In the last week of January, the Jamesville-DeWitt boys basketball team would get two days off before starting on work for the regular-season homestretch. And the Red Rams deserved the rest after what it pulled off from Jan. 15, when it beat Christian Brothers Academy 46-41, to Saturday night’s 74-57 victory over Section II power Shenendehowa in the Coaches vs. Cancer Challenge at Onondaga Community College. All told, J-D won six games in nine days, further cementing its place atop the state Class A rankings and improving to 13-0 in the process. After the trip to CBA, the Rams won hard-fought decisions over Bishop Kearney (in overtime) and Albany Academy to win the Juggler Classic in Utica, then won at Fowler 75-51 as Tyler Cavanaugh led the way with 18 points and Lamar Kearse added 17 points. Then it was back home Friday to face East Syracuse-Minoa on the night where J-D honored its new class of Athletic Hall of Fame inductees. And the Rams added to the festivities by beating the Spartans 76-51, though it didn’t take over until the game’s middle stages. Ahead 18-15 after one period, J-D picked up the tempo even further, and outscored ESM 50-26 over the course of the second and third quarters. Kearse, in particular, ruined ESM’s night, blazing through defenders on his way to 28 points, making up for the fact that DaJuan Coleman (four points) had a quiet evening. Cavanaugh had 12 points, while Demetrius Mitchell got 10 points and Zach Firestone got seven points. Sharif Nero (18 points) and Quadear Mike (11 points) led the ESM effort. J-D’s busy stretch would end with Shenendehowa, who arrived at OCC with an 11-0 record and the no. 10 spot in the state Class AA rankings. Even though the Plainsmen were an unfamiliar opponent, J-D would give them a greeting all too familiar to the Rams’ local victims. With Coleman dominating in the paint and getting six points, the Rams grabbed a 17-4 lead by the time the game was five minutes old. The rest of the game amounted to a chase, one that J-D didn’t always handle with ease. Shen got big performances from Dan Lee (19 points) and reserve Manny Hernandez (17 points) and played on even terms the rest of the first half, only trailing 38-26 at the break. J-D tried to get away, expanding the lead to 44-29 in the third period, but Shen countered with a 10-2 run as it took over on the boards, getting all kinds of second and third shots. As the fourth quarter began, J-D’s lead was just eight, 57-49, and the struggles on the boards had head coach Bob McKenney worried about possible fatigue. But the Rams answered like a champion would, as Coleman regained control of the paint and J-D went on a decisive 10-0 run, blanking Shen for more than four minutes. Coleman finished with 18 points, while Kearse got 17 points and Jailaan Kinsey came off the bench to earn 10 points. Cavanaugh had nine points. J-D is going back to OCC twice more next weekend, first for a Friday game against Buffalo-area power Nichols, then to meet Fulton on Saturday night.