CENTRAL NEW YORK – As is often the case in high school boys basketball, matching performance with consistency can prove quite elusive, regardless of the quality of the opponent.
Cazenovia had won four games in a row to climb to the .500 mark, only to see that win streak end on Jan. 20 when it dropped an exciting 76-71 decision to Section IV’s Waverly at Buckley Gym.
Having beat Solvay just the night before, the Lakers fell behind 43-27 by halftime and could not make up that ground, despite big games from Ben Bianco and Tanner Lawson.
All told, Bianco had 29 points, with Lawson adding 22 points, the pair combining for eight 3-pointers as Edmond Richardson (eight points) and Bobby Livingston (six points) each converted twice beyond the arc and Izaak Gilbert also had six points.
When it hosted a Lakers duel with Skaneateles last Tuesday night, Cazenovia barely got half the total it did against Waverly and lost by a score of 57-39.
Both sides struggled to score baskets in the first half, Cazenovia leaning heavily on its defense to overcome those struggles and lead 22-18 going into the break.
Then everything clicked for Skaneateles, from scoring on one end to limiting Cazenovia to five points in a decisive third quarter. For the night, Bianco had 22 points and Lawson nine points, but the rest of the host Lakers were held to just three total field goals.
And all of this came before Cazenovia visited state Class B no. 1-ranked Marcellus on Friday night, where it was close for a quarter before reality settled in and the Lakers lost, 80-46, to the Mustangs.
Though the visiting Lakers shot well in that opening period, it still trailed 21-19 after it, and Marcellus, over the course of the next two periods, outscored Cazenovia 43-17.
Bianco still finished with 19 points, leading all individuals, but no one else had more than Lawson’s total of nine points. Will Burnett, with 17 points, was one of four Mustangs in double figures with Mitch Donegan (14 points), Will Kershaw (12 points) and Tucker Burnett (10 points).
Meanwhile, Chittenango was enjoying the nightly spectacle of Ryan Moesch, who was one of the nation’s top scorers among juniors averaging 37.5 points per game.
The Bears’ game with East Syracuse Minoa was postponed and rescheduled to Feb. 15, but it did play Friday at Mexico and put up a sensational first-halfshooting performance on the way to beating the Tigers 88-66.
Whether it was Moesch driving to the basket or Brendon Barnard hitting on outside shots, everything Chittenango tried early seemed to go in, leading to a 39-point first quarter and 30 more in the second for a 69-28 edge at the break.
Only because it was so far ahead did the Bears ease up, but it still finished with 13 3-pointers. Moesch had another 40-point performance with 15 field goals, three of threm 3-pointers, and came within one point of reaching 600 for the season.
Barnard’s five 3-pointers accounted for most of his 16 points. Holden Taylor converted twice beyond the arc and got six points. Chittenango has games next week against Cortland and Institute of Technology Central.
