CENTRAL NEW YORK – A major transfer to a prep school has reordered area high school boys basketball and Cazenovia, who once was on the wrong end of a key transfer, now benefits from it.

It was the departure of Alex and Ryan Moesch to Chittenango that set back the Lakers and helped push the Bears to end a 46-year Section III championship drought.

Now Alex is in college at Hobart and Ryan has left for prep school, meaning Chittenango must rebuild. That’s not the case with a Cazenovia side which returns leading scorer Ben Bianco and several others starters from a squad which went 10-12 a season ago.

Roaring out of the gates last Tuesday night, the Lakers pummeled Canastota 77-26, the game turning into a rout when Cazenovia outscored the Raiders 22-5 in the second quarter.

More lopsided play followed in a 35-9 second half, Bianco working his total to 23 points and nearly matched by Edmond Richardson, who got 22 points. Kooper Wilmot had nine points, with Danny Bliss adding eight points and Kyle Caraher contributing seven points.

Now it was on to the Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Tournament, where in last Friday’s opening round the Lakers faced the host VVS Red Devils and, with superb defense put away the Red Devils 50-32.

Cazenovia led most of the way, and even when it slumped in the second quarter it made sure VVS didn’t take advantage, surrendering just four points in that frame and then going on a decisive 18-6 push through the third quarter.

Much of the offense again was generated by Bianco, who got 20 points, and Richardson, who earned 15 points.

Then, in Saturday’s championship game against Sherburne-Earlville, the Lakers won again, 55-43, and did it a bit differently, trailing 22-19 at halftime before grabbing the lead in the third quarter.

Closing strong, Cazenovia held S-E to eight points in the final period, while Richardson worked his total to 19 points and Bianco got 16 points, helped by nine points from Caraher and seven points from Bobby Livingston.

In girls basketball, Cazenovia won its season opener Saturday against Canastota, prevailing 45-24 as it used an 18-8 second-quarter surge to gain control.

Ella Baker, the Lakers’ top returning scorer, managed 16 points here, helped by Maria Vaccaro and Avaya Weismore, who got seven points apiece. Hayden Bubble’s six points came from a pair of 3-pointers.

Chittenango’s girls opened last Tuesday with a 61-39 defeat to Fulton, a game that was close until the Red Dragons picked up its pace in the second half, ultimately outscoring the Bears 23-11 in the fourth quarter.

Abby Scheidelman still finished with 12 points, with Persephone Rohrer adding 11 points and Ella Sylstra adding nine points. Gianna Thurlow led Fulton with 20 points, helped by 13 points from Allison Mainville and 12 points from Abbie Payment.

Then, in the Homer Tournament last Saturday, the Bears fell 49-44 to Port Byron, sprinting out to an 18-6 lead through one period and still comfortably ahead until the Panthers put together a 22-5 sprint through the third quarter and went out in front to stay.

In defeat, Scheidelman earned most of her 20 points in the early going. Ella Sylstra had nine points, with Rohrer adding six points. Port Byron’s Raelee McDowell led her team’s comeback, earning a game-high 21 points.