BOY’S BASKETBALL: WEEK IN REVIEW

Greg Dedrick
ccSCOOP Sports Editor

All our local Columbia County teams competed in a number games over the past week. We’ll take a look at who played whom what the results mean for each team.

Germantown
The Clippers have really bounced back after their back-to-back losses. Two close wins last week helped to get them back on track. A third win in the season over Waterford was the big one, and a closer than expected win over Hawthorne Valley helps the Clippers to get used to the close games they will have to play and win down the stretch. In their win over the Wildcats, the big three of Cody Broast, Thomas Griffin, and Larry Niebling all got back to their high-scoring ways to combine for 60 points.

Germantown has three very winnable games on the horizon: the first against New Lebanon, then back to back games against Berkshire. The Clippers close out their season against the only two Central Hudson Valley League teams who have defeated them: Loudonville Christian and Berlin.

New Lebanon
The Tigers lone game last week was a big one as they beat up on Berlin. The Tigers held Berlin’s leading scorer Chris Zema to just 12 points, while the Tigers were led by 16 points by Kodiak Mullins. Eight different players scored for the Tigers as they notched a key late-season victory that might serve as a big momentum boost for this team as their season winds to a close.

Ichabod Crane
After their second Patroon Conference loss of the season at the hands of Maple Hill, the Riders bounced back with two wins over very dangerous league teams. First up was a big 5-point win over a very talented Catskill team. With leading scorer Sean Shattenkirk held to just 6 points, the Riders got big contributions from the junior inside duo of Chris Larm and Derick Horn. Larm had a monster game going for 17 points and 20 rebounds, while Horn finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The second victory on the week was a convincing 13-point win over Cairo-Durham. The Riders jumped out early and just kept adding to their lead en route to the win. Shattenkirk bounced back with 15 points, while Josh Ingham added 14. Horn had another double-double, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Larm chipped in with 9 points and 11 rebounds.

For the Riders to capture yet another league title they will need Maple Hill to drop three games down the stretch, while ICC would more than likely have to win out. Still if ICC can go the rest of the way with only two league losses, they are looking at a good seed in the Class A sectionals.

Hudson
The Bluehawks came away with a split of their two-game slate last week, earning a victory over Coxsackie-Athens and a loss to Maple Hill. Barry King and Larell Roberts each scored 16 points in the win over the Indians.

In the loss to the Wildcats, King led the way with 18 points, Justin Brantley had 14, and Roberts had 10. The win over C-A was one they were expected to pick up, while the loss was not unexpected. Still with fewer and fewer games remaining, the Bluehawks need to start putting wins together quickly and showing they can pull an upset over a team more talented they come sectional time.

Taconic Hills
The Titans lost both games last week to Cairo-Durham and Maple Hill and remain winless in the Patroon Conference. The Titans continue to struggle, but it’s not due to a lack of talent, because the Titans do have some good players on their roster. Unless the Titans can pull of a pretty big upset down the stretch, they are looking at a February 10 showdown with Coxsackie-Athens as a possible game to notch their first win.

Chatham
The Panthers went 0-3 last week as they played a trio of tough matchups. A 6-point road loss to always tough Rensselaer isn’t a bad loss, and it showed the scoring capabilities of junior forward Brandon Johnson, who led the way with 23 points.

The second loss came at the hands of Cairo-Durham, who won by 7. Will Gauthier and Josh Keyes combined for 26 points in the loss.

The third loss was a tough blowout loss to Catskill, where only Gauthier reached double digits. The Panthers could have certainly used an upset win to boast their stock heading into the postseason, but none of the three losses was a backbreaker.

Chatham has five league games left on their schedule, and the more wins they can pick up, the higher seed they are looking at come sectional time. The Panthers will certainly need the best seed they can garner as they play in Class B, considered by most to be the most difficult class in the area this year.