EAST SYRACUSE – Area high school basketball fans got a twin treat early this week when strong, state-ranked teams from Bishop Grimes hosted their annual Martin Luther King Jr. Tournament and nearly got a sweep from both sets of Cobras. Grimes’ girls did win, backing up its no. 2 state Class B ranking first by outlasting West Genesee 58-53 in the opening round and then defeating Baldwinsville in the championship game a day later. Nothing about WG proved easy even as the Cobras managed to hold Wildcats star Bella Quinones to just two points. Grimes had fallen from the top spot in the state Class B rankings after its Jan. 10 defeat to Bishop Ludden but, after a week’s rest, stayed patient through a close first half with WG and led 26-25 at the break. Outscoring the Wildcats 19-14 in the third quarter, the Cobras then held on in by spreading out its attack more than it had shown all season, with four players in double figures. Sicily Shaffer led with 16 points, with Riley Abernethy earning 12 points. Olivia Bitz stepped up, too, her 11 points equaling the total of Aaliyah Zachery as Kierra Baxter earned eight points. For WG, Jordyn Townes led with 18 points, Alaina Dudzinski adding 13 points and Marianna Leslie getting 10 points. Now the Cobras faced Baldwinsville, who had overcome a slow start to defeat Marcellus 62-58 in its opening-round game but could not do the same here as, led by Shaffer, Grimes buzzed past the Bees 61-46. During a decisive first quarter B’ville produced well but Grimes was in top form, landing a 20-12 lead which it kept on growing as the game progressed. All along Shaffer proved too much for the Bees to defend, producing all game long and earning a season-best 27 points. Abernethy gained nine points, while Bitz and Baxter each got eight points. Maddy Polky (16 points) and Abigail Mantione (11 points) paced the Bees’ attack. As for the boys MLK Tournament, Grimes was successful in the opening round here, too, pulling away from St. Francis (Buffalo) and prevailing 64-45 on Sunday. Even with a 17-8 start, the Cobras did not really get away until the third quarter, when it nearly doubled the St. Francis total 20-11, the effort led by Nate Abernethy and Garang Garang, who each had 16 points. Bol Garang had seven points, a total that A.J. Wade and Daniel Shaw replicated. However, Monday’s championship game had a different ending as Marcellus, the reigning sectional Class B champions and no. 3 in the state poll, rallied and edged Grimes in a 63-59 overtime classic. All looked good for the Cobras as it took an early lead and built upon it, especially in the third quarter when the advantage grew to 44-34, the defense in top form. Yet Marcellus remained patient and, in the final period, turned the game around, using a 16-6 run to catch up and send the game to overtime 50-50. The four-minute extra period had lots of points, but the Mustangs took the lead and kept it. Abernethy had one of his best games of the season, managing 26 points to lead all scorers as Shaw earned 16 points and Bol Garang added nine points. The duo of Dom Gosh-Sandy and Tucker Burnett paced Marcellus with 22 points apiece.