CENTRAL NEW YORK – Amid its mid-season struggles, the Jordan-Elbridge boys basketball team bottomed out when it took a 22-point loss to traditional Class C power Weedsport.
When those two sides met again last Wednesday night, the Eagles were convinced it would, at the very least, be a lot closer – but it was not.
Fully aware of what J-E was capable of, the Warriors shot well from the outset, stepped up its defense and didn’t let up until it had handed the Eagles a 72-43 defeat.
It was 22-8 by the end of the first quarter and 40-20 by halftime, Weedsport seeing Lucio Cole (18 points), Troy Brown (17 points), Ryan Adams and Isaiah Richardson (11 points each) all produce on a consistent basis.
By contrast, only Jack Barrigar did so for J-E, finishing with 16 points. Nolan Brunelle was held to eight points and Matt Kline added seven points.
Warming up for Weedsport, J-E gained its fifth win in a row last Monday against Mater Dei Academy, clamping down on defense as it prevailed 55-31.
Mater Dei never reached double figures in any single quarter, the Eagles combining strong containment with hot shooting from Brunelle as he got most of his 22 points from five 3-pointers. Barrigar and Cory Henderson finished with eight points apiece.
After the loss to Weedsport, J-E was back in action Saturday, against Port Byron, and was in trouble until a furious late comeback led to a 55-50 victory over the Panthers to close its regular season with a 14-6 mark.
Port Byron’s solid defense left the Eagles in a 29-20 deficit going into halftime. But it started chipping away in the third quarter and, over the course of the final period, shut the Panthers down while getting clutch baskets at the other end.
Both before and during that final 17-6 push, Brunelle got red-hot from the field, his 27 points featuring six 3-pointers to go with five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Barrigar had 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists as Matt Kline got seven points. Nixon Karcz added six points and eight rebounds.
Bishop Ludden found itself taking on its neighbors from Syracuse Academy of Science last Monday night and paid for one bad stretch in a 63-59 loss to the Atoms.
The Gaelic Knights led 22-10 through one period, but saw that lead vanish when SAS outscored them 24-7 the rest of the half. Ludden then went up 43-42 leading up to the fourth quarter.
Again, though, the Atoms rallied, led by Siraj Bey (18 points, eight rebounds, five assists) and Andre Pasha (14 points, 12 rebounds), which overcame 23 points and 10 rebounds from the Gaelic Knights’ Tim Dunham. Jahzar Greene had 14 points and five rebounds as Aidan Mahar got 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Then Ludden lost 61-51 to Section II’s Mekeel Christian a night later, never quite able to put together a sustained run, though Mahar had 16 points and nine rebounds. Mike Masterpole had 13 point, with Dunham adding 11 points.
Now the Gaelic Knights hosted Christian Brothers Academy on Friday, trying to reverse the Brothers’ recent domination of the “Holy War” series that celebrates its 50th anniversary later this year.
And despite a rough start where it fell behind 16-5, Ludden would play well in the second quarter, cutting the margin to 32-28 by halftime and encouraging the home crowd.
Still, CBA got away and prevailed 67-51, led by Braeden Burns’ 24 points and Steve DeRegis’ 21 points. Dunham, with 18 points, paced the Gaelic Knights, Greene adding 14 points and Mike Masterpole earning nine points.
