CENTRAL NEW YORK – With newfound confidence after its win over state-ranked Niagara Falls on Jan. 12, the Cicero-North Syracuse boys basketball team continued its impressive tear through the winter.
The Northstars, having moved to no. 13 in the state Class AAA rankings, went to Fulton last Tuesday night and leaned on its scoring depth in a way it had not done all season to beat the Red Dragons 86-69.
Fulton had started the season 8-0 before taking consecutive defeats to Corcoran and Nottingham, and would find no relief from C-NS, who with hot early shooting bolted out to a 25-11 first-quarter lead.
In the near term, the Red Dragons fought back and only trailed 36-34 at halftime. Then they traded baskets until a fourth quarter where the Northstars again caught fire, ultimately netting 30 points to put the game well out of reach.
Andrew Benedict, who surpassed 1,000 career points a week earlier, added 32 more points to his total, but here he had a lot of help as four of his teammates also hit double figures.
Nate Francis led that group with 19 points, while Terrance Coppack had 13 points. Rosco Polos had 12 points and Michael Pfautz got 10 points, the depth overcoming a 31-point effort by Fulton’s Gavin Doty.
Back at North Syracuse Junior High School Friday to face Corcoran, C-NS again demonstrated its growth and versatility in the course of an 88-60 victory over the Cougars.
Here, Benedict had six points in the first quarter before exiting the game, but his teammates more than made up for it, starting with Francis, who hit on four 3-pointers on his way to 28 points, which tied a season best.
Pfautz and Michael Gallo each produced 13 points and Michael Sellin earned 12 points as he and Landon Rumble, who had nine points, both connected on three 3-pointers.
Liverpool entered the week at 10-2 and no. 22 in the state Class AAA poll, and would go to Central Square last Tuesday and put up its best point total of the season in hammering the Redhawks 85-41.
A near-perfect start ended matters early, Liverpool managing to top what it did for much longer stretches of other games by getting a 30-2 lead by the end of the first quarter.
It continued from there, Freddie Fowler working his way to 24 points as Kaelem Haskins added 14 points. All told, 13 different players got on the scoresheet, Giancarlo Galimi earning nine points and Alex Trombley eight points ahead of Denis Kuzma and Luke English with six points apiece.
Friday’s game at Oswego had close to the same result, with Liverpool struggling for a while against the Buccaneers but then erupting in the third quarter of a 91-50 victory.
An offense which had, at times, found it difficult to consistently produce baskets made sure that happened here. Up by a modest 36-31 margin at the break, Liverpool proceeded to net 36 points in that third period to Oswego’s 10.
Amid it all, Trombley, helped by six 3-pointers, finished with 22 points, while Jeff Manuel returned to form with 18 points. Fowler and Haskins were strong, too, earning 15 points apiece.
Now at 12-2, Liverpool rests most of this week but plays Saturday at Section V’s Victor, a night after C-NS travels to Baldwinsville.
