SKANEATELES - The 3-point shot.

It's one of the most exciting plays in basketball, but a play that no team should live and die by.

That's what nearly happened to both Skaneateles teams in each of its respective Section III, Class B-1 quarterfinals games. It was a perfect shot from behind the arc that nearly breathed enough life to advance the girls basketball team, but the No. 3 Lakers fell to sixth-seeded Marcellus 36-34 in overtime. In the boys' game, the third-seeded Lakers held on to a 45-44 win over No. 6 South Jefferson.

The Skaneateles boys team (14-7) will play No. 2 Westhill (16-5) in the semifinals. The Lakers came out shooting in the second game, converting on nearly every shot to advance to a 23-11 halftime lead. On the other side of the court, the Spartans took most of their shots from beyond the arc, converting just 23 percent in the first two quarters. Then, they got hot.

South Jefferson continued to fire from long range in the second half, but they were able to get many more open looks. They racked up 17 points in the third quarter, led by four 3s from Ben Anaya, who led the team with 15 points and three rebounds. Six different Spartans players scored in the fourth quarter, where the team took their first lead of the game with 3:33 left on a Akeebu Lettsome layup. With 1:33 remaining, Chris Gilbert went 2-for-2 at the free throw line for his only points of the game to give the Spartans a three point lead.

A key Jonathan Chapman rebound with under 40 seconds remaining gave the Lakers all the spark they needed. The Spartans missed their 15th 3-pointer of the game, which would have all but given them the come-from-behind win, but the junior guard got the board and Nick Pesarchick got the chance to be a hero.

Pesarchick hit a layup with 20 seconds left and then was fouled less than five ticks later. Down by one, Pesarchick nailed both free throws to give the Lakers a 45-44 lead. With enough time left, the Spartans drove back down the court. Lettsome made a shot from the paint as the time ran down, but the missed shot resulted in a scrum under the net. Pesarchick got the rebound to send the Lakers into the next round, but the win might have come with a price when senior forward Eric Richards (eight points, two rebounds) writhed in pain, holding his right elbow. It wasn't immediately known how serious the injury was.

Pesarchick earned a double-double for the Lakers with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Jacob Tracy scored 15 points and three rebounds.

The first game of the evening had the same exciting feel, but without the happy result for Lakers fans. The Laker girls started off slow offensively and played catch-up for most of the game. Marcellus senior Sarah Holden was able to play well, leading the team with 13 points and the Mustangs' defense prevented the Lakers from getting anything going under the net.

“We didn't do a good job on Sarah Holden for most of the game, even though the second half, she didn't get as many opportunities,” Lakers coach Bob Braunitzer said. “That's what we talked about all week - we had to contain her. She scored nearly half their points.”

Down 21-11 at the half, the Lakers got their spark early in the third quarter when Alicia Hunt fouled Skaneateles' Brittany LaVaute from outside 3-point range. The Lakers, who went 0-for-9 from behind the arc in the first half, got their first 3-point play when LaVaute hit all three shots from the foul line. In the ensuing 1:30, the Lakers hit nine unanswered points to pull within one to end the third quarter. The Mustangs didn't help matters in that eight minutes, turning the ball over nine times and getting called for traveling on another three occasions. The Lakers held them to three points while scoring 12 in the quarter.

“We had a great effort in the second half,” Braunitzer said. “We did what we had to do to get back into the game.”

With 6:14 left in the game, Skaneateles tied the score at 26 when LaVaute went 2-for-2 from the line. The Lakers outscored the Mustangs again in the fourth 9-8. With 14.8 seconds left, Rachel Farneti (six points) helped the Lakers stay in the game when she went 1-2 at the foul line to give the Mustangs a 32-29 lead.

With still no converted 3-pointers under their belt, Braunitzer called a timeout with six seconds remaining. It heavily involved his 5-foot-4 senior guard. With 5.3 seconds left, LaVaute nailed a perfect trifecta to tie the game.

“I drew up that play for them,” Braunitzer said. “I told her to give it some extra high arc. She almost hit the ceiling with it.”

LaVaute tried to hit the winning shot with under a second left after Caryn Crary (six points, five steals, five rebounds) got a quick steal, but the game went into overtime.

“I told them that we needed to play another four minutes,” Braunitzer said. “Marcellus wasn't just going to roll over and die.”

Despite the momentum, the Lakers scored just two points in the extra quarter, on two free throws from Alexis Jones (five points, five rebounds, three steals). Sarah Trust also played well, scoring six points, eight rebounds and two steals.

LaVaute led the team with 10 points.

“It's disappointing because we didn't want to lose our last game on our home court and we definitely didn't want to lose this early,” Braunitzer said. “But it's not like Marcellus is a bad team. All being said though, this group of kids has done so much for us and has meant so much to Skaneateles girls basketball. That's what's really hard about it right now. We wanted a chance to at least get to the semis again, it would have been the third time in a row. But it's water under the bridge now.”