VOORHEESVILLE — The Voorheesville boys’ basketball team had many highs and lows in Tuesday night’s game against Schalmont.

The Blackbirds built an 11-point lead in the second quarter and then watched it fade to a deficit before finally pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 60-48 win in Rotterdam.
"Schalmont has a good program," said Voorheesville Coach Don Catellier. "Their kids are tough. They battled us all night long.
"But I didn’t think there would be any bloodshed," Catellier added with a chuckle.

The bloodshed came in the second quarter when Schalmont lost one of its top players — Josh Catino. Catino drove to the hoop and collided with Voorheesville’s Mike Hopper.

Catino got up but staggered to the sideline where he collapsed and was bleeding from his head. Catino was later seen with a bandage wrapped around his head standing inside the gym.
"Josh is a big part of their offense," Catellier said. "But they had other guys that hurt us."

Towering team

Blackbirds Nick Duncan hurt Schalmont early. He scored 12 points in the first quarter all down in the low post as Voorheesville took a 22-16 lead after the first frame.
"That was the game plan and we knew we could get it inside," Catellier said. "With the size we have, we knew we had the advantage and we did a great job."

Duncan, Evan Christner, and Hopper towered over the tallest of Schalmont’s players.

Greg Klopfer was Duncan’s sidekick in the opening stanza, scoring 10 points on strong drives to the basket and a three-pointer.

Schalmont kept the game close and only trailed by five points at halftime, 35-30.

But Schalmont tied the game, 37-37, with 5:15 left in the third quarter.

Luke Quay made a steal and went all the way to the basket for a lay-up and was fouled. Quay converted the foul shot to tie the game.

But Voorheesville answered. Klopfer made a foul shot and, after Duncan blocked a shot, he got the ball on the offensive end and converted an inside basket to put the Birds up by three points, 40-37.

Duncan then added a foul shot before Schalmont scored again — on two foul shots by Jack Macejka.

Duncan scored on another inside basket, which was quickly answered on a drive to the basket by Schalmont’s Nick Castiglia to keep the lead to two points.

But Voorheesville got another basket by one of its leaders. Klopfer, a senior co-captain, made a three-pointer to build the lead to five points with 2:05 left in the third quarter.

Schalmont showed its resiliency and Bill Iachetta’s three-pointer at the third-period buzzer made it a two-point game, 46-44.

Grand finale

Schalmont tied the game early in the fourth quarter on a jump shot by Quay. But Voorheesville broke the tie a few seconds later on a foul shot by Evan Christner.

Schalmont took the lead, 48-47, on a leaning jump shot by Macejka with 5:04 left in the game.

It would be the last points of the game for the Sabres.

And, as the Birds held Schalmont scoreless over the last five minutes, they scored 13 points.

Christner, a sophomore, scored on back-to-back inside baskets, and Klopfer made a three-pointer to make the score, 54-48.

Klopfer and Christner added two-point baskets and Justin Arico made two free throws to round out the scoring.
"The lead is never safe," Catellier said. "But I have great confidence in my seniors. They have faced adversity. Last year, we were down 15 points in the state regional and we battled back to win. But they make me nervous at times."

Klopfer led the Blackbirds with 22 points. Many of his points came when Schalmont was making a run.
"Greg was not going to let us lose," Catellier said. "Tonight, that was a great thing to have. The seniors tonight were great. The whole crew worked."

Duncan scored 19 points and Christner finished the game with nine points.

Macejka led Schalmont with 13 points and Bryan Wotherspoon added nine.

Wotherspoon was in foul trouble for most of the second half and was hounded by Voorheesville defenders.
"We did a good job on defense," Catellier said. "Andy [Catellier] started on him and Justin Arico, Chris Thompson, and Rob Bareis guarded him. They all did a great job."

What’s next"

The Blackbirds are now 12-4 overall and 11-3 in the Colonial Council. They have four games to go to reach their goal of winning the league.

The Blackbirds will host Cohoes on Friday and try to avenge an early-season loss. The Birds will then host Watervliet on Tuesday before finishing the season at Broadalbin-Perth on Feb. 10 and at Cobleskill on Feb. 14.

With the win on Tuesday, the Birds continue to be on top of the Colonial Council.
"What these kids have is heart," Catellier said. "Our goal was to hold teams under 40 points, we’re undefeated when we hold a team to under 50 points. That is way too many points. But I can’t complain; we are making great plays."