Tuesday, March 27, 2018: J-E lacrosse ponders future; ex-PSAL star killed

   Leading off today: Jordan-Elbridge is off to a 2-0 start in boys lacrosse this spring, but that may be as good as it gets for the Eagles.

   The Citizen reported Tuesday that's because the administration is considering dropping the squad down to the junior varsity for the remainder of the season based a schedule that's about to get much tougher for a squad on which 20 of 23 players are 10th-graders or younger.

   "We're like a JV team and we're actually debating that," coach Rick Young said Monday. "We're going to have a meeting with the athletic director tomorrow to see if we stay varsity or go JV."

   Jordan-Elbridge has both a varsity and JV schedule in place. The Eagles are scheduled to face Central Square on Wednesday. Whether the team moved down or not, Young hopes the rebuild is brief.

   "We'll take our lumps for a year or two, and then hopefully we keep the program together -- and kids don't drop out -- and we'll be solid after that," Young said.

   Former PSAL star killed: Dwayne Brunson, an all-state basketball player for Cardozo in 2010, was shot to death outside of a bar in Wichita, Kan., on March 18. He was 27.

   Police were called to the Deuces Bar at around 2 a.m. and found a Brunson with multiple gunshot wounds, Wichita police Lt. Todd Ojile said. Brunson was taken into surgery and died at around 8:15 a.m.

   Brunson was with two other people at the bar when some kind of altercation took place, Ojile said.

   After graduating from Cardozo, where the 6-foot-7 forward helped the Judges reach the PSAL title game as a senior, Brunson attended Barton Community College and Fort Hays State University in Kansas.

   "He had numerous offers to go Division I, but he decided to stay close to (Kansas) because of the girl he (married) and didn't want to leave," Cardozo coach Ron Naclerio said.

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   LaSalle lands Audino: Former Union college coach John Audino has been hired to revive the football program at La Salle Institute.

   Audino, 64, who spent the past two seasons as an assistant at Columbia University, inherits a team coming off a 1-6 season.

   "I miss being a head coach. This was a great opportunity," he said. "I never really had a chance as a head coach to turn around a program. Even though this is a program in great need, I do see light at the end of the tunnel."

   Audino was 152-89 in 24 seasons at Union.

   LaSalle also announced the first phase of a facilities upgrade beginning with a new artificial turf field that will be ready this fall.

   Sec. 3 coaching carousel: Skaneateles girls basketball coach Camille Murphy has resigned after two seasons, citing differences with AD Steven Musso.

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   Murphy said the two clashed during a timeout late in a game when Musso told her she needed to substitute more as the Lakers led by 20 points. She also cited a post-season evaluation session that ended in an argument.

   Skaneateles went 6-14 in Murphy's first season and the 14-7 this year.

   "I enjoyed my time in Skaneateles. I didn't leave there sad or anything," Murphy said.

    •News of Murphy's departure came just two days after Bishop Ludden coach Nicole McManus stepped down after two seasons, both of which ended with sectional championships.

   "I decided it really wasn't a good fit for me," McManus said. "At the end of the day, my values weren't aligning with Bishop Ludden's."

   McManus said she felt that she didn't always get the support she needed from the school administration, and at times there were "too many hands" in the running of her program.

    •Liverpool girls basketball coach Kevin Brazell stepped down after four seasons, with the father of three saying he wanted more time with his family. Brazell's teams went 48-39 in four seasons, with a 15-7 record this winter.

   Extra points: In Western New York news, Mount St. Mary Academy has appointed James Pernick, Jr. as athletic director. He has more than 20 years of coaching experience in softball and baseball at the college, high school and club levels.