Tamarac 76   Hoosic Valley 69

Leading Scorers:  Bengals – Joey Poulin 34       Mikey D’Agostino 15      James Blake II 13           Valley – Isaiah Eckler 24      Chris Jones 10

Key Stat: Tamarac started with a 29-15 first period.

Take Away:  The much-anticipated matchup didn’t disappoint.  The Bengals started the game with a 9-0 run and ended the first frame leading 29-15.  The Valley slowly cut into the deficit trimming the margin to 39-31 at the break. 

The Indians took their first and only lead of the game with 0:07 remaining in the third on an Issac Wiley bucket, but Mikey D’Agostino answered at the buzzer for Tamarac and the Bengals took the slim 53-52 lead into the fourth. 

Joey Poulin started the final eight minutes with eight unanswered on two free throws, a bucket and one, and a wing triple. But after a timeout the Valley responded on a Chris Jones deuce off a Tyler Eddy find, and a pair of free throws from Isaiah Eckler cutting the Tamarac lead to five at 61-56.  That would be as close as the Indians would get.  Eckler scored 11 points down the stretch to keep the Valley within striking distance, but Tamarac answered, hitting 4 of 6 free throws late to seal the road victory.

With the win the Bengals go to 7-0, 9-2 while Hoosic Valley moves to 5-1, 9-1 on the year.

Greenwich 66   Waterford 38

Leading Scores:  Witches – Joe Skiff 16       Jacob Ziehm 15       Ryan Ingber 10       Fordians – Derrick Pontore 18        Matt Soden 11

Key Stat:  Greenwich held an 8-2 advantage in made threes with seven Witches finding the range from deep.

Take Away:  Greenwich won every quarter in posting the comfortable home “W”.

Hoosick Falls 68   Cambridge 15

Leading Scorers:  Panthers – Jake Sparks 15      Mat Kempf 12      Carson Glover 11            Cambridge – Mason MacDougal 6        Travis Yurshik 6

Key Stat:  Hoosick Falls put the game away with a 20-0 third frame.

Take Away:  The Falls won every period and put 11 players in the scoring column in posting the road win.

Girls

Tamarac 48   Hoosic Valley 18

Leading Scorers:  Bengals – Myanna Faraj 21        Valley – Kaylee Smith 4      Hannah Coffin 4      Jaquelyn Carlo 4

Key Stat:  The Bengals held an 8-0 advantage in made threes.

Take Away:  The Bengals held Hoosic Valley to single numbers in each period in notching the comfortable win and moving to 6-0, 8-1 on the year.

Cambridge 48   Hoosick Falls 23

Leading Scorers:  Cambridge – Schuylar Nolan 15      Nicole LaFountain 10         Panthers – Mackenna Roberson 8

Key Stat:  A 19-2 third quarter gave Cambridge control.

Take Away:  Leading 21-12 at halftime, Cambridge used a big third frame to earn the road “W”.

Friday nights and high school basketball for decades in the Wasaren has meant packed houses, vocal fan bases and high-quality, competitive play on the floor.  The passion for the sport in league circles has been ever present for fifty years with memories of big games shared long after the final whistle.   Tonight’s matchup in Schaghticoke has the makings and feel of a big-time regular season run when the Bengals of Tamarac pay a visit to face the Indians of Hoosic Valley. 

I’ve seen both teams play once this year and as you might expect there are similarities between the two squads. 

Both have a high compete level at the defensive end with length, active hands and the willingness to step in and take a charge or contest shots at the rim. 

Offensively both teams like the transition game and will pull the trigger from deep, while always hunting an open teammate with a better scoring opportunity. 

Tamarac comes in with an 8-2, 6-0 mark on the season and are ranked #8 in the state in Class B.   They average 78 points per contest, the highest in Section II, and allow 54 points at the defensive end.  The Bengals are a veteran group with eight seniors, a pair of juniors and a freshman on their roster.  Offensively they are skilled and deep with nine players having scored in doubles this year.  

Tamarac is led by senior Joey Poulin who scores it at 26 per game with 25 triples, and senior Mikey D’Agostino averaging 14.5 ppg with 28 makes from beyond the arc.  While Poulin and D’Agostino lead the way seniors James Blake II and Jack Casey are also double figure scorers with additional shot-makers coming off the Bengals bench.

