by Gary Danforth
In the thirteenth WASAREN League game of the 1988-89 boys varsity basketball campaign, and last weekend of the regular season, a gritty, home-standing Hoosick Falls team beat Stillwater Central School in double overtime by a 63-60 score in front of a packed River Road gymnasium. Well, last Friday night, January 29, Mike Lilac Jr.’s Panther five used the same strategy to defeat a determined Schuylerville Central School quintet 61-57 in two extra four minute periods. In a classic match up, HFCS saw themselves miss game winning shots in regulation play and in the first overtime session but came back to push their 2009-10 league slate to 9-1 with their monumental win. Hoosick Falls beat the Black Horses in overtime back on December 18 in the Schuylerville gym to hand Coach Matt Sgambati’s Horses their only two league defeats to date. HFCS moves to 11-2 overall with the win while the Horses drop to 8-2 and 10-3, overall. It was a total team effort and needed to be so in order for the Panthers to secure the win.
But without 6’6” senior center/forward Kevin McMahon scoring 23 points and swatting away or altering at least a dozen
shots, Hoosick Falls probably does not get a win against this rugged Schuylerville five. With the win, with four games left in regular season play, the Panthers have a one game lead on the Horses and a two game lead over Granville.
Sophomore guard Alex Lilac gave HFCS a 3-0 led with a trey from out front. After the Horses tied the score, the Panthers broke out to a 9-4 lead with 3:05 left in period one. Schuylerville closed to 10-6 before back to back three-pointers by the Panthers’ Tanner Williams, a sophomore, and McMahon, and an inside score by the Panthers’ Sean Dingman, a junior, gave HFCS an 18-6 lead at the first quarter break.
Drives by McMahon and junior Quinn Rasmus pushed the HFCS lead to 22-8 with 6:12 left in the opening half. Lilac hit two of three free throws to give the hosts a 24-11 spread with 5:08 left in period two. But Schuylerville wouldn’t quit. The Horses used a 12-2 run to crawl back within 4 at 24-20 with 3:45 left in period two. McMahon, playing bigger than his height all night, hit two fouls shots and drained a three-pointer from the left side to give HFCS a 29-22 halftime lead.
A Williams three-pointer and a John Hayden put back gave the hosts a 34-26 lead with 6:25 left in the third stanza.
But this was a dog eat dog WASAREN League game. Schuylerville would not break. The Horses went on an 11-0 run to take a 37-34 lead with 3:13 remaining in period three. A strong Horses’ fast break attack was fueled by four Hoosick Falls turnovers. Williams tied the score with a right side trey. McMahon blocked his second shot of the quarter and hit a foul shot. Lilac nailed a three-pointer from out front to send the teams into the fourth quarter deadlocked at 41-41.
Schuylerville spurted to a 48-43 lead with 4:11 left in period four. But a Rasmus drive and a Lilac trey knotted the score for HFCS with 3:10 left in period four. McMahon blocked another Horses’ shot before Schuylerville went ahead, 50-48. But Williams came up big when he stole a pass and went in for a game tying layup with 1:50 to play. In the final frantic seconds of regulation play, Hoosick Falls missed a shot and then Schuylerville missed a shot with :29 left. After a Panther time-out with :12 to play, Lilac missed a runner from the right baseline just before the fourth quarter horn sounded. It was 50-50 heading into the first overtime.
McMahon opened the overtime with another block and then hit a right side jumper. A Lilac free throw gave HFCS a 53-50 lead. Two Panther turnovers, three missed HFCS free throws and a Panther missed shot opened the door for the Horses. The Horses’ Brad Lyon drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key with :30 left in the first overtime to tie matters at 53-53. Hoosick Falls couldn’t win the game in the waning seconds of the first extra session.
In the second overtime, McMahon hit a pair from the line before the Horses tied it at 55-55. Lilac hit a jumper in the lane to give HFCS a 57-55 lead. McMahon blocked another Horses’ shot. McMahon hit three more Panther free throws, good for a 60-55 Hoosick Falls lead with :41 left. After Schuylerville hit a pair from the line, Lilac hit the bottom half of a bonus free throw situation to give HFCS a 61-57 lead with :15 to play. The Horses missed a shot, and McMahon, fittingly, grabbed the final defensive board of the game. HFCS outlasted Schuylerville 61-57 in double overtime.
McMahon with 23 points, Lilac, 15, Williams, 13, Rasmus, 4, Dingman, 4, and Hayden with 2 points scored for HFCS. For the Horses, Austin Bateman with 18 points, Lyon with 11 and Steve Backus with 10 points led the way.
Rebounding from Afar: As long-time, astute basketball historian Ed Maleady Sr. pointed out Friday night, McMahon alters and prevents many more shots from being taken than he blocks. McMahon may be on his way to a second consecutive WASAREN League MVP award. The Panthers’ next home game is on Friday, February 5, in a clash with Greenwich. There is still a lot of work to be done in the 2009-10 season. There can be no let up.