Taking the floor for the first time in the 2010-11 season, the Chittenango boys basketball team started quite slow – but woke up just in time. A dramatic late comeback Tuesday night culminated in the Bears beating the Tigers 54-53, pulling it out in the final seconds as it seeks a return to the post-season. Under the direction of head coach John Clancy, Chittenango went 6-12 a season ago and missed the Section III Class A playoffs. With a solid cast of returning veterans (Devin Christopher, Mike Moon, Mike Scott, Brendan Galek and Cavanaugh Chaires), the Bears had a reason to think it could improve on that mark.
Mexico sought to change that opinion – and did for a while. A tight game appeared to break open in the second quarter when the Tigers outscored Chittenango 21-12, meaning that it took a 34-23 lead to the break. From that point on, though, the Bears’ defense improved, holding Mexico to eight points in the third period as it ate into that deficit. And in the final period, Chittenango went on one more run, inching ahead and hanging on. Scott led the way, producing 18 points, while Christopher hit a pair of 3-pointers on his way to 14 points. Seven of Galek’s 11 points came from free throws as Chaires added six points. On Friday, Chittenango made it back-to-back wins against Homer, showing improvement on the offensive side in a 68-42 romp over the Trojans. A steady, well-balanced attack helped the Bears move to a 37-23 lead by halftime, and the margin kept growing as the night went on. Scott had 14 points, just ahead of Christopher and Galek, who finished with 11 points apiece. Moon had nine points as Greg Jasek and Wes Burghardt both took on a larger role, each finishing with eight points. Back on Tuesday, Chittenango’s girls team came close to its first win of the season, against Mexico, but lost in overtime to The Tigers 44-40. A strong first half has the Bears ahead 24-19, but it got a mere two points in the third period as the Tigers moved out in front. Somehow, Chittenango recovered, tying it 35-35 to force a four-minute OT period, but Mexico outscored them 9-5 in that extra frame. Brandy McDermott led the Bears with 13 points, while Sierra Shafer got nine points. Mexico saw Haley Duell and Hali Peter each match McDermott’s total of 13 points. Everything went wrong for Chittenango early in Friday’s game at Homer, yet it fought hard all the way to the end as it took a 53-45 loss to the Trojans. By the time the first quarter was done, the Bears were down 21-4, and it would spend the rest of the night trying to climb back, eventually closing to single digits. But Homer’s Carissa Cornwell could not be stopped, as she poured in 31 points, hitting on seven 3-pointers to account for most of it. Haley Landers led Chittenango with 12 points. Shafer had eight points as Kaitlin Antelmi and Alanna Haynes got seven points apiece and McDermott added six points. Both Chittenango teams take on Phoenix Tuesday in their last action before the holiday break.