CENTRAL NEW YORK – A late-January slump had hit the Fayetteville-Manlius boys basketball team, with the Hornets not breaking the 50-mark four times in five games and losing three of them.
Having searched for a scoring spark since the season-ending injury to Boomer Kuss, F-M finally found it last Monday night at Henninger, where, also without Reilly Anderson in the lineup, it produced a season-best point total while defeating the Black Knights 76-67.
Quite unlike its 56-48 win over Henninger in December, the Hornets were red-hot right from the outset, tearing through Henninger’s defense throughout the first half and building a 45-26 advantage.
Though it cooled off from that pace, F-M still did enough to withstand the Black Knights’ second-half rally as it ultimately put five players in double figures.
Brandon Blitz, with 17 points, led the well-balanced attack, Charlie Schroder adding 16 points. Jack Hearn gained 13 points and Nate Conley 12 points as Alex Kulikowsky earned 11 points.
Now the Hornets aimed to avenge its 43-29 defeat to Baldwinsville, the two sides meeting for the second time in five days.
Another tough game at Liverpool loomed on Wednesday and, once again, things got reversed and F-M struggled for baskets in a 56-37 defeat.
Liverpool began to get away with a 16-9 push through the second quarter and added to that margin in the second half led by Danny Dunn’s season-high 20 points, more than twice the total of Schroder’s game-high eight points for the Hornets as Blitz and Conley got six points apiece.
All of this led to F-M taking a 61-34 defeat to the same Baldwinsville side it lost to at home 43-29 six days earlier.
Here the Bees reached 43 points late in the third quarter, part of a mid-game stretch where it outscored the Hornets 34-15 and pulled clear.
B’ville’s M.J Young got close to F-M’s total production and finished with 26 points, hitting four 3-pointers. Matt Pope contributed 12 points as no Hornets player had more than Reilly Anderson’s six points.
Christian Brothers Academy had one of its best moments of the season last Friday when, hosting Bishop Grimes, it pulled out a 44-42 decision over the Cobras to complete a regular-season sweep.
Just like it did when it won 47-46 at Grimes two weeks earlier, the Brothers turned to its defense, which was superb in the early going especially during a 15-6 second-quarter push.
Trailing 30-17 at halftime the Cobras almost made it all the way back, its late-game attack led by Nate Abernethy and Garang Garang who finisheed with 12 apiece, but the Brothers hung on, supporting the 19 points from Tavin Penix and 13 points from Kieghlin Hicks.
Before this CBA took a 48-39 defeat to Nottingham in last Tuesday’s neighborhood battle where the Bulldogs were held to three points in the first quarter but then outscored the Brothers 21-2 in the second to move in front.
Penix finished with 16 points and Drew Britton added 11 points, Gino Bullock contributing six points. Dei’Avion Camby (14 points) and Daquan Williams (12 points) led Nottingham helped by Matt White and Jacquinot Foguing with nine points apiece.
Manlius Pebble Hill still searched for its first win of the season and did not find it against Hannibal last Wednesday night, the Trojans taking a 55-45 defeat.
Aided by a 19-4 domination of the second quarter Hannibal led 37-14 at the half, MPH unable to make up all that ground despite Dash Goode’s 22 points, mostly from five 3-pointers. Liam Allen and Tyler Wladis had six points apiece. On Saturday the Trojans lost 71-29 to Onondaga.
