12/10 Most Valuable Thoughts: Poland/Oriskany Boys Hoops

Poland 78, Oriskany 73

I’ve already come to realize at this point that when you go to an Oriskany game, expect it to be all over the place. Expect them to look like they’re out of the game, then expect them to seize momentum and take control of the game. Expect them to lose their grip of the game once they get it – expect them to get it back. Most importantly, expect Ryan Schmadel to go off. That’s exactly what happened on this night as well, but Poland was able to hold on behind a particularly strong performance from one of their own.

Oriskany started off the game scoring 5 quick ones – a Schmadel bucket followed by a Dom Silvestri trey put them up 5-0 1 minute in. Poland quickly settled in, going on a 9-0/14-1/19-3 run through the next 3+ minutes. Bryce Wenzel’s only bucket put the Tornadoes up 7-5 with 6:15 to go and finished a spurt of 7 points in 45 seconds. Poland would never relinquish this lead, although it got dicey. Behind 7 early points from Dustin DuBrule and 6 from Mark Hennings, Poland took a double-digit lead at 19-8 with 3:35 to go in the 1^st. Hennings continued to go off for Poland, finishing the 1^st quarter with 13 points, helping Poland gain a 28-17 edge after 8 minutes. Who scored 12 of Oriskany’s 17?.. Ryan Schmadel. Hennings started off the 2^nd quarter scoring again to bump the lead to 13, but behind 5 points apiece from Schmadel & Silvestri, Oriskany went on a 13-0 run to tie it at 30. Michael Wilk scored & added a free throw for a 3 point play the hard way, and an administrative tech put Schmadel at the line, where he split a pair to tie it. Poland bumped the lead back up to 5 late in the 1^st half before Schmadel scored again, bringing the score to 41-38 at the end of the 1^st half. At this point, Schmadel’s total was 21. Poland was led by Mark Hennings’ 17.

Poland came out of the locker room ready to go on both ends, while the Redskins came out stale. Oriskany only scored twice in the first 5 minutes of the 3^rd, while Poland started to get going. Ross Agen, in foul trouble all 1^st half, scored 7 points in the first 2:45 of the 3^rd. A Hennings bucket following an Agen 3 point play brought the lead back up to 13 at 53-40, completing a 12-2 run. After Schmadel stopped the bleeding momentarily with a bucket, Hennings & DuBrule hit treys a minute apart to give Poland its largest lead at 59-42 with 3:17 left in the 3^rd. Poland didn’t score the rest of the quarter, but Oriskany couldn’t capitalize much, scoring 4 points the rest of the way to bring the score to 59-46 after 3 in favor of the visiting Tornadoes. However, the 4^th quarter brought a lot more excitement. Schmadel started off canning a 3 and a pair of free throws in the first 30 seconds of the 4^th to bring it back to single digits momentarily. Poland responded, with Hennings scoring 5 quick ones of his own in return, and they brought the lead back up to 13 with a pair of Dubrule free throws with 5:40 left. Oriskany (Schmadel) scored the next 6 and 8 of the next 10 to bring the deficit down to 7 with 3:24 left. After Hennings scored his final bucket – point 32 of his night – Poland had its last 10 point lead at 72-62 with 2:39 remaining. The next 2 times down the court, Marcus Smithling & Schmadel hit threes to cut the deficit to 4, which is the closest it had been since late in the 2^nd quarter. Those were the final 3 of Schmadel’s 17 4^th quarter points & 42 for the game. Oriskany played the foul game the rest of the way, and after Cameron Tabor split a pair of free throws, Smithling came down and hit another 3 to cut the deficit to 2. They fouled Tabor with 1:09 left, who hit a pair of free throws to make it a 2 possession game. However, Poland proceeded to foul Smithling, who hit a pair of free throws to knock it back to 2. Dubrule was fouled, and he split a pair to bring it up to 76-73 in favor of Poland with :33.8 left. However, late game execution haunted the Redskins yet again, and Cameron Tabor came up with the ball for Poland. He was fouled & sank his final 2 free throws of the night to complete the scoring with :17.7 left.

