GAMES OF THE WEEK: ICC vs. MAPLE HILL
Greg Dedrick
ccSCOOP Sports
02-01-10 - 12:45 p.m. - On Saturday, January 30, Maple Hill hosted two huge basketball games in Castleton. On the boys’ side was undefeated Ichabod Crane, the 15th ranked team in the state in Class A, against Maple Hill, a team whose only league defeat this year was at the hands of ICC and is ranked 6th in the state in Class C. On the girls’ side was undefeated Maple Hill, the top-ranked team in Class C, against ICC, who came in just out of first place with only two losses in the Patroon Conference.
ICC at MH Girls’ Basketball
The much anticipated girls’ show- down was up first, with Ichabod Crane looking to end Maple Hill’s win streak and give themselves a legitimate shot at gaining a share of the league crown. Another victory over the Riders would all but assure Maple Hill yet another league title.
The Riders got off to a good start, taking a 12-11 lead after one quarter while trying to limit Maple Hill junior center Katie Roth. The second quarter was not as kind to the Riders. The Wildcats stepped up their defense while keeping their offense going through Roth. Heading into the half, the Wildcats had overtaken the Riders, 22-16. |
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Maple Hill came out of the half still finding ways to score, while the Riders found it difficult to put the ball in the hoop. After eight more minutes of play, with just one quarter left, the Riders found themselves down 9. In the fourth and final quarter, the Riders tried to mount a comeback against a tiring Wildcat team, who played just six players in the contest, but despite their best efforts, ICC could never close the gap, falling 42-35.
Two players, Katie Roth and Kristen Dergurahian combined to score 39 of their team’s 42 points. Roth, a Division 1 recruit, poured in 27 points, including nine shots from the field and a 9 of 16 performance from the free-throw line. Dergurahian finished with two shots from deep and scored 12 points to lead Maple Hill.
The Riders got a double-double from senior forward Becca Smith, who put up a big effort to try to lead the Riders to the win. Smith finished with 14 points and twelve rebounds in the loss. Five other Riders got in on the scoring, but Smith was the only one to reach double digits.
ICC at MH Boys’ Basketball
In their first meeting, these two teams came in both undefeated in the league and searching for a big-statement win. The Riders pulled it out in front of their home crowd and have been on a roll ever since then. The Wildcats have bounced back from the loss, winning every game on their match into this battle. On Saturday, the Riders could either push their first-place lead to two games or fall into a first-place tie with Maple Hill.
The Riders came out of the gate struggling mightily against the fast-paced Maple Hill offense. Josh Ingham picked up a quick two fouls for ICC, putting them into an early hole. After one quarter, the Wildcats were up 19-6 and looking good.
Ichabod Crane started to fight back in the middle quarters as they slowed down the pace of the action and dug deep. Heading into the fourth quarter, Maple Hill was up just 35-28. The Riders have struggled to finish off games this year, and this game was no different. Maple Hill outscored them 16-11 to cap off an impressive 51-39 lead to create a two-way tie atop the Patroon Conference. |
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Seven different players scored for Maple Hill led by Chris Despart, who knocked down a pair of threes en route to 17 points, and senior big man Sean Danaher, who scored 12. David Briggs added 7, while Jake Jasiewicz chipped in with 6 in the win.
For the Riders, only Derick Horn reached double digits, scoring 15. Horn is part of the normally potent trio of seniors, along with Ingham and Chris Larm, but Ingham and Larm were held to a combined 13 points. Coming in, the Riders were averaging more than four three-pointers a game, but they were held to just two in this loss, while getting to the free-throw line just ten times, five apiece for Horn and Larm.
