ONONDAGA COUNTY – All season long the Christian Brothers Academy boys basketball team found itself seeking a way to win games which didn’t involve big scoring numbers from Tavin Penix.
A solution was found on the night of Jan. 24 at Bishop Grimes where, in the first of two regular-season clashes, the Brothers battled past the Cobras 47-46.
Right from the outset the game was played at CBA’s tempo with patient possessions and consistent defense. Tied 21-21 at halftime, the Brothers inched in front again in the third quarter, then held on in the final minutes.
Penix did have 20 points, but Gino Bullock stepped up for CBA as his 17 points included a trio of 3-pointers. For Grimes, only Garang Garang, with 14 points, netted double figures, Nate Abernethy held to eight points matched by Bol Garang and A.J. Wade.
What happened next only further reinforced how big a win it was for CBA, since it fell to “Holy War” rival Bishop Ludden 67-58 as Grimes rebounded by handling Syracuse Academy of Science 65-44.
In the case of the Brothers, it proved quite a showcase for Penix, All game long he would find ways to score, from four 3-pointers to eight other field goals to nine successful free throws on his way to 37
points.
Not minding any of this, the Gaelic Knights still led early and, in the second quarter, made its decisive move, outscoring the Brothers 20-7 to give itself a 35-19 halftime lead that CBA did not really eat into until the final minutes.
By then, Ludden standout Jahzar Greene had put up 33 points, nearly matching Penix, but getting much more help from his teammates. Joe Dunham had 14 points, with Liam Sheard adding 11 points and four rebounds.
Grimes steadily built a 35-12 advantage on SAS, dominating the first half on both ends. Abernethy returned to good form, too, his 22 points augmented by 15 points from Garang Garang and 10 points from Bol Garang.
Now the Cobras turned its attention to its other main private-school rival, attempting on Friday night to avenge its defeat to Ludden back on Jan. 17 – which it almost did, only to fall in overtime 71-66 to the Gaelic Knights.
It was Hall of Fame night at Grimes, but it started with Ludden bolting to a 22-12 edge by the end of the first quarter before the Cobras battled back within range, 32-29, by halftime.
A tense second half followed, every Ludden attempt to get away thwarted as Grimes caught up and would stay even, 60-60, by the end of regulation.
Regrouping before OT, the Gaelic Knights outscored the Cobras 11-6 in the extra frame to overcome 19 points apiece from Abernethy and Garang Garang plus 13 points from Eddie Koroma. Again leading Ludden,
Greene neared a triple-double finishing with 27 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
Fayetteville-Manlius, coming off a week where it lost back-to-back games to Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse by big margins and survived an overtime test with Watertown, was quite happy to have a lopsided victory of its own.
The Hornets handled Corcoran 56-34 last Thursday night, its defense never letting the Cougars score more than 10 points in any single quarter while Brandon Blitz led the offense with 14 points. Luke Elsbsey stepped up with nine points, while Charlie Schroder and Nate Conley had eight points apiece.
Two days later F-M faced Baldwinsville, the first of two meetings with the Bees in a span of seven days, and the Hornets’ offense was stymied most of the way in a 43-29 loss to the Bees.
B’ville jumped out in front early and leaned heavily on its defense to stay there. Only Elsbey, with 10 points, and Schroder, with seven points, produced on a consistent basis for F-M, the Bees getting 13 points from M.J. Young, 12 points from Ben Leaton and nine points from Chris Patruno.