SYRACUSE – On what should be a memorable afternoon next Sunday at SRC Arena, the Westhill and Marcellus boys basketball teams will have the biggest showdown in the neighborhood rivalry’s long history.
The Section III Class B championship will be at stake between the no. 3 seed Warriors and no. 4 seed Mustangs after they both scored memorable wins in Sunday’s semifinals on that same Onondaga Community College floor.
It started when Westhill turned around two seasons worth of frustration, beating no. 2 seed and defending champion Chittenango 61-55 with tremendous clutch play on both ends.
Then it was Marcellus taking it right to 22-0 top seed Central Valley Academy and handling the Thunder 68-59 with a comprehensive all-around effort.
In large part, Chittenango broke its 45-year sectional title drought in 2022 by beating Westhill in the regular season and avoiding them in the playoffs. Then the Bears won both of this winter’s regular-season meetings with the Warriors.
From those games, Westhill learned that the best way to contain Chittenango’s potent attack was focus on senior Alex Moesch – which it did here, to great effect.
Moesch had just nine points, something the Bears made up for when Brendon Barnard hit six 3-pointers in the first half to help Chittenango take a 37-34 lead to the break.
Westhill controlled the third quarter, holding the Bears without a 3-pointer and seeing Shawn Mayes earn a good chunk of his 17 points. Eventually, the Warriors built a 52-45 lead early in the final period.
Then it was Chittenango’s defense cracking down, shutting out Westhill for more than five minutes and tying it, 52-52, even as it was missing crucial free throws all through the second half.
Charlie Demore’s basket broke the drought with 1:30 left. Then, with the score 54-53, Kam Langdon hit a corner 3-pointer that spread the margin to four, and Chittenango never recovered.
Langdon, who had keyed Westhill’s attack in the early going, finished with a team-high 20 points as Omar Robinson had 15 points, including the clinching free throws.
Watching this, Marcellus then took the court against CVA and never let things get suspenseful, displaying energy, confidence and resolution and outplaying the Thunder start to finish.
Will Kershaw set the tone, scoring 11 of his team’s first 12 points as it moved out in front for good midway through the first quarter.
Once it got in front, the Mustangs cranked up its trademark half-court defense, frustrating CVA for long stretches, especially when it was trying to catch up.
Just as important was the way the Marcellus bench contributed, starting with Codey Kociela banking in a 3-pointer right before halftime to thwart a Thunder run and making it 33-27 at the break.
Then, in the fourth quarter, when CVA shaved the Mustangs’ double-digit margin to six, 47-41, Kershaw hit on a crucial three-point play and then six straight points were scored by reserves Tucker Burnett and Mitch Donegan as Kershaw and Will Burnett both faced foul trouble.
Donegan also hit a series of free throws down the stretch to finish with 15 points overall, second only to Kershaw’s 22 points as Will Burnett got 11 points and Pat Louer nine points. The Thunder had little production beyond the 22 points from Jaylon O’Neal and 20 points from Deacon Judd.
They got here with impressive performances in their respective sectional quarterfinals last Wednesday afternoon, Westhill handling no. 6 seed Lowville 74-46 and Marcellus topping no. 5 seed General Brown 69-51.
Westhill’s capability of having several players break out at any given time was on display early against Lowvile, Langdon pouring in 14 points in the first quarter to match the Red Raiders’ entire output.
Steadily, the Warriors built upon that success and kept adding to its margin, leading 44-27 by halftime and making sure Lowville didn’t put together a rally.
Langdon finished with 23 points, with Mayes getting 18 points. Luke Gilmartin did everything, earning 13 points, 13 rebounds, six rebounds and six blocks.
Later that day, Marcellus had to wait until the second quarter to make its decisive move against General Brown.
What was a 13-10 lead grew when the Mustangs went on a 25-6 blitz to close the half, again displaying the tough defense and scoring balance that has made it such a force this winter.
Louer led with 16 points, adding seven rebounds. Kershaw got 13 points, while Donegan had 12 points. Will Burnett earned 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocks as Jack Sammon got nine points.
