The Colonie boys basketball team resembled a car running on fumes at the end of Sunday’s Section II, Class AA quarterfinal game against Bishop Maginn.
The Garnet Raiders offense a well-oiled machine in the second and third quarters sputtered and stalled down the stretch, which allowed the Golden Griffins to pull away for a 67-59 victory at Albany’s TU Center.
`It was more a lack of endurance (than anything else),` said Colonie coach Doug Kilmer. `We don’t play deep into our bench, and you get (tired) running up and down that big court.`
Tashaun Newsome did his best to carry Colonie (14-8). The junior guard, who transferred from Bishop Maginn last summer, scored 25 points and dished out several assists to put the Garnet Raiders in position to win the game.
Unfortunately for Newsome and the rest of the Garnet Raiders, Bishop Maginn was too tough down the stretch. The trio of Talor Battle, Shimeek Johnson and Terron Victoria scored 20 of the Golden Griffins’ 25 fourth quarter points that put Colonie away.
`It’s Sectional basketball ` you never know what’s going to happen,` said Battle, who finished with 24 points. `Usually the team that capitalizes on the other team’s mistakes comes out on top, and we were able to force a couple of turnovers late and get some points off of them.`
Colonie had trouble getting warmed up in the first quarter, as Bishop Maginn (19-3) raced out to an 18-6 lead. But once Newsome made a pair of jump shots to start the second quarter, the Garnet Raiders took off. Within three minutes, Colonie cut Bishop Maginn’s lead from 12 points to three points, and the Garnet Raiders stayed close to the Golden Griffins the rest of the period.
`The first (basket) is always the good one,` said Newsome. `Once you get one down, you start feeling confident.`
Colonie took the lead on a 9-0 run to start the third quarter, and Newsome didn’t score a point in the spurt. Instead, it was Herb Tedford who gave the Garnet Raiders a boost with seven points including a putback off a missed jump shot by Newsome and a jump shot near the foul line that gave the Garnet Raiders a 36-33 advantage.
The lead changed hands two more times before Bishop Maginn took over in the fourth quarter with Battle, Johnson and Victoria making short shots. Free throws by Battle and Johnson in the final two minutes sealed the nine-point win.
Johnson and Bunduka Kargbo each contributed 12 points to support Battle’s 24-point performance. Tedford finished with 14 points, and Jim Bacher added 13 points for Colonie.
CBA, Loudonville Christian advance
In other Sectional quarterfinal action last weekend, Christian Brothers Academy advanced to the class AA semifinals with a 65-39 victory over Catholic Central of Troy Sunday, while Loudonville Christian moved on to Wednesday’s class D semifinals with a 78-35 win against Sharon Springs Saturday.
CBA (22-0) led Catholic Central 24-17 at halftime, but the Brothers didn’t let the Crusaders hang around for long in the second half. CBA outscored Catholic Central 41-20 over the final 16 minutes to move into Friday’s semifinal against Shenendehowa in Glens Falls.
Greg Holle netted 27 points, and DeAndre Kennedy contributed 13 points for the Brothers, who are the No. 1 seed out of the Big 10.
Loudonville Christian had even less trouble with Sharon Springs than CBA had with Catholic Central. The Eagles (17-3) opened the game with a 14-2 run and then scored the first 17 points of the second quarter to build a 31-9 halftime lead.
Loudonville Christian coach Wally Hills said the key to his team’s first half performance was spending the two weeks between the end of the regular season and Saturday’s quarterfinal getting back to basics.
`When you go down the stretch, you don’t have time to practice,` said Hills. `So what we did this week was work on our defense, pass the ball around and take good shots.`
David Suski scored 18 points to lead a balanced Loudonville Christian offense. Matt Smith contributed 17 points, and Ethan Chevrette added 15 points off the bench.
`He’s going to be a nice player for us next year. We really like him,` Hills said of Chevrette.
Loudonville Christian plays North Warren in Wednesday’s class D semifinal in Glens Falls. The winner meets either St. Johnsville or Northville in the finals.“
