It wasn’t just the fact that the West Genesee boys basketball team went to Bishop Ludden and won the annual Rosemary Corcoran Holiday Classic – it was the way the Wildcats did it. Led by Eric Spencer’s splendid inside play, WG was, by far, the best team in the tournament, capped off by Tuesday night’s final where, against the hosts from Bishop Ludden, it controlled every phase of the game and beat the Gaelic Knights 69-45. With the win, the Wildcats improved to 6-0, still undefeated under first-year head coach Fred Kent, and the reasons for this quick start were quite evident in the final against Ludden, who entered the game with its own 6-0 mark. When the Gaelic Knights packed in the defense against Spencer in the game’s early minutes, Corey Herrington and Greg Wadach combined to hit a trio of 3-point shots. And when Ludden chased the guards, Spencer had his way inside, with six late points in the first quarter that put WG up 15-9. But that was just the appetizer for the second quarter, where the Wildcats put up 12 unanswered points to make it 27-9 – and the latter part of that run came with Spencer on the bench with two fouls. He sat the rest of the half, but WG still took a 35-16 lead to the break. Sharp as the Wildcats were on the offensive side, it was even better on defense, not allowing any open looks and using its depth to wear Ludden down. That led to frustration on the Gaelic Knights’ part – and foul trouble, as Dan Kaigler and Corey Hunter both had three fouls before the half. Spencer made sure that Ludden did not get into the argument. Of his 27 points, 15 of them came in the second half as his series of inside moves baffled the Gaelic Knights at every turn and led to tournament MVP honors. “Eric is a very good athlete and special player,” said Kent. “He finishes very well.” Herrington, who had eight points, and Wadach joined Spencer on the all-tournament team. Phil Allen also had eight points as 11 different Wildcat players got at least two points on this night. Despite his limited minutes, Kaigler led Ludden with 11 points, while Tyler Young added eight points. Neither of last Monday’s first-round games provided any suspense. WG stomped all over Liverpool 69-47, while Ludden steadily pulled away to beat Onondaga 71-43. WG met a Liverpool side still in search of its first win – and continued the Warriors’ early-season misery. The Wildcats steadily pulled away, gaining a 39-25 lead by halftime and never letting Liverpool pull closer. Spencer worked inside for 20 points, while Allen stepped up to earn 13 points and Herrington got 12 points. Wadach contributed nine points. Onondaga arrived at the tournament with a perfect 5-0 mark, which had established them as one of the top Section III Class C title contenders. That meant little against Ludden, though, as the Gaelic Knights used steady production and consistent defense to build a 38-21 halftime lead on the Tigers. The margin grew to 58-33 in the third period as the hosts never had to worry about an OCS rally. Hunter led with 16 points, with Kaigler just behind as he got 13 points. Young had nine points as Ben Hackett came off the bench to join Kelly Beaudoin with eight points. Drew Stefanski (13 points) and Taylor Bassett (11 points) led the OCS effort. In the consolation game, Liverpool, fueled by hot 3-point shooting, came from behind to beat OCS 55-45. Adam Misener, Ian Hamm and Ben Peet each had 14 points to account for most of the Warriors’ offense. Every team in the tournament had a connection to Jerry Wilcox. The current Liverpool coach had a long and successful stint at Ludden, then coached at West Genesee before going to the Warriors. And OCS is coached by Wilcox’s long-time assistant, Ben Kilmartin.