Joe Privatera gave the Niskayuna boys basketball team a lift when it needed one the most.
The senior guard hit a three-pointer late in the fourth quarter to help the Silver Warriors rally to defeat Bethlehem 58-51 in Friday’s Suburban Council game in Niskayuna.
The win helped the Silver Warriors (1-1 league, 2-2 overall) put a 46-27 loss to Shenendehowa three nights earlier behind them, and in the process avenge a 60-47 loss to Bethlehem (1-1, 3-1) in the Niskayuna Invitational finals one week ago.
I’m just really proud of our guys, said Niskayuna coach Mike Black. `It does a lot for our confidence because we beat a great team.`
`We played each other six days ago, so we were familiar with each other,` said Bethlehem coach A.G. Irons. `Coach Black did a nice job of preparing his team.`
The lead swung back and forth all night. Bethlehem grabbed a 9-4 advantage early in the first quarter before Niskayuna went on a 9-2 run to close the period with a 13-11 lead. The Silver Warriors extended their advantage to seven points in the second quarter, but Joe Kane drained a pair of three-pointers ` the second of which came with less than one minute left ` to put the Eagles ahead 26-25 going into halftime.
Bethlehem increased its lead to 36-31 in the third quarter before Josh Powers hit a three-pointer ` his only basket of the game ` to pull Niskayuna back within striking distance. Alex Olbrych then opened the fourth quarter with a driving layup and a foul shot to put the Silver Warriors in front 39-38.
Bethehem re-took the lead on free throws by Kevin Wendth and John Drazan, and a pair of long-range jump shots by Gleason Judd gave the Eagles a 45-42 advantage. But the Eagles couldn’t capitalize on their next couple of possessions, which opened the door for Garrett Bush to tie the game with a three-pointer. Olbrych then drove the lane for a layup to put Niskayuna ahead 47-45.
Kane ` who had been kept off the scoreboard since scoring nine points in the second quarter ` hit a jump shot to tie the game at 47 before Privatera nailed his open three-pointer with 50 seconds left to put Niskayuna ahead for good. Judd made a pair of free throws to pull Bethlehem within a point, but foul shots from Olbrych and Dan Peters in the final 41 seconds sealed the Silver Warriors’ win.
`We worked so hard to get (the lead), we didn’t want to lose it,` said Olbrych, who finished with a game-high 18 points.
`They’re a very tall and athletic team, and I thought we got away from setting good screens (to open our shooters),` said Black. `We did a much better job of setting screens down the stretch.`
Bush contributed 13 points, and Privatera added 11 points for Niskayuna. Judd scored 13 points, and Kane had 11 points for Bethlehem.
`We didn’t shoot the ball well,` said Irons. `The shots were falling for those guys, and it seemed like the shots weren’t falling for us. In a close game like this, one or two missed shots can change things.“