Section III high school basketball has returned to Central New York, highlighted by Wednesday night's showdown between two of the more prominent boys basketball programs in the area.

Corcoran won its first Sectional Championship in 20 years during March of 2020 -- a team that featured the program's all-time leading scorer in DeJour Reaves.

Fast-forward almost a year later, and quite a bit has changed -- not just for the Cougars -- but also with the world.

COVID-19 has become front and center as a worldwide public health crisis, halting Corcoran's chance to move on and attempt to win a New York State Championship.

Corcoran's new head coach debuted Wednesday night in Tyquan Horton, a former Cougars star basketball player and 2000 graduate of the program.  

As for Cicero-North Syracuse, the Northstars revamped their coaching staff with the hiring of former SUNY Purchase head men's basketball coach Kyle Martin.

Martin made his debut Wednesday night as well, accompanied by assistant coaches Brandon Hanks and Beth Bonin.

Hanks, if you recall, made national headlines as a Syracuse City Police Officer who challenged inner-city youth to 1-on-1 basketball games, and if he lost, he would buy a brand new set of sneakers for the youngster.

Alongside Hanks is Beth Bonin, a recent addition to the Northstars coaching staff and former C-NS star herself who later starred at the Division-II level.

C-NS's new coaching staff paid off in a big way Wednesday night, as the Northstars took the early lead and never looked back, earning the 57-43 win over the defending Sectional Champions in convincing fashion.

Kevin Felasco led all scorers with 14 points in the Northstars big win, who will next host West Genesee on Friday night.

Cicero-North Syracuse