Tashaun Newsome had missed his previous foul shots when he stepped to the free throw line with 0.8 seconds left and his Colonie Garnet Raiders down by one point.
Newsome lined up his first attempt and swished it home. Then, he did it again. And for good measure, he did it a third time to give the Garnet Raiders a 51-49 Suburban Council victory over Shaker Friday night in Latham.
Colonie’s win avenged a 54-47 home loss to its crosstown rival Dec. 19.
It was a good game, said Colonie coach Doug Kilmer. `It had some back-and-forth action.`
`It was a tough one for us,` said Shaker coach Jeff Holmes. `I thought we played hard, and they played hard, too.`
The key sequence of events started when Newsome made a three-pointer with 20 seconds left to pull Colonie (8-5 league, 11-6 overall) within a point. Shaker’s Brian Hooks was fouled at the other end of the court, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one, and the Garnet Raiders grabbed the rebound.
`We felt pretty good with Hooks at the line because he’s normally a good foul shooter,` said Holmes.
Newsome brought the ball up the court, stopped and launched a long three-pointer. The ball clanged off the back of the rim, but Newsome was fouled on the shot.
`We didn’t want to foul him,` said Holmes. `We were thinking he was going to the basket, and he takes a difficult (three-point) shot. We go straight up to defend it, and we get called for the foul.`
Undaunted by his earlier free throw shooting troubles, Newsome confidently strode to the foul line and made his three shots to give Colonie its first lead since the latter stages of the third quarter.
`When he got up, he looked at me and said, ‘Coach, I’m making all three of these.’ That was an excellent mental battle he went through,` said Kilmer.
Newsome finished with 18 points, while Jim Bacher contributed 14 points for the Garnet Raiders, who moved into a tie with Shenendehowa for second place in the Suburban Council Blue Division. Ryan Dare had 13 points, Pat Fallon chipped in 12 points and Hooks added 11 points for the Blue Bison (7-6, 8-9).
Both town teams finished up their regular seasons Tuesday with divisional games. Colonie traveled to Shen to determine who finished as the runner-up behind Saratoga, while Shaker visited the first-place Blue Streaks.
`Hopefully, we’ll regroup and finish strong,` said Holmes.
Eagles end with perfect record
In other boys basketball action Friday, Loudonville Christian wrapped up a perfect Central Hudson Valley League season with a 58-52 win at Berlin, while Christian Brothers Academy kept its Big 10 record spotless with a 68-43 victory over Troy.
Loudonville Christian (14-0 league, 16-3 overall) struggled with Berlin’s defense through the first three quarters before taking flight with a 22-point fourth quarter. The Eagles used a balanced attack, led by Matt Smith’s 16 points.
Bobby Camilleri contributed 13 points, and David Suski added 12 points for Loudonville Christian.
In Troy, CBA (13-0, 17-0) jumped out to a 17-6 lead in the first quarter and sealed its victory by outscoring the Flying Horses (7-6, 10-7) 22-10 in the third quarter.
Greg Holle had 25 points, and Malcolm Austin added 12 points for the Brothers, who hosted Catholic Central Tuesday night.“