Sports Archives — The Altamont Enterprise, January 12, 2006
Voorheesville boys' basketball vs. Cobleskill
By Tim Matteson
VOORHEESVILLE — Voorheesville’s game with Cobleskill wasn’t great offensive basketball; it was defense that won the game for the Blackbirds on Tuesday.
Voorheesville held off a tough, scrappy Cobleskill team, 47-37.
"It was a defensive game," said Voorheesville Coach Don Catellier. "We played well and held them under 40, which was our goal. They are physical and they are not a bad team. They work hard."
The Blackbirds shut down the Bulldogs top two scorers — Dunea Lockwood and Ryan Greene — holding them to six points each.
"They are two of the better scorers in the league," Catellier said.
The coach praised his son, Andy, for his defense on Greene, and Justin Arico for his defense on Lockwood.
"Defense win," Catellier said. "The last four games in a row we’ve held a team under 40 points. Cohoes was the time a team has scored over 40 points."
The Blackbirds lost to Cohoes, on Dec. 21, for their only loss in the Colonial Council this season.
Close victory
Tuesday’s game was close throughout as the Blackbirds couldn’t pull away until the fourth quarter.
Voorheesville led, 25-19, at halftime but just 34-32 at the end of the third quarter.
Cobleskill outscored the Birds, 13-9, in the third frame to pull within two points.
But the Blackbirds held Cobleskill to just five points in the fourth quarter and scored 13 in the final stanza to pull out the win.
The Birds got two baskets in the first minute of the quarter to build their lead up to six.
Evan Christner scored the second for the Birds on a nice inside basket.
Cobleskill got a free throw but that was all the offense the Bulldogs could muster in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter.
Greg Klopfer then made a three-pointer to give the Birds an eight-point lead, 41-33.
The Bulldogs then got back-to-back baskets from Aaron Ray to cut the lead down to four points.
But Voorheesville clamped down on defense and did not give up any more points after Ray’s second bucket with 3:12 left in the contest.
In the meantime, the Birds made six free throws to seal the win.
"Balanced scoring"
Catellier, Klopfer and Nick Duncan each made two foul shots down the stretch.
"Offensively, Nick and Andy were great," Coach Catellier said.
Andy Catellier led the Blackbirds with 16 points. Duncan added 15 points and Christner scored six while Klopfer and Mike Hopper each chipped in with five points.
"We got balanced scoring," Catellier said. "Klopfer’s been struggling. He might be pressing a little bit. At practice he can’t miss. He’ll get it back. I’m not worried at all."
Duncan led the Birds with 10 rebounds and he also blocked three shots. Christner and Hopper also joined the block party, blocking three shots as well. Andy Catellier also had a block for the Blackbirds.
"I’m happy," Coach Catellier said. "We’re starting to play great. And we’ve got to be when we play [Albany] Academy on Friday. I told the kids in the lockeroom that Academy is still the champion till someone goes into their gym and beats them. If we do win, we’ll be four games over everyone."
The Albany Academy game marks the beginning of the second round through the league for the Blackbirds. They follow up Friday’s trip to Albany with a home game against Lansingburgh on Tuesday.
"We’ve got one more round," Catellier said. "We made it through the first half with one scar. We can still be better, especially on offense. We can improve still."
Rhodes-Devey wins at Hispanic games
By Tim Matteson
GUILDERLAND — It didn’t take Brian Rhodes-Devey long to adjust to the indoor track season.
In his second race of the season, on Saturday, Rhodes-Devey won the mile run at the Hispanic Games in New York City. He ran 4:13.19, a national best time so far this season.
The Guilderland High School junior had won a state and Federation title in cross-country this fall.
The only other race Rhodes-Devey has run this season was in a distance medley relay at Brown University.
"I’m real pleased with it," Rhodes-Devey said of Satuday’s accomplishment. "I definitely think I can run faster. I’m still running with cross-country fitness. I’m trying to get down into shape and then I’ll be able to drop some fast times."
Rhodes-Devey said he ran a smart race. Rather than jumping out to a lead, he waited for the right moment to attack the leaders of the pack.
"Going into the race, I didn’t want to get into the lead," he said. "I started behind the pack and then made my move. It worked well."
Rhodes-Devey took some time off after a busy cross-country season. He won the state and Federation titles in November and ran in the Foot Locker Northeast Regionals in New York City, qualifiying for the nationals, which he ran in San Diego in early December.
"I took 10 days off and gained five pounds," he said. "It was real nice. I was able to relax. I came home after school and was able to catch up on some work."
Changing gears
But it didn’t take long for him to want to get back to running.
"I started to get the bug back," Rhodes-Devey said. "I wanted to start running. It was a good amount of time to take off."
The indoor season is actually Rhodes-Devey’s least favorite.
"I like cross-country a lot more," he said. "But I think I excel more at track."
