CENTRAL NEW YORK – While it already had seven wins in the books this winter, the Fayetteville-Manlius boys basketball team’s eighth win was the most exciting and satisfying so far. Trailing most of last Thursday night’s game at reigning sectional Class AA champion West Genesee, the Hornets made up all the ground and, with a clutch shot from Reilly Anderson, pulled out a 48-47 victory over the Wildcats. Even though F-M carried a 7-2 mark into the game, it had not played in nearly two weeks since a Jan. 3 win over East Syracuse Minoa and would face WG without one of its top scorers, Boomer Kuss, in the lineup, his season ended due to injury. The combination of a tough Wildcats defense and hot shooting from Aidan Phelan, who was on his way to 25 points, helped it overcome an early deficit in the second quarter as it outscored the Hornets 18-7 to lead 27-22 at the break. Both teams went cold in the third period, but though F-M was limited to six points it stayed within range and then, in the fourth quarter, chipped away at the Wildcats’ 36-28 advantage until it had a chance in the closing seconds. With 13 seconds to play and WG only in front 46-45, Jack Cosamano was fouled. He missed the first free throw but made the second, extending the Wildcats’ lead to two. Immediately after, the Hornets inbounded it to Reilly Anderson, who dribbled to the right side, faked out a defender and then hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left, which proved the game-winner. Anderson finished with 16 points as he and Ryder Burns, with 15 points, carried the F-M offense most of the way. Nate Conley added six points as the Hornets held one of WG’s top players, Kolton Castrello, to just three points. F-M’s defense held Castrello to three points, negating the 25 points put up by Phelan and 13 points from Jake McMahon. Anderson (16 points) and Ryder Burns (15 poins) carried the Hornets’ attack. Bishop Grimes bounced back from a Jan. 10 defeat at Bishop Ludden by going to Skaneateles last Wednesday and battling its way to a 70-61 victory over the Lakers. Still at no. 14 in the state Class A rankings, the Cobras nearly saw a 19-12 first-quarter lead disappear by halftime, but regained control outscoring Skaneateles 20-12 in the third quarter to account for most of its eventual winning margin. What’s more, even with Nate Abernethy held to seven points, the offense flourished thanks to Bol Garang stepping up to net 25 points as Garang Garang finished with 23 points. Reid Danforth led the Lakers with 21 points, six rebounds and six assists as Jack Peenstra got 11 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. Christian Brothers Academy took a 5-5 record into the weekend but lost twice, starting Friday at Westhill where it was shut down for long stretches of a 56-38 defeat to the reigning sectional Class A champions. Held to four points in the first quarter, the Brothers could not recover from this despite Tavin Penix managing 21 points. No other CBA player had more than the five points put up by Ben Anderson. Then CBA Syracuse met CBA Albany on Saturday, with many players on both ends remembering the epochal football state Class AA final they played a month earlier won by Brayden Smith’s last-second touchdown pass to Darien Williams. No miracle happened here, though, at least for CBA Syracuse, who lost by a score of 50-40. Manlius Pebble Hill lost twice early in the week, falling first to LaFayette 56-37 despite 14 points from Tyler Wladis and then taking a 61-41 loss to Altmar-Parish-Williamstown for its ninth consecutive defeat before falling 47-39 to Mater Dei Academy on Friday night, most of the production coming from Dash Goode’s 21 points.