ONONDAGA COUNTY – All through a majority of this first season under head coach Patrick Beilein, the Baldwinsville boys basketball team has leaned heavily on defense to compete against tough SCAC Metro division foes.
One big exception to this was Corcoran, an opponent against which the Bees would earn a regular-season sweep when, led by Jason Bifulco, it claimed a 68-67 thriller last Tuesday night on Syracuse’s south side.
Having won 61-48 at home against the Cougars on Jan. 10, B’ville mostly traded baskets with Corcoran amid a pace far quicker than to which it was accustomed.
Yet it didn’t harm the Bees, who only trailed 53-50 through three quarters before battling its way out in front in the game’s final minutes and Bifulco continued to dazzle.
Hitting on all kinds of shots, Bifulco finished his night with 33 points, helped by Eli Taft, who had 14 points, while Nick Hollingshead and Ethan Hilliar had eight points apiece.
All of it was needed, since Corcoran got 26 points from Amir Reaves and 16 points from Jaiden Holloman, with Davon Cockerell adding nine points.
Back home Friday to face Nottingham, B’ville again played superb defense, but could not produce much in a 44-32 defeat to the Bulldogs.
Though closer than in its 68-49 loss to Nottingham in January, the Bees were held to just 10 points in the second half, a close game getting away. Greg Marinelli had 10 points, with Hilliar adding seven points as, for the Bulldogs, Malachi McCurty (18 points) and Steyvon Jones (15 points) led the way.
Meanwhile, B’ville’s girls basketball team though it might catch first-place Liverpool at a good moment following a big, emotional win over Cicero-North Syracuse the night before.
Instead, the Bees lost, 73-36, to the Warriors, the game high-scoring at the outset and not out of reach, but then turning in the second half as Liverpool went on a 31-7 closing tear.
Neveah Wingate, with 32 points, nearly matched B’ville all herself, helped by A’briyah Cunningham’s 13 points and Gianna Washington’s 10 points.
Much of B’ville’s production came from three sources as Kyrah Wilbur earned 11 points, with Carlie Young and Ava Graham getting 10 points apiece.
Even more frustrating was Thursday’s game against Henninger, where the Bees were on the verge of breaking up the Black Knights’ six-game win streak, only to see a late lead get away in a 50-48 defeat.
Having defeated Henninger 70-64 a month earlier, B’ville traded blows with the Black Knights until a productive third quarter where it built a 42-34 advantage behind Young’s 22 points and Madison Polky’s 16 points.
Yet both of them went cold in the fourth quarter and the Black Knights outscored them 16-6 to catch up and pull it out, Sanai Lee (14 points) and Iyanna Kyles (12 points) followed by Inese Odom’s nine points and Ta’Kai Baker’s eight points.
In Saturday’s game against Fayetteville-Manlius, B’ville again found itself in a close one and, again, could not win it, falling 42-40 to the Hornets to see its record dip to 8-10.
Held to six points in the second quarter, the Bees trailed 22-19 at the half and could only match F-M from there, getting little beside the 15 points from Young and 13 points from Wilbur. Olivia Davis and Natalie Hollingshead had five points apiece.
