SYRACUSE – One side wanted to reclaim its historical place at the top. The other side wanted to make history at the expense of one of its biggest rivals.
Such was the background of Sunday’s Section III Class B boys basketball championship game at SRC Arena – and when it was done, the winning reputation of Westhill was fully established and a fine season for Marcellus was over.
Withstanding a furious late comeback from the Mustangs, the Warriors led from start to finish, put four starters in double figures and, by a score of 62-54, claimed the sectional title.
“This gets us back to where we used to be,” said senior guard Luke Gilmartin, an All-Tournament selection.
“It’s awesome to bring back (the winning tradition),” said senior guard Shawn Mayes, who earned sectional tournament MVP honors.
Both Mayes and Gilmartin cited Westhill’s 57-45 loss to Marcellus in January as a primary motivating factor.
“We wanted to prove we were the better team,” said Gilmartin.
With a big, loud crowd on hand, it was the Warriors jumping out 9-0 and blanking the Mustangs for more than four minutes before Marcellus got on the board.
Mayes said it was just a matter of his team showing energy on both ends. That, along with early foul trouble for Will Kershaw and Will Burnett, hurt the Mustangs’ offense, which struggled for anything open amid the constant man-to-man pressure Westhill threw at them.
Leading by as much as 14 in the second quarter, the Warriors went to halftime in front 32-22, paced by Mayes’ nine points and Kam Langdon’s six points.
Omar Robinson had six of his 12 points early in the third quarter. Again, the margin went to double digits, stretching to 47-32, and Westhill would need that cushion.
Sparked by Kershawn’s seven straight points, Marcellus put together a 16-6 push that ignited the fans in green and cut the Warriors’ margin to 51-46 with nearly four minutes to play.
After an exchange of baskets, two possessions thwarted the Mustangs’ comeback. Kershaw, with the Mustangs down 53-48, had a chance to cut the deficit to two, but missed a 3-pointer.
Moments later, Mayes connected on a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock with 1:25 to play. Though Marcellus got it back to four on 3-pointers by Will and Tucker Burnett, Mayes, Langdon and Luke Gilmartin went six-for-six at the free-throw line to put the game away.
Mayes would finish with 18 points, followed closely by Robinson, Gilmartin (11 points), Langdon (10 points) and James Derrick (seven points). Sam Barney, with 13 points, paced Marcellus, Kershaw getting 11 points, all in the second half, as Pat Louer and Tucker Burnett added g nine points apiece.
Now Westhill will seek another state Class B title to go with the four it earned from 2010 to 2017, and is again at SRC Arena this Saturday at 4:30 for the regional final against Section IV champion Owego, the winner advancing to the state final four in Glens Falls.
