Heading into this week’s Fulton Holiday Tournament, the Marcellus boys basketball team knew that it had to turn things around quickly. The Mustangs are 2-3 following a pair of defeats – one perhaps expected, the other a complete surprise. It all started with Monday’s trip to Bishop Grimes, which showed some initial promise – but ended in a 74-59 loss to the Cobras. Off to a 2-0 start, Grimes, who lost last year’s Section III Class B final to eventual state champion Westhill, threatened to end the suspense early by bolting out to a 9-0 lead in the game’s first two minutes. Marcellus didn’t wilt, though, and started to work through the Cobras’ defenses. It also got physical, working inside and forcing Grimes star Mike Stone to the bench with three fouls during the second quarter. With Stone gone, Marcellus forward Chaz Hayes had a huge second period, managing 10 straight points for his side and pulling the Mustangs within three, 32-29, going into halftime. Stone returned in the second half – and never got that fourth foul. Instead, he used a wide variety of eye-popping moves to get himself open for shots that ranged from lay-ups under the basket to 3-pointers. All told, Stone had 28 points, 17 of them in the second half, and he got help as Mike Sugamosto had eight of his 15 points in the third period. The Cobras outscored Marcelus 20-11 in the third period and would never get caught. Hayes kept working to the end, finishing with a career-best 24 points, and Mike Fox also stepped up as he earned 16 points. But Steve Raven got shut down, managing just a single field goal on the night. Given this, Wednesday’s trip to 0-2 Cazenovia was supposed to be a place to recover – but instead, the Mustangs lost again, this time in a 42-39 decision. Except for the first quarter, when Marcellus ran out to a 16-12 lead, it could do little against a fired-up Laker defense, which forced long droughts. The Mustangs had just four points in the second period and seven points in the final period. Raven did lead both sides with 13 points, while Fox added eight points and Geoff Crysler got seven points. But Hayes was shut out, and the Lakers used balanced scoring (five players had six or more points) to pull it out. The Marcellus girls team had met Cazenovia on Tuesday – and that resulted in a 59-41 loss to the Lakers. Cazenovia was, in theory, at less than full strength since its star senior forward, Ashley Stec (who is going to Manhattan next year), was out with an ankle injury. But Marcellus found out quickly that the Lakers had other options – especially Raeanne Clabeaux. She helped Cazenovia build a 31-16 halftime edge and had key baskets to withstand all of the Mustangs’ second-half surges on her way to 24 points, with Ellen Burr adding 16 points. No one on the Mustangs’ roster came close to that kind of production, as Melissa Lee led with 11 points. Lauren Soule had eight points as Jessie Nye and Meghan Witkowski each had six points. Emily Brissette only had a single 3-point field goal. The Marcellus girls host its own Christmas Tournament next Tuesday and Wednesday – just as the boys Mustangs head to Fulton in search of a spark.