Cicero-North Syracuse boys basketball coach Kyle Martin said junior guard Andrew Benedict has a pass-first mentality and knows how to find his teammates in the right spots.
On Wednesday night, the 6-foot-3 playmaker found himself in the right spots during a 71-55 victory over Fayetteville-Manlius.
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Benedict knocked down four 3s — making him the program's all-time leading 3-point shooter — and finished with a season-high 30 points.
"He lets the game come to him and he's a big passer and a rebounder and he guards," Martin said. "He wasn't scoring a lot early, but his scoring has gone way up lately, and he scores super efficiently. He's not really a volume shooter or anything like that. He shoots a really good percentage. It's over 50% on the season."
The Northstars also got double-digit scoring efforts from senior Michael Gallo (11 points) and junior Nathan Francis (10 points). Eight different players scored for the Northstars.
"When (Benedict) gets going, it makes it a lot easier for us," Martin said. "We have other guys he can get going. It makes it easier on him. He wants to make the right basketball play at all times. If you're open, he's going to find you. So when he's open, guys want him to shoot and guys get really excited when he shoots because they think it's going to go in."
Benedict surpassed the 3-point record set by Dan Benz in 2005. Benz finished his high school career with 116 made 3s before heading to Williams College where he was a four-year starting pitcher on the baseball team.
In Wednesday's game, the Northstars found separation from the Hornets with a 20-10 second quarter. That was enough to give C-NS a lead they would never surrender, but Martin said his team could have been a little sharper after returning from a five-day layoff.
"It was a little sloppy, I think just coming back from break," he said. "We've played one game in about 13 days, so just inactivity ... it was a little sloppy for everyone, but we fought through it. We hit enough shots versus their zone and made enough stops versus their flex to get the win."
F-M was paced by three seniors who each scored in double figures. Christopher Cleary finished with 18 points, Chris Shanguhyia had 12 and Sean Kellish chipped in 11.
The Hornets (4-6) next host Henninger at 7:15 p.m. Friday. The Hornets have won three of their last five matchups against the Black Knights since 2021.
C-NS (8-1) hit the road to face Central Square at 6:45 p.m. on Friday. The Northstars have edged the Redhawks in five straight matchups dating back to 2011.
The Northstars will look to continue their four-game win streak which began after a 63-60 overtime loss to Liverpool on Dec. 15.
"They really like each other," Martin said. "They really like playing for C-NS. They really just want to maximize every day and enjoy it because they know it's going to be over soon one way or another. They just stay motivated just by being in the gym and being around each other. They really enjoy it and it makes every day great for us."
