GAME OF THE WEEK: GERMANTOWN vs. NEW LEBANON
Greg Dedrick
ccSCOOP Sports
02-18-10 - 3:20 p.m. - Earlier this year the upstart Tigers of New Lebanon beat Germantown by 13 on their home floor, and coming into Friday, the Clippers were certainly looking for revenge, with more than just bragging rights on the line. The matchup between Columbia County and Central Hudson Valley League rivals would also give one of these two teams sole possession of first place and the regular season CHVL crown.
On Senior Night, before a jam-packed crowd of fans for both squads and shortly after the Germantown girls captured their own league title, the boys did the same, overcoming a slow start to blow open a close game and cruise to a convincing 67-49 victory.
The two teams battled closely in the opening minutes until a Mike Gavrity three-pointer opened up a 10-4 lead for the visiting Tigers, but that lead would be short-lived. Mike Wyant and Cody Broast scored on back-to-back layups, and Thomas Griffin added a pair of free throws to knot the game up at 10. New Lebanon again took over the lead as the quarter wound down, but Larry Niebling buried a three late to tie the game, this time at 15, and that was the end of the first quarter. |
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The second quarter began as same as the first ended, with Niebling knocking down a shot from deep. Germantown seized momentum as Tigers big man Bryan Potter picked up his third foul early in the quarter. Griffin scored off an offensive rebound, and Niebling converted a layup after a steal, and before the Tigers knew what hit them, they were down 7 with just over three minutes remaining before the half. After the teams traded baskets, a hoop and a free throw by Gavrity got the Tigers back to within 5, but as they would the rest of the night, the Clippers had an answer. Cody Broast buried a deep three-pointer, Mike Wyant followed that up with a fast break layup, and the Tigers were back up 10. After an offensive foul on New Lebanon, the Clippers held the ball as the time wound down and Broast knocked down another deep three with seven seconds remaining. The Tigers went into the half up 34-21.
The teams came out of half trading buckets back and forth, and the lead stayed right around 13. But with just under three minutes remaining, Niebling pushed the lead even further, seemingly putting the game out of reach for the Tigers. But New Lebanon refused to give in. Potter drove to the hoop for a score, C. J. Trombley converted one of two from the charity stripe, and Gavrity added 2 more, and the Tigers finished the quarter on a 5-0 run to pull back within 15.
The 15 that the Tigers were down by at the end of the third was as close as they’d come. Thomas Griffin opened the fourth with back-to-back steals and layups, and Germantown never looked back. It became a free-throw contest down the stretch the Clippers never faltered as they closed out the win.
The Clippers got scoring contributions from six different players including four in double digits. Larry Niebling led the way off the bench for the Clipps, knocking down four shots from deep on his way to a game-high 20 points. Mike Wyant added 15, while Cody Broast and Thomas Griffin each finished with 14.
For the Tigers, Mike Gavrity led the way with 16 points, while C. J. Trombley scored 15, and Bryan Potter finished with 14.
The scary news for the rest of the league is that the Clippers will lose just three players: D. J. Lyons, Brandon Jason, and Jon Diehl, who finished the regular season as the fifth, seventh, and eighth leading scorers for Germantown. Equally scary for the league is that New Lebanon will lose only two players: C. J. Trombley and Chris Evans, who finished fifth and sixth in scoring for the Tigers.
