The DeRuyter boys basketball team opened the fourth quarter on an 8-2 run to finally pull away from a pesky McGraw team for a 48-38 win Friday night at McGraw High School.
McGraw’s only lead was 2-0, with the Rockets controlling the rest of the game. The Eagles played with lots of energy and made quick runs whenever DeRuyter started to pull away until the fourth.
DeRuyter was in desperate need of a win after losing for the first time Wednesday at Stockbridge Valley.
“We just needed to get back in and feel things,” junior Devens Whalen said. “This was a good game to do that.”
“I’m glad that they came together as a unit and were able to get back on the victorious side again,” DeRuyter head coach Ric Barnes added. “It’s been 28 days since we played prior to the Stockbridge one on Wednesday. We were within two points in the fourth quarter. Being able to come in here, get the lead and maintain the lead no matter how much of a push McGraw put on us, we never went behind. That was key.”
The Rockets appeared to really start pulling away at the start of the second, turning an 11-9 lead after the first into a 22-9 advantage. McGraw scored the quarter’s final eight points to make it 22-17 at halftime.
A Calob Sutton free throw and Mason Allen 3-point play put the Eagles down one, but that was as close as they got.
DeRuyter struggled to get its halfcourt offense going against McGraw’s pressuring 2-3 zone. That was a change from the teams’ first matchup, when McGraw played mostly man-to-man and a 1-3-1 zone.
“We get tired when we play man aggressive and we tend to get little stupid fouls,” McGraw head coach Jamey Crumb said. “We’re pretty lanky when we get certain guys out there. We’re quick enough for that rotation unless they’re chucking threes, which they don’t tend to do. Our 2-3 defense was pretty good.”
The Rockets started finding more success against the Eagles zone once Whalen started getting to the middle with dribble penetration. That’s something Barnes has been preaching to his start junior all season.
“My coaches have been telling me I need to play more physical,” Whalen said. “I listened to them and I got to the spots where I can do stuff.”
Dan Holl also generated a bunch of DeRuyter’s offense, mostly running the break. He scored lots of buckets when his team needed one and created plenty of turnovers atop his team’s 3-2 zone.
“I’m a guy that’ll work hard every time,” Holl said. “I do what I’ve got to for my team. I’ll dive on the ground, anything.”
Barnes was pleased with his guys’ ability to turn defense into offense. He knows games can be low-scoring and every quick and easy bucket matters.
“It’s how we play,” Barnes said. “It’s how we’ve always played defensively. I tell the guys, ‘You can’t always shoot the ball well, but you can always put full effort forth for defense.’ If you hold a team in the 30s, you have a good chance of winning.”
Crumb, meanwhile, wasn’t as happy with the way his team got out and ran. McGraw couldn’t get live-ball turnovers and was slow to get the ball to the sideline off defensive rebounds.
“That’s the story of the game,” Crumb said. “How many fast-break points did we get? Maybe four, unless we got fouled. I think our rebounding off those is fine, it’s just quicker outlets and running the lanes when we need to.”
Whalen and Holl paced DeRuyter’s offense with 19 and 13 points, respectively. Dylan Foster added eight points, Braden Metcalf recorded four points and Josiah Hannafan, Jonah Baxter and Jackson Millett all scored two points for the Rockets.
Allen led McGraw with 11 points, Blair Mulcahy recorded seven points, Riley Van Liew and Calob Sutton both had six points, Brennan Wilson and Thomas Lea both knocked down a 3-pointer and Easton Livermore scored two points.
DeRuyter, now 6-1, plays again at 7 p.m. Tuesday at home against Otselic Valley, then will look for revenge at 7 p.m. Thursday at home against Stockbridge Valley. McGraw’s next game is at 7 p.m. Tuesday at home against Hamilton.
BOYS BASKETBALL
CAZENOVIA 61, CORTLAND 45
Cortland lost the second half 39-21 after leading 24-22 at the break as the Purple Tigers’ seven-game winning streak was snapped. Zach Muir was the only Cortland player in double figures, finishing with 11 points.
Jaxson Gambitta added nine points for the Purple Tigers, Cal Albright scored eight points, Owen Johnson pitched in six points, Caden Albright scored four points, Iniko Abani, Logan Toomey and Tyler Thomas all had two points and Damauri Bell scored one point.
MORAVIA 72, MARATHON 41
Joe Baylor recorded a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double and Jairen Francis notched an 11-point, 13-rebound double-double as Moravia took a 30-18 lead into halftime, but blew it open with a 24-9 fourth.
Eli Landis, Dillon Palmer and Zach Szachta all knocked down three 3-pointers, with Landis recording 11 points and Dillon Palmer and Szachta both finishing with nine. Riley Jones scored eight points, Thomas Palmer recorded five points and Noah Corbett and Dominic Todd both notched two points for the Blue Devils.
Austin Poth led Marathon’s offense with 11 points, then Camdyn Kashuba followed him up with 10. Colton Oram pitched in nine points, Barrett Trabucco recorded seven points and Robbie Anderson and Blake Birdsall had two points apiece.
SOUTHERN CAYUGA 58, GROTON 48
Groton led 30-26 at the break, but the Red Hawks’ four-game winning streak was snapped after losing the second half 32-18. Conor Eldred led Groton with 19 points and three 3-pointers, but Southern Cayuga star Isaac Brozon recorded 32 points.
