RED HOT 'HAWKS STOP SURGING SPARTANS
Greg Dedrick
ccSCOOP Sports Editor
Two days after topping previously unbeaten Maple Hill, Greenville traveled to Hudson in Friday looking to pull off another upset, but the Bluehawks defended their home turf and cruised to a 67-55 win. Hudson also came into the contest hot after defeating Cairo-Durham twice earlier in the week and kept going with another Patroon Conference boys basketball victory. With the win Hudson improves to 10-6 in the league, placing them alone in fourth place.
Both teams came out playing well offensively and putting up points. Hudson set the pace with a triple by Larell Roberts, while senior swingman Barry King led the way with six early points. With the score tied at 12-12 with a minute and a half left in the quarter, King scored on back-to-back hoops to push Hudson into the lead.
To open up the quarter, Nevin Sheldon knocked down a three to push the Bluehawk lead to seven. The Bluehawks kept up their hot shooting in the second as Brantley and Roberts both added three pointers. Hudson kept their offense going, and by the time the game got to half, the Bluehawks had extended their lead to eight.
Greenville hit the first shot of the second half, but Hudson had a response. Roberts and Talib Barksdale each scored down low, and Roberts followed that up with a free throw, then a jumper. Greenville fought back as the quarter went on, but Hudson finished strong as King knocked down two free throws, and Tyler Hallenbeck made three from the charity stripe. Brantley hit his second three-pointer of the game as Hudson ended the third quarter on a 8-2 run.
The fourth quarter was filled with fouls as the teams combined to make 15 free throws. Hudson started the quarter on a 5-2 run, with all the points for both teams coming from the free-throw line. Sheldon continued to use his quickness to be dangerous on both ends of the court for the Bluehawks: he had a steal on the defensive end and converted a fast-break layup on the other end. With the lead comfortably in hand, Hudson put in a series of subs. With the Hudson starters out of the game, the Spartans closed the contest on a 14-6 run to make the game seem closer than it was.
Roberts led the way for Hudson, finishing with 14 points, and King added 10. Nine other Bluehawks got into the scoring column to help Hudson to the win and their 67 points. The Bluehawks knocked down 5 three-pointers and also 18 of 27 from the free-throw line. With the season winding to a close, the Bluehawks have just two games left on their schedule—two league matchups. On Tuesday Hudson will host a very good third-place Rensselaer team that beat them earlier this season. Then Hudson closes out their regular season schedule by hosting winless Taconic Hills on Thursday.
