GUILDERLAND — It was the usual suspects, and the not-so-usual suspects who kept the Guilderland boys’ basketball team unbeaten in Suburban Council play.

Senior star Brett Marfurt scored 18 points to lead the Dutchmen and, more importantly, varsity newcomer junior Jon Terry scored 14 points to help in the 57-52 win over Colonie.
"Jon is tough inside," said Guilderland Coach Ron Osinski. "He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He’s 6-1, but he plays like he is 6-6. He is strong and he has good foot work out there."

Terry came up big despite being outsized by a Colonie front line that featured players who are 6-6, 6-5, and 6-4.

"One big play"

Colonie’s size gave them an early advantage. The Garnet Raiders jumped out to a 7-0 lead before Guilderland woke up.

A fast-break lay-up by Marfurt and then a driving one-handed slam dunk by Terry energized the Dutch and got them back in the game.
"That was one big play," Marfurt said. "That picked up our energy and we used to it to the end of the half. It was a big run and it cleared away their 7-0 start."

Guilderland trailed, 12-10, at the end of the first quarter, but used its athleticism to take the lead in the second quarter.

Trailing, 16-14, the Dutchmen got a basket off a rebound by Kevin Kost. Terry made a reverse lay-up to give the Dutch their first lead of the game.

They quickly lost the lead on a foul shot but exploded by scoring the next 12 points.

Guilderland got a spark as Andrew Oteng-Baah came off the bench and made a steal and went in for an uncontested lay-up to give the Dutch the lead again.

Marfurt made a jump shot and then, later, Oteng-Baah made another fast-break lay-up and was fouled. He converted the free throw to make the score 23-17 in favor of the Dutchmen.

Andrew Smith made a three-point basket and Dan Gejay scored inside for the Dutch. Colonie’s Kyle Macfrici made a jump shot with one second left in the quarter to end the Dutch’s run and make the halftime score, 30-19.
"They made a couple of shots and went up 7-0," Osinski said. "I then called the timeout, and we were able to get back and eventually went ahead. It was a low-scoring first half. We held them to 19 points; that’s pretty good defense. Then they started to make shots and the [Sean] Peer kid hurt us inside. With [Herb] Tedford, they make a good front line."
"I thought Andrew Oteng-Baah was the difference in the first half," Osinski said. "He gives us energy. He is quick. Once he gets everything down, he’ll do more than just spell a kid. He is somebody who will help us win."

Holding off a comeback

Colonie showed it is a good team and fought back to make things interesting in the second half.

The Garnet Raiders were able to cut the lead to six points by the end of the third quarter by outscoring the Dutchmen, 16-11, in the frame.

With timely baskets and clutch foul shooting, the Dutchmen were able to hang onto the win.

Again, Marfurt and Terry came up big. Marfurt scored seven points in the final six minutes of the game and Terry had four, as the Dutchmen were able to hold off Colonie.

The Garnet Raiders’ comeback was fueled by Tashaun Newsome who scored all of his 18 points in the second half, including a couple of three-pointers in the fourth quarter.
"They are a good team," Osinski said. "They weren’t going to let us run away with it. They shot the ball well in the second half. They are a big team... They’re 2-1 now, but they are not going to let many teams beat them."
"We knew they would make a run in the second half," Marfurt said. "We have to weather halves like that if we want to win sectionals."

Kost added seven points for Guilderland as eight players reached the scoring column. Mafrici scored 11 and Tedford scored 10 points for Colonie.

Osinski saw good play from some of his other players, who did not get any points.
"Chris Mannarino did a good job in the first half," the coach said. "He was one of the reasons we got back into it."

Osinski was impressed his team was able to hold on to the win and sees it as a big step his team took.
"That is one thing we didn’t do last year — hold off a comeback," Osinski said. "I thought we did a good job in the last two minutes of the game to hold them. We kept our composure and got easy shots and easy foul shots.
"I know senior leadership helps that," Osinski added. "But I think the two juniors that started [Kost and Terry] did a nice job."

The Dutchmen are now 3-0 in the Suburban Council and 4-1 overall. The Dutchmen also beat Ballston Spa and Mohonsen in their last two games.

Next up for the Dutch are a pair of home games. On Friday, Guilderland takes on Columbia, and on Tuesday, Niskayuna comes to town.

But as long as the Dutch get players like Terry contributing, Marfurt feels his team will be all right.
"Teams key on me and Drew," Marfurt said. "Other guys stepped up and made shots. We have five guys on the court that can score."