Hoosic Valley enters with a 9-0, 5-0 record and a #12 state ranking in Class C. The Valley averages 76 points per game, number two in Section II, and defensively give up 49 points per.  The Indians roster shows five seniors, five juniors and a sophomore. Offensively they are skilled and versatile possessing the ability to score off the dribble or penetrate and kick out to spot up shooters.

Senior Isaiah Eckler leads the Valley attack at 21.4 points per game with 26, 3-pointers. Senior Logan Reilly at 12.4, junior Chris Jones 11.4 and junior Gabe Coffin 11.1 round out a quartet of double figure scorers for the Indians, while senior Tyler Eddy scores at 8.5 ppg, but can score in bunches, pouring in 13 second-half points in a 65-62 win over Ichabod Crane in December. 

While there’s still a long way to go in this basketball season tonight brings together the two front runners from their respective north and south divisions of the Wasaren.  Two elite squads facing off where at games end one will absorb their first loss in league play. Here’s hoping for another regular season classic, on this Friday night in Schaghticoke.

Tamarac 70   Hoosick Falls 50

Leading Scorers:   Bengals – Joey Poulin 23 3 3’s  10 rebounds         Mikey D’Agostino 17 4 3’s  7 assists        James Blake II 11         Panthers – Jake Sparks 15

Key Stat:  Tamarac held a 10-4 advantage in made threes.

Take Away:  The Bengals won every period building a 33-19 lead at the break and methodically pulled away for the home “W”.  Tamarac improves to 6-0 in league play while Hoosick Falls goes to 4-2 in the Wasaren with the loss.  Both squads return to action tonight with Hoosick Falls paying a visit to Cambridge, while Tamarac travels to Schaghticoke to face Hoosic Valley.

Greenwich 82   Waterford 26

Leading Scorers:  Witches – Brooke Kuzmich 21  4 3’s       Norah Niesz 18        Grace Autiello 14          Fordians –   Maddy Atwood 10

Key Stat:  The Witches defense held Waterford to single numbers in every quarter.

Take Away:  Greenwich raced to a 46-16 cushion by halftime and cruised to the road win over the Fordians.  With the win Greenwich moves to 12-0 on the season and will look ahead to a nonleague run with Schenectady on Saturday at 1:30 at SUNY Adirondack.

Tamarac 55   Waterford 32

Leading Scorers:  Bengals – Kayla Beaudoin 13      Myanna Faraj 12         Fordians – Maddy Atwood 17

Key Stat:  The Bengals held a 7-0 advantage in made threes.

Take Away:  Tamarac won every quarter and methodically pulled away to the home victory.

Cambridge 66   Saratoga Catholic 27

Leading Scorers:  Cambridge – Schuylar Nolan 21       Samantha Crandall 15      Megan Day 10         Saints – Madison Norton 13    Grace Schaefer 12

Key Stat:  Cambridge held the Saints to single numbers in every period.

Take Away:  Leading 28-18 at the break, Cambridge took control with a 22-3 third frame and cruised to the road win.

Mechanicville 50   Hoosick Falls 29

Leading Scorers:  Red Raiders – Ella Zecca 14      Ali Kenyon 12       Sophia Tamasi 10       Panthers – MacKenna Roberson 16 

Key Stat:  Mechanicville outscored the Falls 31-11 over the middle two periods.

Take Away:  The Raiders put three players in doubles and held the Panthers to 16 points thru three periods in posting the home “W” on Wednesday.

Greenwich 75   Stillwater 27

Leading Scorers:  Witches – Adrianna Rojas 23  5 3’s      Norah Niesz 17      Brooke Kuzmich 13        Grace Autiello  9       Warriors – Miranda Price 19

Key Stat:  Greenwich used a 23-10 second frame to take control.

Take Away: Greenwich, the number 5 ranked Class C team in the state, won in signature style putting three players in doubles with a fourth scoring nine points while playing lockdown defense in moving to 8-0, 11-0 on the season.

Boys

Hoosic Valley 91   Mount Anthony 56

Leading Scorers:  Valley – Isaiah Eckler 36  6 3’s       Gabe Coffin 16      Chris Jones 12        Patriots – Carter Thompson 30  6 3’s

Key Stat:  Hoosic Valley outscore the Patriots 25-7 in the second quarter.

Take Away:  Hoosic Valley traveled to Vermont for the nonleague get-together with Mt. Anthony and the Indians took their offense with them bottoming nine triples and hanging 91 points on the board led by Eckler’s 36-point evening.  The number 3 ranked Class C team in the state moves to 5-0, 9-0 on the year and returns to action Friday night when they’ll entertain the Bengals from Tamarac.  

