Not so long ago, the Baldwinsville boys basketball team would have taken any winning record and considered it a major accomplishment. That isn’t the case anymore, though.
Coming off a 2005-06 campaign where it went 13-9 and ventured to the Section III Class AA quarterfinals, the Bees are looking toward more lofty goals — things like league and sectional championships. Four starters — Brett Botsford, Luke MacDougall, Tom Cuppernull and Matt Colbert- are back, as are several other contributors from a season ago. With this veteran lineup, B’ville ventured to the Southern Tier during Thanksgiving weekend and roared to a pair of easy victories at the Union-Endicott Tournament near Binghamton. First, the Bees played Johnson City and got off to a near-perfect start that carried over into a 67-41 victory. Before Johnson City could even get settled, B’ville blasted to a 23-4 lead by the end of the first quarter and spent the rest of the game nursing that big margin. Botsford, with 17 points, led a well-balanced attack. Brandon Witte put up 14 points and MacDougall was close behind, with 13 points. Cuppernull had eight points and Colbert earned seven points. Saturday’s game against the hosts from Union-Endicott was much closer, but the Bees again found its way to the front, topping the Tigers 60-51. With steady and solid work, B’ville inched in front, 30-27, by halftime, and gradually found some more room during the last two periods of play. MacDougall, in particular, was someone U-E could not contain, as the senior poured in 24 points — eight field goals and eight successful free throws. Varsity newcomer Chris Tomeny established his presence with nine points, while Witte earned seven points and Jeremy Boltus put up six points. After another full week of practice, B’ville will be back on the court Tuesday night to take on defending Class AA champion Utica Proctor.