CENTRAL NEW YORK – Three different area high school boys basketball teams found themselves together in the Section III Class AA playoffs, having never been paired before at this particular level.
Fayetteville-Manlius carried the weight of the no. 5 seed thanks to a strong late regular-season push, and would challenge no. 4 seed Fulton in Friday night’s quarterfinal round, only to see its season end in a 71-50 defeat to the Red Dragons.
If ever there was a case of payback, this was it. F-M had defeated Fulton 70-58 two weeks earlier on its home court, but met a different fate when going on the road.
Not that this was evident in the early going. The Hornets led 13-12 through one period and stayed close the rest of the half, even as the Red Dragons inched in front.
It was the third quarter where Fulton decided it, a 20-5 push led, again, by Gavin Doty, who would burn F-M for 31 points, helped by Tyler Ditton, who got 20 points.
No one on the Hornets beat those totals, though Chris Shanguhyia hit four 3-pointers and got a team-high 17 points and Chris Cleary added 11 points.
This followed an opening-round game last Tuesday against no. 12 seed Oswego where the Hornets took charge in the opening minutes and never let go of it, defeating the Buccaneers 56-47.
It was the first quarter that proved decisive, F-M hitting shots on one end and defending on the other while gaining a 19-9 edge that Oswego spent the rest of the game trying to erase. Despite consistent play, the Bucs could not do so,
Cleary’s 21 points nearly doubled the best Oswego total of 12 points from Noah Bwalya. Charlie Schroder stepped up with 11 points, while Shanguhyia earned eight points and Reilly Anderson had seven points.
East Syracuse Minoa had its own challenge. Holding the no. 7 seed, the Spartans found itself as the only team left in the bottom half of the sectional bracket outside of Syracuse’s city limits as the first round ended.
Partially that was due to the Spartans defeating no. 10 seed Auburn 65-49 in the opening round, though it also had to do with Bishop Grimes, the no. 6 seed, getting ousted at home by no. 11 seed PSLA-Fowler 82-65.
What ESM could control was its own work, and against an Auburn team it fought past 64-59 in December, it decided matters early, dominating the first half on both ends of the floor and building a 36-21 advantage.
Then the margin grew to 57-33 by the end of the third period, allowing the Spartans’ starters to rest. Constantly fouled, A.J. Graham and Anthony Bryant each connected on eight free throws as Graham finished with 19 points and Bryant 18 points. Tyler Quarry added nine points.
A much tougher test awaited in the sectional quarterfinals against no. 2 seed Syracuse Academy of Science and its standout senior center, Andre Pasha, who would ultimately prove too much as the Atoms ousted ESM 69-59.
Just like F-M did with Fulton, the Spartans took an early lead, only to see its 18-14 edge disappear as SAS would outscore them 40-25 over the course of the second and third quarters.
A lot of that was due to Pasha, who amassed 35 points and 17 rebounds, adding three blocks as teammate Thon Choi got 16 points and eight rebounds.
In defeat, Bryant led ESM wth 16 points of his own, Austin Betts adding 11 points ahead of Quarry’s 10 points and Robbie Clifford’s nine points. The Spartans concluded its season at 10-11, while F-M went 11-11.
Back in the opening round, Bishop Grimes saw its season end at the hands of a Fowler side that came into the game 5-15 but had beaten city rival Corcoran in the Feb. 9 regular-season finale.
All through the first three quarters, the Falcons set a torrid pace, building a 68-47 lead and using its depth to overcome a big effort by Grimes standout Nate Abernethy, who poured in 44 points. Of Abernethy’s 17 field goals, six were 3-pointers, but the rest of the Cobras roster had just seven total field goals.
Far more balanced, Fowler was led by Awayle Muse, who had 19 points, with Jayderr White (17 points) and Bryan Aponte (16 points) close behind and Musa Dadiri earning 13 points.
