CENTRAL NEW YORK – One of the more highly anticipated Section III Class B boys basketball playoffs is at hand, with a deep pool of strong teams lining up behind unbeaten Central Valley Academy and defending champion Chittenango.
It includes Marcellus and Westhill, both of whom have excelled for long stretches and, at their best, are quite capable of getting all the way to the finals at SRC Arena on the first weekend of March.
Marcellus had a particularly great start to the final week of the regular season when it ran over Cazenovia 87-25 last Tuesday night, a combination of its defense and offense both showing peak form.
It was 41-12 by halftime and kept growing from there, the Mustangs limiting Cazenovia’s top player, Ben Bianco, to just three points as it got every player in its lineup to record at least one field goal.
Will Kershaw, with 18 points, led the attack, but Mitch Donegan was close behind, earning 17 points. Pat Louer had 12 points as Jack Sammon got nine points, with Elliot Austin and Tucker Barnett getting seven points apiece.
Against first-year Syracuse OnTech last Friday night, the Mustangs prevailed 84-47, Louer taking over with 23 points and 13 rebounds as Donegan and Burnett both got 10 points. Sammon again had nine points and Sam Barney contributed eight points.
This happened as Westhill hosted Skaneateles and quickly jumped out in front, not letting up at all until it had put together an 83-51 victory over the Lakers.
Red-hot from the field, the Warriors were up 26-12 after one period and kept on going, eventually building a 68-40 margin by the time they reached the fourth quarter.
All 11 Westhill players that saw action got on the scoreboard, Omar Robinson’s 17 points leading a balanced attack where Shawn Mayes had 14 points, Luke Gilmartin got 13 points and Kam Langdon had 11 points.
On Skaneateles’ side, only Ethan Hunt, who had 16 points, hit double figures. Nate Shattuck got close, with nine points, while Patrick Herr had seven points and Carter Girzadas six points.
Two nights later, Skaneateles lost, 63-56, to Cortland, who broke out of a 27-27 halftime tie led by Ben McGrath’s 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as Marvin Bell added 16 points and seven rebounds for the Purple Tigers.
The skid halted on Friday when Skaneateles handled Hannibal 57-27, opening on a 22-5 run and pulling further away as Herr produced 17 points, mostly from four 3-pointers, while Hunt and Cader Bradley had 11 points apiece.
Also on Friday, Westhill put away Phoenix 69-31, building a 43-18 edge by halftime. Robinson had 16 points, with Langdon earning 12 points. Mayes and Gilmartin both finished with 11 points.
Solvay lost a tense 69-66 overtime decision to Institute of Technology Central last Tuesday where it saw a 20-9 first-quarter lead dissipate over the game’s middle stages.
Down in the fourth quarter, the Bearcats did rally to force OT, but scored just five points in the extra period to the Eagles’ nine.
Machiah Maddox (24 points), Nyquan Gilbert (18 points) and Antwan Aiken (15 points) led ITC, with Solvay getting 21 points from Nick Commisso, 12 points from Jeff Sharpe and 10 points from Aiyden Geigel.
On Friday, Solvay had its turn against Chittenango, falling 88-55 to the Bears, though Sharpe did get 18 points and Commisson had 10 points, with Landon Raymond adding nine points and Jordan Dippold eight points.
