SARATOGA SPRINGS — The No. 7 state ranked Saints are marching.
Saratoga Central Catholic won its third straight Western Athletic Conference road game on Wednesday against Fort Plain to improve to 4-0 in the league and 6-0 overall.
Aside from the WAC, the Class C Saints have beaten Class A South Glens Falls and Class B Schuylerville.
“It’s real impressive to win in these different environments,” said Saints head coach Ken Mantia. “Northville had been coming off a big win. To come in there and win and then Canajoharie is a big rivalry game. We had a lot of foul trouble and we showed maturity to pull that game out. And [Wednesday], Fort Plain is probably our main rival. They always play tough there. The kids showed a lot of composure in the second half.”
After taking a one-point lead into halftime, the Saints came out in the third quarter against Fort Plain with a 7-0 run, outscoring the Hilltoppers (1-3 WAC, 2-4 overall) 13-5 in the quarter and never looking back.
Led by senior guard Luke Spicer’s 14 points, six rebounds and seven steals, as well as senior forward Michael Naughton’s 12 rebounds, the Saints pulled away with the 56-47 victory that keeps the team undefeated heading into tonight’s home game against Oppenhein-Ephratah/St. Johnsville (1-2, 3-3).
“We feel like we’ve really earned the home game and we’re looking forward to having our crowd supporting us,” Spicer said.
“It’s a quick turnaround,” added Mantia. “We just have one practice and then play right away, which is tough the way the schedule is set up, but they’re (St. Johnsville) in the same boat. I know they have a tremendous point guard and a very strong forward who hit six threes the other night—Dylan Klock. You have to stay with him. We expect to come out and really play our ‘A’ game leading into our Christmas tournament, so we’re going to throw it all out on the floor.”
Klock is averaging 17.6 points per game. He cashed in 28 points against a struggling Galway team when he hit the six threes. The sophomore has cashed in 20 shots from beyond the arc this season. St. Johnsville’s guard Johnny Viccarelli started the season with a 27-point effort against Schoharie and is also a three-point threat.
Viccarelli will be one of the players the Saints will be looking to pressure. Just as they have all season, Spa Catholic has shown a consistent full-court press throughout games and that’s not something Mantia sees changing.
“I think we’re deep enough where we can press pretty much the entire game and it wears down the other team’s ball handler,” Mantia said. “I think you saw that the last couple games. Dillan Veeder for Canajoharie is outstanding, the point guard for Fort Plain is very good, but they got very tired as the game wore on and that’s really our game.”
“We want to force the guards into pressure and make them make the mistakes,” Spicer said.
Arguably the biggest piece of the puzzle for this year’s Saints team has been sophomore Evan Pescetti, a transfer, who goes into tonight leading Spa Catholic with 12.6 points per game. But scoring hasn’t been his only threat. Versatile at 6-foot-3, Pescetti likes to work in the paint and provides yet another active presence on the defensive end.
“Evan is awesome,” Spicer said. “He’s huge on the boards for us and he’s very physical inside. We just need that scrappy player who brings the spark and he’s been able to do that for us.”
Offensively, the Saints have been at their best when sharing the ball has resulted in getting it inside.
“If we are patient in the halfcourt offense and look to utilize our inside people, with Evan Pescetti and Michael Naughton, the guards can play off of that,” Mantia said. “But it’s really important that we establish getting to the inside and then working it out.
Being listed at No. 7 in Class C by the New York State Sportwriters Association comes a year after the Saints struggled to find wins in the beginning of the season.
It has been no coincidence that this year’s team chemistry is much improved.
“I think this year, obviously we have different guys, we’re playing more as a team,” Spicer said. “I think that we have good team chemistry and we’re playing hard. We’re taking practice real seriously too and we’re really bringing it. Hopefully we can stay undefeated. I’ve heard [St. Johnsville] has some pretty good shooters, so we have to respect them and not take anything for granted.”
