CENTRAL NEW YORK – When Ryan Moesch was sidelined at the outset of February, the initial thought was that the Chittenango boys basketball junior standout, averaging better than 35 points per game, would let it rest and heal in time for the Section III playoffs.
Moesch did not agree with those ideas, though, missing just one game (a Feb. 2 defeat to Syracuse’s Institute of Technology Central) and returning in time for another memorable battle with long-time rival Westhill last Tuesday night.
For a half, this worked. Moesch, inspiring his teammates and the home crowd, helped Chittenango steadily work its way to a 35-30 lead, the Bears also benefiting from the return of sharp-shooting senior Brendon Barnard, who would net six points.
Having scored 46 points in their first meeting, Moesch tried to repeat that magic, but found it too difficult against a high-quality Westhill defense who helped the visitors roar back and go in front, 51-50, with one period left.
With a 12-0 outburst at the start of the final period, the Warriors delivered the big blow, having contained Moesch enough to keep him at 25 points as Jack Lamphere had 12 points and Jacob Cheek eight points.
Leading Westhill, Kam Langdon finished with 23 points, with Prince getting 21 points to augment his 35-point effort from the first meeting and Jack Hayes, hitting on four 3-pointers, earning a career-best 14 points.
Elsewhere, Cazenovia hosted Phoenix Tuesday night at Buckley Gym, looking for a regular-season sweep after beating the Firebirds on the road back on Jan. 12.
And it could not have started better for the Lakers, who tore to a 19-5 advantage by the end of the first quarter, only to immediately see Phoenix start to catch up.
By the time the fourth quarter started, it was 48-42, but the Firebirds stormed into the lead and stayed there, prevailing 65-61 despite a monstrous night from Ben Bianco.
Hitting on 15 field goals, three of them 3-pointers, Bianco finished with 38 points, a new career mark, but none of his teammates reached double figures as Izaak Gilbert had nine points and Edmond Richardson eight points. Phoenix won behind 21 points from Lincoln Kersey and 19 points from Nate Fortman.
Cazenovia then made it back-to-back wins on Friday night, fighting past Homer 61-57 in overtime.
Trailing 17-11 after one period, the Lakers made up most of the ground by halftime and took the lead in the third, only to have the Trojans battle back and, tying it 51-51, force the OT.
But Cazenovia outscored Homer 10-6 in that four-minute extra period as Bianco got most of his 20 points from four 3-pointers. Richardson connected three times beyond the arc on his way to 16 points, while Tanner Lawson stepped up and got 15 points.
A Thursday-night trip to Jordan-Elbridge completes the regular season for the 9-10 Lakers as Chittenango, that same night, faces East Syracuse Minoa.
