By Doug La Rocque
The Mountaineers posted a couple of important Central Hudson Valley League wins this past week, jumping out ahead early in both games and then withstanding comeback efforts in the second half by their opponents. [private]
Berlin opened the week with a home victory over the Hawthorne Valley Wildcats. It was a game that Berlin Coach Kasson Sauer told the Eastwick Press wasn’t their best effort, but that his team “never stopped working hard.” Coach Sauer changed up the offense to start the second half, going two low and working the ball back out for some shots. The strategy worked, as the Mountaineers hit some early three point buckets to build a commanding 20 point lead. The Wildcats, led by Oliver Wendell-Braly’s 13 points, mounted a comeback early in the 4th quarter, but Berlin was able to hang on to post the 55-45 win. Berlin was led by Sophomore Ryan Willis who posted yet another double-double; with 15 points and a career high 16 rebounds. Despite being held to a single point in the first half, Sophomore Roark Slattery led the team with 18 points while pulling down 9 rebounds and recording 3 steals. Senior Ryan Shumway contributed 8 points to the winning effort, while Junior Ryan Goose added another 7 points.
Later this past week, it was on to Rensselaer to take on Doane Stuart, where the Mountaineer’s ran their league record to 4-1 and 5-2 overall, with a 65-61 victory. Roark Slattery nailed 15 of 16 attempts from the free throw line, and 22 points overall to go along with 11 rebounds to record a double-double. Ryan Willis recorded his second straight double-double with a team high 23 points and a season high 16 rebounds. Once again the Mountaineers jumped out to a first half double digit lead and had to withstand a determined comeback by the home team. Sophomore Josh Hendricks knocked down two free throws with just five seconds left to ice the win for Berlin
Lady Mountaineers Record Their First Win
The Berlin Girl’s Basketball Squad opened the week with a tough 30-23 loss to St. Joseph’s of Pittsfield, MA. Maggie Gordon led the way for Berlin with 12 points. Coach Fleda Berschwinger said her girl’s played better but were still struggling to get baskets. Later in the week, Berlin blew out a very young and inexperienced Hawthorne Valley team by the score of 55-6. Maggie Gordon again led the way in scoring for the Lady Mountaineers with 29 points. Tiffany Foley notched 12 points for the Berlin squad that Coach Berschwinger said played “with a strong team effort, finally playing together, passing and shooting the ball much better.”[/private]