VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Cicero-North Syracuse boys basketball battles through delays to finish regular season 19-1
Robbie Munch: Central New York is being hit with snow storm after snow storm this month, creating postponements for many events. One being the final game of an 18-1 regular season for Cicero North Syracuse men’s basketball. After a one-day delay, C-NS played their ninth game in 22 days Wednesday. Head coach Kyle Martin is proving his team isn’t fazed, winning all 9 of those games and 14 straight.
Kyle Martin: It’s just getting better through adversity and learning how to win without a perfect preparation. I think that’s good for a team, I think that’s good for life, that everything’s not going to be smooth, and the guys handle it well.
Munch: The same school that produced Breanna Stewart has another star in the making. Senior Andrew Benedict is the second player in Cicero North history to score over 1,500 career points and he’s less than 300 points away from breaking the school record.
Martin: He doesn’t care about points, for a guy who scores a lot. He has the most wins of any player in C-NS history. So, everything he does is for wins, that’s all he really cares about. He’s not too flashy, he’s not on social media, he just wants to win basketball games.
Munch: Benedict picked up his 69th career win in their regular-season finale against Fayetteville-Manlius.
The senior standout scored 18 points with a season-high 4 three-pointers.
Andrew Benedict: Yeah, that’s a great accomplishment. All the points, the stats, that stuff matters; but wins are truly one of my greatest accomplishments.
Munch: Benedict can add to his scoring and win totals with postseason play beginning this weekend.
But after a second-place finish last year, the Northstar’s leader is more focused on a ring than a record. Reporting from Cicero, Robbie Munch NCC News.
MANLIUS, N.Y. (NCC News) — Cicero-North Syracuse boys’ basketball team has proven to be unstoppable. Despite postponements resulting from the brutal weather this winter, the team wrapped up an impressive 19-1 regular season record. A one-day delay meant C-NS had to play their regular-season finale on Wednesday, its ninth game in just 22 days. The Northstars beat Fayetteville-Manlius 75-49 for their 14th straight win. Head coach Kyle Martin said the postponements and little practice time are only improving his team.
“It’s just getting better through adversity and learning how to win without a perfect preparation,” said Martin. “I think that’s good for a team. I think that’s good for life, that everything’s not going to be smooth, and the guys handle it well.”
The star of the season has been senior Andrew Benedict, who has racked up more than 1,500 career points; the second Northstar in school history to accomplish the feat. He is now less than 300 points away from breaking C-NS’s all-time scoring record. Benedict is only focused on one thing, though: winning. The senior picked up his 69th career win on Wednesday, the most for one player in C-NS history.
“Yeah, that’s a great accomplishment,” said Benedict. “All the points, the stats, that stuff matters; but wins are truly one of my greatest accomplishments.”
On Wednesday, Benedict scored 18 points and tied his season-high for three-pointers with four. He also collected 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 steals.
“He doesn’t care about points, for a guy who scores a lot,” said Kyle Martin. “Everything he does is for wins, that’s all he really cares about. He’s not too flashy, he’s not on social media, he just wants to win basketball games.”
Benedict and C-NS will look to add more victories to his total during postseason play. After a runner-up finish last year, the Northstars are looking to finish the job and add a trophy to their newly renovated gym. C-NS is ranked as the number two seed in the Section III AAA playoffs and they will begin their campaign Thursday, February 27, against Baldwinsville at 6 p.m.