Catching fifth-ranked small school Depew after a loss made for an even tougher challenge for John F. Kennedy’s boys basketball team on January 24, as the Bears found themselves on the wrong end of a lopsided 80-43 non-league decision.

Depew, which lost in overtime to division rival Cheektowaga in its previous outing, came out on fire and was running the floor really well in building a 27-12 first-quarter lead. Six-foot-four senior Jaden Cotton, who is heading to UB next year to play football, scored 10 of his game-high 20 points in that opening frame to lead the Wildcats.

The Bears settled into the game in the second quarter and were much better defensively. Unfortunately, JFK — which shot just 30 percent from the floor and 38 percent from the free-throw line for the game — couldn’t cut into the lead and trailed, 37-22, at the break.

The third quarter was much like the first, however, as Depew continued to shoot the ball well. The Wildcats also started to wear down the Bears’ depleted squad of seven, outscoring JFK, 20-9, in the third quarter to take a commanding 57-31 lead into the final eight minutes.

“Depew really played very well offensively; they really have a lot of depth,” coach Tony Krupski said. “They are definitely a top 10 small school for a reason. We do like to play better competition in our non-leaguers to better prepare us for our league schedule and the postseason, but, unfortunately, we really didn’t compete against them like we are capable. Being a little short-handed is not an excuse. They have more skill and just flat-out played a lot better than we did.”

One bright spot for JFK was junior guard Eric Cartenuto, who had a career-high 12 points off four three-point field goals. He also had five rebounds.

Senior forward Ben Zaccagnino was the only other Bear in double figures, as he chipped in with 11 points, nine rebounds and a block. Ken Minorczyk added seven points and three rebounds, while Jimmy Quinn chipped in with four points, four rebounds, four assists and a block.

JFK (4-8 overall) traveled to Holland Tuesday, but information about that contest was not available at press time. JFK travels to Lackawanna Friday for a key divisional clash to close out its week.