ONONDAGA COUNTY – Scattered across three different large-school Section III boys basketball playoff brackets, a trio of local teams would roll through their respective quarterfinal games to move closer to titles.
Defending the sectional Class AA title and riding a seven-game win streak, West Genesee, the top seed, rode red-hot outside shooting from Colton Castrello and Aidan Phelan past no. 8 seed Watertown in a 78-62 decision.
Looking for a massive upset, the Cyclones hit all of its shots early and led 22-15 after one quarter. But when Watertown cooled off the Wildcats were able to make up all the ground and tie it 33-33 by halftime.
Then WG really got going, for though the Cyclones stayed within sight until the final period, in the end what Castrello and Phelan was doing was impossible to match.
Eight different times Castrello connected on 3-pointers, leading to 29 points overall. Phelan added a trio of 3-pointers but did more inside, too, finishing with 24 points as Jake McMahon, Evan Dufford and Chad Smith got six points apiece.
WG then learned that no. 5 seed Henninger had pulled out a last-second win over no. 4 seed Fulton, meaning that in Monday’s semifinal at Cicero-North Syracuse it’s the Wildcats facing a Black Knights side it beat twice in the regular season by 81-57 and 64-46 margins. The winner gets Nottingham or East Syracuse Minoa in Saturday’s final at SRC Arena.
Back on Tuesday night Westhjll, also a no. 1 seed and defending the Class A sectional title, made it two routs in as many round when it dismantled no. 8 seed Central Valley Academy by an 85-39 margin.
Having already routed Oneida 91-53 in the opening round Feb. 22, Westhill again was lethal on the offensive end, especially in the first half, when it surpassed CVA’s production and then, cranking up its defense, outscored the Thunder 20-5 in the second quarter.
As the margin kept building Eli Prince was in a race to see if he could match CVA’s entire roster. He couldn’t do so, but Prince still managed 34 points, including four 3-pointers, to go with six rebounds.
Eli Welch had one of his best games of the season, too, combining 16 points with 11 rebounds and six assists, while Kamari Lewis gained 15 points and added five rebounds.
The sectional semifinal Monday at Fayetteville-Manlius has Westhill against no. 5 seed South Jefferson, who went on the road and upended no. 4 seed Institute of Technology Central 60-55 to get this far. A win means a final berth Friday night at OCC against Jamesville-DeWitt or Bishop Grimes.
Of these local sides, only Bishop Ludden was not a top seed, but its no. 3 seed in Class AAA meant it would be home to take on no. 6 seed Fayetteville-Manlius in Thursday’s quarterfinal round.
And it proved a comprehensive victory for the Gaelic Knights, who smashed the Hornets 60-32 with a defense that came close to shutting out F-M in the first half.
All the Hornets could manage was five points in the first quarter and two in the second, forced into bad shots and turnovers. Ludden saw those mistakes converted into baskets, especially in a 20-2 second-quarter surge.
Jahzar Greene finished with 22 points and seven rebounds, while Joe Dunham pulled off a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. Trey Dennis stepped up with seven points and seven rebounds.
Ludden will face 20-1, no. 2 seed Cicero-North Syracuse in Tuesday’s semifinal at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, the winner to get Rome Free Academy or Liverpool Saturday at SRC Arena for the sectional AAA title.
