Fulton's fans were 'huge part' of victory over boys basketball rival Central Square

Fulton’s gym was packed Thursday night for a highly-anticipated boys basketball matchup against Oswego County rival Central Square.

The Red Raiders trailed by as many as 15 points midway through the second quarter, but used a 15-0 run to close the first half, and set up 52-51 victory over the Redhawks in a Salt City Athletic Conference matchup.

“As we cut down their lead from 15 to 13, our crowd got loud. When it was cut from 13 to 10, it got louder,” Fulton head coach Sean Broderick said. “Our fans never gave up on us. There’s no doubt when you’re talking about a one-possession game with that kind of atmosphere, it just made our guys play harder, made them feel like the game was never over. They were a huge part of that win.”

G. Ray Bodley High School (Fulton) and Paul V. Moore High School (Central Square) are only separated by about 15 miles in Oswego County. Central Square also had a large contingent of fans that made the trip to support their team.

“Their part of the stands behind their bench was full of Central Square fans,” Broderick said. “Parts of it probably felt like a home game (for them) because they had a lot of people there who were loud and they did a great job of trying to mitigate our home crowd.”

The Red Raiders have won their last six matchups against the Redhawks dating back to the 2020-21 season, but the last four games has been decided by single digits.

“There’s so many really good teams in our league that it’s hard to call one a rival,” Broderick said. “But because of the proximity, and because of the competitive nature of all of our games, especially recently, there’s no doubt, it’s become a game that both teams look forward to.”

After going into halftime with a tie score, Fulton and Central Square competed in a back-and-forth battle in the final two quarters.

Fulton closed out the final 90 seconds of the game with key buckets by junior guard Aidan Baldwin. He finished one at the rim and knocked down a floater to secure the one-point victory over Central Square.

“We just ran the same set for Aiden,” Broderick said. “During one of the timeouts we said, ‘just get to the rim and be fundamental.’ And that’s what he did. He just got the ball on the wing, got some momentum, got downhill and finished at the rim. It’s a play where one kid makes the basket, but four other guys executed perfectly.”

Senior Sam Cotton and junior Tyler Ditton each finished with 14 points for the Red Raiders. Baldwin chipped in 11.

“Our guys do what they’ve done all year,” Broderick said. “We have such great leadership. They just don’t flinch and no matter what the scoreboard says, I think they always feel like they got a chance to win. And as a coach, you just feel really good walking out on the floor on game night when you got guys like that.”

Three players scored in double figures for Central Square. Sophomore Collin Kees had 15 points, senior Trevor Boyce finished with 13, and senior Shane Berquist added 11 for the Redhawks.

Central Square (5-3) will look to get back in the win column when it hosts Institute of Technology Central at 6:30 p.m. Monday.

Fulton (4-3) will try to add to its two-game win streak during a 6:30 p.m. matchup at Carthage on Monday.

“I know (Carthage has) three players who can all score, at least one that’s had a 40-point game and a couple 30-point games,” Broderick said. “They’re scoring a lot of points. I know our guys will have to be ready for a team that’s won a bunch of games, is very skilled and very athletic. Going to their gym is no doubt going to be a challenge for us. That being said, we got a group of guys that really embrace challenge.”

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