An exciting, eventful December for the Chittenango boys basketball team culminated with a short trip to Fayetteville-Manlius for the Hornets’ newly-established holiday tournament.
And when the Bears faced host F-M in the Dec. 28 opening round, it proved that it could knock off a strong opponent without outrageous numbers from Ryan Moesch as it defeated the Hornets 58-52.
Not far away from here, Moesch had unloaded for 55 points against Jamesville-DeWitt six days earlier, but Chittenango lost in double overtime. Here, the production was much more modest, but the result different.
After a strong first half, Chittenango saw its lead get away in the third quarter, F-M going in front as Chris Cleary (13 points), Ryder Baldwin (12 points) and James Kuss (11 points) would all hit double figures.
But the Bears cracked down on defense late and regained the lead, not just behind Moesch, who gained 29 points, but also Jack Lamphere, who produced 12 points as Bernardo Bortovski chimed in with six points.
Having beat a a Class AA foe on its home court, Chittenango met Section IV’s Johnson City in the final after the Wildcats had routed Auburn 81-53 in the first round.
And the title game was close, too, but Johnson City was able to prevail 76-72 by absorbing a strong early stretch by the Bears and recovering from it by the closing stages.
Chittenango charged to a 23-15 lead through one quarter, only to have the Wildcats chip away at the margin and then inch out in front, 53-52, by the end of the third quarter.
Every time the Bears converted, Johnson City had an answer, pulling it out and overcoming Moesch’s 34 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks. Bortovski stepped up with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Jacob Cheek had eight points and six rebounds. Brendon Barnard gained seven points.
In its only game last week, Chittenango took a 7-4 record into its game against Christian Brothers Academy and, playing some of its best defense of the season, rallied to edge the Brothers 59-57.
A strong second quarter had CBA in front 38-28 going to intermission, but defensive adjustments allowed the Bears to eat into that margin and, in the fourth quarter, hold the visitors to just eight points.
Meanwhile, Moesch was steady with his production, keying the comeback and finishing with 30 points. Help from Cheek (seven points), Lamphere and Bortovski (six points apiece) negated CBA getting 26 points from Tavin Penix, 12 points from Ethan Harris and 11 points from Jason Brunson.
When Cazenovia returned to action last Thursday against Bishop Grimes, it suffered its sixth consecutive defeat, falling to the Cobras by a score of 71-56.
Grimes steadily built a 63-37 advantage through three quarters, mostly based on the work of Nate Abernethy, who had 26 points, and Frank Sgroi, who added 20 points. In defeat, the Lakers got 23 points from Ben Bianco and 16 points from Tanner Lawson.
However, the Lakers were able to recover and prevail Saturday in overtime at Newfield 68-58 to break its long skid, only getting it to OT when Bianco hit on a shot at the horn of regulation.
It was all part of a superb performance for Blanco, who had 33 points, nearly half his team’s output. Lawson stepped up to get 17 points, while Edmond Richardson finished with 10 points.
