Kingston stays perfect with win over Warwick
Kingston boys double up Warwick 70-35 to improve to 7-0 on the year
After an uncomfortably tight first 15 minutes, Kingston High’s unbeaten boys basketball team used its stalwart defensive play and opportunistic offense to double up on Warwick, winning a Monday matinee 70-35.
The Tigers, now 7-0 heading into the Christmas break, took control with a 14-0 run that started at the end of the first half and extended into the second.
Clayton Pattillo (21 points, five rebounds), Shy’quan Royal (12 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks, four steals, three assists), Dylan Perry (11 points) and Brady Short (eight points, three assists) led the Tigers. Daiveyon Jackson had a big game defensively and Chris Whitaker came off the bench for four points and five rebounds.
Andrew Aragones had 11 points and Kyle Dalhouse 10 to lead Warwick.
Kingston came out strong, jumping out to a 9-2 lead. The intensity dropped after that and the scrappy Wildcats fought back, getting to within 16-14, 19-17 and 26-24 in the second quarter.
“I thought we were sharp for a couple of minutes. It came too
easy,” Kingston coach Ron Kelder remarked. “Sometimes when it comes too easy like that you get complacent and it gets sloppy. That’s pretty much what happened. We weren’t defending as well as we should be. That’s on me. We should have prepared a little harder mentally for this game. We knew it was a game we could win. We probably rolled into it a little too soft after the Valley Central win.
“We had to match their intensity,” Kelder noted. “Once we started playing harder than them, the better team prevailed.”
The Tigers pulled away in the final minute of the first half as Short hit both ends of a one-and-one and Royal converted a pair of steals to open a 32-24 lead at the break.
Kingston extended that margin to 40-24 in the first three minutes of the second half as Pattillo hit a medium jumper and followed with a 3-point field goal. Perry then hit the first of his two 3-pointers in the quarter.
The Tigers’ smothering defense did the rest. They held Warwick to just four points over a 15-minute span. The Wildcats shot 2-for-19 from the field during that stint and had 10 turnovers. Kingston cashed them in for 17 points.
Warwick scored seven points in the final two minutes, but the contest was already decided by then.
Short did a great job at the top of the perimeter. Kingston started doubleteaming the ball handler and Jackson took away the cuts by protecting the edges.
“I just thought those few adjustments we made and a little more attention to detail was the difference,” Kelder said.
Kingston shot 42 percent (23-for-55) from the field and committed only seven turnovers overall.
Kingston resumes play this weekend, playing in the Colonie Tournament. The Tigers take on Guilderland 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 28, then face Colonie 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 30.