CBA Wins First Section Title in Six Years

Story and photos by Thomas Zhou

Syracuse, N.Y- During halftime CBA head coach Buddy Wleklinski reminded his players of how special they could be, as he had told them at the beginning of the season. Two quarters later, they finally lived up to that expectation.

Christian Brothers Academy used a strong second half to beat Jamesville-DeWitt, 69-46,  Sunday afternoon to win the Section III Class A  at SRC Arena. It marked the first CBA Section championship in six years.

"It's great," Wleklinski said. "This whole atmosphere and everything is just great for the kids to experience.

"We were talking about it in the locker room. It has been six years, so none of these kids were at CBA when the last time we won a sectional championship. It seems like a long time but I am really proud of this group."



Stroman sparks and CBA pulls away 

J-D's second leading scorer Dom DeRegis was held out of the game. According to Syracuse.com J-D head coach Bob McKenney said it was a "team issue" and would not elaborate.

Still the Brothers and the Red Rams traded the lead back and forth in the first half. J-D rallied from trailing 7-3 to a 11-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. After the Brothers had a 8-0 run in the second quarter, the Red Rams responded with a 5-0 run, cut CBA's cushion to two and forced a timeout.

That was when Monte Stroman began to take over.

Stroman hit three consecutive shots after the timeout. His spurt gave CBA a 30-24 lead at the half.

"Early in the game he got shut down," Wleklinski said. "It seemed he was like struggling to get into a flow. We got him in the end of the second of the quarter. ...We set up something for him. We were able to get it off a screen and he was able to get to the basket...The second half he was unbelievable. He is certainly a difference in the game."

A different Stroman helped CBA outscore J-D, 39-22, in the second half. Its man-to-man coverage stifled J-D’s offense.

"We picked up our defense really good," Stroman said. "We finally went offense as smoothly as defending. That's what we did."


Dunks and an MVP award

Stroman got his first dunk in the game off a fast break, putting the Brothers ahead by 15 late in the third quarter. Midway through the fourth quarter, his second dunk ignited the crowd.

Stroman accelerated from the baseline, soared into the air and hammered a one-handed dunk. He made the basket, drew a foul, and converted the free throw. The and-one play expanded CBA's lead to 59-39.

"It was kind of hard because he grabbed my arm," Stroman said. "I don't know how I still got it, but I did it. It was really nice. I usually don't do that."

Stroman finished with a game-high 18 points and earned the tournament MVP award. His  freshman teammate Charles Pride contributed 13 points off the bench.

J-D's Isaiah Williams finished the game with 10 points. The scoring ace hit his head against the backboard near the end of the third quarter when he lost control on a layup attempt. He left the game but returned in the fourth quarter. 

  

Other games

Class AA - Henninger 59, Bishop Ludden 51

Class B - Westhill 66, Syracuse Academy of Science 43

Class C - Waterville 53, Watertown IHC 50


Class D - New York Mills 40, Sackets Harbor 38 (OT)