by Ryan Mosher
With a new year here, the Berlin boys basketball team was hoping to turn their recent rough patch around when they traveled to Hoosic Valley on Monday night. The Mountaineers entered the game with three straight losses. Their first was right before Christmas when they blew a large lead and fell to Loudonville Christian 72-62. At the Hoosier Holiday Tournament in Hoosick Falls over the break, Berlin surprised Watervliet in the first half by staying in the game. Mishaps in the fourth quarter let the Cannoneers take the game 80-63. In the consolation game, the Mountaineers started off very sluggish, not playing well. Down 15 entering the fourth quarter, Berlin fought back but
could not pull out the win, losing 65-60. Chris Zema was named to the All-Tournament team after scoring 29 and 28 points in the two games.
Hoosic Valley has always presented a challenge for Berlin, including in the first game of the season, a 49-31 victory for the Indians. On Monday Berlin did not let the home team jump out to a huge lead on them right from the beginning. The Indians struggled to hit their shots, and the Mountaineers were able to stay in the game early. With under five minutes left in the first half, the two teams traded baskets before Hoosic Valley went on a run and took a nine point lead into the break, 27-18.
The third quarter was when Hoosic Valley put the clamps on Berlin, and took a commanding lead. The Mountaineers could not seem to get their offense working, and the Indians defense shut down Berlin’s top scorer, Chris Zema. Things just seemed to get worse as the game went on, and Hoosic Valley pushed on for a 69-45 win. Casey Gilbert was the only Mountaineer to reach double figures with 10 points. Freddie Morine came off the bench to add 9 points for Berlin.