Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017: Grimes rallies late to defeat Syracuse CBA

   Leading off today: Bishop Grimes may have pulled off the greatest escape of the boys basketball season Friday.

   Down eight points with 1:30 to play and on the road, the Cobras rallied to a 73-69 win over Syracuse CBA. Shawn Gashi made the game-winning 3-pointer for Grimes, ranked 25th in the state in Class A.

   Grimes guard Luciano Vigliotti finished with six 3-pointers and 26 points. CBA's Kevin Underwood poured in a game-high 38 points.

   A long time in the making: Ithaca earned its first Southern Tier Athletic Conference boys basketball championship since 1972 with an 81-69 win over Binghamton.

   Jordanny Cuevas Marte scored 21 points and Jordan Ayers finished with 18 for the Little Red.

   After Binghamton pulled within four points midway through the third quarter, Cuevas Marte answered with a three-point play and Cole Eells' offensive rebound set up Abe Phelan's 3-pointer. With a minute left in the quarter, Eells' 3-pointer made it 63-50.

   "When we go on runs, we rebound, get out and run and we get better shots," said Eells, who scored all 10 of his points after halftime. "That's just how we play."

   More boys basketball: Elijah Buchanan scored 28 points and Jacob Rodriguez added 20 points and 12 rebounds in Mount St. Michael's 73-64 victory over Archbishop Stepinac.

   Mount St Michael is ranked seventh and Stepinac 14th in the state Class AA ratings.

    • Bo Sireika's 3-pointer with 1:35 left in overtime gave No. 13 St. Francis the lead for good in a 54-53 win over No. 7 Park School in Buffalo-area action between ranked Class A clubs.

   In the previous meeting between the teams. St. Francis rallied from a 19-point halftime deficit en route to a 70-66 triumph in two overtimes.

    • Hunter Bodine made a Section 4-record 11 3-pointers and scored 45 points in Waverly's 85-54 win at Chenango Forks. Bodine scored 31 of his points in the first half, including 20 in the second quarter on the strength of six 3-pointers.

   Girls hockey final: Undefeated Skaneateles defeated Potsdam 5-1 in a NYSPHSAA semifinal game in Canton. Megan Teachout and Abby Kuhns scored twice apiece, and goalie Johna Halko made 12 saves for the Lakers.

   The Lakers' opponent in the final will be Frontier/Lake Shore/Orchard Park, a 5-1 winner over Beekmantown. Five different players scored for the winners.

   Girls basketball: Katie Titus had 20 points and 10 rebounds as No. 6 Our Lady of Mercy rolled past No. 20 Bishop Kearney 77-61 in Section 5 action between state-ranked Class AA schools.

   Ruth Koang added 18 points and seven rebounds.

   More NFA drama: Newburgh Free Academy girls basketball coach Rich Desiderio was escorted out of the school building Friday and told to have no contact with his team, The Times Herald-Record reported.

   "It seems to be par for the course," Desiderio told the paper, alluding to previous suspensions last season and early in the current season. "I don't really know exactly what's going on, to be honest with you."

   It is unclear whether Desiderio was fired or suspended at the start of the 2015-16 season, but he was reinstated by

the school board. Desiderio was re-hired as a co-coach with Matt Iorlano at the start of this season, and was again suspended in late November. The school board voted to reinstate Desiderio about two weeks later, and Iorlano decided not to coach the team anymore, the paper reported.

   Asked if he believes he has been in violation of any school policies, Desiderio replied, "No."

   Welcome to Division I: Chloe Wormsley arrived at Winthrop University in the fall virtually unknown to women's lacrosse coach Julika Blankenship. She was recruited out of Hilton as a defender by John Sung, who left in late May to take over at Virginia Tech.

   Wednesday may be the day Wormsley permanently ingratiates herself to Blankenship and the rest of the team. When Winthrop travels to Elon to open its season, Wormsley will be starting in goal after volunteering to shore up the injury-depleted position. Her only previous experience in the net was as an occasional fill-in for her Rochester-area club team.

   Projected backup goalie Sara McGuire has been sidelined since the fall following surgery, and Blankenship announced earlier this month that Alaina Girani will miss the entire season after suffering a broken foot. Girani is the reigning Big South defensive player of the year after leading Division I in save percentage last spring.

   "It's tricky losing a goalie that's so talented," Blankenship said. "There was no room for any one freshman to say, 'Oh, she's just a freshman, she can make mistakes.' There is no time for that."