By Doug La Rocque
Three league wins, albeit one by forfeit, have the Berlin Mountaineers firmly entrenched in second place in the Central Hudson Valley League. The boys started out the week with a tough game against the Eagles of Loudonville Christian. [private]
Ryan Willis tossed in 29 points to go along with 9 rebounds while Roark Slattery added 24 points including 3 baskets from long range. Berlin came up short on the floor however, by an 80 to 73 score. Later in the week, it was discovered that Loudonville Christian used the same player in both the JV and Varsity contests, a clear violation of NYS High School rules. The Mountaineers were awarded the game by forfeit. Later in the week, Berlin rolled over New Lebanon 67-44, with Sophomore Roark Slattery again leading the scoring with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Sophomore Ryan Willis picked up his 8th double-double on the year with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Another sophomore, Josh Hendricks, picked up his first double-double, with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
On to Friday night, with the Mountaineers paying Heatly a visit in Green Island. Roark Slattery took over right from the tip off, and the Hornets were never in the game with Berlin posting a 50-32 win. Berlin Coach Kasson Sauer said “his young squad continues to impress, growing and coming together. These minutes and moments are very important.” He also credits his three seniors with leadership. “They want to get it done this year,” he said.
Berlin now sports a 9-4 record, but more importantly, they are 8-1 in CHVL play, only one game behind the league leading Germantown Clippers, with whom they tangle on Wednesday in Germantown.
Berlin Girls Basketball
The Lady Mountaineers didn’t fare so well this past week, losing one on the court and one to Mother Nature. Despite outscoring Germantown Friday night in the second half of their game, Berlin could not overcome a very slow start and fell to the Clippers 42-27. Maggie Gordon led the way for Berlin with 20 points. Earlier in the week, their game against Doane Stuart was postponed because of weather. It’s a busy next week for the girls, with games scheduled against Waterford and Hawthorne Valley, and a Wednesday makeup game with Doane Stuart.[/private]