by Ryan Mosher
On Tuesday the HFCS boys basketball team crossed the Vermont border to play rival Mt. Anthony of Bennington.
MAU came out playing like they were the game favorites. Jack Ralbovsky’s two three-pointers in the opening two minutes sandwiched a Panther free throw and gave the Patriots a 6-1 lead. Hoosick Falls finally came to life when trailing by five. Without the shot clock the Panthers slowly moved the ball around in the half court offense trying to find the perfect shot. It paid off when Tanner Williams was left all alone and nailed a three-pointer. On their next possession Alex Lilac fed Randy Tutunjian who tied the game at 6-6. The Panthers took their first lead of the game when Lilac stole the ball with 2:47 to go and pulled up for a long three-pointer, making it 9-8. After a Matt Gormley basket made it 11-8, Ralbovsky connected on his third three-pointer of the night to knot the game again. Gormley then scored twice in the last :39 seconds to give the Panthers the 15-11 lead after eight minutes.
After a 6-0 run in the first minute and fifteen seconds of the second quarter, the Panthers seemed to struggle, not scoring another field goal in the quarter, and only managing one more point as well. MAU responded with a 12-1 run in the final five minutes to take a 23-22 lead into the locker room at the half.
In the third quarter the Panthers were determined not to fall behind. Williams connected on a three-pointer to give them a 25-23 lead, but MAU’s Aaryngston Bibens tied the game, one of four times he would do that in the third quarter. After Ryan Hyde sank two free throws to put Hoosick Falls up, Bibens responded with a basket to tie the game a minute later. Thirty seconds later Hyde buried a three-pointer to put the Panthers up 30-27, and Bibens buried one of his own to knot the score again. After Bibens rebounded a missed Panther shot and looked up court, Hyde stole the ball from him and drove towards the hoop. Bibens fouled him and was issued a technical foul. Lilac sank one of two for Hoosick Falls, making it 31-30. With 1:06 to go Bibens tied the score again when he hit one of two free throws. On the next possession, Hyde buried another three-pointer that the Patriots did not seem to have the answer for, and Tutunjian added another three-pointer at the buzzer to give Hoosick Falls the 37-32 lead heading into the final frame.
The fourth quarter was the fiercest battle of the night for both teams. Down by six, Bibens hit a three-pointer, followed by a Jason Redden basket to cut the Panthers’ lead to one point, 39-38. After a Gormley layup, Ralbovsky scored again, cutting the lead back to one point. One minute later Bibens banked in a shot to give MAU the lead again at 42-41. It took the Panthers a minute and a half to respond, but they did so with force, as Lilac knocked down a three-pointer, followed by free throws from Tutunjian, Gormley and again Lilac. An MAU bucket with :16 left was all they finished with, and the Panthers added more free throws from Williams and Lilac to give them the 53-45 victory.
The Panthers wrapped up their regular season with a 17-1 record. On Wednesday they were awarded the #1 seed in the Class C Sectionals. They will host #16 seed Cambridge at 7 pm on Wednesday, February 22. The winner will move on to play on Saturday at HVCC against either Canajoharie or Rensselaer.