GUILDERLAND — Guilderland boys’ basketball coach Ron Osinski is wondering when he will have his two best players on the court for more than just one game.

Just when junior Drew Smith returned from a hand injury, leading scorer Brett Marfurt missed the last two games while sick.

The Dutchmen missed Marfurt in a loss to Shaker last Tuesday, but didn’t miss him on Friday as Smith ran the show and got help from his teammates to cruise to a 69-43 win over Ballston Spa.

The win came after the varsity girls’ team from Guilderland defeated Ballston Spa.

Smith scored 16 points to lead the Dutchmen, but his overall athleticism sparked his team as they played at a much faster pace than in previous games. Smith pushed the ball up the court, not only scoring points himself, but dishing the ball into the waiting arms of many of his teammates.
"Drew makes things happen," said Osinski. "He helps the other guys score. We had four in double digits. We shot the ball well against their zone."

Mark Domaracki scored 13 points for the Dutch, Stephen Doak added 11 points, and Dan Gejay chipped in with 10 points.

Fast start

A fast start gave the Dutch the early lead and they never looked back against a fatigued Ballston Spa squad that had played the night before.

Domaracki got the scoring started with two foul shots and then scored an inside basket for the Dutchmen. Doak scored on a fast-break lay-up and Domaracki scored inside again to give the Dutch an 8-2 lead. Smith added a lay-up on a fast break to give Guilderland an eight-point advantage.

After a Scotties basket, Smith banged in a jump shot and Domaracki knocked down a three-pointer to put the lead in double digits, 15-4.

Guilderland stretched its lead on a three-point basket and an inside basket by Doak.

Uwana Okure scored on a lay-up to round out the scoring in the half for the Dutch.

Guilderland led, 22-11, at the end of the first frame and was never threatened again as it led, 37-20, at halftime and 59-34 at the end of the third frame.
"We came out and had a good start," Osinski said. "We knew when we step on the court that we had to play. They probably had tired legs, because they played last night."

Getting a good start was imperative in Friday’s game, after losing in the first game Marfurt missed.
"In our last game, against Shaker," Osinski said. "We were there for 26 minutes. Drew was in foul trouble, but we played a pretty good game. I was disappointed with the outcome but they wore us down without Brett."

"Tough season"

Osinski said that Marfurt is out with mononucleosis but should be back soon.
"He’s recovering from it," Osinski said. "He’s had it for a week or two. It’s day to day. We’re hoping to get him back soon."

Osinki can’t wait to see his two juniors on the court at the same time, which has been a rarity this season.
"The two have played together in three out of 14 games," the coach said. "Hopefully, we get them both back for the stretch run. We can move up and do what we can do to get the best spot for seedings and go from there."

Smith just recovered from a broken bone in his hand and has only practiced a couple of times around the three games he’s played.
"It seems like a long time ago when he first got hurt," Osinski said. "This week, we started to get stuff going. We’ve had some sickness. Steve Doak’s been sick, but we are starting to get healthy. Uwane has played the best he has all season and Dan Gejay is playing his best at a time he should. I’m happy that we responded that well. We played some tough ball early."

Osinski is happy with the way his team has played for the most part. The Suburban Council is a very balanced league and the Dutch have played tough against skilled teams.
"It’s been a tough season, mentally," Osinski said. "But there is enough time for us to really start and get everything turned around. Hopefully, we got everybody back healthy. We got Drew back two weeks later than we expected and then Brett goes out. Who would ever thought that we would lose two starters that mean a lot. Drew sees people and gets them the ball and Brett is our leading scorer, rebounder, shot blocker, and probably leads us in some other categories. You take that out of our line-up and you lose a lot each game."