CENTRAL NEW YORK – In two previous games this winter, the Fayetteville-Manlius boys basketball team had shown plenty of fighting spirit, yet was unable to beat Jamesville-DeWitt or Utica Proctor.

But that skid halted in last Tuesday night’s SCAC Metro division opener, where the Hornets shut down Corcoran for long stretches of the game and produced enough on the other end to beat the Cougars 43-34.

Even as its own attack struggled at times to convert, F-M was keeping Corcoran quiet, to the tune of just five points in the opening period and eight points in the second quarter.

Any attempt by the Cougars to catch up in the late stages was answered, too. For the third straight game, Chris Shanghuyia led the offense, earning 15 points, while Chris Cleary had 10 points and Ryder Baldwin added seven points.

When F-M went to Utica Proctor Thursday night, the theme of defense again emerged, and again the Hornets benefited from it, overcoming a rough start to get a 50-48 win over the Raiders.

Cold at the outset, F-M found itself trailing 13-5 through one period, only to find its shooting touch and, with a big second quarter, zoom into a 26-24 lead.

That margin built in the third quarter, helped by Shanghuyia earning 20 points and Cleary adding 12 points, and the defense made enough stops to thwart Proctor’s late comeback, only Marc Simmons (13 points) hitting double figures for the Raiders.

F-M then made it three in a row on Friday by bashing Whitesboro 60-33, a game decided early when the Hornets bolted to a 22-4 edge before the first quarter was done.

It was 50-19 by the end of the third quarter, and it was done with just five points from Shanghuyia. Each of the 12 F-M players that saw action got on the scoreboard, with Connor Sugar getting 12 points, Brandon Blitz 11 points and Dylan Friedman 10 points.

This happened as East Syracuse Minoa took on 2-0 Cicero-North Syracuse and put up a good effort, even if it resulted in a 68-61 defeat to the Northstars.

Having routed Christian Brothers Academy in the Peppino’s Invitational Dec. 2, the Northstars jumped out 24-8 on ESM in the first quarter, only to have the Spartans chip away at that margin through the game’s middle stages.

A.J. Bryant, with 15 points, led a well-balanced ESM attack. Austin Betts had 13 points, with Tyler Quarry getting 10 points as A.J. Graham and Mikah Combs had nine points apiece.

C-NS was able to close out the game, though, and Nate Francis had a lot to do with it, hitting five 3-pointers and six free throws on his way to a career-best 28 points. Andrew Benedict and Michael Pfautz each finished with 11 points.

Then CBA visited Liverpool Friday night, and despite superb defense could not turn it into consistent scoring and, by a 44-39 margin, took its third consecutive defeat.

Liverpool started fast, up 16-5 through one period. Then the Brothers made a series of stops that kept things within sight until a third quarter where it was able to pull within one, 33-32.

Yet the Warriors regrouped and closed out the game, led by Freddie Fowler’s 15 points, five rebounds and four assists. Ethan Harris led CBA with 12 points, with Max Lachut adding seven points.

For its part, Jamesville-DeWitt welcomed West Genesee on Friday and could not repeat the success it had against CBA and F-M, taking a 68-49 loss to the Wildcats.

WG built a 39-24 edge by halftime, led by Jordan Cain, who finished with 28 points. The Red Rams were unable to catch up, though Alan Zanders did manage 24 points and Trent Hughes added 14 points.

In the Zebra Classic at Liverpool on Saturday, Bishop Grimes suffered a 69-39 defeat to Section V’s Fairport, its offense struggling most of the way and not producing much beyond Nate Abernethy’s total of 19 points.

Then the Cobras dropped a tight 72-70 decision to University Prep (Rochester) despite Abernethy erupting for 35 points, helped by 12 points form Dan Shaw and 10 points from Frank Sgroi, CBA following up with a 62-51 loss to Bishop Loughlin, Jason Brunson earning 16 points and Tavin Penix adding 10 points.

Manlius Pebble Hill opened its season last Tuesday with a 57-32 loss to Tully, and on Friday traveled to Port Byron, where the Trojans were overwhelmed by the Panthers in a 78-37 defeat.