Sunday, February 8, 2015 by Aidan Joly
Full video of the game / SSCSD via YouTube
It was senior night at Saratoga Springs High School, and the Blue Streaks had a spark.
The Saratoga Blue Streaks defeated the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Spartans on senior night Friday night at SSHS behind a big first half on the shoulders of seniors Liam Stewart and Chris Byno.
Stewart led the Streaks with 16 points, 14 of them coming in the first half. Chris Byno had 12, followed by Zach Kircher, who had nine. Byno and Kircher had seven points each in the first half.
Defense played a key role in the Saratoga win with Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake not scoring on a field goal until 6:40 was left in the second quarter, when a three-pointer from Tyler Dowdle made it in.
“The guys came out pumped tonight, and it carried over to some great defense in the first half,” Streaks head coach Matt Usher said.
“Our defense was really good in the first half, and we didn’t let them come back in the second half, so that’s what matters,” said Stewart.
Saratoga did not allow a field goal in the first quarter, and they led 23-4 after that quarter. They extended their lead to 45-11 at halftime. The Spartans started to make a comeback in the third quarter, but the Blue Streaks still led by a wide margin at 50-23.
“It was just a lot of fun on senior night. We wanted to make good memories and go out and end our career playing at Saratoga,” said Kircher.
Usher said of Kircher’s game, “He did such a good job for us in a bunch of different ways, and it was nice to see him hit some shots tonight.”
The Spartans were led by David Nieters, who had nine points.
“He’s a leader for us out there. I was proud of the way the guys responded in the second half,” Spartans head coach Mark Tooker said of Nieter’s game.
Alexander Wellington also added nine points. Dowdle added eight points of his own.
The JV team also defeated Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake by a score of 60-26. Brian Hart led the team with 15 points.
The varsity Streaks improve to 8-10 on the season with the win and will close the regular season with an away game on Tuesday at 7 p.m., taking on Ballston Spa before sectional playoffs begin.