Tamarac 88   Waterford 47

Leading Scorers:  Bengals – Joey Poulin 26  3 3’s  9 rebounds       James Blake 14       Mikey D’Agostino 13  3 3’s  9 assists        Adam Quackenbush 10       Frankie DiPalma III 10  3 3’s         Fordians – Matt Soden 19  3 3’s       Derrick Pontore 12        Logan Kelly 11

Key Stat:  Tamarac held a 12-4 advantage in made threes.  

Take Away:  The Bengals scored 20 or more in every frame, putting 10 players in the scoring column with five reaching double figures.  Tamarac connected12 times from long distance accounting for 40% of their 88-point total.  With the win the Bengals move to 5-0 in league play and look ahead to a Friday night matchup with undefeated Hoosic Valley in Schaghticoke.  Waterford slips to 1-5 in Wasaren play and will look to get back in the win column on Friday night when they travel to Greenwich to face the Witches.  

Hoosick Falls 48   Mechanicville 47

Leading Scorers:  Panthers – Jake Sparks 14  13 rebounds      Andrew Sparks 13  3 3’s        Red Raiders – Fen Egan 14

Key Stat:  Hoosick Falls converted 15 of 21 free throws, while Mechanicville connected on 5 of 11 from the stripe.

Take Away:  The Panthers trailing 36-33 entering the fourth quarter outscored the Raiders 15-11 over the final eight minutes to earn the come-from-behind “W” in Hoosick Falls.  With the win the Falls improves to 4-1 in league play and will ready themselves for a road game in Cambridge on Friday night.  Mechanicville see’s their league mark move to 3-3 and will return to action next Tuesday night when they’ll host the Fordians of Waterford.  

Stillwater 66    Greenwich 62

Leading Scorers:  Jaxson Mueller 20      Carter Wincheins 19       Lukas Lilac 12       Thomas McDonough 12         Witches – Joe Skiff 26  4 3’s         Ryan Alling 10

Key Stat:  Stillwater converted on 12 of 24 free throws while Greenwich had zero trips to the stripe.

Take Away:  The visiting Witches built a 34-26 halftime cushion, but Stillwater used a 24-7 third period to gain the lead and hung on over the final eight minutes for the “W”.  The Warriors put four players in doubles in moving to 8-2, 5-1 on the year while the Witches go to 7-5, 3-4 with the loss. 

Here is the link to this morning’s podcast where we recap Friday night’s action, take a look at the upcoming schedule, as well as announce our newest Wasaren Sportsnet Player of the Week.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_Uu4PhgPkvRGu4X3ydGF8IsZT6jqGyxx/view

Hoosic Valley 58   Stillwater 57

Leading Scorers:  Valley – Logan Reilly 19      Isaiah Eckler 17          Warriors – Jaxson Mueller 21      Lukas Lilac 15        Carter Wincheins 13

Key Stat:  The Valley held a 7-1 advantage in made threes.

Take Away:  In a close game throughout Lukas Lilac hit a pair of free throws with 0:12 remaining to pull Stillwater to within one at 58-57.  Hoosic Valley then played keep away until 0:01 left when Tyler Eddy was fouled leaving the Warriors no time for a shot attempt after Eddy intentionally missed the second try.  With the win the Valley moves to 5-0, 8-0 on the season while Stillwater goes to 4-1, 7-2 after the loss.

Greenwich 73   Saratoga Catholic 70 OT

Leading Scorers:  Witches – Joe Skiff 26      Ryan Alling 21      Jacob Ziehm 14          Saints – Aiden Dunne 26      Justin Duscher 16       Ronan Rowe 14

Key Stat:  Greenwich held a 27-14 advantage in made two-point goals.  

Take Away:  The Saints forced overtime with a 22-11 fourth period before the Witches captured the road “W” in overtime, and move to 3-3, 7-4.

Tamarac 90   Berlin/New Lebanon 40

Leading Scorers:  Bengals – Joey Poulin 31       Adam Rice 12      Frankie DiPalma 11          Mountaineers – Jesse Francouer 18

Key Stat:  A 35-14 third quarter put this one away for the Bengals.

Take Away:  Tamarac won every period in rolling past BNL and moving to 4-0, 6-2 on the year.  

Hoosick Falls 54   Waterford 26

Leading Scorers:  Panthers – Jake Sparks 21  14 rebounds      Carson Glover 14            Fordians – Matt Soden 9

Key Stat:  Hoosick Falls held Waterford to single numbers in each of the first three periods.

