CENTRAL NEW YORK – Two games, and two victories, made it abundantly clear that the Fayetteville-Manlius boys basketball team was dead-set on having its ambitions hinge on the defense it plays. After holding Utica Proctor to 41 points in the Dec. 7 opener at the Peppino’s Invitational the Hornets were stingier in last Tuesday’s 57-26 romp at Chittenango. Even against a depleted roster without Ryan Moesch (who went off to prep school) and several other top seniors, F-M still exceeded expectations, never letting the Bears score more than eight points in any single quarter. F-M used a 36-15 push through the second and third periods to pull away, the attack well-balanced as Reilly Anderson earned 12 points, Boomer Kuss got 10 points and Jack Hearn added nine points. Another road trip, to Auburn on Friday night, resulted in another impressive victory, this one 66-38 as the offense began to play at the same level as the defense, especially during a 19-8 second quarter where F-M started to get away. Nearly half of the 19 points from Kuss came from a trio of 3-pointers. Brandon Blitz got 11 points, with Ryder Burns adding nine points and Charlie Schroder nine points. Following this up on Saturday F-M beat Section II’s Ballston Spa 54-47, inching out in front during the second half and then closing strong with defense plus an attack anchored by Kuss, who had 16 points, and Schroder, who got 15 points. East Syracuse Minoa opened its season against the reigning sectional Class B champions from Marcellus which went all the way to last March’s state title game in Glens Falls. The Spartans hung tough, but lost to the Mustangs 51-44, the visitors assuming a narrow 27-25 edge by halftime and never letting ESM put together any sustained run in the late going when it was needed. Anthony Bryant, with 12 points, led three ESM players reaching double figures. Rob Clifford had 11 points and Wuor Piok 10 points as Dom Gosh-Sandy (15 points) and Tucker Burnett (14 points) paced Marcellus. When ESM had its own game with Chittenango on Thursday night, it found itself tied 44-44 through three quarters before taking over down the stretch to beat the Bears 58-53. Tyler Quarry stepped up and led both sides with 17 points. Tommy Clonan did well, too, getting 11 points as Bryant earned eight points and Clifford contributed seven points. Jamesville-DeWitt came off back-to-back wins over Christian Brothers Academy and Bishop Grimes in the Peppino’s Invitational but could not carry that over to last Tuesday’s 65-54 defeat to Watertown. In the end the second quarter decided matters. The Cyclones outscored the Red Rams 18-4 in that frame, and even when J-D rallied and tied it 41-41 going to the fourth quarter, Watertown could absorb it and, down the stretch, went back in front for good. Alan Zanders got 16 points, with Eamon Giblin adding 12 points. Nate Johnson got eight points and Jack Hazelton seven points, while Watertown had four players in double figures led by Jack Adams’ 19 points and Kyle Daly’s 15 points. CBA finally had its full lineup on hand for the first time last Wednesday night – and it didn’t make any kind of difference against Cicero-North Syracuse, who handled the Brothers 62-36. A sectional Class AAA finalist last winter, the Northstars doubled CBA’s total in each of the first two periods, led 30-15 at halftime and kept pulling further away. The Brothers got very little production outside of Tavin Penix’s 17 points and Drew Britton’s nine points from a trio of 3-pointers. C-NS standout Andrew Benedict gained 24 points and 12 rebounds, with Nate Francis adding 18 points. Back in action Thursday night, Bishop Grimes faced Cortland and was well-contained by the Purple Tigers most of the night, Nate Abernethy held without a field goal as all three of his points came at the free-throw line. Still, a stingy Cobras defense helped it weather an early drought and never let the Purple Tigers score double-digit points in any quarter while on the way to a 47-31 victory. A.J. Wade got 13 points, Garang Garang adding eight points and Mike D’Agata getting seven points. Grimes then met Institute of Technology Central Saturday and trailed 52-43 going to the fourth quarter, only to outscore the Eagles 25-11 in those last eight minutes to snatch a 68-64 victory. Abernethy roared back to top form with 29 points and paced the Cobras’ comeback. Garang was strong, too, earning 19 points as Dan Shaw added seven points and Grimes improved it mark to 3-1.