CENTRAL NEW YORK – The way it worked out, boys basketball teams from West Genesee, Bishop Ludden and Westhill ended up in each of the three large-school classes of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association.
All of them are in contention for sectional titles, too, especially the Wildcats in the wake of its Jan. 5 overtime victory at Liverpool, who had beaten them in each of the last two Section III Class AA finals.
Two games early last week were postponed and pushed back for WG, one with Utica Proctor to Jan. 30, another with Auburn to Jan. 22.
But when the Wildcats did take the court last Friday night, it pummeled PSLA-Fowler 91-31, a game that included Aidan Phelan hitting five 3-pointers on his way to a career-best 17 points. Gary McLane led with 19 points and Sincere Smith added 14 points.
Up in Class AAA, Bishop Ludden continued to stack up victories, especially important when it wants to retake control of the “Holy War” with Christian Brothers Academy this Friday night.
In advance of a weekend trip to the Albany area to face Catholic Central and LaSalle Institute, Ludden doubled up Homer last Tuesday in an 86-43 romp for its fourth win in a row.
The Gaelic Knights rushed to a 48-26 advantage by halftime and then outscored the Trojans 21-7 in the third quarter, ultimately having four players score in double figures.
Aside from his 19 points, Jahzar Greene dished out 10 assists, plus three rebounds and three steals. Tim Dunham had 16 points and six rebounds, with Liam Sheard getting 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks as Joe Dunham had 12 points.
Westhill, humbled Jan. 5 at Jamesville-DeWitt, roared back to form last Tuesday when it got away late from Bishop Grimes and defeated the Cobras 76-50.
A 23-10 start put Westhill in control. Grimes responded well, nearly catching up as it only trailed 32-30 at halftime, but the Warriors regained its scoring touch early in the second half and then closed 26-8 to make it more lopsided.
Westhill got 23 points from Kam Langdon and 15 points apiece from Eli Prince and Charlie DeMore. Grimes’ Nate Abernethy had 23 points, but no one else got more than Eddie Koroma’s eight points.
Even more lopsided was Thursday night’s 76-39 win over Cortland, which put Westhill at 9-2 overall as it crossed the midway point of its regular season and was ready to host Ryan Moesch and Chittenango on Tuesday night.
Langdon scored 26 points against the Purple Tigers, adding five steals. Eli Welch gained a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds as DeMore got 12 points and six rebounds. Jackson Goodness contributed seven points.
