That double-overtime, 49-44 win by the Chittenango boys basketball team over Indian River on the night of Jan. 25 was more than two months in the making. What the Bears didn’t want to do was have that night turn into the only winning moment of the winter, and it got another instant memory on the last night of January. Against visiting Homer on Friday night, Chittenango was on the brink of heading into yet another OT game when Jordan Sass, with one big shot, changed all that and propelled the Bears past the Trojans 51-48. During a wild second half, Chittenango, who led 24-19 at the break, went into a long slump that included just four points in the third quarter as Homer sped in front, 35-28, only to have Sass lead a fourth-quarter revival with 12 big points to give him 24 for the night. That helped tie it, 48-48, and when the Bears inbounded the ball from the right corner with less than a second to play in regulation, Sass, from 25 feet out, got just enough time to launch a contested 3-pointer with a Homer defender in his face that found the net and won it. Other than Sass, Joe Murray and Tim Jaquin led Chittenango with just six points apiece. For the stunned Trojans, Rex Ryan led the way with 20 points. Two nights earlier, Chittenango got close to beating Fulton, but got pushed into overtime again and, on this occasion, couldn’t pull it out, taking a 53-49 defeat to the Red Raiders. Through a tight first half, neither side could get away from each other. Chittenango, porous on defense early, changed that in the second quarter, holding Fulton to seven points as Connor Mills’ 3-pointer sparked a 7-0 run that created a 30-25 advantage at the break. But the Red Raiders rallied with a 16-6 run of its own in the third quarter to grab a 41-36 lead, only to have Mills hit another timely 3-pointer to erase most of that deficit. And from there, it remained tight for the rest of regulation. They were tied, 49-49, when both sides missed possible winning shots in the last seconds, Mills unable to convert for the Bears. Then, in the four-minute OT period, neither side made a field goal – but Fulton’s four free throws proved enough as Chittenango got shut out. Prior to the late drought, Sass produced 15 points, with Conor Delaney managing 13 points. Jaquin earned 10 points and Mills finished with eight points. Fulton saw Chris Jones earn 20 points, with Cody Green (13 points) and Jon Cummins (11 points) offering support. Of course, Chittenango’s girls team had three wins in the books, but wanted more – and got it against Fulton in the first half of last Wednesday’s girls/boys doubleheader, hanging on to beat the Red Raiders 43-41. The Bears trailed most of the first half, but took care of that 24-19 deficit when it outscored Fulton 17-9 in the third quarter, one of its more sustained offensive outbursts of the season. Then Chittenango held on, as Kate Boyer hit four 3-pointers to account for most of her season-high 14 points. Sarah Moon, with 11 points, and Megan Pierce, with 10 points, also hit double figures as the Red Raiders’ Nicole Hansen led both sides with 17 points.