Zach Yakel made the two biggest plays in last Thursday’s Suburban Council basketball doubleheader at Siena College.
First the Shaker senior guard handed a check for $11,000 to his aunt and uncle, Regina and Mike Stewart, for the Shenendehowa scholarship established in his cousin Chris’ honor following his death in a Dec. 1 accident on the Northway.
Then, Yakel drained a critical three-pointer with one minute left in the fourth quarter to help Shaker beat Shen 65-61 in a meeting of the top two Suburban Council North Division teams.
“Coming in, emotions were running really high,” said Yakel, who scored all five of his points in the final minute. “I knew I had to do this for my cousin Chris, his girlfriend (Shaker senior) Bailey (Wind), and for Matt (Hardy) and Deanna (Rivers).”
The doubleheader with the girls game raised $22,000 for Shen scholarships established in honor of Stewart and Rivers, who also died in the accident. An estimated crowd of 3,300 packed Siena’s Alumni Recreation Center for the two games.
“What an atmosphere,” said Shaker coach Jeff Holmes. “I’m just proud to be part of it.”
Shen (5-2 league, 5-3 overall) rallied from a 36-17 deficit in the second quarter to take a 52-49 lead in the fourth quarter before Shaker (7-1, 9-1) came back to pull out the win.
“They started to compete,” said Shen coach Tony Dzikas. “That’s what we didn’t do the first five or six minutes of the game.”
The comeback began in the final four minutes of the second quarter. Shen used a 10-0 run to get within nine points before Chris Landers hit a basket in the closing second to put Shaker ahead 38-27 at halftime.
Shen maintained its momentum in the third quarter. A pair of Kevin Huerter three-pointers and a Jake Hicks free throw tied the score at 43. David Morrison briefly gave Shaker a 45-43 advantage with a strong move to the basket, but Drew Zlogar made a driving layup to pull the Plainsmen even again.
Hicks came up big for Shen early in the fourth quarter. The junior guard drained a three-pointer and added a pair of free throws to put the Plainsmen up 52-49.
The lead changed hands three times after Hicks made his free throws before Shaker began pulling away. Malik Dare got the Blue Bison going with a pair of free throws. Then, Landers drove the baseline for a layup to make the score 59-55.
A Dylan Molloy three-pointer cut Shaker’s lead to 59-58 before Yakel hit his three to give the Blue Bison control.
“That three wouldn’t have been possible if my teammates hadn’t been playing well,” said Yakel.
“We had all kinds of contributions at different times,” said Holmes.
Morrison had 21 points, and Landers added 18 points for the Blue Bison. Teddy McCarthy paced Shen with 12 points.
“It was a great night and a great event,” said Dzikas. “I am proud the boys made it an entertaining game.”
Shen girls fall in fourth quarter
Shenendehowa girls basketball coach Joe Murphy knows his team is capable of beating the best in Section II. He also knows it’s a process.
“We’re getting closer,” said Murphy following Shen’s 51-43 Subur-ban Council loss to Shaker last Thursday at Siena College. “We just can’t get over the hump.”
Hitting clutch shots in the fourth quarter has been a problem for the Lady Plainsmen (4-3 league, 6-3 overall). They missed several shots down the stretch against Shaker (8-0, 10-0) that might have given them a chance to win the game.
“We had some good looks (at the basket),” said Murphy, who is in his first year as Shen’s varsity coach. “We just couldn’t get them to fall.”
Shen had the pieces in place to earn its first quality league win. With leading scorer Madison Rowland in foul trouble for much of the first half, Shaker struggled to get its offense in gear. That allowed the Lady Plainsmen to rally from an early 9-2 deficit to tie the score at 23 by halftime.
Rowland started the third quarter on the bench, and Shen took advantage by going on an 8-4 run to build a 31-27 lead. Rowland returned briefly before being whistled for her fourth personal foul, which sent her to the bench again.
Shaker’s supporting cast stepped up after Rowland picked up her fourth foul, though. The Blue Bison chipped away and took a 34-31 lead on Adriene Gambles’ last-second three-pointer. Merrick Rowland then drained a pair of key threes in the fourth quarter to help Shaker pull away for the eight-point win.
Lyric Artis netted a team-high 14 points, and Merrick Rowland added 12 points off the bench for the Blue Bison.
“I knew this game would happen at some point where our leading scorer (Madison Rowland) wasn’t hitting shots or got into foul trouble,” said Shaker coach Emily Caschera-Blowers. “The good news is the other kids stepped up.”
Freshman forward Carly Boland turned in another solid game for Shen. Boland – who is averaging 14.3 points per game – scored eight of her 14 points in the second half to keep the Lady Plainsmen within striking distance. Senior forward Alyssia Marsal contributed eight points before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Murphy said he’s hoping losses to quality Suburban Council teams such as Shaker, Colonie and Bethlehem will serve Shen well when the Section II Class AA playoffs begin in late February.
“Our goal at the beginning of the year was to be a better tam at the end of the year,” said Murphy. “We’re learning how to be a better team by playing these teams.”