Streaks need flawless effort to stop unbeaten Plainsmen

Saratoga Springs basketball coach Mitch Snyder has prepared a to-do list for tonight’s midseason Suburban Council showdown with unbeaten rival Shenendehowa.

It’s a rather lengthy list.

“We’ve got to play great defense. We’ve got to rebound and limit them to one shot. We’ve got to be aggressive at the other end and play our game,” said Snyder before Thursday’s practice. “We’ve got to do a lot of things right. It’s easier said than done.”

Niskayuna had a similar plan for its game against Shenendehowa Tuesday, and was humbled by the Section II’s only unbeaten Class AA team, 80-38.

“I watched them Tuesday. Niskayuna played so hard, and Shenendehowa made it look easy,” Snyder said of the state’s No. 11-ranked squad. “Shenendehowa is the only team in the league that’s been blowing people out like that.”

The Plainsmen nailed 12 three-point baskets, and held the Silver Warriors to single digits in the second and fourth quarters, in boosting their North Division-leading record to 7-0, and overall mark to 8-0. Sar­atoga won its sixth straight game Wednesday at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, 56-51, to extend its league and overall records to 7-1 and 8-2, respectively, heading into tonight’s home contest at 7.

Saratoga has been the league’s biggest surprise, forging its eight victories after losing seven seniors to graduation, including Jordan Stevens, a three-time Gazette All-Area first-team selection who is playing at Holy Cross.

“The big difference between us and Shenendehowa is we’re winning by two, three, four, five points, and they’re winning by 30,” Snyder said. “To the kids’ credit, we’ve gutted some games out.”

Snyder will be looking for another gritty performance tonight, like the one his Blue Streaks turned in last season when they dealt the Plainsmen their only league setback, 64-61. Shenendehowa took the rematch, 53-51, as part of its 20-game winning streak against Suburban Council opponents.

“If we were 1-8 and they were 7-0, it wouldn’t matter. It’s Shenendehowa and Saratoga, and these teams are going to get after it,” said Plainsmen coach Tony Dzikas. “They’ll be ready for us. It’s going to be a tough challenge. I’ve seen them a couple of times. They’re a physically strong team, they’re aggressive and they’ve got guys who can shoot.”

Eight Saratoga players have scored in double digits, with Mike McElroy (13.5 ppg.) netting 20 points Wednesday, and Brendan Haley producing a season-high 14. Tony DeLoatch and Zach Arpey (10.2 ppg) both delivered 17 points in last Friday’s 69-62 win over Averill Park.

“We’ve been getting a lot out of a lot of different kids,” said Snyder. “When guys have been held down, other guys have stepped up. When you can spread it out like that, it’s a tough scout for your opponent.”

When Snyder was scouting Shenendehowa Tuesday, he saw Dan Lee (14.6 ppg) score a career-high 27 points. The senior guard equalled his career best with six three-point baskets, two of them coming in a game-breaking 13-0, second-quarter run.

“We’re pretty good at finding ways to score,” said Dzikas, whose Plainsmen have generated over 60 points in every game but one. “Whether it’s from the foul line or connecting on threes, we’ve been pretty resilient. You take what you can get.”

Matt Miner (18.3 ppg) contributed 14 points for Shenendehowa Tuesday, Farshad Serrafi-Nour scored a season-high 12, and Jose Reyes (11.8 ppg.) chipped in with eight.

“They’re loaded. They can score from every position,” said Snyder. “We have to bother them and hope they shoot poorly, and we have to get those rebounds. We cannot afford to give up second shots.”

Rebounding is on Dzikas’ to-do list, as well.

“We have to rebound with them. We can’t let them beat us up on the boards. We can’t back down,” he said. “We also have to take care of the ball and play tough defense on the interior.”

Shaker is the lone Suburban Council team that has beaten Sar­atoga, 72-67.

“This is a good opportunity for us,” said Dzikas. “If we’re able to go into their gym a get a win, we’ll go two up in the division. It’s an opportunity we don’t want to squander.”

