Jason Dudzinski’s Fayetteville-Manlius Hornets had their home opener spoiled when they faced Buddy Boeheim and Jamesville-Dewitt, as they lost 67-58.
Boeheim’s 35-15 performance out-duelled the Hornets, who “fought very hard” after getting into foul trouble, as a spectator stated after the game.
When the ball was inbounded to begin the second half of play, J-D created some separation and turned a 2-point halftime lead into the lead of 9 that they held at the end of three quarters.
Despite the big night from J-D, F-M’s student section was “loud and proud,” said one of F-M’s students who was at the game. The junior went on to say that a fraction of the crowd left before the final buzzer sounded, which is unfortunate.
But the seniors of F-M accepted the challenge that Dudzinski has purposing to them since the first day of practice. They found a way to lead the team and it was mainly their performance on the court.
Timmy Zapisek gave Dudzinski what he needs from him offensively. Zapisek made two of the four free throws that he took and hit three shots from behind the arc and finished with the 19 points led the Hornets in that category.
His felłow senior, Jawaan Crouch, had a very good all-around game and found a way to do a little bit of everything. He converted on both of his free throws and was 7-12 from the field, leading to 17 points. Crouch also finished with four rebounds, a steal, an assist, and a block.
Center Henry Josephson really helped F-M try to repair the early-season rebounding issues. Josephson gobbled up 14 rebounds, five of which were offensive, to go along with his four points and four assists.
Junior Ryan Salzberg gave a lot of effort but struggled to connect with the bottom of the net. He was 3-11 from the field with seven points and made a three while accounting for two rebounds and six assists
Struggles on the defensive end overpowered the great Fayetteville-Manlius offense and led to a loss to Jamesville-Dewitt, their third of the year.
