Rested and ready to strike again, the Fayetteville-Manlius boys basketball team had a chance to seize first place from Central Square in the CNY Counties League American division. The Hornets did so, for the time being, in last Wednesday’s home game against Nottingham, relying again on Brian Zapisek’s hot hand to beat the Bulldogs 69-61. Whether it was driving to the basket, or pulling up for a perimeter shot, Zapisek found a way to foil any attempt by Nottingham to contain him, which helped the Hornets move to a 38-30 halftime lead. The two sides would match each other throughout the second half, as the Bulldogs were unable to do much with F-M’s lead. At game’s end, Zapisek had 30 points, including 12 field goals, five of them 3-pointers. The help got spread around, as Erik Mueller earned nine points and Mike O’Neil got eight points. Ethan Braddock and T.J. Earley each had seven points. Nottingham had a productive trio of contributors, as Devorn Kinsey finished with 17 points, Jowan Simmons 14 points and Mabior Mayen 13 points. On Friday, F-M (6-1) gets a crucial test at Liverpool, who has gone 7-3 through the first half of its season led by Jesse Gates, who is right behind Zapisek among Class AA’s top scorers.