Take Away:  An 18-2 second frame decided things early as the Panthers improve to 3-1, 6-3 on the season.

Girls

Tamarac 77   Berlin/New Lebanon 23

Leading Scorers:  Bengals – Abbie Yetto 16      Kayla Beaudoin 12       Morgan Hayden 10           Mountaineers – McKenzie Krause 12

Key Stat:  A 25-2 first quarter by Tamarac set up the one-sided decision.

Take Away:  The Bengals put three players in doubles with 11 players scoring in notching the road win over BNL.

Waterford 40   Hoosick Falls 37 OT

Leading Scorers:  Fordians – Rachel McOmber 17       Maddy Atwood 12          Panthers – Ava Case 15      Grace Houghton 11

Take Away:  In a tight contest that needed an extra session to decide the Fordians outscore the visitors from Hoosick Falls 5-2 in the overtime period to earn the hard fought “W”.  

Hoosic Valley 50   Stillwater 39

Leading Scorers:  Valley – Megan Rice 14      Kaylee Smith 13      Lainey Bochette 10          Warriors – Miranda Price 14       Riley O’Brien 12

Key Stat:  The Valley outscored the Warriors 34-21 after the break.

Take Away:  Hoosic Valley puts three players in doubles and uses a big second half to get past the visitors from Stillwater.  

Greenwich 78   Saratoga Catholic 16

Leading Scorers:  Witches – Norah Niesz 21      Adrianna Rojas 18      Brooke Kuzmich 18      Reegan Mullin 13           Saints – Grace Shaefer 5

Key Stat:  Greenwich held the Saints to single digits in each of the first three quarters and didn’t allow a point in the final frame. 

Take Away:  Another day at the office for the Witches putting 70 plus points on the board, four players in doubles and playing lock down “D” as Greenwich moves to 10-0 on the campaign with the road win over the Saints.  

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15GG59DEPxZJ1-g_4mDhGDtGQMZ6751aF/view

Here is the link to the Coaches Corner podcast with Greenwich boys’ basketball Coach Tyler Herrington.

Greenwich 81   Hoosick Falls 26

Leading Scorers:  Witches – Adrianna Rojas 27 3 3’s      Brooke Kuzmich 17      Cate Abate 13      Grace Autiello 10       Norh Niesz 9          Panthers – Ava Case 12

Key Stat:  Greenwich held the Falls to single numbers in three of the four quarters.

Take Away: The Witches connected eight times from deep and came within a point of putting five players in double figures.  Greenwich remains undefeated at 9-0 and will return to action on Friday when they’ll host the Saints of Saratoga Catholic.

Hoosic Valley 38   Waterford 35

Leading Scorers:  Valley – Kaylee Smith 10       Lainey Bochette 10           Fordians – Maddy Atwood 18

Key Stat:  The Valley connected on 6 of 10 tries to the line, while Waterford managed to convert just 9 of 29 attempts. 

Take Away:  With the game knotted at 25-25 after three periods Hoosic Valley won the final frame to notch the win in Schaghticoke. 

Mechanicville 49   Stillwater 33

Leading Scorers:  Red Raiders – Ali Kenyon 19      Lila Christensen 10              Warriors – Sarah Folmann 9 3 3’s

Key Stat:  The Raiders outscored Stillwater 20-11 in the third period to gain control.

Take Away:  In a close game early, Mechanicville rode a big second half to the home victory over the Warriors.

Spa Catholic 50   Berlin/New Lebanon 39

Leading Scorers:  Saints – Ryan Cornell 15      Ryan McDonald 14         Mountaineers – Hannah Mace 11

Key Stat:  The Saints outscored B/NL 29-17 over the middle two periods.

Take Away:  Trailing 8-6 after the first eight minutes, Spa Catholic won the remaining three quarters to post the “W” in Saratoga.

Boys

Tamarac 65   Bethlehem 59

Leading Scorers:  Bengals – Joey Poulin 27   9 assists        James Blake 16  8 rebounds            Bethlehem – Kieran Barnes 21  5 3’s     Cam LaClaire 11

Key Stat:  A 21-16 fourth frame for Tamarac proved to be the difference.

Take Away:  Tamarac built a slim 32-28 lead by halftime and led by a single point at 44-43 heading to the final eight minutes where the Bengals closed out the road “W” over Class AA Bethlehem.