AUBURN - The Weedsport boys basketball team is not yet accustomed to defeating any opponent by a large margin this season. The Warriors have won three of their four games by a total of seven points, and their only loss came by two points. Southern Cayuga, on the other hand, has several heartbreakingly close losses and the Chiefs are far from indicative of their now 2-5 record.
Glenn Gaston / Special to The Citizen
Weedsport's Craig Mietz gets fouled while driving to the basket during the first half against Southern Cayuga in the opening round of the Cayuga County Holiday Tournament at Cayuga Community College Monday.
Weedsport's Craig Mietz gets fouled while driving to the basket during the first half against Southern Cayuga in the opening round of the Cayuga County Holiday Tournament at Cayuga Community College Monday.
Both teams continued on their early-season trends in the first round of the Cayuga County Holiday Tournament at Cayuga Community College on Monday, when both took turns taking sizable leads. But it was the Warriors (4-1) who earned the right to face six-time defending tournament champion Union Springs in the title game at 7:30 p.m. today.
The Chiefs and Warriors flip-flopped control of the game with each quarter, with Southern Cayuga making a fourth-quarter run to send the game into overtime, but Weedsport senior Justin Rose propelled his team in the extra four minutes, sealing the Warriors' 71-67 win.
“This game is huge,” Weedsport coach Matt Lipiska said. “This was a huge win for us - Southern Cayuga is a great team, they really outplayed us in the second half.”
After scoring just four points, but grabbing six rebounds in the first half, Rose tore off 13 second-half and overtime points, including a game-clinching 3 to lead his team. He walked away with eight rebounds as well.
“I thought he looked a little timid for most of the game,” Lipiska said of Rose. “But he came up real clutch at the end, he made some real big shots.”
The Warriors stormed into the second quarter, after trailing 11-8 to end the first, putting up 24 points, while stifling the Chiefs' attack. With a hefty 32-23 lead at intermission, Weedsport came out firing in the second half, only to be stifled by the Chiefs defense, which was grabbing everything off the glass. Southern Cayuga outscored Weedsport 20-13 in those eight minutes, only to see the tide fall on an even keel in the fourth.
While Weedsport held the lead since the 7:11 mark in the second quarter, the Chiefs regained the scoreboard with a Dylan Parmenter jumper at the 7:21 mark left in regulation. Southern Cayuga led by as many as five points in the quarter, but Weedsport never appeared defeated.
“For any good team, you have to trust your players and you have to be confident that they can play,” Lipiska said. “I was confident in my guys and I just had to let them play.”
With less than 27 seconds left in regulation, Rose converted four straight free throws, which gave the Warriors a temporary 61-60 lead. Southern Cayuga's Sean Driscoll then went 1-for-4 in two trips to the line, making his last shot with 16.9 seconds left. Both sides got in a last-chance shot to seal the game, but were unsuccessful.
“We did a real good job of coming back late,” Southern Cayuga coach Butch McGuerty said. “There were just a series of bad situations at the end. Weedsport made some real nice shots and came out on the good end.”
Driscoll earned a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Bryan VanNostrand scored 10 points and came away with nine rebounds. Parmenter led with 15 points, while Anthony Espinosa was on fire in the second half, scoring all 13 of his points in the final 20 minutes of the game, including the final two for the Chiefs at 16.6 seconds left in overtime.
“I just told them, ‘Fellas, I know we're disappointed in the missed shots at the end, but hey, this is overtime,'” Lipiska said. “We had a second chance.”
Rose came away with the first two points in the extra period to give the Warriors an early lead, but Parmenter went 2-for-2 at the free-throw line one minute later to tie the game again. The Warriors went on a quick 5-0 run, including Rose's big 3 to seal the game.
“It wasn't so much bad decisions as it was us not being able to execute at the end,” McGuerty said. “We had the stuff to do it, we just didn't get it. It was a great game, both sides played hard. We're getting there - I know we'll get it together.”
