Snow wreaked havoc on the 2nd round schedule for the Section III boys and girls basketball playoffs. Many games in the eastern portion of the Section postponed games until Sunday, in the immediate Syracuse area though it was game on, with two games to go until the Section III Championships next weekend.
In Class AA, (1) Utica-Proctor and (9) F-M were postponed until Saturday, but 2nd seeded C-NS beat its rival from (7) Liverpool 65-58. It was a two point game heading into the 4th quarter but the Northstars used every one of Dave Jackowski’s 25 points to earn the victory.
The C-NS win sets up a primetime Section III Class AA Semifinal game with 3rd seeded Henninger. The Black Knights beat (6) West Genesee by 23 tonight. Tommie Spinner and Kavon DeLee paced the Knights with 25 and 14 points respectively.
On the other half of the bracket, the winner of tomorrow’s F-M vs. Utica-Proctor takes on the 4 seed CBA. The Brothers took care of the National League Champs from (5) Auburn 57-39. Tulane-bound football star Greg Thomsen scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the win.
In Class A, top-seeded Cortland will have to wait until Saturday to see if they can advance past (9) ES-M. However, the 2nd seed in Class A Jamesville-Dewitt took care of (7) Mexico 85-52. Tyler Cavanaugh turned 19 first half points into a 29 point effort and DaJuan Coleman dropped in 21 as the Red Rams now meet the winner of the (3) Whitesboro vs. (11) Utica-Notre Dame game on Saturday.
In Class B, as we saw earlier this season it was another classic (5) Bishop Grimes vs. (4) Bishop Ludden game, but in the end the Cobras prevailed over Ludden 55-49. Mike Stone, as per the norm, exploded for 29 points as Grimes is now just two wins away from another Section III Championship. Grimes meets the winner of Saturday’s (1) Skaneateles vs. (9) Lowville game in the semifinals. The bottom half of the bracket saw (3) Westhill end a potential Cinderella run for (11) Solvay. The Bearcats entered the 4th quarter trailing Westhill by just 6, but the Warriors pulled away for a 71-52 win. Nate Nigolian led the way with 16 points and the Warriors await the winner of tomorrow’s (10) Marcellus vs. (2) General Brown game.
In Class C, only one game made it past the snow, and that saw (1) The Syracuse Academy of Science beat (8) Weedsport 67-55. All other games will be played on Saturday.
Class D was also ravaged by cancellations, all four games will take place on Saturday.
In Girls hoops we saw top-seeded C-NS roll past (9) Nottingham 58-26, UConn-bound star Breanna Stewart matched her jersey number with 30 points, and the Northstars now meet (5) CBA, who edged (4) Liverpool 47-46. Marisa Romeo paced CBA with 17 points, and that matchup between the Brothers and the Northstars takes place on Tuesday, March 1st. As we knew on Thursday night, (7) F-M beat (2) Corcoran and will learn its next opponent after tomorrow’s (3) Utica-Proctor vs. (6) B’ville game.
In Class A, (4) Jamesville-Dewitt took out (5) East Syracuse-Minoa 47-31. Kaylee Cavanaugh scored 11 points and the Red Rams await the winner of Saturday’s (1) Whitesboro vs. (8) Mexico game in the Section III Semifinals. The other half of the bracket features (2) Cortland vs. (7) Phoenix and (3) New Hartford vs. (6) Carthage, both of which will be played Saturday.
Class B only saw one game decided on Friday, as (3) Jordan-Elbridge held off (11) Bishop Ludden 59-45. All other games will be played on Saturday.
The Class C-1 playoffs saw (5) Tully beat (4) Pulaski 56-46, meeting the winner of tomorrow’s (1) Cooperstown vs. (8) Little Falls. (6) Watertown IHC took out (3) Thousand Islands 60-55.
In Class C-2, (1) Fabius-Pompey advanced to the semifinals with a 40-point win over West Canada Valley, they’ll play the winner of Saturday’s (5) Onondaga vs. (4) Oriskany game. (3) Mohawk beat (6) Morrisville-Eaton and will meet Waterville on Tuesday.
All Class D games will be played on Saturday.