The exceptional work of the Thomas brothers on a nightly basis has, among other things, made the Morrisville-Eaton boys basketball team one of the more entertaining entries in the Center State Conference. It’s also turned the Warriors into winners.
When M-E beat Waterville 65-56 Wednesday night, it improved to 8-4, matching its win total from the entire 2008-09 season — and also clinched a Section III Class C playoff berth, having reached the minimum amount of wins necessary to get there. M-E didn’t dominate right away against the Indians. It was a steady effort, leading to a 33-23 halftime advantage, and though Waterville would improve in the second half, it could not eat into the Warriors’ margin. Ben Thomas hit on every kind of shot, from short jumpers to a trio of 3-pointers, on his way to a night where he had 30 points, 11 rebounds and three assists. He had to be good to outdo Will Thomas, who merely got 21 points, 11 rebounds and five steals. M-E then surpassed that win mark Friday night, on its home court, as it put together a 69-60 victory over the Poland Tornadoes. On the defensive side, the Warriors contained Poland quite well in the first half, allowing just a handful of baskets as M-E steadily worked its way to a 29-17 edge. That margin grew to 49-31 by the fourth quarter, where Ben Thomas made sure the Tornadoes didn’t come back. Thomas tried 15 free throws in that last period — and made 14 of them, working his total to 25 points to go with nine assists, eight rebounds (nearly a triple-double) and four steals. Of course, Will Thomas wasn’t quiet, as he put together 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals, with Jamie Maciag adding 10 points and Matt Pelton earning eight points. For Poland, both Zach Darrow (24 points) and Harrison Rosenburgh (20 points) had strong showings. As this went on, Hamilton had the misfortune of running into New York Mills, the newly-minted no. 1 team in the state Class D rankings. And the Marauders backed up that high status, beating the Emerald Knights 54-41. In reality, the first half decided matters, as Hamilton got shut down and Mills bolted out to a 33-9 lead, thus cushioning itself from the inevitable late rally. Keith Upton did get most of his offense in the second half, finishing with 14 points. Coley Graham had nine points, while John Andrzejek earned six points. Four Mills players — Fred Russ, Jeremy Miller, Edgardo Colon and Matt Welch — finished with 10 points apiece, as Russ added 12 rebounds. Hamilton played again Thursday in a non-league game against Morris and saw a rough start prove costly in a 53-44 defeat. Morris put up the game’s first 15 points, and though the Emerald Knights recovered and got within 22-15 by the end of the first quarter, it could not catch up as Morris fended off charges for the rest of the game. Ken Quackenbush and Lucas Rhyde each had 10 points, while Upton got nine points and Graham earned six points. On Thursday night, Hamilton will face M-E, this in between Emerald Knights games against Oriskany and Brookfield and after the Warriors play Westmoreland.