By: Spencer Ripchik
The 2019-2020 season for the 6-4 Saratoga Springs High School Boys Basketball team has reached its midseason mark with rival Shenendehowa and tougher opponents still to come in the second half. The Blue Streaks have suffered their only home loss to Niskayuna 50-53.
“The practice was very high energy after that loss,” said senior shooting forward Bryce Emery. After the loss to Niskayuna the Blue Streaks have gone 3-1 with a three game win streak. The Blue Streaks will have to clean things up if they want to make the journey toward the end of the season more enjoyable..
Their strongest opponent is the 8-1 Shenendehowa Plainsmen who edged out Colonie on a buzzer beater from senior Jake Reinisch. The Plainsmen are ranked number one in the Section AA with the Blue Streaks behind at number 5. Times Union Newspaper has the Blue Streaks at number 3 because of their non-league victories over La Salle and Jamesville-Dewitt. The Blue Streaks take on number one Shenendehowa in Saratoga Springs on February 11th. Junior point guard Michael Rogan believes that home field advantage will give them the edge over Shenendehowa. “The home crowd is going to be crazy” said Rogan. The Blue Streaks will need more than just the home crowd to defeat Shenendehowa.
The Blue Streaks feel that their season is below expectations, so far.. “Rebounding is a definite focus, but if we hit our shots we will be fine,” said senior small forward Bryce Emery. The Blue Streaks average around 35 rebounds per game, and even though the Blue Streaks have four losses, all their losses were by no more than ten points. The Blue Streaks can “hang” with the higher ranked teams in the Section AA standings if they perform like they did against Burnt-Hills High School 67-35.
“We have to work on playing with each other better and working harder,” said Rogan. The Blue Streaks will have to watch out for 6’ 3” senior Reinisch who leads the Plainsmen with 97 points. “They [Shenendehowa] can all shoot, and they are really annoying to defend’, said Rogan. The Plainsmen spread the ball well, with four players having over 50 points on the season. The Blue Streaks will have to be solid on rebounding, and shooting if they want to compete.
“The end goal has been the same since the start, win a Section Championship”, stated Rogan. In the current standings the Blue Streaks will have to work their way back to the top. A victory over the Plainsmen will put the Blue Streaks back on top and make their goal more achievable. The Blue Streaks at the moment are in a can’t lose situation where every win will be needed to move up in the rankings.
