JV Defeats Waterford-Halfmoon
Tuesday December 20th
Down by ten points at halftime, the mood in the BNL locker room was that of frustration. Coach Jaquish gathered the team around him. “This game and every game, you guys are right there. I know the heart and soul of our team isn’t out there (Trevor Holtzman), but you’re still in this, you just need to see it. I’ve thought a lot about what I could do differently as a coach, but I know I’ve done what I need to do to prepare you for these moments. Players win the game, coaches lose them. It’s up to you guys to go out there and win. Are you going to keep playing out of control because you’re behind, or will some of you step up so we can fight our way back into this game?”
The BNL players rallied together and turned things around in the second half. Playing with stifling defense in the third quarter, BNL managed to completely erase their deficit while going on a 17-3 run, taking a 38-34 lead into the fourth quarter. Although the Fordians were able to adjust and get back on track, BNL was focused and played with a newfound sense of urgency not yet seen this season.
The fourth quarter was a tough battle with both teams playing aggressively. Waterford-Halfmoon managed to gather momentum, going on an 8-to-2 point run to go up 42-40 with just under 5 minutes left. However, BNL didn’t panic, and quickly retook the lead from the Fordians and stayed ahead the rest of the way. Trevor Holtzman symbolically entered the game late and, although missing a gift of a scoring opportunity, he was able to take and control possession of the ball and tick the final seconds off the clock as BNL sealed the 55-47 victory.
The BNL offense was led by perimeter sharpshooter Landon Jaquish (11pts) who went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. Thomas Dufor (9pts) used his size, physicality, and quickness to dominate underneath. Also contributing on offense was Anthony Ray (8pts), Mikel Chinchetru (8pts), Kaleb Carabis (7pts), Jordan Harmon (6pts), Kaleb Sweener (3pts) and Brandon Schongar (3pts).
Ultimately, it was the defense that kept BNL in the game. Outstanding performances by Mikel Chinchetru (9 REB, 10 STL) and Thomas Durfor (9 REB, 4 STL, 1 BLK) helped BNL nearly completely stall the Fordian offense in the 3rd quarter while BNL mounted their comeback. Also contributing with key defensive play was Kaleb Carabis (6 REB), Jordan Harmon (2 REB, 6 STL, 1 BLK), Landon Jaquish (4 REB, 2 STL), Richard Gates (1 REB, 1 BLK), and Anthony Ray (1 REB, 1 STL).
BNL next travels to Saratoga-Catholic over the holiday break to play two games as part of a JV tournament on December 27th and 28th.
BNL Varsity Plays Hard, but Mistakes Prove Costly Against Waterford-Halfmoon
Tuesday, December 20th
After stringing together two consecutive dominant performances, BNL came back down to Earth against a good, but beatable, Waterford-Halfmoon team, losing 36 to 48. Turnovers, missed scoring opportunities, missed free-throws, and mental-mistakes put BNL at a disadvantage the team struggled to recover from.
“Playing as a team, playing for each other as brothers, that’s how we keep our focus on the game, remain competitive, and win against teams like Waterford. The boys will learn from this game, but our eyes are looking forward to improving the aspects of our game we need to at practice and coming out ready to win against Spa Catholic on January 3rd.” – Coach Snyder
