By Jordan J. Michael

SARATOGA SPRINGS –– The Guilderland boys’ basketball team hasn’t been able to break 50 points in a Suburban Council game so far this season.

Head Coach Ron Osinski told The Enterprise in pre-season that the Dutch needed to post at least 50 a night to have a chance at success. So far, Osinski’s goal hasn’t been met.

Guilderland scored 38 in the season-opener against Mohonasen, scored 41 on Dec. 8 against Colonie, and had 49 points last Friday at home versus Columbia. The Dutchmen added a 56-to-45 loss at Saratoga on Tuesday night to bring its league record to 0-4.

“It’s going to be a rough season if we can’t crack 50 points,” said Osinski after the game. “We’re forced to hold other teams to scores in the 40s and that’s a really tough thing to do.”

In Tuesday’s game, the Dutch showed a lot of promise and hustle, especially on defense with a full-court press, causing turnovers by the Blue Streaks. However, Guilderland couldn’t manufacture those turnovers into points.

“Guys that aren’t used to scoring need to start scoring baskets,” said senior Anthony Gallo who had 12 points. So far this season, Gallo and fellow senior Ryan Ochs are the top-scoring threats for the Dutch. “Our opponents are starting to notice that Ochs and I are scoring and they’re shutting us down. We need some backup,” Gallo said.

The Dutchmen didn’t have any proven scorers entering the season because most of the players who earned serious varsity time for the team last year have moved on to college.

“We’re not getting to the foul line much or driving the lane much,” Osinski said. “I know these kids have it in them. We’ll wait and see.”

Saratoga jumped out to a 10-to-4 lead in the first quarter. Guilderland cut it to 10-to-9 after Gallo hit a three and Justin Horne made a pretty move in the lane for a score. The Blue Streaks added a few free throws in the final seconds to make it 12 to 9.

The Dutch got within one early in the second quarter with a basket by Nate Sentz, but that’s the closest the team would get to Saratoga for the rest of the evening.

The Blue Streaks continued to go on an 11-to-0 run and it started with an alley-oop from Anthony Luciano to Mike McElroy, a play that enlightened the crowd. McElroy stole the ball on the next Dutch possession and sprinted the floor for another score.

Luciano made a move on Gallo for an impressive play and McElroy completed a three-point play after being fouled on a shot he made. The damage was done and Saratoga was now leading, 27-13, with two minutes left in the first half.

McElroy led the Blue Streaks with 17 points and Ochs topped Guilderland with 15.

“That second quarter really got out of hand and it cost us the game,” said Osinski. “We missed lay-ups and that hurt our defense. It always seems like we’re shooting against bigger kids.”

The Dutch are at the basement of the Suburban Council South along with an 0-5 Bethlehem team, and the road doesn’t get any easier with a home game against Shaker on Friday. Guilderland gets a 17-day break after Friday and it couldn’t come at a better time.

“We’re going to take that time off seriously and use it to stir some things up on this team,” Osinski said. “I don’t know who will score for us, but we’ll work hard every day and try to get better. We need to gain confidence.”

“We need to be more excited about the game,” said Gallo. “We’ll start with that.”