There are differences in the sports. The track races are more tense for Rhodes-Devey while the cross-country meets are more relaxed.
"I feel like in a track race," he said, "I have a more aggressive attitude toward the race. Cross-country is a bit more laid back.
"It is atmospherish," Rhodes-Devey added. "In track, you just have a few minutes to get from this line to this line before anyone else can. Cross-country is more relaxed."
Rhodes-Devey has accomplished a lot in cross-country despite what he regards as a flaw.
"I’m kind of big for a cross-country runner," Rhodes-Devey said. "I weigh 163 pounds. Not many cross-country runners weigh that much. I’m built for shorter distance running. I have short strides and that gives me an advantage in the mile."
Cross-country puts Rhodes-Devey in great shape for the track season.
"Coming off cross-country, I’m in great shape to run indoor," he said. "But I get really excited for outdoor. That’s when I’m starting to get in good shape and drop fast times. Then I get ready for cross-country and get back into the cycle."
Under 4:10
With the fast time at the Hispanic Games, Rhodes-Devey qualified for the prestigious Millrose Games that will take place in New York City in February.
"I’m looking forward to that," he said. "There will be a lot of fast kids. It will be a fast race and a tactical race. It’ll be good to get that kind of experience."
And Rhodes-Devey feels he can run faster than the 4:13 he ran this past weekend.
"I think I can get under 4:10 before the season’s out," he said. "I’ll be mainly focusing for outdoor. I’m getting used to racing again and racing tactical races and different styles in racing. I’m mainly going to concentrate on the mile."
Staying healthy might help Rhodes-Devey get his times down. Last winter he was bothered by shin splints.
"I’ve definitely learned to start to listen to my body better," Rhodes-Devey said. "I’ve been going to a personal trainer — RJN in Albany — and they have been taking good care of me. They have helped me strengthen and helped me stay injury-free through cross-country and indoor. I’ve been good so far this year."
BKW girls' basketball vs. Sharon Springs
By Tim Matteson
BERNE — The Berne-Knox-Westerlo girls’ basketball team on Friday got a little bit of a lift from its recent struggles; The Lady Bulldogs beat Sharon Springs, 69-21.
"I usually hate games like that," said BKW Coach Tom Galvin, referring to the wide margin of victory. "But we needed it. We played well and did the things we had to do."
The win moved the Lady Bulldogs record to 3-7 overall and 3-2 against Western Athletic Conference Southern Division teams. The win also snapped a four-game losing streak that began on Dec. 20 against Schoharie.
However, the Lady Bulldogs lost to Middleburgh, 42-38, on Tuesday night.
The Schoharie loss might have hurt the Lady Bulldogs’ confidence.
"It was our first loss to Schoharie in a couple of years," Galvin said. "We played poorly. We can handle losing to a good team, which Schoharie is. But it is hard to handle losing when we don’t play well.
"It sent us for a loop," Galvin added. "We then went to a Christmas tournament and played Galway and we didn’t do well. We went into a little funk. Sharon Springs might be a sign that we are getting out of it and moving in the right direction."
Galvin said that his team is very talented and is capable of playing at a much better level.
Top five
"Out of the 11 years I’ve been coaching," Galvin said, "this team is in the top five with talent and athleticism. We just need certain people to step up and regain the confidence to win. This is not a bad team. If they were, I would tell them in a nice way that they stunk and we would focus on other things. But the cupboard is not bare and this is not a down year."
The Bulldogs have not been doing well in three major areas of the game — rebounding, shooting, and turning over the ball.
"The great thing is that none of my players like to lose," Galvin said. "They need to stay together and work hard. If they do that, I told them good things will happen. I told them, don’t quit and keep battling back."
Galvin feels that there is still hope in defending their Southern Division title.
"We need to get back to hitting shots," the coach said. "If we do the things we need to and even with two losses in the division, we can make some noise. But we need to keep each other up and improve and make things happen. We do have a chance."
The Bulldogs have been getting strong play from ninth-grader Andrea Van Dyke. She scored 18 points against Sharon Springs and had 15 in the first quarter. Every Bulldog scored in Friday’s contest.
Van Dyke has taken over for the Bulldogs while other players are looking to regain their shooting touch.
"She’s played enough basketball to do that," Galvin said of the ninth-grader. "We’ve had some other players that have stepped up. Brittany Krimsky scored 10 points against Galway and Cara Swain is filling in valuable minutes. But Andrea is not afraid to step up in a leadership role, which can be hard for a freshman to do."
Galvin said that the key for his players is to keep their heads up and keep battling.
"It’s tough for a team to go undefeated," Galvin said, referring to both Schoharie and Schenectady Christian. "And we see Schenectady Christian and Schoharie again and hopefully they beat each other up. It’ll be an uphill battle, but if we stick together and believe in each other and believe in what the coaches ask, then things can come together."