Saratoga Racers Earn Decisive Home Opener Victory

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Historically, first-year teams tend to finish near the bottom of their leagues. It’s difficult to recruit talented players to a new franchise, especially when there’s no guarantee that the team will be successful. 

But the Saratoga Racers of the American Basketball Association (ABA) have managed to defy the odds, adding talented veterans and All-Stars to their roster before winning their first-ever game last Sunday afternoon.

The Racers, led by two-time ABA All-Stars John Ryals and Tobias Holmes, looked surprisingly sharp during their first game, demonstrating unselfish play and making smart passes for easy layups when defenders from the Connecticut Flyeerz were caught sleeping. About 200 spectators watched as Saratoga held an early 34 to 19 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Racers looked good defensively as well, racking up 18 steals and 4 blocks. They were especially aggressive on inbound passes, putting pressure on Connecticut across the entire court.

Towards the end of the first half, Shaheem Sanders (an ABA rookie) excited the crowd with two back-to-back dunks. Sanders was also active on the glass, reeling in 14 rebounds. The Schenectady High School alum’s efforts helped keep Saratoga comfortably ahead at halftime, 65 to 49.

But the Racers looked a bit shaky coming out of the halftime break, committing some unforced errors like ill-advised passes into double or triple coverage. The team also struggled mightily at the line, missing 15 foul shots throughout the contest.

In the fourth quarter, Connecticut seized upon Saratoga’s mistakes and went on a hot streak, swishing one shot after another from beyond the arc. With 8 minutes left in the game, Connecticut pulled to within 7 points of the Racers. A minute later, they trailed by only 5 points.

But that’s as close as the Flyeerz would come. High IQ plays and easy buckets by big men Casey Hall (who was 6 for 8 from the floor) and Todd Spottswood (who finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds) helped dig Saratoga out of trouble. Despite the last-minute threat from Connecticut, the Racers sealed the deal with a 119 to 107 win.

The Racers will next play two more home games on Saturday, November 2 against the Rochester Royal Ballers at 7 p.m., and on Sunday, November 3 versus the Herkimer Originals at 3 p.m. All Racers home games are played at Saratoga Central Catholic at 247 Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs.

Game Notes:

Holmes led all Saratoga scorers with 31 points, making 8 of 14 2-pointers and 3 of 9 3-pointers. Holmes also led the team in assists, with 5. Ryals was the second-highest scorer with 19 points.

The intensity of the final quarter got to some of the players. A pair of technical fouls were called after some trash-talking went too far in the refs’ eyes.

The ABA has some of its own rules and practices that differ from the NBA, including the use of its signature red-white-and-blue ball, and the “3D light,” which, when on, means that 2-pointers become 3-pointers, 3-pointers become 4-pointers, and half-court shots are worth 5 points.

Joey Harden and Luke Perez each had 4 steals apiece for Saratoga.

Saratoga’s Dominique Threatt made a splash with his pair of mismatched blue and orange Nike sneakers.