Syracuse ITC boys basketball comes ‘together’ to spoil Ludden-Grimes star’s 30-point senior night

Syracuse, N.Y. – Institute of Technology at Syracuse Central left no doubt about which side of the city owns the rivalry this winter, completing a season sweep of Bishop Ludden-Grimes with a 65-61 road win that turned senior night sour for Gaelic Knights star Jahzar Greene despite his dazzling 30-point outing.

The victory, played out before a packed gym as the syracuse.com boys basketball Game of the Week, lifts the Class A No. 23 Eagles to 2-0 against the Class AAA No. 23 Knights and evens ITC’s overall mark at 12-5. Greene, who missed the first meeting—a 56-55 ITC squeaker on Jan. 11—returned to average form with a game-high 30, but the Eagles countered with balance, poise and a timely shooting burst from senior Antwan Aiken Jr.

“He needs so much attention because he can go out and score 50 if you let him. But our guys were really locked in,” ITC coach CJ Hodge said of Greene, who entered averaging better than 28 a night.

Locked in proved prophetic. After trailing by two at halftime and by six midway through the third quarter, ITC called timeout and promptly ripped off back-to-back triples from Aiken Jr. to flip momentum. The surge stretched into a 47-42 lead by the close of the third, and the Eagles opened the fourth on a 9-4 spurt that gave them just enough cushion to survive a frantic finish.

Aiken Jr., held scoreless in Tuesday’s 69-47 loss to defending Class B champion Marcellus, finished with 17 points on Friday. “He’s a big shot maker… we don’t win this game without him,” Hodge said.

The win also signaled a welcome departure from recent offensive trends. In their last three defeats, ITC had leaned heavily on seniors Nyquan Gilbert and Tyquanne Harris, who combined for 65.6 percent of the scoring. On Friday, seven Eagles recorded multiple field goals; Gilbert and Harris accounted for just 40 percent of the offense, freeing others to shine.

“We played team ball, we fought through adversity too,” Gilbert said. “We knew we couldn’t back down … so this win right here meant a lot.”

Hodge singled out seniors Azir Germany and Kaleal Richardson, plus junior Zier Nowell, for exceeding their season norms. “Huge efforts tonight by Zier Nowell… Azir Germany had huge rebounds and huge buckets… Kaleal Richardson stepped in and played magnificently,” he said.

The collective effort embodied the program’s one-word mantra: together. “After our loss, we came together to bond, and we all said what we had to work on,” Gilbert explained. “We call each other family. We all say ‘together.’ We’ve got to stay together in the end.”

As Gilbert spoke post-game, teammates surrounded him, echoing the sentiment that carried them to a signature road victory.

ITC returns to action Monday at PSLA @ Fowler. Bishop Ludden-Grimes, now 13-5, will try to rebound Feb. 13 against CBA.