less than a minute.
Gaining confidence, the Warriors smothered the Wildcats’ attack and, with baskets from Reese and Jeff Manuel, moved within two, 52-50, heading into the final minute of regulation.
Sincere Smith made it 54-50, only to have Manuel and Reese hit free throws. Then, down 54-52, instead of fouling the Warriors went for a steal – and Reese got it, converting a driving layup with nine seconds left to tie the game.
When Christian Cain’s 3-pointer went off the rim at the horn, the two sides were looking at OT again – but not only did Liverpool have all the momentum, both Amica and Jordan Cain had fouled out for the Wildcats.
Without them, and missing McLane, WG could only watch as Ash gave Liverpool its first lead of the night and Jason Lawler hit a big 3-pointer to make it 59-54. The Wildcats never got closer than three the rest of the way.
Reese finished with 25 points, giving what coach Ryan Blackwell called one of the most complete performances of his career. Ash got 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and OT as Fred Fowler added nine points.
With the win, the Warriors clinched the SCAC Metro division regular-season title and improved its chances at the eventual top seed for this year’s edition of the sectional Class AA tournament.
