GUILDERLAND — It was a tough way to open the season, but the Guilderland boys’ basketball team came out of it okay.

The Dutchmen split two games at the Bishop Maginn Tip-off Tourney held at the Washington Avenue Armory in downtown Albany this past weekend.

Guilderland beat Spring Valley of Section I in Rockland County, 77-54, but lost to the host and the Section II-favorite Griffins, 74-59.
"I believe we got what we needed to get out of it," Guilderland Coach Ron Osinski said after Saturday’s game. "It was a good way to judge where we are at. It’s a barometer to see how we’d do and go from there."

The Dutchmen played well against the Griffins in Saturday’s championship game. One bad stretch put the Dutch behind and they could not catch up to the athletic and talented Maginn team.

"Tough team"

The Dutch came out strong and took an early lead on a three-pointer by Dan Gejay, and a drive to the basket and a three-point basket by Andrew Smith.

But the Griffins came back by using a quick pressing defense that forced the Dutch into turnovers and led to some easy baskets. Maginn scored 18 unanswered points in the opening frame to lead 20-8.
"About four or five minutes into it," Osinski said, "their press was something that we couldn’t break. It’ll be the best we’ll see all year. We had some guys come in as part of the rotation that weren’t ready for it. We had no room for error. They are a tough team and score from any place — inside or outside."

Guilderland could not catch up with Maginn as the Griffins outscored the Dutchmen, 17-11, in the second quarter to take a 37-19 halftime lead.

The second half was more competitive as the third period ended in a 20-18 advantage for Bishop Maginn and the Dutch outscored the Griffins, 22-17, in the fourth quarter, though the game was long decided.
"We talked at halftime that it would be good to win the second half," Osinski said. "We didn’t want to get beaten by double the score."

There were some other highlights for the Dutchmen during the game.

Smith scored 21 points to lead the Dutch and Brett Marfurt scored 14 points. Junior Jon Terry added nine points and classmate Andrew Oteng-Baah scored seven.

Oteng-Baah, who moved to Guilderland from Toronto, impressed Osinski in his second game with the Dutchmen.
"He’s gotten better and better," the coach said. "He’s going to be a major contributor. They all are."

Depth

Osinski had 10 players sub in and out of the contest on Saturday night, showing some of the depth the Dutchmen will have this season.

Sophomore Taran Buie led the Dutchmen with 21 points. Antonio Davis scored 12 and Khaliq Gross, Terron Victoria, and Shimeek Johnson each scored 11 points for Bishop Maginn.
"We’ll not face anyone with their quickness the rest of the year," Osinski said. "They are a good team. They got good shots and played tough defense. They were swarming Brett in the first half. In the second half, we were able to open up the offense and he was able to score here and there. It’s early in the season...
"We don’t face that speed and quickness in practice," the coach added. "They have a lot of athletes on their team. And they bring Gross off the bench. He beat us with LaSalle last year. They have a lot of weapons. I think for somebody to beat them, they have to play a flawless game and get them off their game."

Defeating Spring Valley

In Friday’s game, the Dutchmen fell behind, 21-11, at the end of the first quarter but came back by outscoring Spring Valley, 19-8, in the second quarter and led, 30-29, at halftime.

A big third quarter by Guilderland put the game away. The Dutchmen outscored the Tigers, 23-10, and led, 53-39, at the end of the third stanza.

Marfurt, who was named to the all-tournament team, scored 29 points to lead the Dutchmen. Smith added 19 points, Gejay scored 10, and Terry chipped in with eight points for the Dutchmen.
"It was a gut-check," Osinski said on Friday. "We were down by double digits and were able to fight back to be ahead at halftime. I was not expecting that. We were down and in a little bit of foul trouble. They came fast out of the box, but we got back into it. In a game like this, you don’t know how the opponent is going to adjust early in the game. I had no knowledge of them. I knew a little, but not of their personnel."

"Things to work on"

The Dutchmen played a home game against Ballston Spa on Wednesday. The game was moved from Ballston Spa to Guilderland because Ballston Spa has problems with its gym. The game was part of a double-header with the varsity girls’ teams.

The Dutchmen then play at Mohonasen on Friday night and host Colonie on Tuesday, where Guilderland will start its pursuit of a Suburban Council championship and prepare for a run in the sectional playoffs, and a possible re-match with Bishop Maginn.
"My first year here," Osinski said, "we lost to Albany at home. Then, in the first round of the sectionals, we ended up beating them. We have things to work on. We have more room to get better."