#NumbersDontLie - Mark Hennings had a monster game for Poland. Not every day you come across a 30+ point triple-double! 32 points, 11 boards, 10 assists, and 6 steals. Dustin Dubrule added 20, including 3 treys and 9/11 shooting from the free throw line. Ross Agen scored 10 in very limited action due to foul trouble – 2 in the 1^st, 3 midway through the 2^nd, a very questionable 4^th midway through the 3^rd, and his 5^th midway through the 4^th. Poland shot 21/32 from the line as a team, including 13/20 in the 4^th quarter. They scored their last 6 from the line, shooting 6/8 in that span of the last 1:39. On Oriskany’s end, Ryan Schmadel hit 40 for the 2^nd time in 3 games this season, going 15/18 from the line and scoring 17 4^th quarter points en route to a 42 point performance. Dom Silvestri added 12, 10 of those coming in the 1^st half. Michael Wilk came off the bench to add a season-high 11. Oriskany outscored Poland 48-32 in the 2^nd & 4^th quarters, but they were outscored by Poland 46-25 in the 1^st & 3^rd.

Neat-o Stat of the Night – In 3 games, Oriskany has scored 75 4^th quarter points. Ryan Schmadel has scored 40 of them, which included 17 of his team’s 27 in this contest.

Ballin' Out - Section III Boys & Girls Hoops Athlete of the Week

Week of 12/2 - 12/8

Boys: Ryan Schmadel (Oriskany)
Girls: Emily Durr (Notre Dame)

It’s about that time… hoops season is among us, and everyone’s got some games in. This being the first week that everyone is active, it’ll be our first winter installment of Ballin’ Out, the MVT athlete of the week segment. We cover a ridiculous area between Section II and III, so for our first week, we’ll just do Section III. After that, we’ll do each section each week: 4 athletes per week in all. One for boys hoops & girls hoops for each section, to be fair.

Let’s start off with the boys side. This was really a 3-horse race to me. Two Utica-area kids had monster weeks, as did a Syracuse-area player. Kevin Warmack scored 79 points in 3 Notre Dame wins, including 2 in a tournament in Pennsylvania. Tommy Steinberg had 49 points in 2 Bishop Grimes wins, both of them close. He scored 22 in a 4 point win over Hannibal while making every big play on the floor, and followed it up with 27 in a 3 point win to remain undefeated at APW. However, we can only choose one, and there was a player who made the whole section stand up and take notice reallll quick. For that, our first winner of the Ballin’ Out athlete of the week for this winter is… Ryan Schmadel. The Oriskany sophomore had 27 points & 10 rebounds, including 11 in a 4^th quarter where they came back from a double-digit deficit and nearly nipped Westmoreland at their place… that was the weaker of the two games. The better game? He dropped a cool 47 points while shooting over 70% from the field in a 90-81 W over Hamilton. He had 17 points in a 3^rd quarter where they turned a deficit which was once double-digits into a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, then added 12 more in the 4^th to hold onto the lead. Considering they gave up 81, he needed nearly every one of those points, and besides a late spark from Marcus Smithling, Schmadel was the Oriskany offense. He went on runs by himself at key points of the game to cut into the lead, take the lead, and extend the lead. Most of the time when you see a high scoring number like 47, it’s a little padded. Perhaps it was an inferior opponent, perhaps it was a blowout. Hell, maybe it went into 4 or 5 overtimes. However, the opponent (Hamilton) isn’t half-bad in Class D. It was competitive the whole way – they needed him to put up those kind of numbers on that night to get that win, and he delivered. Averaging 37 & 9 over the course of a week – that’s athlete of the week material to me!

The girls’ side wasn’t as difficult. Sometimes, a kid just forces your hand. That’s precisely what Emily Durr did. The future Cyclone played 3 games with her Notre Dame Lady Jugglers – all wins. Over those games, she averaged 28.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 6 steals, and a block… yeah, beat that. Started off dropping 33 with 6 boards, 7 dimes, and 8 steals in a win over New Hartford, a team that won’t be too bad in Class A this season. They went to always-tough Nottingham next, and she added 23 with 6 boards & 5 assists. Friends Academy was next on the to-destroy list, and she dropped another 30 with 5 boards, 8 dimes, a couple blocks, and 5 steals. Those are some LBJ type numbers. You knew it was going to be like this a while ago if you watched her. Hell, I remember an AAU tournament when she was in junior high playing with juniors that were killing in the area at that point (Erica Pendrak, Emily’s sister Kate, etc.) and she was the best player on the floor then. Before there was Team Edward and Team Jacob, there was Team Durr! She got the senior Division I hoopla out of the way well before basketball season started, which allows for less distractions and more hoops. Iowa State’s got a monster on their hands next season! But for now, it’s the TVL and Class B in New York State that have the big elephant in the room – except she’s actually a girl, not an elephant, she’s a little under 6’0”, and she’ll kill ya with a smile on her face. Guard her if you dare!

