SYRACUSE – A four-year quest by the West Genesee boys basketball team for another Section III Class AA championship has ended.
A torrid early pace, and a timely mid-game adjustment, allowed the top-seeded Wildcats to turn back no. 2 seed Syracuse Academy of Science 68-58 in Saturday’s sectional final at SRC Arena.
Denied in both the 2022 and 2023 title games by Liverpool, a senior-rich WG roster would not let that happen here.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said senior Jordan Cain, who led the Wildcats with 24 points, five rebounds and six steals. “Now we have left our mark on the program.”
“This means everything to this group,” said fellow senior Gary McLane.
To say that the Wildcats tore out of the gate might undersell what actually took place. Unleashing a full-court press, WG forced the Atoms into a string of rushed possessions and turnovers, converting many of them to fast breaks and easy baskets on the other end.
Between Cain’s 11 points and McLane’s back-to-back dunks, the Wildcats had a 24-9 edge in less than six minutes. Cain said the plan from the start was to try and wear out SAS’s best player, senior center Andre Pasha, and it certainly worked.
Still, SAS netted the last eight points of the first quarter. Then, ahead 34-22 in the second quarter, WG suddenly went cold when the Atoms slowed the game down and took away the paint, forcing a series of missed outside shots.
In the meantime, SAS engineered a 10-0 run and blanked the Wildcats for nearly six minutes before Joe Cavallo’s 3-pointer at the horn made it 37-32 at the break.
Late in the third quarter, WG reasserted control, adjusting its tempo and then flourishing in half-court sets. Seven unanswered points, capped by a Cain 3-pointer, gave the Wildcats a 55-42 edge going to the final period.
Every attempt by the Atoms to climb back, led by Pasha (who finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds), was thwarted, especially by Cavallo hitting on three more 3-pointers in the second half to give him 12 points overall.
McLane managed 13 points, nine rebounds and four steals, Smith finished with 10 points and Zachery (nine points) nearly made it all five starters hitting double figures. Smith and Zachery each added five assists.
“We know each other’s tendencies and we trust each other,” said Cain, and McLane agreed. “Everyone knows their role, and we play great together,” he said.
Next Saturday at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, WG faces the Section II champion in the Class AA regional final, with the prize a berth in the March 15-16 state final four in Glens Falls, the Wildcats trying to match the state title it earned back in 2019.
