The No. 16 Cincinnatus boys basketball team trailed for 31 minutes, 59 seconds Friday night, but held a lead when it mattered most.
Zack Streichert went 1-for-3 from the foul line with 0.4 seconds left on the clock to give Cincinnatus a 61-60 lead, its first of the night, in a win over No. 17 Morrisville-Eaton in the play-in round of the Section III Class C playoffs at Cincinnatus Central School.
Cincinnatus will now face No. 1 Cooperstown at 7:30 p.m. Monday on the road.
The ball looked like a pinball late, with neither team being able to secure control after a John Schuyler floater tied the game at 60 with 32 seconds left. Morrisville-Eaton got possession after a jump ball with 12.2 seconds left, but Streichert came away with a steal with about five ticks to go.
The Cincinnatus junior took three dribbles and fired a halfcourt shot, but was ran into by a Maverick defender, setting himself up for three free throws with a chance to win.
“I knew I had to get down the court as quick as I could,” Streichert said. “There was no point in passing it around, the ball needed to get up the court. I just hoped for the best and luckily I got fouled.”
Officials put 0.4 seconds on the clock after the clock initially hit triple zeroes. Streichert made the first, missed the second and intentionally missed the third. He threw a laser at the rim on the third shot, but missed the rim entirely.
“I knew straight away I needed to make one and I was trying to make two,” Streichert said. “The third one, missing intentionally, I was definitely trying to do. I messed that one up a little bit, but I had a lot of confidence.”
Morrisville-Eaton called a timeout before inbounding the ball, but the full-court pass rolled off Riley Dooley’s hand and hit the side wall without going in play.
Cincinnatus trailed 43-42 through three quarters, but Morrisville-Eaton built a 53-44 lead midway through the fourth. Jack Stafford and John Schuyler both knocked down big 3-pointers as the Lions came back following a couple inspirational timeouts from head coach Jim Halstrom.
“They understood the purpose of the game,” Halstrom said. “If you want to keep playing you’ve got to make plays. The last two minutes, we made a lot of good plays. We got down seven and it didn’t look very good, and we just kept fighting. They have a lot of internal fortitude, all those guys.”
Cincinnatus and Morrisville-Eaton played in the first round of the Fabius-Pompey Holiday Tournament on Dec. 28, with the Mavericks pulling out a 56-43 win. Halstrom said the first half was a “carbon copy” of the first game, with Morrisville-Eaton punishing Cincinnatus inside and the Lions struggling to knock down shots.
“We just gave up too many easy shots,” Halstrom said. “We weren’t stiff enough on defense and they got too many easy shots and they made them.”
Schuyler and Stafford kept Cincinnatus alive in the first half, with Schuyler scoring 10 points before halftime and Stafford making two triples. Stafford then buried four shots from deep in the third to give the Lions a chance in the fourth.
“My teammates will always have my back and I’ll always have theirs,” Stafford said. “We’ll pass the ball around and eventually it’ll get to the hot hand. John came around and Zack came around at the right moments, I just had to make my threes.”
Stafford made his 150th career 3-pointer Friday night and knows when he gets hot, he has to keep letting them fly.
“I stand by Wayne Gretzky’s quote, ‘You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take,’” Stafford said. “Shooters shoot.”
Cincinnatus struggled mightily to put the ball in the basket early, with shots rolling in and out and clanging off the rim with regularity.
“We were concerned we didn’t do more in the first half, but we weren’t concerned about our shooters because we knew if we spread the floor out and started being a little more patient offensively, we’d get shots and I knew we could make them,” Halstrom said.
The Lions also had to play most of the game with TJ Walker on the bench. Walker picked up three first-half fouls, got a fourth early in the third and his fifth came on his first possession after re-entering late in the fourth. That left Halstrom to rely on Bob Turshman, Collin Holtmart, Jacobee Eldridge and Mike Schifilitti to fill the minutes.
“They didn’t make a big impact on the box score, but they gave us valuable minutes,” Halstrom said. “I was going two minutes at a time and they all had positive minutes in there. I was trying to keep everybody fresh because it’s tough for some of those guys who haven’t played a lot.”
Stafford knocked down seven threes for 21 points, Schuyler recorded 20 points three makes from deep, Streichert had 11 points with two made 3-pointers, Trevor Shevalier contributed seven points and Turshman notched two points for the Lions.
Cincinnatus is facing a tall task next, with Cooperstown sitting at a perfect 20-0 and holding the No. 2 spot in the state’s Class C poll.
“We wanted to keep playing and show Cooperstown what we’re made of,” Stafford said. “We have nothing to lose next game.”
BOYS BASKETBALL
No. 3 BISHOP GRIMES 91, No. 14 HOMER 49
Kaden Durham went for 17 points and Max Franco scored 12, but Homer faced a 34-8 deficit after a quarter and was down 80-35 through three in a season-ending loss. The Trojans finish with a 4-15 mark.
Ryan Beard made two threes and scored nine points, Jack Brady, Graydon Hickey and Dane Francis all notched three points and Benny Wilbur had two points for Homer.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
No. 4 CBA 57, No. 13 HOMER 37
Homer got down 23-2 after a quarter and couldn’t recover despite 15 points on five 3-pointers from Anya Gofkowski. The Trojans close their season with a 7-13 record.
Lauren Franco contributed 10 points, Makenna Pym scored six points, Maddie Morgan made a three, Kennadie Taylor netted two points and Izzy Small had one point for Homer.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
BOYS BASKETBALL
No. 16 Cincinnatus at No. 1 Cooperstown, 7:30 p.m. Monday
No. 15 Sandy Creek at No. 2 Tully, 6 p.m. Monday
No. 13 Marathon at No. 4 Newfield, 6 p.m. Tuesday
No. 11 Lyme at No. 3 DeRuyter, 6 p.m. Wednesday
No. 8 Southern Cayuga or No. 9 Deposit/Hancock at No. 1 Moravia, 6 p.m. Feb. 28
No. 4 Walton/Downsville or No. 5 Chenango Forks at No. 1 Dryden, 6 p.m. March 4
GIRLS BASKETBALL
No. 12 LaFayette at No. 5 Tully, 2 p.m. today
No. 13 Marathon at No. 4 Elmira Notre Dame, 6 p.m. Wednesday
No. 6 McGraw at No. 3 Sackets Harbor, 6 p.m. Wednesday
No. 14 Oxford at No. 3 Moravia, 6 p.m. Wednesday
BOYS WRESTLING
New York State Championships, Feb. 28 and March 1 at MVP Arena, Albany
GIRLS WRESTLING
New York State Championships, Thursday at MVP Arena, Albany
INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Section IV Championships, 2 p.m. Sunday at Cornell University
Section III State Qualifier, Tuesday at Onondaga Community College
