When the official tossed the ball up, the Fayetteville-Manlius players, coaches, and supporters knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, but it looked like the Hornets underestimated how difficult it would be to actually beat Liverpool, as they lost, 72-41.
The loss, just like any loss, is disappointing if you care about F-M basketball, but this one puts an even bigger lump in your throat. Effort was concerning for the coaching staff, the players, and anybody else who follows Hornet basketball and was much of the reason why they found themselves down by so many,
Head coach Jason Dudzinski tried to nip that when the Hornets (4-6, 0-5) were falling behind partially because of the lack of effort and he pulled all of his starters with about five minutes left in the first half to send a message.
The Hornets did go on little run as Liverpool cleared its bench, but it didn’t matter when both teams put their starters in at the beginning of the third.
As it has been throughout the season, the biggest issue for F-M on Tuesday night was scoring. It was outscored 20-6 in the first quarter and couldn’t climb back into the game, whether it was because of the skill level of Liverpool (10-0, 5-0) or just those difficulties with scoring.
But it was just really similar to the Henninger game for the Hornets. When the green and white faced the Black Knights, they were able to control the tempo of the contest in the first half, but Liverpool made sure this was a fast game from the start.
That’s something that really hurt the Hornets throughout the game. On the offensive end, F-M wasn’t doing the things that have won it games in the past and had too many turnovers, allowing Liverpool to get into transition.
Additionally, jump shots hurt the Hornets. There were times when they would get a few feet from the basket and take a jump shot instead of going in for a layup and maybe getting fouled.
Breaking that habit and going for layups will be important for the Hornets moving forward. F-M faces West Genesee in an away matchup on Thursday and Liverpool hosts Baldwinsville Friday.
