With a 10-5 mark, the Liverpool boys basketball team may have expected a smooth trip to Rome Free Academy in last Thursday night’s CNY Counties League action. However, the Warriors found the Black Knights anything but an easy mark, and needed yet big efforts from Jesse Gates and Anthony Salomone to prevail 59-55 and clinch a winning record for the 2008-09 season. RFA made its intentions known early, staking out to an 18-13 first-quarter lead. Sensing trouble, Gates and Salomone started to take over the offense in the second quarter as Liverpool held the Black Knights to just eight points in that frame. The Warriors then stretched its lead to 45-38 by the end of the third period, enough to fend off the Black Knights’ late comeback attempts. By the time he was done, Gates had 30 points, more than half of Liverpool’s output, while Salomone put home 18 points (including four 3-pointers) to balance things out. Tom Williams led RFA with 21 points as teammates Eric Wiliams (12 points) and Ryan Cooke (10 points) also hit double figures. On Tuesday night, Liverpool hosts rival Cicero-North Syracuse before a Friday-night trip to Central Square.