Jerome Turner followed Eldred with 12 points for the Red Hawks, Jaiden Mitchell scored eight points, Colson Slade recorded seven points and Carmelo Riley-Israel had two points.
CINCINNATUS 77, MADISON 67
Jack Stafford celebrated his 18th birthday with a big-time performance, dropping 22 points with six made triples, five rebounds, five assists and three steals as Cincinnatus took a 33-22 lead into halftime and held on to topple previously 11-0 Madison, the No. 7 team in the state’s Class D poll.
John Schuyler scored a team-high 23 points to go with five rebounds, six assists and four steals, TJ Walker had a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double to go with an assist, two steals and a blocked shot and Zack Streichert notched 11 points, two boards, four assists and three steals. Koda Temple (five points, one rebound, one assist, one steal), Trevor Shevalier (four points, 11 rebounds, one assist, two steals, four blocks) and Bob Turshman (one rebound) also aided the Lions’ statement win.
TULLY 78, FABIUS-POMPEY 39
Garrett Thompson, Sam Dando and Connor Bastedo all scored in double figures to help Tully double up its biggest rival. Thompson scored 21 points with four threes, Dando recorded 18 points with five triples and Bastedo had 12 with two 3-pointers. The Black Knights knocked down 12 threes in the game and won the middle two quarters 46-13.
Nate Best and Wyatt Lund followed the trio with seven points each, Darrell Gables pitched in four points, Sean Mize tacked on three points and Steven Pierce, Daniel Garback and Abram Byers all notched two points.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
EAST SYRACUSE-MINOA 48, HOMER 34
Homer was outscored 29-8 in the second half after leading 26-19 at the break. Lauren Franco scored 21 of the Trojans’ 34 points on the night.
Makenna Pym followed Franco with five points, Anya Gofkowski and Lizzie McCloy scored three points each and Maddie Morgan scored two points for Homer.
MORAVIA 44, MARATHON 30
Moravia won the first quarter 18-8 and the third 17-8 to earn a comfortable home win. Caraline Wasileski led the Blue Devils with 14 points, scoring 12 in the first half.
Lashley Heredia Castillo followed Wasileski with eight points on two 3-pointers, Olivia Genson scored seven points, Lily Heim had six points, Jessalyn Jones recorded four points, Kendall Hess notched three points and Daisy Drake scored two points for Moravia.
Addie Oram paced Marathon’s offense with 13 points, Faith Baker had five points, Alina Parker scored five points and Kennedy Eaton, Catherine Newkirk, Audrey Ensign and Liz VanCise all scored two points for the Olympians.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
TULLY 3, MCGRAW 0
Anna Lund’s 24 assists, seven digs, four kills, three aces and two blocks helped Tully sweep for the third time in four days. The Black Knights won 25-8, 25-14, 25-8.
Kaylynne Bennett was a big recipient of Anna Lund’s assists, going for 11 kills, two aces, two blocks and five digs, Maddy Lund added nine digs, six aces and a block and Rowan Usherwood racked up eight kills, an ace and four digs. Elaina Iozzo (six aces, five digs), Teagan Lake (five aces, two digs), Evelyn Chatfield (five digs, one ace), Karissa Olender (five digs, one ace), Molly Verbanic (four kills, two blocks, two digs), Ella Lund (two blocks, one kill, one ace) and Susan Kuty (two digs) also contributed for Tully.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
BOYS BASKETBALL
Sidney at Dryden, 6:45 p.m. today
Tully at Sackets Harbor, 2 p.m. today
Oswego at Cortland, 1:45 p.m. Monday
Homer at Phoenix, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday
Hamilton at McGraw, 7 p.m. Tuesday
Stockbridge Valley at Cincinnatus, 7 p.m. Tuesday
Otselic Valley at DeRuyter, 7 p.m. Tuesday
Trumansburg at Moravia, 7 p.m. Tuesday
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Cortland at New Hartford, noon today
Tully at Cooperstown, 1:30 p.m. today
Phoenix at Cortland, 6:45 p.m. Tuesday
Homer at Bishop Ludden, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday
Syracuse West at Tully, 7 p.m. Tuesday
HOCKEY
Whitesboro at Cortland/Homer, 7 p.m. Monday at J.M. McDonald Sports Complex
Cortland/Homer at Clinton, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Clinton Arena
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Port Byron at Cincinnatus, 11:30 a.m. today
Cincinnatus at Stockbridge Valley, 7 p.m. Tuesday
Faith Heritage at Tully, 7 p.m. Tuesday
DeRuyter at Manlius Pebble Hill, 7 p.m. Tuesday
BOYS WRESTLING
Homer at Oswego, 8 a.m. today
Dryden, Moravia at Canadaigua, 9 a.m. today
Southern Hills at V-V-S, today
Dryden at Windsor, 7:30 a.m. Monday
Moravia at Marathon, 6 p.m. Tuesday
GIRLS WRESTLING
Homer at Fulton, 9 a.m. Monday
INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Homer at Onondaga Community College, 9 a.m. today
BOWLING
Cortland at Solvay, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at AMF Strike N Spare Lanes
Homer at Weedsport, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at Rainbow Lanes
Lansing at Groton, 4 p.m. Tuesday at Memory Lanes
BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING
Chenango Valley at Dryden, 6 p.m. Tuesday
