Saratoga ‘D’ Aidan Holmes 4th keys win over Shaker
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. >> If it was a beauty pageant, the Saratoga Springs boys basketball team would not have made the first round of cuts, but fortunately for the Blue Streaks the score is kept on the board, based on buckets and not just looks.
For the second consecutive contest Saratoga had to battle back for another Suburban Council win, this time holding off the constant threepoint threats of Shaker down the stretch as junior Aidan Holmes scored 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter in the 54-47 win Friday night at home.
Shaker hit 11 three-pointers on the night, including
four by senior forward Joseph Mariano and a trio by senior Connor McHugh, but a third-quarter drought doomed the Bison.
Down by three points at the half, 25-22, Saratoga went on a 15-6 run that saw Shaker, hit a pair of three pointers, but also come up short on four other occasions. Meanwhile, the Blue Streaks took advantage of the five minute scoring drought by the Bison and took advantage of their six turnovers to build a 37-31 lead.
“I think it was more not them missing their threes, it was our defense closing out on their threes,” Saratoga Springs senior Will Fox said. “I think as a team we play really good help defense and that was almost our problem tonight because everyone was helping out too much and not getting out on shooters enough. I think in the third quarter we did that better than the first two.”
In the fourth, Shaker regained its shooting touch, burying four three-pointers, pulling within a bucket with 5:35 to go on Jake Nelson’s trey.
Then it was Holmes turn to take over, creating a steal and laying the ball in on the next possession and then hitting a threepointer with 3:28 left for a seven-point lead, 47-40.
Mariano would hit his final three-pointer of the night, but Holmes would then be perfect from the line the rest of the way, hitting six straight free throws down the stretch for the win.
“It’s just staying confident and when I’m open to keep shooting and keep knocking it down when it’s open and know I’m going to hit the next one,” Aidan Holmes said “When the game gets close the best thing to do is not think, I mean I’m not really thinking anything, we’re just all playing ball.”
Saratoga was decisive on the defensive boards Friday night as Fox pulled down seven rebounds total and Nate Chudy grabbed five more, then turning the ball back up the court for the Blue Streak’s offensive sets.
“They had some younger guys that haven’t been as experienced on varsity so coach told me, and (Nate) Chudy at the beginning of the game, “We’ll have guys back on defense, but just do your thing, get on the boards,” Fox said. “I think we did that really well and I think that helped us out getting extra possessions and extra shots because we really haven’t been playing that well on offense.”
Once again Saratoga Springs Coach Matt Usher was willing to give up beauty points for buckets.
“I think we did a better job in that third quarter buying into the game plan and getting out on the perimeter shots,” Matt Usher said. “We talked about it before the game and we failed to execute what we’re trying to do defensively for the majority of the game credit to Shaker.
“They shot the ball very well. They do a nice job trying to get you helping and they spread you out and really stretch it to the corner.”
Without Holmes’ 13-point outburst in the fourth quarter and the work of the big men on the glass, the Blue Streaks could have faced their first loss early in the season.
“Will (Fox) does a great job on the glass for us and he makes a lot of things happen,” Usher said. “Offensively even if he’s not scoring the ball he sees the floor so well and he can really pick apart at the defense from the inside.
“Aiden (Holmes) had a huge fourth quarter; he had 12 or 13 points down the stretch for us and helped us keep the lead as they were knocking down shots from the perimeter.”
Once again there is little time to reinvent the Blue Streaks, now heading on the road next Tuesday to take on Guilderland.
“We have looked sloppy throughout the first two league games, we know we need to get better,” Usher said. “Other teams are going to get better and if we don’t clean up some of the issues that we’ve had this week, we’re going to find out the hard way.”