Without head coach Mike Lewis, Baldwinsville boys basketball picked up a 63-58 upset win at Cicero-North Syracuse on Friday night.
JV coach Brett Charbonneau filled in for Lewis, who is out with Covid. Charbonneau maintained his role with the JV squad this week before coaching the Bees to their third win of the season.
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"Credit to these guys. Because we're missing our coach, I can only be at practice so much," Charbonneau said. "(The Northstars) run that pick and roll, and we were ready for it. I think we surprised some people."
After opening their season with a win over Jamesville-DeWitt, the Bees (3-6, 2-3 SCAC) lost six of their last seven games before beating the Northstars (7-4, 2-3 SCAC).
At C-NS, Baldwinsville led by as many as 17 points in the second half. Jason Bifulco led the Bees with 24 points. Eli Taft scored 19, and Gregory Marinelli scored 14 as Baldwinsville's third player to finish in double-digits.
"Obviously, C-NS is a really good team, so I'm proud of our guys for coming in as the away team and getting the win," Taft said.
Charbonneau said Baldwinsville's defense was the key tonight, but the Bees connected offensively with patient passing and consistent scoring. Bifulco scored 20 points in a dominant first half, putting the visitors ahead 33-26 at halftime.
"We were just running our sets well, teammates were getting me the ball in places I could score and I was just finishing around the basket," Bifulco said. "That's all there is to it."
In the second half, Taft played hero with 16 points and four 3-pointers. Charbonneau said the Bees know they have skilled shooters despite struggles earlier this season.
"I love shooting threes," Taft said. "I feel like I'm really comfortable shooting threes."
The Northstars shriveled Baldwinsville's lead to just three with 15 seconds left. But the Bees won the late foul and free throw game.
C-NS has now lost its last two games after starting the season with five straight wins.
"We're just not executing," C-NS coach Kyle Martin said. "We're having a bad stretch right now and hopefully we can snap out of it."
