GUILDERLAND — Still unbeaten and still going.

The Guilderland boys’ basketball team probably played its best game in a while against a tough team on Friday to remain undefeated in Suburban Council play this year.

The Dutchmen beat Burnt Hills, 67-52, at home in a game where they took control from the outset.
"I’m not sure we came out real well in our last couple of games," said Guilderland Coach Ron Osinski. "We played with intensity early and did a good job tonight."

The win over Burnt Hills gave the Dutchmen an 11-0 record in the Suburban Council. The Dutch remained unbeaten with a 74-54 win over Shenendehowa on Tuesday night in Clifton Park.
"It’s important for us to go undefeated in the Suburban Council," said senior Andrew Smith. "We want to keep playing well going into sectionals. Hopefully, we won’t lose a game until then."

"More in the engine"

On Friday, the Dutchmen were firing early and played tough defense against a physical Burnt Hills squad.

The Dutchmen scored 20 points in the first quarter and led 20-14 at the end of the first frame.

Guilderland was led by Kevin Kost in the frame. The junior made a jump shot and a three-point basket. Smith made a three-point shot as the buzzer sounded to end the quarter and to give the Dutch a six-point lead.

The Dutch built the lead to 12 at halftime, 37-25. Burnt Hills battled to cut the lead down to six points. An alley-oop lay-up by David Fischer and an inside basket by John Dellapia made the score 41-35 at the halfway point of the third quarter.

But an intentional foul by Burnt Hills started a Guilderland run.

Smith made two free throws, which were followed by an inside basket by senior Brett Marfurt to build the lead back to 10 points, 45-35.

The Dutch added four more points in the quarter and held the Spartans scoreless in the rest of the frame to build a comfortable 51-35 lead heading into the final frame.

Guilderland cruised the rest of the way to win by 15 points.
"They cut down in the third quarter a little bit," Osinski said. "They cut to six, but we came back and re-grouped. We had some guys in there to give Drew a quick break. It seems to help him. He came back with more in the engine."

Smith led the Dutchmen with 21 points. Marfurt added 15 and Kost scored 13 points. Jon Terry chipped in with eight points for Guilderland.

Scoring records

Marfurt is now tied for fourth on the all-time scoring list at Guilderland. After Friday’s game, Marfurt had scored 837 points to tie Jason Morton who graduated in 1989. Marfurt started the season 19th on the career scoring list.

Current College of Saint Rose player Steve Dagostino is third with 915 points. Michael Ruberti, a 1990 grad, is the all-time leading scorer at Guilderland with 1,134 points.

Burnt Hills was led by Paul Layton’s 14 points, most coming on three-point baskets.
"We’ve had some help come off the bench and it showed tonight," Osinski said. "Quinn Connell played well and Chris Mannarino does not score, but he does a lot of good things. Paul Booker has been tough on the boards. What they give us helps us."
"Rejuvenated"

The Dutch hadn’t played since last Friday, when they had a blow-out win over Ballston Spa. The break did the Dutch favors.
"We are banged up a little bit," Osinski said. "Drew’s knees flare up a little bit. He took some time off and he’s back. Paul [Booker] sprained his ankle and he’s just starting to practice. We didn’t have the gym. We had three baskets to work on all week."
"It was good to get rest," Smith added. "A lot of us are rejuvenated. It was good to get some rest and get ready for the games we have left."

The Dutch have just two games left in the regular season. They play at Columbia on Friday and then host Bethlehem on Tuesday.
"We are getting ready for the stretch run," Osinski said. "We are executing better every time we play."

Osinski and his players are focused on the next game and not the possibility of going unbeaten in the league.
"We’re not even looking ahead," Osinski said on Friday. "We are taking it one game at a time. We want to add two points [for a non-divisional win] and not worry how the rest of the league does. We control our own destiny."
"Any time you hear about Guilderland basketball," Smith said, "you hear about Steve Dagostino and that team. When they talk about Guilderland basketball, we want the ’08 team included. That’s important to me and the other guys. We’ve come this far so we don’t want to miss it. We want to finish it and get the best record we can."