 

12/7 Most Valuable Thoughts, Part II: Oriskany/Westmoreland Boys Hoops

Westmoreland 62, Oriskany 59

Battle of Cider Street, hoops style. You hope when two rival squads take the court, it’ll be entertaining. Thankfully, this one made me happy I was using my Saturday night to watch a high school basketball game.

Westmoreland started off strong, scoring the first 5 of the game. Charged by a pair of John Gerace treys, the Bulldogs led 10-5 3 minutes into the game. Oriskany then settled down, and led by Ryan Schmadel, gripped control of the game for a little while. Schmadel, who was coming off a  47 point performance against Hamilton, scored 12 of his team’s first 13 points, including a bucket with 1:03 left in the 1^st to give Oriskany its first lead at 13-12. They held a 17-14 lead after 1 – 12 Schmadel points on 5/6 shooting. I think most coaches will take that. After a Marcus Smithling bucket made it 19-16 early in the 2^nd, Westmoreland went on a 13-1 run, including 6 points from big man Tyler Taverne (6’6”, 235). Two Gerace free throws gave Westmoreland its largest lead of the half at 33-23 with 20 seconds left in the 2^nd, but a Smithling 3 in the waning seconds brought it back to single digits. The big 2^nd quarter helped put the home Bulldogs in the drivers’ seat.

The teams came out even through the 3^rd quarter – the margin was between 5 and 11 the whole quarter. The teams traded buckets through the first 4+ minutes, with no team scoring twice in a row until a bucket from Westmoreland’s Erik Hauk followed a Gerace three to give the Bulldogs a 44-33 lead with 2:54 left in the 3^rd. Oriskany followed with a pair of baskets from Michael Wilk, their 1^st big guy off the bench who gave them 10 2^nd half points, including 8 straight in the 3^rd. The final of his 8 straight came with 1:06 left in the 3^rd, and it was followed by Shamis Lasher’s only field goal with :21.9 to go. This brought the score to 46-41, the closest it had been since 25-20 in the middle of the 2^nd. Westmoreland quickly brought the lead back up to double digits in the 4^th. An Erik Harris bucket followed by a Tony Fiorelli trey made it 51-41. With the margin still at 10, Schmadel, who was held to just 4 points in the middle quarters, started to get back on track. He more than matched his middle quarter performance, scoring 5 points in 1:04 to keep within striking distance. Though Oriskany was down 7, it still felt like a game they could come back in with 4 minutes to go. However, a big bucket from senior point guard Gerace brought it back up to 9 with 3:30 to go, and it certainly changed the feel of optimism from the Redskin side into urgency. Both teams hit a dry spell for the next 2+ minutes, with the only points coming from Schmadel & Smithling for Oriskany, who each hit a free throw, and Fiorelli for Westmoreland, who hit a pair of free throws. The Bulldog lead was still 9 with 1:12 to play after the Fiorelli free throws, but Oriskany wasn’t done. A difficult Schmadel trey brought it to 6 with 1:03 left. The Redskins forced a turnover, and Wilk scored his final bucket with :42.7 to play to cut the deficit to 4. Fiorelli hit 2 more free throws for Westmoreland, but Schmadel got fouled and hit a pair 5 seconds later, keeping the margin at 4 with :23.3 left. Oriskany used the press to force yet another turnover and got the ball back with just under 20 to go. After a timeout, they tried to run the Doc Rivers-Ray Allen special to free Schmadel up, but considering it was the 8^th time they ran it that quarter, the Bulldogs sniffed it out. Gerace stole the pass intended for Schmadel & finished at the other end to bump the lead up to 6 and put it out of reach. A Smithling three just before the buzzer gave us the 62-59 final.

#NumbersDontLie: For Westmoreland, John Gerace was their leading & most consistent scorer. He hit 4 threes on the night and finished with 20 points. Tony Fiorelli quietly had 14 for the winners, 8 coming in the 4th, and sophomore Jack Acquaviva added 10, including 8 in the first half. On the Redskin end, Ryan Schmadel finished with 27 points & 10 rebounds, despite being held to just 2 apiece in the 2^nd & 3^rd quarters. He started strong, scoring 12 in the first, and had 11 in the 4^th. Point guard Marcus Smithling finished with 16 on the night. Future looks OK for Oriskany – they’re both sophomores.

