Cadets buckle down on defense
Second-quarter surge carries Albany Academy to win over NFA squad
As his team came to the bench following the conclusion of the first quarter Saturday afternoon, Albany Academy boys’ basketball coach Brian Fruscio only wanted to talk numbers.
“Eighteen. Eighteen points. That’s too much,” Fruscio told his team regarding how many Newburgh Free Academy had scored during the opening eight minutes.
Demanding more from his charges at the defensive end was one thing. Fruscio’s players still had to perform. The Cadets responded by limiting the Goldbacks to seven points in the second quarter and drew away for a 68-55 victory at the 2018 SUNY Cobleskill High School Classic.
Albany Academy and NFA were tied at 18 at the end of the opening quarter after junior standout Andre Jackson beat the buzzer with a drive and conversion. Fruscio could not wait to talk to his team during the break.
“We pride ourselves at the defensive end and being as close to single-digit quarters as we can,” Fruscio said. “Eighteen is double that. It is unacceptable, especially after seeing the scout and (NFA) not doing anything we didn’t think they would do. I think in the second quarter, fatigue set in on them and us being in a little better shape I thought helped us.”
“Coach definitely addressed it and we came out with much more energy in the second quarter,” Jackson said. “We got into our stance and tried to stay in the right positions on defense. We got them a little bit sped up. They threw some bad passes, which allowed us to get into transition.”
Newburgh Free Academy (4-1) missed on its first five shots of the second quarter. Even when the Goldbacks were able to grab an offensive rebound, they could not convert the follow. In all,
NFA went 3-for-14 shooting to go along with six turnovers as the Cadets opened up a 35-25 advantage at halftime.
The Cadets (4-0), ranked No. 2 in the Class A state poll, closed thehalfonan11-0surge—a three-minute sequence during which both Jackson (28 points) and senior point guard August Mahoney scored two baskets. Mahoney also recorded two assists during the run.
“He just settles everyone down,” Fruscio said of Mahoney. “Other guys want to go up and
down, but at the end of the day August is the guy. He settles us down and got a couple of shots. He stretched the lead.”
“I definitely wanted to get my team involved first, but I also have to stay aggressive,” said Mahoney, who will play at Yale next year. “I am going to pass. I also have to score and can’t have any goose eggs out there where I don’t score. My team needs me to score and facilitate. I try to have a healthy balance between the two.”
Albany Academy continued to excel at the defensive end in the third quarter. Mahoney
(25 points) hit a pair of 3-pointers and later converted a give-andgo from Jackson as the Cadets opened a 50-34 advantage.
The fourth quarter belonged to Jackson, who delivered a trio of spectacular dunks in transition. The first two slams came after steals from Jackson, and the third followed a rebound and a gorgeous move to avoid a defender at midcourt.
The Goldbacks were led by 16 points from Caleb Simmons. NFA made only 11 of 32 shots after intermission.
Albany Academy returns to SUNY Cobleskill on Sunday at noon to take on Frederick Douglass (4-3). The Lions dropped a 60-57 verdict to Schalmont in the second game.
Fruscio and Mahoney are both looking for a more complete outing against Frederick Douglass.
“We obviously locked in defensively during the second quarter,” Mahoney said. “We just need to do that at the start of the game and not wait for the second quarter.”