NEDROW –– Jaydon Bassett made a tough bucket with just over a minute left in the game to give the McGraw boys basketball team just enough of a lead to beat Solvay 56-53 Wednesday in the Onondaga Central Holiday Tournament at Onondaga Jr./Sr. High School.
Bassett’s basket was followed by a Jairo DeJesus basket, making it 56-53 McGraw with 43.9 seconds left. McGraw missed a shot late in the shot clock on its next possession, then Caleb Epp committed a foul with 5.9 seconds left to force the Bearcats to inbound the basketball again.
Calob Sutton got a steal on the inbound pass and was fouled with 1.6 seconds left, but missed both. Solvay called timeout on the rebound and ran a play for Chris Nichols to get a heave, but he didn’t get the shot off in time.
“We just got done saying that we didn’t play particularly well,” McGraw head coach Jamey Crumb said. “We didn’t shoot free throws well again. We turned the ball over a lot when we didn’t need to and we still pulled out a win, so we’re happy with that. With the defense down the stretch, we had to change some things up. Finally, we executed offensively. Jaydon made a big basket with a minute to go. I’m really happy with how we finished it out.”
The game was close most of the way through, with neither team holding more than a five-point lead in the second half.
Caleb Epp was being face guarded all game and taken off the ball. Epp is the Eagles’ primary ball-handler and playmaker, and the senior did just that when his guys needed it. Epp got a handoff at the volleyball line in the fourth quarter, looked the defender away and knocked down an NBA-range three to give his guys a 49-47 lead, one they didn’t surrender the rest of the way.
Epp ended the game with 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, a steal and two blocks. He scored 11 of his points after halftime and went 7-for-13 from the foul line in the game.
“Last year I was in a main role, but wasn’t getting double teamed and pressed,” Epp said. “I had to adapt to it, not lose my head and do what I could do –– get open, pass the ball, steal the ball.”
McGraw needed to adjust without Epp running the show and Crumb made sure his guys were prepared for it.
“We had to talk about it during one of our timeouts,” Crumb said. “He was getting face guarded. A lot of people in that position try to save their legs on the defensive end and we can’t have Caleb do that, so we had Calob Sutton and Blair bring the ball up to give him more room to get open.”
McGraw opened up a 14-9 lead through a quarter, but Solvay battled back to make it a 27-26 McGraw lead before halftime.
The Bearcats dominated the Eagles on the boards for long stretches of the game, but Jaydon Bassett pulled down 10 rebounds to keep McGraw from surrendering too many second-chance points.
“It was a tough game,” Bassett said. “I just tried to get the rebound and get it out as quick as I could so they couldn’t set up.”
Solvay was without top scorer Jeffrey Sharpe III, who averages 11.8 per contest.
Bassett added 12 points, three assists and a block to his 10 rebounds. Dylan Truman pitched in 10 points on two made threes, a rebound and an assist, Riley Van Liew had eight points, eight boards and three assists, Calob Sutton notched eight points, five rebounds and two assists and Blair Mulcahy had four points, a rebound and an assist.
McGraw is now 6-1 and has won five straight games. The Eagles are in the honorable mention in the state’s Class D poll. McGraw has a chance to extend this run and win a tournament championship at 3 p.m. today at Onondaga, the tournament’s host.
“I think it’s big,” Crumb said. “Last year in our Christmas tournament we lost our first game. This year we didn’t have practice going into this until this morning (Wednesday), and you could see how many Christmas cookies they ate because they were gassed. I think getting there and finishing it would be a big boost for them so they can enjoy the break.”
GIRLS BASKETBALL
MARATHON 47, DRYDEN 33
Abby Ensign went off for 24 points, 16 in the second half, as Marathon steadily pulled away from Dryden. Marathon will face Tully in the final of the Marathon Miss Holiday Hustle Tournament and Dryden will take on Lansing in the consolation game.
Addie Oram added 11 points for the Olympians, Anna Hoyt scored five points, Kendre Euson had four points, Catherine Newkirk notched two points and Audrey Ensign scored one point.
Laci Prignon topped Dryden’s effort with nine points, followed by eight from Olivia Sheive and seven from Guiliana Pascarella. Chloe Russell’s five points and Maysie Davis’ four points rounded out the Lions’ effort.
TULLY 55, LANSING 53
Tully won the second half 35-24 behind 14 points from Rachel Daddona and Grace McKenna and 10 points from Sammy Morgan. Tully will face Marathon in the final of the Marathon Miss Holiday Hustle Tournament. The Black Knights are now 7-1 and have won two games in a row.
Gabby Flatt knocked down three 3-pointers for nine points, Ella Polak and Anna Congelli scored six points each and Gwyn Wilbur had two points for Tully.
INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
HOMER
Ingrid Aagaard won both the girls 1,000-meter race (3:20.55) and the 600-meter race (1:45.33) and Izzy Tutino won the girls 300-meter dash (46.10 seconds) at the Snowman Showdown. Tasker Dennis won the boys shot put (36 feet, 2.75 inches) and Gunnar Tyrell topped the competition in the boys triple jump (38 feet, 3.75 inches).
Aagaard also came in second in the 300-meter dash behind Tutino and Tutino was fourth in the 55-meter dash and sixth in the long jump. Hannah Bouwens came in second in the shot put, Molly McMasters was third, Lizzie O’Donnell came in fifth and Olivia Congdon finished sixth. O’Donnell also placed fourth in the 600-meter race. Maggie Mahunik recorded a fourth place finish in the 1,500-meter race and a sixth place finish in the 1,000-meter race, Mikayla Smith and Emma Effinger were fourth and sixth, respectively, in the triple jump and Haley Tucker placed sixth in the 1,500-meter race. The sprint medley relay team of Mia Knight, Effinger, O’Donnell and Amelia Wagner placed fourth.
Tyrell placed sixth in the boys 55-meter dash as well. Donavin Brown came in sixth in both the long jump and 55-meter hurdles, Garrett Berthelot was fifth in the triple jump and Nick Costa placed sixth in the 1,000-meter dash. The sprint medley relay team of Liam Zech, Berthelot, Tyrell and Michael Thalheimer placed fourth and the team of Tristyn Henkel, Brown, Costa and Aidan Small finished fifth.
DRYDEN
The girls 800-meter relay team of Raelen Green, Nicole Morrow, Jillian Miller and Jade Brockner won their race with a time of 2:01.8 at the Snowman Showdown.
Reagan Burnham led the girls individual effort with a second place finish in the 1,000-meter race and a sixth place finish in the 300-meter dash. Brockner was third in both the 55-meter dash and 300-meter dash, Green finished third in the long jump and sixth in the 55-meter dash and Miller placed fifth in both the 55-meter hurdles and long jump.
Ethan Gibbs led the Dryden boys by coming in second in the 55-meter hurdles and fifth in the 300-meter dash. Suansian Songput finished third in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump and Brian Bernard was fifth in the shot put.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
BOYS BASKETBALL
Groton at Cortland, 6:45 p.m. today
Homer vs. Marathon, 5 p.m. today at Cortland Junior-Senior High School
McGraw at Onondaga, 3 p.m. today
DeRuyter vs. Solvay, 1 p.m. today at Onondaga Jr./Sr. High School
Cincinnatus vs. Morrisville-Eaton, 5:30 p.m. today at Fabius-Pompey Jr./Sr. High School
Cato-Meridian at Tully, 6:30 p.m. today
Cortland/Groton winner vs. Homer/Marathon winner, Friday at Cortland Junior-Senior High School
Cortland/Groton loser vs. Homer/Marathon loser, Friday at Cortland Junior-Senior High School
Cincinnatus vs. Fabius-Pompey or Otselic Valley, Friday at Fabius-Pompey Jr./Sr. High School
Herkimer or Randolph at Tully, Friday
Moravia vs. Dundee/Bradford, 3 p.m. Friday at Avoca Central School
Moravia vs. Wayland-Cohocton or Avoca-Prattsburgh, Saturday at Avoca Central School
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Windsor at Cortland, 1:45 p.m. today
Moravia vs. Chenango Forks, noon today at Cortland Junior-Senior High School
Tully at Marathon, today
Dryden vs. Lansing, today at Marathon High School
McGraw vs. Cincinnatus, 2 p.m. today at Fabius-Pompey Jr./Sr. High School
Cortland/Windsor winner vs. Moravia/Chenango Forks winner, Friday at Cortland Junior-Senior High School
Cortland/Windsor loser vs. Moravia/Chenango Forks loser, Friday at Cortland Junior-Senior High School
McGraw/Cincinnatus winner vs. Fabius-Pompey/Otselic Valley winner, Friday at Fabius-Pompey Jr./Sr. High School
McGraw/Cincinnatus loser vs. Fabius-Pompey/Otselic Valley loser, Friday at Fabius-Pompey Jr./Sr. High School
HOCKEY
Fayetteville-Manlius at Cortland/Homer, 5 p.m. today
Albany CBA at Cortland/Homer, 2 p.m. Friday
WRESTLING
Cortland at SUNY Oswego, 10 a.m. today
Homer at Windsor, 10 a.m. today
Cortland at SUNY Oswego, 9 a.m. Friday
Homer at Windsor, 9 a.m. Friday