The Chiefs (2-5) will play the Panthers in the tournament consolation game at 6 p.m. This will be the Warriors' first appearance in the title game in two seasons. Craig Mietz led the Warriors with 20 points and six steals, while Adam Carey collected 14 points and Sean Ashby totaled 13 points and 11 rebounds.
“Hopefully, this means we have the makings of a real good team,” Lipiska said. “To be able to play for the county championship, and to beat a team as good as this.”
Warriors 71
Chiefs 67
The Chiefs and Warriors flip-flopped control of the game with each quarter, with Southern Cayuga making a fourth-quarter run to send the game into overtime, but Weedsport senior Justin Rose propelled his team in the extra four minutes, sealing the Warriors' 71-67 win.
“This game is huge,” Weedsport coach Matt Lipiska said. “This was a huge win for us - Southern Cayuga is a great team, they really outplayed us in the second half.”
After scoring just four points, but grabbing six rebounds in the first half, Rose tore off 13 second-half and overtime points, including a game-clinching 3 to lead his team. He walked away with eight rebounds as well.
“I thought he looked a little timid for most of the game,” Lipiska said of Rose. “But he came up real clutch at the end, he made some real big shots.”
The Warriors stormed into the second quarter, after trailing 11-8 to end the first, putting up 24 points, while stifling the Chiefs' attack. With a hefty 32-23 lead at intermission, Weedsport came out firing in the second half, only to be stifled by the Chiefs defense, which was grabbing everything off the glass. Southern Cayuga outscored Weedsport 20-13 in those eight minutes, only to see the tide fall on an even keel in the fourth.
While Weedsport held the lead since the 7:11 mark in the second quarter, the Chiefs regained the scoreboard with a Dylan Parmenter jumper at the 7:21 mark left in regulation. Southern Cayuga led by as many as five points in the quarter, but Weedsport never appeared defeated.
“For any good team, you have to trust your players and you have to be confident that they can play,” Lipiska said. “I was confident in my guys and I just had to let them play.”
With less than 27 seconds left in regulation, Rose converted four straight free throws, which gave the Warriors a temporary 61-60 lead. Southern Cayuga's Sean Driscoll then went 1-for-4 in two trips to the line, making his last shot with 16.9 seconds left. Both sides got in a last-chance shot to seal the game, but were unsuccessful.
“We did a real good job of coming back late,” Southern Cayuga coach Butch McGuerty said. “There were just a series of bad situations at the end. Weedsport made some real nice shots and came out on the good end.”
Driscoll earned a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Bryan VanNostrand scored 10 points and came away with nine rebounds. Parmenter led with 15 points, while Anthony Espinosa was on fire in the second half, scoring all 13 of his points in the final 20 minutes of the game, including the final two for the Chiefs at 16.6 seconds left in overtime.
“I just told them, ‘Fellas, I know we're disappointed in the missed shots at the end, but hey, this is overtime,'” Lipiska said. “We had a second chance.”
Rose came away with the first two points in the extra period to give the Warriors an early lead, but Parmenter went 2-for-2 at the free-throw line one minute later to tie the game again. The Warriors went on a quick 5-0 run, including Rose's big 3 to seal the game.
“It wasn't so much bad decisions as it was us not being able to execute at the end,” McGuerty said. “We had the stuff to do it, we just didn't get it. It was a great game, both sides played hard. We're getting there - I know we'll get it together.”
The Chiefs (2-5) will play the Panthers in the tournament consolation game at 6 p.m. This will be the Warriors' first appearance in the title game in two seasons. Craig Mietz led the Warriors with 20 points and six steals, while Adam Carey collected 14 points and Sean Ashby totaled 13 points and 11 rebounds.
“Hopefully, this means we have the makings of a real good team,” Lipiska said. “To be able to play for the county championship, and to beat a team as good as this.”
Warriors 71
Chiefs 67
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