DRYDEN — For the second straight sectional game, the Moravia boys basketball team held its opponent to 40 points or fewer.
The No. 3 Blue Devils defeated No. 2 Elmira Notre Dame, 67-40, Wednesday in the semifinals of the Section IV, Class C tournament at Tompkins Cortland Community College. Moravia will next take on No. 4 Delaware Academy on the same court Saturday in the sectional finals.
The Blue Devils' man-to-man defense stifled the Crusaders' offense out of the gate by allowing just 7 first-quarter points.
Though Moravia can play man-to-man defense in most of its matchups, that's not a luxury for the majority of its opponents. Head coach Todd Mulvaney told The Citizen why he believes that's the case.
"It's a combination of not just our physicality, but our quickness, our ability to handle the basketball (and) shoot the basketball. It's a tough matchup to guard us man-to-man. Teams elect usually to go 2-3 to take their chances, kind of keep us contained," he said.
The Crusaders chose to defend in a 2-3 zone at the beginning, which did little to stop the Blue Devils.Â
Behind three 3-pointers and 11 first-quarter points from Logan Bell, Moravia jumped out to a 13-point lead at the end of the quarter. Though Bell scored two points the rest of the game, he gave the Blue Devils the boost they needed and helped ignite his teammates.
"We ride off each other's energy," Bell told The Citizen. "After I stopped shooting those, the other guys started getting going, too. It really works out. We go off each other, and it works out well."
Kyler Proper took the baton in the second quarter by scoring 7 of his team's 19 points and growing Moravia's lead to 27.Â
The Crusaders responded before halftime with a 13-7 run that cut their deficit to 21 at the half.
Both offenses went cold in the first four minutes of the second half as the teams combined for 8 points. Despite the Blue Devils' offense sputtering momentarily, they prevented the Crusaders from whittling into their lead.Â
Abram Wasileski helped reignite Moravia's offense in the second half, scoring 9 of his team-high 15 points.
Moravia held the Crusaders at bay in the fourth quarter to hold on for the 23-point victory.
The Blue Devils finished the game with seven made 3-pointers, which helped add to their dynamism.Â
"Those guys that have that role on our team, when they're going, it makes us really hard to stop. We can get to the basket, but then also you have to respect our perimeter game. Those guys have been working really hard to improve that throughout the year, and it obviously paid dividends tonight, especially in that first quarter," Mulvaney said.
Proper and Aiden Kelly finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Drew Nye scored 8.
With Delaware Academy now in Moravia's path to a sectional title, Mulvaney highlighted one area where his team will have its work cut out.
"We have our hands full with their size and being able to control the boards and rebound the basketball," Mulvaney said. "That's going to be the point of emphasis for us the next few days as we prepare."
Gallery: Moravia boys dominate Elmira Notre Dame, advancing to section final
Sports reporter Jacob Urish can be reached at jacob.urish@lee.net or (315) 282-2288.