Barrett, Dagostino lead Saratoga Catholic to win
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » A pair of underclassmen stepped up to make the difference during a torrid second half as Saratoga Central Catholic outlasted Duanesburg, 54-51, in firstround action of the Section II, Class C boys basketball tournament on Tuesday.
Six-foot-3 junior forward Tim Barrett muscled in nine of his team-high 13 points in the third period, while sophomore Aidan Dagostino scored all 10 of his points, including a pair of treys, during the fourth frame.
With the Saints clinging to a one-point advantage, and 11 ticks left on the clock, Dagostino got past a defender and raced in for a layup that pretty much sealed the deal.
“That was a set play, a highball screen and he broke free on it,” Coach Ken Mantia said. “We switched to man-to-man in the last three to four minutes. We thought we really had to. It just felt like we weren’t going to get rid of the deficit without it. The kids really stepped up in the man-to-man defense and that won it for us.”
By winning, No. 5-seeded Spa Catholic (17-4) advances to play the winner of Tuesday’s Granville-Rensselaer game at 8 p.m. Friday at Shenendehowa High School.
The Saints are hoping for the return of leading scorer Tyler Haraden, who averages 21 points per game. He’s been out
a month with a foot fracture, but is scheduled for a medical evaluation on Thursday that might clear him to play.
“It’s tough when you lose a guy who can get you 25 points,” Mantia said. “But we’ve also had a bunch of guys step up off the bench. Ryan McFadden, who’s also been out for a month, came back tonight and played great defense.”
But no one came up bigger than Barrett and Dagostino.
Saratoga Catholic led, 1816, at the first quarter stop, but was outplayed underneath during the second period when they put only six points on the board and trailed, 23-20, at halftime.
Duanesburg was led by Ben Lenehan who had 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Greg Cornelius pulled down 13 boards and added nine points to a wellbalanced offense.
The Eagles jumped out to a 27-20 lead early in the third period, with a chance to blow things open. But Sam Haraden sank a free throw to complete a threepoint play and Terel Tillman followed that up with a 3-pointer to bring the Saints back within one, 27-26.
Barrett went to work midway through the frame with the first of his four buckets, plus a free throw, that kept Saratoga Catholic close. After three periods the Eagles led, 39-38.
“In the second half we had to rebound better,” Mantia said. “They killed us in the first half. We got such a great performance from Barrett off the bench. It gave us a great lift.”
Barrett added, “At halftime we just talked about being more aggressive rebounding and being smart with the ball.”
Saratoga Catholic’s increased defensive intensity pressured Duanesburg into a series of turnovers, which contributed to Saints scoring opportunities.
Ninety seconds into the fourth quarter, Dagastino gave Saratoga Catholic its first lead since early in the second period by stealing a ball and scoring for a 42-41 Saints advantage.
But the Eagles clawed back and lead, 49-44, with 2:29 left in the contest. Then Sam Haraden scored underneath and Dagostino nailed a 3-pointer to knot the score at 49. Again Duanesburg went ahead, but Dagostino scored from beyond the arc again to put the Saints ahead for good, 52-51.
Following an Eagles turnover, Saratoga Catholic worked time off the clock until Dagostino drove in for a layup that rounded out the scoring, 54-51.
“He’s a sophomore, but he doesn’t play like a sophomore,” Mantia said. “He’s very aggressive and he made some clutch shots. He’s scored 21 points a couple of times this year. But in a money spot like this, this was his best game.”
Duanesburg coach John Johnson said, “It came down to them making more plays at the end. Spa Catholic just had a few more bullets than we did. They made a couple dagger 3’s at the end that swung the tide for them. Congratulations to them for playing as hard as they did and finding a way to win.”