Colonie’s one-two punch of Mike Branche and Frank Lombardi was too much for the Mohonasen boys basketball team to handle.
Branche and Lombardi combined for 43 points to lead the Garnet Raiders past the Mighty Warriors 54-49 in Tuesday’s Suburban Council South Division game in Rotterdam.
Branche scored 24 points, and Lombardi contributed 19 points for Colonie (6-2 league, 6-4 overall), which rallied from a two-point halftime deficit.
Jeffrey Kruzinski had 13 points, and Quinton Brown added 12 points for Mohonasen (2-6, 3-7).
The Mighty Warriors entered the Colonie game off a 51-45 loss to Niskayuna last Friday. Mohonasen started strong with a 16-point first quarter before Niskayuna’s defense clamped down and limited the Mighty Warriors to 17 points over the next two periods.
Kyle Bayly netted 19 points, Aaron Wyngowski chipped in 17 points and Peyton Houghtaling added 10 points for the Silver Warriors (3-6, 5-5). Killian Tallman had 13 points for the Mighty Warriors.
Niskayuna couldn’t maintain its momentum Tuesday when it met Suburban Council North Division leader Shenendehowa. The Plainsmen (7-0, 8-0) outscored the Silver Warriors 44-19 in the second and third quarters on their way to an 80-38 victory.
Dan Lee led three Shen players in double figures with 27 points. Matt Miner contributed 14 points, and Farshad Sarrafi-Nour added 12 points.
Guy Waltman’s 13 points paced Niskayuna.
The Silver Warriors return home Friday to face Ballston Spa in a Suburban Council game, while Mohonasen travels to East Greenbush to play Columbia.`
