Ichabod Crane hangs on for win
VALATIE — The Ichabod Crane boys’ basketball team displayed many of the qualities it displayed during the second half of the season Tuesday, both the good and the bad. The Riders showed far more good than bad in their Class B first-round game against Bishop Gibbons.
Ichabod Crane raced out to a huge lead, watched the Golden Knights close within one point in the second quarter and went on a run to close the opening half. The Riders opened the third quarter with another impressive surge, only to witness Bishop Gibbons wiggle back into contention. Ultimately, the veteran trio of Alex Schmidt, Dan Warner and Jack Mullins led the way to a 65-52 triumph.
The Riders (11-10), seeded eighth, will next take on No. 1 seed Catholic Central (20-1) Saturday in the quarterfinals at Ballston Spa. Last year, Ichabod Crane edged CCHS 51-50 to win the sectional title. The 2021-22 Riders went on to do the unthinkable as they were seeded No. 6 in the sectional tournament and took the program’s first boys’ basketball state title.
“In our eyes, we’re the same team as last year,” said Schmidt, the team’s senior point guard who scored 23 points Tuesday. “Everyone says we need Brett (Richards, who is now playing at Albany Pharmacy). Brett is a great player. We have a lot of talented guys on the team.”
Ichabod Crane built a 17-4 advantage and saw the Golden Knights (13-7) trim the lead to 25-24 late in the second quarter. The Riders scored the last 10 points of the first half and the first 13 points of the third quarter to take a 48-25 lead.
“I think it was a lot of great, and some things we need to work on,” Schmidt said. “It is a good thing we have four days off to work on those things. I really think there were times where we controlled the game with pushing the ball or slowing it down halfcourt.”