Boys basketball playoff roundup: CNY squad inches closer to 1st section title in nearly 60 years

Cazenovia boys basketball coach Chris Bubble knows the road to a sectional title for his 10th-seeded squad won’t be easy.

But the second-year Cazenovia boys coach said his team is getting better and they know how to get the job done in the biggest moments of tight games.

The Lakers moved one step closer to their first sectional title since 1966 with a 62-58 victory over No. 7 Phoenix in Wednesday night’s first-round Class B sectional playoff matchup.

“We are getting better as a team executing in critical situations late in games,” Bubble said. “We made free throws late in the game. We executed. It wasn’t perfect, but we made enough plays in the end that we won.”

Cazenovia has mastered the art of executing in late-game situations. It defeated Homer, 61-57, in overtime on Feb. 9 and Jordan-Elbridge, 84-80, in double OT on Feb. 15 to close the regular season.

“Those two were how we ended our regular season,” Bubble said. “And so with this one, we’re getting pretty comfortable executing in critical situations late in the game. I mean exciting … not necessarily the way I want to win games, but I think there’s a lot to be learned anytime there are critical situations in a game.”

Bubble said he was impressed with how many ways his team was able to score points on Wednesday night. The Lakers were led by junior Ben Bianco (20 points), but his coach said it was his willingness to make his teammates better that stood out.

“It’s really important for us in terms of our team,” Bubble said. “We have seen all season long that Ben can go get 35 if we need. Pretty easily. But the nights that I am more impressed with him, nights like tonight where he is empowering his teammates to be better and step up to the plate and give them opportunities in critical moments where they can make plays.”

Sophomore Edmond Richardson finished with 13 points, junior Tanner Lawson had 12 and senior Alex Kuper pulled down 13 rebounds for the Lakers.

Phoenix was led by senior Lincoln Kersey’s 20 points, junior Nate Fortman’s 12 and senior Ethan Reynolds’ 10.

The Firebirds’ season ends with a 14-7 mark.

Cazenovia (10-11) will move on to the quarterfinals to face No. 2 Little Falls on Friday.

“It’s a quick turnaround,” Bubble said. “We will be as well prepared as we can be with a one-day turnaround, but at this point in the year, the bottom line, it comes down to the team that executes the best, that’ll be the team that wins. I’m excited for our guys to see how we show up and whether or not we’re ready to play. I think they’ll be ready and we’ll see what we got.”

Bubble said his team has been through the wringer with a tough regular-season schedule and that their record is not indicative of how good they can be on any given night.

“We liked the work that we did in our regular season with the quality of our opponents,” he said. “We knew that our record wasn’t necessarily indicative of the type of team that we were. The bottom line is, I don’t ever mind playing the underdog role with the group of kids that we have because then there’s no pressure on us. We’re just showing up and we’re well prepared and we’re ready to play and all the pressure’s on them.”

Class B

No. 1 Marcellus 71, No. 17 Hannibal 13

The Mustangs’ defense limited Hannibal to five points or fewer in every quarter of their first-round playoff matchup.

Fourteen different players scored for Marcellus, led by sophomore Tucker Burnett, who finished with a game-high 12 points.

Hannibal was led by senior Brady Kuc’s nine points.

Hannibal’s season comes to an end with an 11-11 mark.

The Mustangs (20-1) now advance to the quarterfinals to face No. 9 General Brown, a team they have beaten this year.

No. 5 Holland Patent 78, No. 12 Mount Markham 70

It was the third time the Golden Knights have faced the Mustangs and the third time they came away with a victory. The latest win came during the first round of the sectional playoffs.

Junior Andrew Jones and senior Jeffrey Dewar led Holland Patent’s offensive attack with 28 and 20 points, respectively. Senior Alex Hoole added 12 points and junior Caleb Savery chipped in 10.

Senior Jacob Senko finished with a game-high 31 points for Mount Markham.

The Mustangs finish the year with an 8-13 record.

Holland Patent (13-8) advances to the quarterfinals to face No. 4 Skaneateles on Friday.

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