Shenendehowa seniors Manny Hernandez and Justin Barnett will both be sitting out their fourth and final game due to their violation of the school’s code of conduct while attending a New Year’s Eve party. Six members of Shenendehowa’s state-ranked varsity girls’ basketball team were also suspended for four games.

Tartans win

Sophomore Chris Zanta scored a season-high 15 points off the bench, and Scotia-Glenville handed South Glens Falls its first Foothills Council loss, 64-50, Thursday night.

Terell Winney scored 20 points in the Tartans’ seventh straight vic­tory, Matt Renko netted 10 and Tyler Ackley finished with eight points, 12 assists and seven rebounds.

“We’re right back in the league race,” said Scotia-Glenville coach Jim Giammattei, after his Tartans improved to 5-2 in the Foothills and 9-2 overall. “It was a great team effort that got us there.”

Scotia-Glenville held South Glens Falls (6-1, 7-3) to a season low point total, and became the first Section II team to beat the Bulldogs.

“We had great, great ball movement, and we got a tremendous defensive performance,” said Giammattei. “The kids were locked in.”

Jordan Greene led South Glens Falls with 14 points, Nate Uline scored 11 and Kevin Donahue had 10.

Queensbury (6-1, 7-3) pulled into a first-place tie with South Glens Falls by beating Gloversville, 61-45. Ryan Davis scored 20 points, Chris Coughlan had 14 and Queensbury pulled away in the second half for its fourth consecutive win.

Malcolm Mathias led the Dragons (4-3, 5-5) with 15 points, and Aaron Hall scored 13. Gloversville is 2-5 since its last-second victory over Scotia-Glenville.

Cameron Husain led 13 Johnstown scorers with 12 points, and the Sir Bills (4-3, 6-4) limited Hudson Falls to two first-quarter points in a 59-34 victory. Ryan Irish scored 17 points for the Tigers (0-7, 1-10).

Ben Spilman led a trio of double-digit scorers with 13 points, and Glens Falls (2-5, 2-9) dealt Broadalbin-Perth (1-6, 2-8) a 59-49 defeat. Tyler Wood and Connor Sheridan scored 10 points apiece for the Pat­riots.

Voorheesville (8-1, 10-1) used a 25-5 first-quarter run to beat Cobleskill-Richmondville, 66-37, in a Colonial Council game.

Ethan Mackey scored eight of his 14 points in the Blackbirds’ big opening quarter, and Nick Crawford scored seven of his 13 in the frame. Matt Williams paced the Bulldogs (5-4, 7-5) with 14 points.

The Loudonville Christian girls used an 11-2 fourth-quarter surge to overhaul New Lebanon, 44-42, in the Central Hudson Valley League.

BOYS

FOOTHILLS COUNCIL

SCOTIA-GLENVILLE 64, SOUTH GLENS FALLS 50

SCOTIA-GLENVILLE

Renko 4-0-10, Ackley 3-1-8, Davenport 3-0-7, Winney 7-1-20, Norton 2-0-4, Zanta 7-0-15. Totals: 26-2-64.

SOUTH GLENS FALLS

Weinberger 1-0-2, Greene 6-1-14, Donahue 3-3-10, LaBarge 1-1-3, Moreau 3-1-7, Uline 5-1-11, Barber 1-1-3. Totals: 20-8-50.

S-G 14 18 15 17 — 64

SGF  9 11 13 17 — 50

Three-point goals: Renko 2, Ackley, Davenport, Winney 5, Zanta, Greene, Donahue.

QUEENSBURY 61, GLOVERSVILLE 45

QUEENSBURY

Coughlan 3-7-14, Homkey 3-0-6, Davis 7-5-20, Johns 2-0-5, Agans 2-2-8, Cronin 2-3-8. Totals: 19-17-61.

GLOVERSVILLE

LeFever 3-2-9, Johnston 1-2-5, Mathias 5-4-15, Hall 5-1-13, Webber 0-1-1, Mulligan 1-0-2. Totals: 15-10-45.

Queensbury 20 6 20 15 — 61

Gloversville 15 8 14  8 — 45

Three-point goals: Coughlan, Davis, Johns, Agans 2, Cronin, LeFever, Johnston, Mathias, Hall 2.

