Friday’s Bethlehem-Guilderland boys basketball game was not for people who enjoy high-scoring contests.
Both teams struggled shooting the ball all night, but Bethlehem pulled together a late run to defeat Guilderland 34-31 for its second consecutive Suburban Council victory.
We’ll take the win any way we can get it, said Bethlehem coach A.G. Irons.
`I’m very pleased with our effort,` said Guiilderland coach Ron Osinski. `I thought we played very good defense.`
The Dutchmen (2-7 league, 3-8 overall) entered the game shorthanded as two of Osinski’s starters were recovering from concussions, and a third ` Ryan Ochs ` was nursing an ankle injury. And it got worse for Guilderland after another player left with an ankle injury.
`It’s been tough because you think you know your team and what your player rotations should be, and then these injuries happen and you suddenly don’t have these kids,` said Osinski.
Still, Guilderland battled its way into a 27-21 lead after three quarters, thanks to tough defense.
`They ran a lot of 1-2-2 trap and three-quarter court [defense] to slow the game down, and it worked,` said Irons. `Every time down the floor, it took us eight to 10 seconds just to get into an offensive set.`
Bethlehem (2-7, 2-9) finally came alive in the fourth quarter, as it scored 13 points to squeeze out the three-point victory.
`Nothing was falling for either team. I think the shooting percentages were terrible,` said Irons. `Both teams were playing really good defense, but at the same time, both teams didn’t shoot well.`
Ryan Stempsey scored eight points, and John Morrill contributed seven points for the Eagles, who had suffered several close losses before beating Columbia and Guilderland last week.
`Obviously it was tough during that opening stretch, and at any time the guys could have given up. But they didn’t give up,` said Irons.
Andrew Brown netted eight points for Guilderland, while Jordan Weeden added seven points.
Both teams had tough challenges Tuesday. Bethlehem hosted undefeated Shenendehowa, while Guilderland played Niskayuna.
`They’re the ones trying to protect their undefeated season. We have nothing to lose,` Irons said of facing Shen, which downed Saratoga Springs 79-64 Friday. `So, we’re going to go after them and see what happens.“
