Watching Mechanicville defeat Catholic Central Tuesday night in their season-opener I came away thinking there’s a lot to like about this basketball team.

To start, four key players return for head coach Rian Richardson in senior Nick Billert, junior Josh Germaine, and sophomores Devin Garland and Luciano D’Ambro.  They bring a variety of skill sets to the floor every night.

Richardson has liked what he’s seen from his squad in the preseason and off-season as well. ” Our guys have been working hard since July.  They’ve really dedicated themselves to basketball and have done everything that we have asked.”

The veteran head coach says his Raiders will “Play hard and unselfishly. Be able to run the floor and also execute in a half court set.  We’ll hustle, play physical and compete every night.”

All traits were on display in Tuesday night’s win.

When asked what his team must do to be successful this year Richardson responded, “We need to continue to work on our chemistry.  We have some returners from last year that will be sharing time with some new teammates.  If we continue to play our roles we’ll have a chance in every game.”

As for top contenders for the league title the Raider mentor offered, ” With so many good coaches in our league there aren’t too many easy nights.  A few teams will be competing to win our league this year and I hope we’re one of them.”

If their win over the Crusaders is any indication of what lies ahead, there’s good reason to think the Raiders will be a tough out this entire basketball season and in contention for a league title come February.