Scotia’s offense goes through Clune

But senior Dan Clune was content to play the role of facilitator for the Tartans, rarely dribbling or even looking at the basket as he helped move the ball to his open teammates.

“I like to make the extra pass,” Clune said after a game in which he took one shot. “I can score, but I’d rather get my teammates the shots.”

Then, he laughed.

“They’re all much better shooters than me,” he added. “I have a lot more trust in them than my own shot, so I’ll make the extra pass every time.”

Clune helped Scotia on its way to an impressive 73-50 victory against Amsterdam in Foothills Council play. The senior ended up with a handful of assists on a night in which junior Christian Corker made four 3-pointers and senior Trevor Martin made six. Corker finished with 24 points, Martin had 22 and senior Sean DeGraffenreid added 21 for the Tartans, but Clune’s unselfish play helped make the Tartans go. 

“Dan’s a four-year varsity player that’s been on two state-championship teams,” Scotia head coach Jim Giammattei said of Clune, a reserve on the title-winning Tartans teams Joe Cremo led. “Dan does what Dan needs to do to win a game.”

What Scotia (5-0, 9-1) used to topple Amsterdam (4-1, 5-5) was quick ball movement to find open shooters. The Tartans connected on 5 of 8 shots from long-range in the first quarter and added two more treys in the second on their way to a 15-point halftime lead.

Often stationed near the foul line, Clune’s assertive passing directly set up some of those 3s. Other times, his passes set up a teammate to make the final pass to an open shooter.

“He’s very confident with the ball and it’s great to have someone like that to help our guards handle the ball,” Martin said of Clune.

Amsterdam started the game with a 4-0 spurt, but Scotia answered with a 21-6 finish to the first quarter. Scotia, which has won eight consecutive games, never trailed after midway through the first quarter against the Amsterdam program which snapped the Tartans’ 78-game winning streak inside of Section II play last January.

“But that’s in the past,” Corker said. “We’re looking forward.”

So, too, is Amsterdam. After a solid start to the season, the Rams have now lost three of their last four games. Besides 22 points from senior Anthony Aponte, Amsterdam head coach Tim Jones’ team took few positives from a matchup Friday in which his team trailed by 27 points after three quarters.

“The game was pretty well-played by [Scotia], and we have things to work on,” said Jones, whose team plays Scotia again on Feb. 3. “But, then again, we’re not going to abandon the ship, either.”

Junior Lou Fedullo added 10 points for Amsterdam, while senior Dale Stanavich had eight. In addition to his scoring output, Aponte also had nine rebounds for Amsterdam.

Corker, DeGraffenreid and Martin entered Friday’s game scoring 80 percent of Scotia’s points this season.

Meanwhile, Giammattei said he has confidence in role players such as Clune and senior Rickey Woodley to do the dirty work his team needs.

When it comes to Clune, Giammattei said he has confidence in the varsity veteran’s shot — but the coach enjoyed seeing Clune, who has scored in double figures three times this season, embrace his role of passer Friday night.  

“His role for this game,” Giammattei said, “he played it perfectly.”

 

Aponte 7-5-22, Fedullo 5-0-1, Gomez 1-0-2, Holloway 1-1-4, Muhammed 1-0-2, Spagnola 1-0-2, Stanavich 3-1-8. Totals: 18-9-50.

Corker 7-6-24, DeGraffenreid 9-2-21, LeMorta 1-0-2, Martin 8-0-22, Woodley 2-0-4. Totals: 27-8-73.

Three-point goals: Aponte 3, Holloway, Stanavich, Corker 4, Degraffenreid, Martin 6.