ONONDAGA COUNTY – Once again the Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool boys basketball teams found themselves packed together in the state Class AAA rankings – the Northstars at no. 16, the Warriors at no. 17.
Just as tight was their battle for the possible top seed in the Section III playoffs, which nearly took another turn last Tuesday night before Liverpool, playing at Baldwinsville, was able to fight past the Bees 56-50.
Even against a defense as well-run as B’ville, the Warriors were able to shoot well in the first half, converting 13 of 22 attempts from the field.
Sparked by 10 first-half points from reserve Alex Trombley, Liverpool overcame an early 15-9 deficit and led much of the second quarter, only to have B’ville rally and tie it, 30-30, going to the break.
What turned it was Kaelem Haskins hitting three 3-pointers in the span of a minute early in the third quarter that, along with a fourth 3-pointer later in the period, helped the Warriors go in front for good.
The Bees weren’t done, though. When eighth-grader Matt Pope hit a 3-pointer and Tyler Nilsen converted on a layup with 4:36 left, the Bees were within two, 48-46, but it never scored another field goal until the game’s final seconds.
Liverpool’s defense, combined with timely scoring plays, put the game away. Freddie Fowler finished with 17 points, Haskins adding 15 points as M.J. Young paced B’ville with 17 points.
This happened as C-NS was hosting Auburn, displaying a newfound sense of offensive balance in an 84-59 victory over the Maroons.
Only up 17-13 through one period, the Northstars erupted in the second, piling up 35 points as it could not miss anything and eventually built a 52-24 halftime advantage.
Though it cooled off from there, C-NS breezed through the second half, glad that it did not have to depend as much on Andrew Benedict and Nate Francis, though Benedict had 21 points and Francis got 13 points.
Landon Rumble made an impression, hitting five 3-pointers to account for most of his career-best 17 points, while Michael Pfautz finished with 12 points. Makhi Amoako (19 points) and Jack Tumber (18 points) led Auburn.
A 73-36 rout of Henninger followed on Friday night, notable in that Benedict, with his 16 points, moved into second place on the C-NS career scoring list with 1,206, trailing only the 1,926 Michael Brown achieved more than 30 years ago.
Yet it was Francis, with 20 points, setting the scoring pace for the Northstars. Terrance Coppock earned 11 points, with Pfautz adding six points.
Liverpool had a far tougher test against state Class A no. 16-ranked Jamesville-DeWitt – or at it least it seemed that way before the Warriors took the court and, excelling in nearly every phase of the game, handled the Red Rams 81-64.
Things were close in the early going only due to the hot shooting of J-D’s Jackson Saroney, who would lead all scorers with 26 points, but as he cooled off, Liverpool took over. In a run that spanned the second and third quarters, the Warriors outscored the Rams 19-4, helped by, among other things, 22 bench points in the first half – 10 by Trombley, nine off a trio of 3-pointers by Sean Frawley.
Trombley would go on to a career-best 20 points, which Fowler would match with a late scoring surge. Hoskins and Jeff Manuel both gained 10 points as its offense, inconsistent at times this season, shot well and flourished against a high-caliber opponent.
Liverpool’s regular-season finale against Syracuse Academy of Science on Thursday night, which follows C-NS taking on J-D Tuesday night, might determine which of these two ends up with that sectional top seed.
