Syracuse, NY – East Syracuse forward Minoa tied the game at 45-45 on a pair of possessions in overtime on Saturday afternoon Cole Venditti caught a pass under the basket.
His first attempt over a sea of Nottingham arms missed, but he got his own rebound and sent another shot over. He also missed, but again collected his error through a large group of defenders and tried again.
Venditti’s third attempt to go ahead spun around and in, sparking a fiery celebration as he got back into defense and a lead that ESM never relinquished. Although Nottingham tied the game late and had a chance to win it on the final possession of regulation, ESM (7-2) outlasted the Bulldogs (8-1) in overtime, handing them their first loss of the season, 52-48.
“I tried to be as aggressive as possible,” Venditti said. “They are a physical team.
Nottingham has struggled with defensive rebounding lately, Bulldogs head coach Lamar Kearse said. Venditti and a bunch of Spartan helpers made up for it on Saturday.
“It showed its head today in the winning time,” Kearse said. “In overtime, in the fourth quarter. I felt like that was the difference in the game.”
Although the season is still young, ESM is developing one of the strongest resumes in the section. The Spartans beat Liverpool, the highest-ranked Section III team in the latest Class AAA state rankings, on Dec. 23. And now they beat Nottingham, the highest-ranked Section III team in the latest Class AA state rankings. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 2 in the state and were one of only three undefeated teams left in the section (11-0 Westhill and 10-0 Cooperstown).
“I think it gives us a lot of strength,” Venditti said. “And a tone of confidence.
1/54
East Syracuse Minoa vs Nottingham Boys Basketball
Both teams played defense the entire game, and neither led by more than two possessions until early in the fourth quarter by the Spartans.
But once ESM went up 42-34, It was Garang hit shots back to back and Dei’Avion Camby hit a transition layup and quickly brought ESM’s lead back to one possession.
ESM maintained a 43-40 advantage until the final two minutes when Ezra Wilson-Hefti the Nottingham keeper fouled Deyor Smith to the 3-pointer. Smith made all three free throws to tie the game.
On the ensuing play on the field, ESM was called for a five-second call and Nottingham got the ball right back. The Bulldogs didn’t score, but on ESM’s next possession, Garang took the lead Anthony Bryant and the Nottingham gymnasium erupted to the loudest level of the match.
After being largely outplayed at halftime, it looked like the Bulldogs might steal the win.
On December 19 against West Genesee, Garang won the game for Nottingham by hitting a layup at the buzzer. But on Saturday’s final possession of regulation, his baseline clattered against the rim and that was it Jacquinot Foguing‘s to follow.
“We made shots when we had to,” ESM head coach James Kilpatric said. “And they missed shots when we needed them.
Nottingham continued to struggle on the glass in overtime and ESM slowly pushed forward with free throws. Down 51-48 with 21 seconds left, Nottingham had a chance to tie the game with a 3-pointer, but they couldn’t make the shot and ESM was guarding. You Ervin stole the ball with less than a second left to seal the win.
ESM’s constant pressure plagued Nottingham more and more as the game wore on.
“I’m still trying to figure it out,” Kearse said. “We’ve got answers for that, but the guys are kind of arguing. I think we’ve got to play with more confidence against that.”
Wilson-Hefti led all scorers with 15, while Venditti a Robbie Clifford chipped in nine, Ervin added eight and Bryant scored six. Smith a Matej Bíly paced the Bulldogs with 10 points apiece, Camby scored nine and Garang and Foguing each added eight.
Nottingham and ESM don’t play for the rest of the regular season, but could face off again in March with the Class AA title on the line.
“The teams know each other really well, the coaches know each other,” Kilpatric said. “We know what they do, they know what we do.”
ESM will look to build on a three-game winning streak in its next game against Jamesville-DeWitt at home on Wednesday at 6:45 p.m. Nottingham’s first chance to bounce back is at home to Liverpool on Wednesday at 6.30pm.
“It just looked like we weren’t ready for that moment and we have to get better at it,” Kearse said. “We were too complacent today – we lingered. Maybe that was the wake-up call we needed.”
Leave a Reply