ONONDAGA COUNTY – One defeat, even if it was against a long-time nemesis in Liverpool, would not be enough to demonstrate that the West Genesee boys basketball team was about to head downward.
What was more, what happened in the ensuing week seemed to prove the opposite, and the Wildcats got it going last Tuesday by it blowing past Utica Proctor 74-54 in its home opener.
Already in front, the Wildcats used a 25-14 push through the second quarter to gain control, eventually seeing Jordan Cain put up 18 points to lead a deep and versatile offense.
Gary McLane finished with 14 points, while Joe Cavallo had nine points. Jalen Zachery and Aiden Phelps had eight points apiece and Nolan Bellotti gained seven points.
Now, though, WG turned its attention to Friday night’s showdown against Jamesville-DeWitt, off to its own 2-0 start after sweeping local rivals CBA and Fayetteville-Manlius.
Maybe it was the fact that this was on the same J-D court where the Wildcats lost to Liverpool, or it was just a good match-up. Whatever the reason, WG asserted itself early and never let up in a 68-49 victory over the Red Rams.
Just like with Proctor, the Wildcats sprinted to the front and, by the time it put up a 22-point second quarter, found itself leading 39-24, the type of advantage it could easily protect the rest of the way.
Cain, in particular, hurt J-D, converting on four 3-pointers, six other field goals and finishing with 28 points, while Cavallo sank five 3-pointers to account for all of his 15 points and McLane added 13 points. Sincere Smith got six points.
On that same Friday night, Bishop Ludden, who opened by beating Nottingham in the Peppino’s Invitational, made it two wins over Syracuse city opposition when it defeated Corcoran 58-43.
A 17-4 second-quarter surge put the Gaelic Knights in command, and Jahzar Greene handled most of the offense, finishing with 24 points as freshman Liam Sheard recorded seven blocks in the paint to go with his seven rebounds and 12 points. Joe Dunham had nine points, with Tim Dunham getting eight points and seven rebounds.
Two other local sides met each other, Jordan-Elbridge aiming to go to 3-0, but unable to recover from a red-hot start by Skaneateles as the Lakers got a 66-50 win over the Eagles.
During that pivotal first quarter, Skaneateles built a 22-10 edge. Then it kept answering every J-E push thanks to Reid Danforth’s 18 points, Jack Peenstra’s 13 points and Charlie Girzadas getting 12 points.
By contrast, the Eagles lacked that scoring depth. Preston Murray did get a game-high 19 points and Nolan Brunelle added 14 points, most of it from 10 free throws, while Matt Kline had nine points. Combined, the rest of the J-E roster had just one field goal.
During Saturday’s Syracuse City Invitational, Solvay lost to Institute of Technology Central 64-52, with ITC’s 25-12 second-quarter push the decisive blow.
Luis Mojica did all he could to bring the Bearcats back, finishing with 21 points as Jeff Sharpe added 10 points, but ITC got 26 points from Antwan Aiken, plus 14 points from Tyquanne Harris and 12 points from Nyquan Gilbert.
Earlier in the week, though, Solvay got its first win of the season, 77-68, at Cazenovia, outscoring those other Lakers 47-29 in the course of the second and third quarters to erase an early deficit.
harpe tore up Cazenovia for 26 points and Mojica added 19 points. A.J. Trendell had 11 points as the Bearcats overcame 30 points by Ben Bianco and 22 points from Tanner Lawson.
