Coleman and Rhinebeck tussle
Statesmen take MHAL divisional tussle versus Hawks
TOWN OF ULSTER » Long-range shooting and speedy guard play highlighted the second half for the John A. Coleman Catholic boys basketball team as the Statesmen won a crucial Mid-Hudson Athletic League divisional match-up, 71-62, over Rhinebeck on Friday.
(10-3, 8-1 MHAL) Coleman connected on six 3-point baskets in the third quarter to erase a 5-point Hawks lead, and held on for the win.
Guard Jason Shepard frustrated the Rhinebeck offense by forcing turnovers, and had two of Coleman’s 3’s in the quarter.
“Jason struggled early in the game trying to figure out if he was going to shoot 3’s or drive to the basket,” said Statesmen coach John Funk.
“He got it right in the second half, and having quick guards like him and Deondre (Kirby)
certainly helps.”
Shepard, Austin Uhl and Kirby led the perimeter-shooting parade, helping the Statesmen go on a 16-0 run to seize the lead.
The quarter was a stark contrast to the second where Rhinebeck held a 21-15 edge.
Ian Katomski and Rob Veith combined to score 16 of the Hawks points in the quarter, and had taken control of the tempo.
“The kids started to press against themselves, and I’ve seen that happen many times, and it just snowballs,” Funk said.
“In the locker room, I used some choice words to tell them what they were doing to themselves and they responded.
We went over the technical points with them and reminded them that we were only down five and if we could somehow get a one or two point lead, then it’s a new ballgame.”
Coleman also was able to overcome the early foul trouble of Tim Gersec, Coleman’s Tim Gersec and Rhinebeck’s Rob Veith contest a rebound during Friday’s game. Coleman defeated Rhinebeck 71-62. who spent the entire second quarter on the bench with three fouls.
“I’ll take the blame for Tim’s third foul,” Funk said. “I was trying to get him out and was about 20 seconds too late. There’s not much you can do about fouls once they’re called.”
Gersec managed to play a key role down the stretch, scoring nine of his 16 points in the fourth.
“It was hard getting three fouls by end of the first quarter,” Gersec said.
“It’s something I’ve dealt with this season, but overall, our team played an outstanding game. We play strong, we play together, we’re like a fami l y.”
For its part, the Hawks rallied back in the fourth and shaved the Coleman lead to four.
Hunter Brandt had 11 points in the quarter, nine on 3-pointers, and Veith made shots to keep things close.
Kirby made four of six free throws in the final minutes to seal the win.
“I have to credit our 3’s, which really pulled them out of their zone,” Funk said.
“We also switched to a man defense and that’s when we were really able to turn it around.”
Shepard led all scorers with 22 points, while Gersec finished with 16, Uhl ended up with 13 and Kirby reached double figures with 10.
Veith was the high scorer for Rhinebeck with 17, Katomski added 16 and Brandt had 14.
Tom Heidcamp, Mike Thurin and Coleman Van Wagenen were honored as the Statesmen’s graduating seniors. RHINEBECK (62)—Rodriguez 1 2-3 4, Katomski 6 0-0 16, Veith 7 3-6 17, Brandt 5 0-0 14, Spencer 2 4-6 8, Santo 0 0-0 0, Boland 1 0-0 3, Santamorena 0 0-0 0, Hack 0 0-0 0, Matthews 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 9-15 62. COLEMAN (71)—Kirby 2 4-6 10, Gersec 7 1-1 16, Heidcamp 4 0-1 8, Van Wagenen 0 0-0 0, Thurin 0 0-0 0, Shepard 6 6-7 22, Uhl 4 2-2 13, Greaney 1 0-1 2. Totals 24 13-18 71. Rhinebeck ................................................ 11 21 12 18—62 Coleman ................................................... 12 15 26 18—71 3-point field goals: Katomski 4, Brandt 4, Boland; Shepard 4, Uhl 3, Kirby 2, Gersec. Team Records: Coleman 10-3, 8-1 MHAL