ONONDAGA COUNTY – At least until it was proven on the court and in an elimination setting, the Liverpool boys basketball team still holds the crown in the area large-school ranks, no matter how much it rankles its neighbors from Cicero-North Syracuse.
This didn’t change during the Section III Class AAA quarterfinal round Wednesday night where Liverpool, holding the no. 4 seed, put together a comprehensive all-around effort to put away no. 5 seed Christian Brothers Academy 63-44.
Way back on Nov. 29 in the Zebra Classic Liverpool routed CBA 68-32, but the Brothers still had some players in the midst of their state Class AA title run in football not available.
Now at full strength, CBA had played better in the second half of the regular season including a sweep of Bishop Grimes, only to find at Liverpool that there still was a gap between itself and the reigning sectional champions.
Freddy Fowler’s driving layup in the final seconds of a closely-fought opening period ignited a Liverpool charge which extended into the third quarter and included five 3-pointers, three of them by Danny Dunn.
Down 44-22, CBA would try to make it close thanks to a 12-2 run, only to have Liverpool’s 11-2 answer lock up the game as Fowler, despite foul trouble, led his side netting 19 points.
Dunn had 11 points, with Alex Trombley gaining 15 points and combining with his teammates to make sure that CBA’s top scorer, Tavin Penix, never really got on track, Penix earning most of his 16 points in catch-up mode.
Then it was C-NS’s turn in the sectional quarterfinals Thursday night facing no. 7 seed Baldwinsville barely two weeks after the Bees nearly upset the Northstars in a 55-54 thriller at Baker High School.
Back on its home court C-NS, the no. 2 seed, wanted no part of another close contest, preferring something simliar to the 89-52 romp it recorded against B’ville in January.
What it got instead was a game where its two top scorers, Nate Francis and Andrew Benedict, took turns seizing control and the defense did the rest, especially in the game’s middle section, to prevail by a score of 62-48.
Early in the second quarter B’ville’s Chris Patruno drilled a 3-pointer from the corner and his side went in front 15-14, but when Francis answered with a 3-pointer of his own seconds later C-NS took the lead for good.
Francis put up eight points in a span of less than two minutes, and later in the period the Northstars’ defense took over, holding the Bees without a point for more than six minutes in a stretch spanning into the third quarter.
Benedict broke out early in the second half, getting back-to-back baskets and then back-to-back 3-pointers to make it a 19-3 run as the margin grew to 47-27 late in the period.
The Bees would briefly rally, netting the last eight points of the period and, with a Matt Pope free throws, cutting it to 47-36 early in the final period, only to have Francis hit a tough 3-pointer to spark a decisive getaway.
Francis and Benedict each netted 21 points and Miy’Jon McDowell Reid added 10 points to get C-NS to a sectional semifinal against Bishop Ludden on Tuesday night at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica after Liverpool tries to topple 17-0, top-seeded Rome Free Academy.
A day later the girls sectional Class AAA semifinals at Nottingham has top seed and defending champion Liverpool returning for a long break to face no. 4 seed Bishop Ludden and C-NS, the no. 2 seed, taking on B’ville, the winners to meet in the finals May 9 at SRC Arena.