Neat-o Stat of the Night: Every bucket counts, and you have to start & finish strong. Clichés. Well, Westmoreland took that to heart tonight, at least at the start of quarters. However, Oriskany took that to heart at the end of quarters. Westmo scored the first bucket of each quarter, and if we use just the 1^st minute of each quarter, they outscored Oriskany 11-0. However, Oriskany scored the last points of each quarter, with Smithling ending 3 of them. They outscored Westmo 16-10 in the last minute of each quarter.

12/7 Most Valuable Thoughts, Part I: WCV/Poland Girls Hoops

Poland 59, West Canada Valley 42

Last year, I was a girls basketball coach. Made it to way more girls’ hoops than boys. This year, I’m running a boys basketball summer league. Therefore, my girls basketball attendance is suffering. This was my first one of the season, but it was certainly an interesting one. Poland worked their way up to a 15 point lead at two different junctures, had all of it wiped away, and then used a 4^th quarter run to get it all back.

Poland is a team possibly still getting into basketball mode after making the state finals in girls soccer. West Canada is a team getting used to not having a Fauvelle on the roster – with Alexis just graduated after 5 years on the varsity level and Desi before her playing for 4, and only one non-Fauvelle year between them, that’s a name you just get used to seeing on the roster. The 2^nd year in the last decade without one running the show. Also, a familiar face on the sideline has been replaced by another familiar face. Meg Cullinan retired from coaching after something like 3 decades at the helm. WCV’s new coach? Brian Ellis, who made a name for himself when making all-football Dolgeville care a little bit about hoops. He’s also JV coach Barb’s husband. Enough about the history… they played a game.

Coach Potempa at Poland has a senior-laden crew with a lot of varsity experience, and they showed it early against a WCV team that isn’t necessarily young, but much more inexperienced. WCV managed just one FT in the first 6:51 before leading returning scorer Carissa Tasovac finally gave the Indians their first field goal, but Poland had already started their work. A balanced effort gave them a 12-1 lead before that bucket, and they ended the 1^st quarter up 12-5. There were more turnovers than points in the 1^st (19 to 17), with WCV committing 11 of them. The Tornadoes kept it up in the 2^nd, and they went on a 10-2 run over a 2:10 stretch which brought the lead up to 22-7. Ellis called a TO after a Paige Sullivan breakaway layup, and WCV responded by scoring 7 in just over a minute, 6 of them from Hayley Yager. Although it was no longer double digits, Poland still held a nice lead at half, with the score at 24-15.

Poland started the 3^rd like they started the first 2 – strong. 3 buckets by 3 different players in the first 1:10 of the 3^rd brought the lead back up to 15, but they couldn’t pass that number again. The Lady Indians scored the next 9, 5 from Tasovac, and ultimately got it down to 5. After a trey from Poland freshman Shiane Irwin extended it to 8, WCV scored the next 6 to knock the deficit to 2. By the end of the 3^rd, WCV was in business, down 36-33. Tasovac had 8 of her team’s 18 in the 3^rd – Poland did their usual, with their 12 3^rd quarter points spread between 5 players. A Yager 3 with 7:08 left forged the game’s first and only tie at 36, but it was all Poland after. Kara Morrison had a bucket and a pair of free throws for Poland, and after Kristen Sportello hit a pair of free throws for WCV to bring it back to a 2 point game, Poland scored the next 13 to make it 53-38 with 3:16 to go. Of course, 5 different players scored in that run. Shiane Irwin had 4 of them, including a big 3 to spring the run on the possession after the Sportello free throws. They did all of that in the matter of 1:45 of game time. Talk about a momentum swing! This time, they got it past 15, with a Morrison bucket making it 57-40. Mikayla Flansburg’s lone basket gave Poland their largest lead at 59-40 with 1:38 to go, right after Poland emptied their bench.

