CENTRAL NEW YORK – It proved quite a way for the Cazenovia boys basketball team to return to the spotlight late in January.
The Lakers traveled to Jordan-Elbridge last Friday night and, with a superb offensive performance, got within a single outside shot of reaching triple digits while in the process of defeating the Eagles 97-69.
Off for a week since beating Cortland 61-45 on Jan. 17, Cazenovia did not want to fall back to the .500 mark and, against J-E, put up extreme numbers for most of the night.
Sinking 15 3-point shots, the Lakers, already up 22-17 through a high-scoring opening period, broke away with a sustained outburst which amounted to outscoring the Eagles 61-26 in the third and fourth quarters.
Ben Bianco had seven of those 3-pointers to account for most of his 27 points. Edmond Richardson chimed in with 20 points, while Bobby Livingston earned 17 points, Gavin Wagner got 12 points and two others,
Paul Mitchell and Kyle Caraher, had nine points apiece. Nolan Brunelle paced J-E with 29 points as Preston Murray and Chase Brunelle each got 11 points.
Also getting a win on the boys side, Chittenango topped Solvay 57-39 last Tuesday night jumping out to a 19-7 lead through one period and continuing to add to that margin until it was 48-27 at the end of the third.
Jacob Bell finished with 20 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. Jacob Cheek earned 15 points, with Mason Corlis adding eight points and Seamus Gardner getting six points.
Two nights later Chittenango lost to Phoenix 70-56, a game where the Firebirds jumped out 18-8 and, after the Bears closed the gap in the second quarter, outscored them 23-10 in the third quarter to get away.
Still, Jacob Cheek had a season-best effort of 25 points, helped by Bell and Gardner earning 13 points apiece. Nate Fortman paced Phoenix matching Cheek’s 25 points, with Eli Bailer getting 15 points, Tallen Prior 12 points and Edward Kelly 10 points.
