Sabres survive on defense
Schalmont breaks open game in fourth when its offense kicks into gear
Suffering through a difficult shooting stretch during the third quarter Friday night, the Schalmont boys’ basketball team never surrendered its lead nor did it deviate from its defensive principles. When the shots started falling again, the Sabres stormed away.
Schuylerville, the No. 8 seed in the Section II Class B Tournament, hung tough through 24 minutes before withering at the end as Schalmont registered a 65-42 quarterfinal victory at Hudson Valley Community College.
“We couldn’t find our rhythm tonight, but we didn’t let that stop us,” Schalmont senior guard LJ Randle said. “Defense fueled us and won us the game.”
Schuylerville (13-9) made 10 of 21 shots in the first half, but connected on just 4 of 24 after intermission.
“We dug down deep. We pride ourselves on defense and knew we could do that the whole game, so we started right there,” Randle said.
“We have been living on our defense all year, whether it was a game we were doing well offensively or not,” Schalmont coach Greg Loiacono said. “Defense is the reason we have so many wins this year. Hopefully, we can keep that rolling.”
The top-seeded Sabres (21-1) secured a berth in Monday’s semifinals against No. 5 seed Fonda (18-4) at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls.
Schalmont never trailed against the Black Horses, although the Sabres twice saw their advantage shaved to one point in the third quarter.
Despite making only 4 of 16 shots in the third quarter, Schalmont took a 40-34 lead into the final eight minutes.
“I thought we were playing pretty well, but we had some open shots (in the third quarter) that didn’t fall,” Schalmont junior standout Shane O’dell said. “We knew since our offense wasn’t going as well as we wanted, our defense had to carry us.”
O’dell, who paced Schalmont with 28 points and 11 rebounds, scored off a steal to open the fourth quarter and set up Randle (13 points, 10 rebounds) in transition as the Sabres led 44-34.
Following a timeout, O’dell scored following a rebound and Nick Boyd (six points, 14 rebounds, three assists, three steals) set up the 6-foot-5 junior for another basket to prompt another timeout call from Schuylerville coach Matthew Steinfort.
“The momentum shifted and you could see them getting after it on the defensive end,” Loiacono said. “We have been holding teams to the high 30s or low 40s all season. We did it again. Our defense was great in the second half, we didn’t overextend and limited them to one shot.”
Schuylerville suffered through a pair of extended dry spells without a field goal. The first spanned from the third quarter into the first three minutes of the fourth quarter. In all, the Black Horses missed 11 straight shots.
After senior Stratton Sherman drained a 3-pointer with 5:01 left, Schuylerville missed eight more shots consecutively before converting its final attempt of the game.
“We gave up 14 points in the second half. That is amazing,” Loiacono said.
Schalmont made 10 of 17 shots in the fourth quarter and owned the glass, paced by Boyd.
“He has been playing great the last five or six games,” Loiacono said of Boyd. “He has been huge for us.”
Schalmont reached the Class B final in 2018 and is two wins away from a championship. Friday’s victory offered special meaning for several members of the team because Schuylerville beat Schalmont twice during the football season.
“It gave us a little bit of motivation because they spoiled our football season, so we wanted payback,” Randle said. “It felt good.”