Revenge is the word that comes to mind when I think about the 57-54 win that Fayetteville-Manlius earned over Baldwinsville in the second-to-last game of the season and on Baldwinsville’s Pink Out night.
And that has a lot to do with F-M’s Nick Goodfellow, who continued to finish his high school basketball career strong and hit a three-pointer that forced overtime and gave his teammates an energy boost.
That shot came almost exactly 28 days after Baldwinsville hit the buzzer-beating three-pointer that erased the two-point lead that F-M (4-15) held with seconds left on their Pink Out night.
But, it was F-M’s turn to celebrate a clutch shot. The only problem was that celebrating wasn’t guaranteed because there was still a four-minute overtime period.
F-M’s victory was as intense as a high school game can be. Though the emotions that filled the gymnasium in the first meeting are nearly impossible to match, this game came close to doing just that.
The enclosed gym with very tight quarters added to the atmosphere. It became difficult to move around because spectators were literally shoulder-to-shoulder.
And the energy in the gym just increased more and more as the game went on.
The home crowd was rowdy and made sure that their enthusiasm echoed throughout the gym. However, F-M supporters filled the bleachers behind their team’s bench and assured themselves that their voices would be heard throughout the game.
Aside from having the biggest shot of the night, Goodfellow had a very good game. He finished the game with 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting and was 4-of-5 from three.
Another senior for F-M, Timmy Zapisek, adapted to the night and found what was and wasn’t working. Zapisek, unable to make a three, made his way and scored 20 points. The senior also grasped 11 rebounds.
And then Nick Papa was the difference-maker and had a breakout game. Papa ran the point well and gave head coach Jason Dudzinski a reason to look forward to next season. He finished with 11 points.
Papa made the most of his minutes and showed that he has a lot of potential at the point guard position, as he was a big part of F-M’s victory over Baldwinsville.
