CHITTENANGO – Where once a large gap separated the Cazenovia and Chittenango boys basketball teams, by the time they tipped off against each other last Thursday night a much smaller margin existed.
But the Lakers still were able to celebrate this. With a chance to go above .500 mark, Cazenovia instead saw it all get away in the second half of a 64-55 defeat to the Bears.
Strong at the outset, the Lakers did grab a 16-11 edge through one period, only to go cold in the second quarter and allow Chittenango to inch in front 24-23 going to the break.
Both sides lit it up in the third quarter but the Bears did a better job of it nearly doubling its point total and accounting for most of its eventual winning margin as it went up 47-39 with one period left.
Three different Chittenango players earned double-doubles through picking up 10 rebounds apiece. Jacob Cheek had 20 points, with Jacob Bell earning most of his 16 points through four 3-pointers and Seamus Gardner adding 10 points as Mason Corlis earned seven points.
On Cazenovia’s side, Edmond Richardson led all scorers with 24 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. Ben Bianco gained 14 points just ahead of Bobby Livingston’s total of 13 points, but the rest of the roster combined for just two field goals.
Cazenovia travels Tuesday to Phoenix and is back home Friday to face Jordan-Elbridge, the first of four consecutive games at Buckley Gym which closes its regular season. Chittenango goes to J-E Tuesday and then visits Phoenix Thursday night.