GLENS FALLS 59, BROADALBIN-PERTH 49

BROADALBIN-PERTH

Gruet 1-0-2, Pratt 2-1-5, Wood 2-5-10, Pingitore 3-0-8, Sheridan 2-5-10, Breyo 3-0-6, LaPolt 2-0-4, Gage 1-0-2. Totals: 17-11-49.

GLENS FALLS

Wadleigh 2-8-12, Burgess 4-3-11, Girard 2-4-8, Eaglin 1-1-3, Spilman 4-5-13, Zurlo 3-1-8, Celeste 1-0-2, Behan 0-2-2. Totals: 17-24-59.

Broadalbin-Perth 15  5 11 18 — 49

Glens Falls 15 11 14 19 — 59

Three-point goals: Wood, Pingitore 2, Sheridan, Zurlo.

JOHNSTOWN 59, HUDSON FALLS 34

HUDSON FALLS

Ry. Irish 5-4-17, Kassie 0-1-1, Kelly 2-2-6, Granger 3-0-6, Ra. Irish 1-2-4. Totals: 11-9-34.

JOHNSTOWN

L. Husain 3-2-8, C. Husain 5-0-12, Roth 0-1-1, Christman 1-2-5, Yost 2-1-5, Chirichio 1-0-3, Doviak 4-0-8, Kelly 2-0-4, Salvione 1-1-3, Bruce 2-0-4, Quackenbush 1-0-3, Hillier 1-0-2, Holcomb 0-1-1. Totals: 23-8-59.

Hudson Falls  2  9 10 13 — 34

Johnstown 23 13 15  8 — 59

Three-point goals: Ry. Irish 3, C. Husain, ChristmanChirichio, Quackenbush.

COLONIAL COUNCIL

VOORHEESVILLE 66, COBLESKILL-RICHMONDVILLE 37

COBLESKILL-RICHMONDVILLE

Cacciola 2-0-6, Greene 1-0-2, Lindsay 1-0-2, Sommers 1-1-3, Westerveld 5-0-10, Williams 5-3-14. Totals: 15-4-37.

VOORHEESVILLE

Castren 2-2-8, Cashin 1-0-3, Noland 3-0-6, Crawford 6-0-13, Meilak 1-0-2, Keenan 3-0-8, Currier 4-0-10, Schuster 1-0-2, Mackey 7-0-14. Totals: 29-2-66.

Cobleskill-Richmond.  5  3 15 14 — 37

Voorheesville 25 19  8 14 — 66

Three-point goals: Cacciola 2, Williams, Castren 2, Cashin, Crawford, Keenan 2, Currier 2.

Wednesday

WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

FORT PLAIN 75, GALWAY 38

FORT PLAIN

Barhydt 4-0-10, Baker 4-1-10, Ray 3-0-6, Jackson 5-0-10, Yacowenia 4-5-13, Downes 1-0-2, Weaver 5-6-17, Kirkpatrick 0-1-1, Dettmer 0-2-2, VanAvery 1-2-4. Totals: 27-17-75.

GALWAY

Nulty 2-0-4, Powers 4-0-8, Sulten 2-0-4, Burdick 1-1-3, Wilday 1-0-2, Marshall 6-1-14, Best 1-1-3. Totals: 17-3-38.

Fort Plain 22 17 15 21 — 75

Galway  7 10  8 13 — 38

Three-point goals: Barhydt 2, Baker, Weaver, Marshall.

GIRLS

CENTRAL HUDSON VALLEY LEAGUE

LOUDONVILLE CHRISTIAN 44, NEW LEBANON 42

LOUDONVILLE CHRISTIAN

Burgher 4-0-8, Langston 7-0-14, Anderson 2-0-4, Wagner 4-1-12, Nicolaisen 3-0-6. Totals: 20-1-44.

NEW LEBANON

Houston 1-0-2, Furlano 9-1-19, Carpinello 5-7-17, Sears 2-0-4. Totals: 17-8-42.

Loudonville Christian  8  6 19 11 — 44

New Lebanon 18 11 11  2 — 42

Three-point goals: Wagner 3.

Categories: High School Sports