It was of paramount interest for the Bishop Ludden boys basketball team to get two wins in the last full week of January if it wanted to keep up with Skaneateles and Westhill in the OHSL Liberty division. On Thursday night, the Gaelic Knights hosted Marcellus and worked hard all night – but still did enough to post a 59-51 victory over the Mustangs, improving to 9-2 in league play and 10-3 overall. Ludden did not have the quickest of starts – but more than made up for it with ferocious defense that limited Marcellus to five points in the first quarter. By the time both sides started to find the basket, the Gaelic Knights were settling into the lead, up 26-20 at the half. For the rest of the game, every time Marcellus wanted to get closer, Ludden would answer and maintain the margin. Dan Kaigler had his best offensive showing since December, the freshman finishing with 21 points to lead both sides. Kelly Beaudoin also stepped up, his 14 points including a trio of 3-pointers, while Casey Ganley threw in 13 points. Steve Raven led Marcellus with 18 points, with Geoff Crysler (11 points), Kyle Hastings (10 points) and Nick Sinay (eight points) close behind. Two nights earlier, both teams had won in wildly varying ways. Marcellus had to fight off Solvay 62-61, while Ludden bashed Cazenovia 59-39. All game long, the Mustangs and Bearcats traded the lead, Solvay carried along by Dan Aiello, who burned Marcellus for 34 points, more than half his team’s total. Despite that, the Mustangs were tied 41-41 going to the fourth quarter, and the seesaw continued until Marcellus finally inched on top for good. Raven, with 14 points, was one of four Marcellus players to hit double figures. Chaz Hayes put in 13 points as Crysler and Hastings had 10 points apiece. None of this tension was found at Geddes, where Ludden held Cazenovia to three points in the first quarter and kept playing superb defense until it had built a 54-23 third-quarter lead. Tyler Young led with 13 points, just ahead of Kaigler, who put in 11 points. Ganley got seven points as Beaudoin and Corey Hunter earned six points apiece. Bishop Ludden’s girls team made up the postponed Jan. 18 game against Skaneateles a week later, but dropped a 53-52 thriller to the Lakers. Skaneateles, who had rallied to upset Jordan-Elbridge 41-39 in its previous appearance, put the Gaelic Knights behind 17-12 after one period. Ludden tied it, 29-29, by halftime, and it remained close the rest of the way, neither side able to find any daylight. It went to the waning seconds and, with the game tied 52-52, Skaneateles’ Emily Call took a pair of free throws. She made one of them, and it proved enough for the win. Lauren Roy led Ludden with 13 points, while Natalie Barletta (12 points) and Kelly Granteed (11 points) also hit double figures. Nicole Granteed had seven points and Kayla Kibling six points. Skaneateles eighth-grader Elizabeth Lane led both sides with 23 points.