It was a night of mixed emotions for Ken Dagostino.
On the one hand, Dagostino was thrilled his Mohonasen boys basketball team won its first Suburban Council game since the 2003-04 season when the Mighty Warriors edged Guilderland 45-44 Friday.
On the other hand, it pained him that it came at Guilderland’s expense.
That was very awkward, said Dagostino, who was Ron Osinski’s assistant at Guilderland before he took the Mohonasen job last year. `First and foremost, Ronny’s my friend, not my competitor. He’s a hall of fame coach, and he always has his team prepared. And he’s got a heck of a team. That’s a great win for Mohonasen, but again, it was awkward.`
`I’m sure it’s tougher on him, but it’s always tough to beat someone you know well,` said Osinski. `We’d been on the same sideline for so long, and now he’s on the opposite side.`
The way the game was decided made it all the more awkward for Dagostino. Guilderland (1-1 league, 3-1 overall) had two chances to win the game in the final five seconds. The initial shot by Steve Doak rattled off the rim into Brett Marfurt’s hands, but his putback attempt also rimmed out as the buzzer sounded.
`Some you win, some you lose,` said Osinski. `Some you make, and some you don’t.`
The missed shot capped a night of frustration for Marfurt and the Dutchmen. Marfurt, who had been the team’s leading scorer, finished with only six points, and the rest of Guilder-land’s starters struggled with their shooting. Only Mark Domaracki had a good game for the Dutchmen, finishing with 28 points.
`I’d have to say we did everything right the last 45 to 50 seconds of the game,` said Osinski. `Other than that, I can’t say we did anything well.`
Mohonasen (1-1, 3-1) had a more balanced attack. Cameron Couball scored 15 points, Jordan Macejka contributed 12 points and Pat Barnes added eight points.
`We played very much under control, and we used the shot clock very well,` said Dagostino. `I don’t think we had too many wasted opportunities.`
Guilderland looked to get back on track Tuesday when it visited Colonie, while Mohonasen looked to build on its first league win in three years when it played Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake.
`We needed to beat a top team,` said Dagostino. `We needed a win, but to keep our program going in the right direction, we needed to beat a top team.`
Osinski believes Mohonasen is on its way to being a top team itself.
`Kenny’s doing a good job over there, and that happens to be a good team,` he said. `I think we’ll be the first of many (Suburban Council) teams that they will beat.`
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