CENTRAL NEW YORK – Almost everything the Marcellus boys basketball team experienced for the first time last winter could get repeated in 2025 as the Section III playoffs get underway.
Again the top seed in the sectional tournament, the Mustangs have the extra honor of rising to no. 1 in last week’s state Class B rankings despite four regular-season defeats, all to teams in higher classes.
Marcellus moved to 14-4 Tuesday night against PSLA-Fowler, playing well in most phases of the game and putting away the Falcons 71-47 before beating another Syracuse city school a day later in a tight 60-55 win over Institute of Technology Central.
Dom Gosh-Sandy led the way against Fowler with 21 points, Mitch Donegan adding 16 points as Connor Ciota produced 11 points. They all helped Marcellus jump to a 24-7 edge through one quarter and keep that margin the rest of the way.
West Genesee is also a defending sectional champion who went to the state finals in 2024, and with the way it finished the regular season, the Wildcats are the team to beat in Class AA again.
Claiming its eighth win in a row Tuesday, WG made Senior Night a successful one as it rolled past Auburn 85-51, establishing a season mark for points scored along the way.
The getaway happened in the second quarter when the Wildcats outscored the Maroons 27-13. And it continued into a 29-point third quarter which again more than doubled Auburn’s output.
Kolton Castrello reached 30 points with 10 field goals, half of them 3-pointers, while Aidan Phelan chimed in with 22 points. Evan Dufford gained seven points and Tom Purdy six points as 10 different players got on the scoresheet by game’s end.
Bishop Ludden had quite a regular-season finale against “Holy War” rival Christian Brothers Academy Wednesday night, overcoming a 15-point second-half deficit to beat the Brothers 58-46.
All through the first half and much of the third quarter CBA played at the tempo it wanted. But just when it looked bleak, Jahzar Greene again took over, sparking an 18-0 run on a night memorable for other reasons.
On his way to 31 points, Greene, in the third period, surpassed the 1,000-career point mark, then netted 14 of those points in the fourth quarter and eclipsing the 28 points from CBA standout Tavin Penix.
As this was going on, Skaneateles earned a big win of its own against Chittenango, the Lakers going to overtime to get past the Bears 74-66 and clinch a winning record for the season while improving to 11-9.
Chittenango entered the game having won five in a row, while Skaneateles had lost five straight. But the Lakers kept pace throughout the early stages and, with a strong third quarter, took a 49-44 lead.
Battling back, the Bears got it to overtime at 60-60, only to have Skaneateles regroup and outscore them 14-6 in the four-minute extra period led by Reid Danforth, who amassed 20 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and six steals.
Joe Delmonico was close behind earning 18 points, with Finlay Coyne earning most of his 15 points from four 3-pointers. Jack Peenstra augmented his 10 points with eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Solvay played Tuesday and, seeing its record fall to 5-15 overall, lost 55-35 to Cortland, who held the Bearcats to four points in the first quarter and five points in the final period. In between, Aaron
Trendell got most of his 11 points and Chris Nichols added eight points.
