Sunday, December 21, 2014 by Aidan Joly
Missing clutch shots late in the game didn’t do it for the Blue Streaks.
The Saratoga Blue Streaks lost to the Mohonasen Warriors by a score of 48-44 on Friday night at Saratoga Springs High School, following a temporary comeback in the fourth quarter.
The Streaks were led by senior Liam Stewart, in his first game of the season after serving a four-game suspension. He had 15 points in the game.
“He’s going to help us. He’s very athletic, and has gotten a lot stronger than last year, and he’s going to be a weapon for us on the offensive end,” head coach Matt Usher said of Stewart.
Junior Alex Skaine added 10 points in the loss and Chris Byno added seven. The Warriors were led by Ryan Carter, who had 19 points, Steve Clemins, who had 14 and Anthony Jones with eight.
“In the final minutes, we got a couple of big stops, made a foul shot or two, missed a lot with one-and-ones, but we finished on the line and played good D,” said Warriors head coach Josh Peck.
Saratoga did not play well first quarter, and trailed by 12 with a score of 16-4. They brought the difference down to 10 at the half, trailing 25-15, and really picked it up in the third, taking it down to a five point deficit. The Blue Streaks got down by as less as two late in the game, but six successful Mohonasen free throws in the fourth quarter, four of them by Carter and two by Clemins, sealed the deal for the Warriors to pick up a win.
Saratoga made four free throws in the last quarter, two from Chris Byno and one each from Skaine and Stewart.
“[They] played sloppy, missed a lot of shots from the line and from the perimeter and we’re going to have to get back to work.” Usher said.
“I think that’s a great team. Saratoga’s a great team, they’re obviously very athletic and big… our guys got up in them and they missed some shots,” Peck said when asked about Saratoga’s offense.
The Streaks were without star senior guard Sean Grecco, who was out with an injury. Jordan Buchas started in his place. Buchas fouled out with 27 seconds left in the game. Connor Tope of the Warriors also fouled out with 49 seconds left.
The Streaks will be taking on Shenendehowa on Monday and will be playing in a tournament on December 27 and 28, all at Saratoga Springs High School.
The Saratoga junior varsity team beat Mohonasen by a score of 68-28, after leading with a score of 19-0 at a point during the first quarter. The leading scorer for the Streaks was Alex Hite, who had 10 points. Brian Hart had nine.
The Saratoga freshman team also took a win, by a score of 72-42, over the Mohonasen Warriors.
Aidan Joly is a freshman covering sports for The Lightning Rod.