I expected a lot out of Poland this year, and I think they can provide what I expect. When they’re clicking, you forget they’re pretty much all soccer players first for a second. They can be a very good basketball team in Class D. They’re very balanced – no go-to scorer, especially with big girl Kierston Backus at Holland Patent now, but Morrison, Sullivan, Irwin, Nicole Kasprzyk, and Shawna Rickard can all give you double digits on any given night. They rebound, they make layups, they can hit some free throws, and they can now hit the 3. The basics can go a long way. Two things to work on through the season: turnover numbers were crazy on both sides. 64 combined turnovers, with WCV committing 34 to Poland’s 30. They were giving up the ball like it was money at the mall. Also, Poland scored their points in stretches, and they went cold over stretches. They scored 10 points in a 2:10 stretch in the 2^nd, then scored 2 points in the last 4:38 of the quarter. They scored 6 points in the first 1:10 of the 3^rd, then didn’t score for the next 3:35 en route to scoring 6 the rest of the quarter. If that turns into a more consistent effort without droughts, I feel like they become a relatively legitimate contender in D to give favorites Oriskany a battle.

Kara Morrison led all scorers, finishing with 17 for Poland. Shiane Irwin had a nice game, hitting 3 threes and finishing with 16. On WCV’s end, Hayley Yager & Carissa Tasovac finished with 14 apiece. Yager hit 3 threes as well.

WCV: Hayley Yager 14, Carissa Tasovac 14, Kristen Sportello 7, Morgan Lynch 6, Danielle VanName 1. Totals: 13 FG (4 3s), 12/28 FT, 42.

Poland: Kara Morrison 17, Shiane Irwin 16, Paige Sullivan 7, Shawna Rickard 7, Mikayla Blumenstock 6, Nicole Kasprzyk 4, Mikayla Flansburg 2. Totals: 24 FG (5 3s), 6/11 FT, 59.

12/5 Most Valuable Thoughts: Westhill Boys Hoops vs. whoever they played

Westhill 86, Skaneateles 48

I really hoped this would be a good game. Unfortunately, Westhill’s too damn good to expect one of those right now. These two played each other at the Carrier Dome last year in the Section III Class B finals, won by Westhill en route to a Final 4 trip. They showed their dominance from the opening tip, and my early pick to win STATES in Class B gave me a nice reason to believe that.

Right from the start, they poured it on. Tyler Reynolds scored 7 quick ones in the first 2:36 of the game, and his teammates added points around him almost every possession, while Skaneateles couldn’t get anything going. It took until midway through the 1^st quarter for Skaneateles’ coach to call a timeout, but they were already down 15-2. It got to 21-2 before Skaneateles scored again with 2:23 left in the 1^st, ending a 16-0 run. Westhill was up 29-8 at the end of the 1^st, 13 of those points coming from Reynolds. The Lakers settled down and started to play better in the 2^nd, but the damage had been done. The deficit shrank to under 20 for a grand total of 1:55 late in the 2^nd & early in the 3^rd. A trey from Billy Billy (beat that name, world) put Westhill up 40-14 midway through the 2^nd before Skaneateles went on their 12-4 run, which included 6 points in 1 possession. Westhill led 47-28 at the half and made it look easy.

More of the same in the 3^rd, where Westhill worked the lead up to 27 before Skaneateles brought the lead down to 65-43 by the end of the quarter. All 5 starters for the Warriors can get you, but it was a steady diet of a pair of standouts, Reynolds & Jordan Roland. They scored their 20 & 17 respectively in 3 quarters of action. Jeff Lobello, who doesn’t kill you in the scoring column although he could, added contributions on both ends. He scored 7 points, but led the offense & the press defensively for his team and had more assists & steals than I felt like keeping track of. He also put an indent in the padding on the wall from a layup he swatted. Ball, meet hand! Westhill’s bench played the 4^th quarter exclusively, and they still extended the lead, outscoring Skaneateles 21-5 in the 4^th. 5 different Warriors scored in the quarter.

For Westhill, Tyler Reynolds dropped 20 & Jordan Roland added 17. The starters got to watch the 4^th quarter – or else the numbers could’ve been higher. Billy Billy had 9, and Dan O’Connell added 7 along with Jeff Lobello. Ryan Roland came off the bench to score 8. Chris Knupp scored 18 for Skaneateles in the loss. He was their bright spot – got his buckets by working hard and absorbing contact. Bobby Leslie added 10 for the Lakers. Collin Jones, normally Mr. Buckets for Skaneateles, was held to just 7 points.

Westhill on your schedule this year? Good luck.