Seven nabbed in bust - Recorder

26 / Thursday, December 12, 2013 SPORTS The Recorder, Amsterdam, N.Y.
Boys, from page 32
Division of the Western
Athletic Conference.
“I was rusty, and with the
mouth guard I had to breathe differently,
so it was pretty tough,”
Sala said. “It was a challenge, but
I was able to prosper tonight.”
Sala’s entrance to the game was
marked by the senior scoring 10
straight Canajoharie (2-1, 2-1
WAC) points to open the second
quarter — and he didn’t stop there.
Sala also had eight points during
the Cougars’ 14-2 run that helped
them open up an eight-point lead
in the second half and provided a
huge boost to a team that struggled
to finish chances close to the basket
Wednesday night.
“I knew as soon as he came
back, he was gonna make a difference
in the ball game,”
Canajoharie coach Phil Schoff
said. “I didn’t think he’d be that
hot that early in the ball game,
but he’s the type of kid that has
so much fire, so much competitiveness.
He wanted to be on the
court for the past eight weeks.”
Dillan Veeder scored 12 of his
14 points in the second half and
Josh Gonzalez chipped in 13
points for Canajoharie as the
Cougars took control of the game
late in the third quarter, then held
on as the Hilltoppers (1-3, 1-2)
chipped into the lead throughout
the final eight minutes.
Down as many as eight, Fort
Plain did rally to tie the game at
50-50 with 3:51 to play when
Kiernan Briggs — who scored a
team-high 19 points — drove the
baseline for a layup, but
Canajoharie’s Zach Folts leaked
into the open court on the ensuing
inbounds play for an easy layup
that put Canajoharie up for good.
“Canjo played great. They
made big shots every time they
needed one,” Fort Plain coach
Casey Russom said. “The Sala
kid played real well, made a lot
of big shots for them, but our
boys played hard. We’re young,
and I liked the way they battled
— especially the way they battled
back in the fourth quarter.”
Between the 19 points — including
five 3-pointers — from Briggs
and 15 points off the bench from
Eric Orologio, the Hilltoppers
managed to keep Canajoharie
within striking distance in the closing
minutes, but a 3-point play
from Veeder with 30.4 seconds left
and a key rebound by Gonzalez off
a missed Veeder free throw in the
closing seconds helped the
Cougars run out the clock on the
win — even if it came in a slightly
different fashion than usual for
Canajoharie, which relied on the
outside shooting of Sala and Colin
Davis when Gonzalez, Folts and
Zach Ouderkirk were struggling in
the post.
“They shut down the middle, so
we had to be a perimeter shooting
team,” Sala said. “That’s the
good part about this team — we
can play down low, but we can
also shoot if we need to.”
While Fort Plain will take on
Galway Friday night,
Canajoharie is faced with a key
matchup at home against a
Saratoga Central Catholic team
that has jumped to the top of the
WAC North in the opening weeks
of play. With the Cougars needing
to make up ground after last
week’s season-opening overtime
loss to Northville, Schoff said the
Cougars must play a more complete
game than they did
Wednesday night.
“We were stagnant. We were
one step behind every play,” he
said. “We weren’t anticipating
like I thought we would be. We
weren’t really jelling inside like
we usually are. We haven’t really
played Canajoharie basketball to
our ability yet in the three games
we’ve had.”
Follow ADAM SHINDER on
Twitter at
twitter.com/RecorderShinder
Dave Wojeski/For The Recorder
Fort Plain's Eric Orologio tries to make a move around Canajoharie's Zachary Ouderkirk during their
game on Wednesday night.
Girls, from page 32
were up 20-5 early in the second quarter.
Dainara Veeder scored eight of her 10
points in the first half, and Canajoharie
had defenders shadowing Fort Plain’s
Boyer and senior guard Haley Kilmartin
all over the court, frustrating the duo early
on in the contest.
“I was nervous in the beginning,” said
Kilmartin, who did not attempt a shot until
there was 2:37 to play in the first half.
“It’s tough when they’re playing a triangle-and-two
like that, and face-guarding
you,” she said.
But Fort Plain steadily chipped away at the
Lady Cougars’ lead. The Lady Hilltoppers
had their deficit down to eight points at halftime,
two by the end of third quarter, and
they took the lead for good with more than
five minutes left in the game.
“They did a super job of getting back in
the game,” said Canajoharie head coach
Joe Fowler. “They never (mentally) left
the game. ... They just don’t give up.”
The Lady Cougars helped Fort Plain’s
cause. After its fast start, the home team
committed 15 turnovers in the second half,
and allowed Boyer and Kilmartin to score
a combined 22 points in the second half.
“We calmed down and the anxiety was
out of our system,” said Boyer. “We started
playing a lot smarter.”
After getting itself out to a big lead
against its archrival, Fowler said his team
was “too hyper” in the second half.
“We’re still a young team with a lot of
juniors,” he said. “We have to learn how to
win.”
“I think their inexperience did show a little
bit,” said Fort Plain head coach Phil Karker.
“But you still have to give them a tremendous
amount of credit (for how they played
at the beginning). They played so hard and
Joe has done a great job with them.”
Fort Plain outscored Canajoharie in the
fourth quarter, 20-9, as the Lady
Hilltoppers made 10 free throws in the
Dave Wojeski/For The Recorder
LEFT: Fort Plain’s Abby Boyer and Shirley Soren double team Canajoharie’s Jenelle Dillenbeck as she tries to move the ball
up the court during their game on Wednesday night. RIGHT: Fort Plain's Haley Kilmartin has the ball knocked away by
Canajoharie's Dainara Veeden as she tries to get off a shot.
final stanza.
“We just really wanted to win,” said
Kilmartin, who had 11 points and five
rebounds. “We had a lot of heart today.”
The Lady Hilltoppers’ senior duo also
got some critical help. Junior forward Bri
Florian had five points, eight rebounds and
five blocks, while sophomore guard Soren
Shirley had five points and six steals.
“They definitely stepped up big and took
some pressure off Haley and me,” said
Boyer. “They did a really nice job.”
Karker agreed, adding that sophomore
guard Kendra Trembley and freshman
Cheyenne Munson added key plays at crucial
moments.
“And,” he said, “Haley and Abby were
Haley and Abby.”
For Canajoharie, Jenelle Dillenbeck had 10
points and four steals, while Jordyn Logan
had six points and seven steals. Veeder had
five steals to go along with her 10 points.
Fowler said his team will grow from
Wednesday’s disappointment, while
Karker said his team wants to use its victory
as a springboard into the rest of its season.
Staging a double-digit comeback with
their backs against the wall could only
help the Lady Hilltoppers, Karker said.
That such a victory came against his
team’s top rival was an extra bonus for
Fort Plain. Karker jokingly compared the
teams’ rivalry to the Civil War since
“everyone out here is probably related in
some way,” and said he was not surprised
the matchup had produced another memorable
game.
“It’s always going to be a close game, no
matter what,” said Karker. “One team
could be the Class C champion and the
other could not have a win in 20 games —
but it’s still going to be a close game.”
Follow MICHAEL KELLY on Twitter at
twitter.com/RecorderMK