ONONDAGA COUNTY – Going into the Section III Class AAA playoffs, each of the Baldwinsville basketball teams has a distinct theme to their respective efforts.
For the girls Bees, the no. 3 seed in a six-team sectional bracket, it simply involves finding a way, if it gets past its quarterfinal next Wednesday against no. 6 seed Fayetteville-Manlius, to possibly topple the two sides – no. 2 seed Liverpool and top seed Cicero-North Syracuse – who beat them a combined four times this winter.
Meanwhile, the B’ville boys team finds itself in a better position than it had even a month ago thanks to a 5-4 stretch that helped it claim the no. 7 playoff seed and a chance next Thursday at North Syracuse Junior High School to knock off no. 2 seed Cicero-North Syracuse, which it almost did at home on Feb. 11, barely edged by the Northstars 55-54.
In its regular-season finale at Corcoran Tuesday night the Bees prevailed again, 60-50, largely based on what it did in the game’s middle stages as it outscored the Cougars 29-22 in the second and third quarters.
Leading all scorers, M.J. Young finished with 21 points. Matt Pope earned 10 points, with Mike Virginia earning eight points and Ben Leaton seven poins as the Bees converted on eight 3-pointers overall.
