SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Blue Streaks picked a good time to drop their highest point total of the season.
Tuesdays Section II Class AA tournament 76-65 win over Schenectady ended Saratoga Springs’ drought of not winning a postseason game since 2007.
“It’s great for the guys to get a playoff win and we feel good about the place they put themselves in after their season,” Blue Streaks first year head coach Matt Usher said. “It’s really exciting to get a ‘W’ at this time of year.”
The Streaks (12-7) were once again led by senior scorer Noah Arciero, who had a game high 30 points to go along with 10 boards.
But it was key contributions from junior point guard Christopher Byno (14 points, seven assists, five steals), senior center Jesse Alexander (12 points) and bench scoring from Zachary Kircher and Liam Stewart that helped open the inside up for the versatile Arciero, said Usher.
“The guys shared the ball very well,” Usher said about his team’s 19 assists. “We did a nice job making the extra pass when the opportunity was there. We need to be balanced on the offensive end. Noah is our most talented scorer and he’s going to need to put up some points for us to do well, but or other players need to be able to hit shots and have the confidence when they have a look to knock it down and make it count.”
Arciero also shot 13-of-16 from the free throw line—a consistent presence the Blue Streaks want to stabilize in the near future.
“Noah was huge,” Usher said. “He’s really doing a great job for us inside. He’s looking to go in and draw attention down there. When they start collapsing, he’s unselfish enough where he’s going to kick out to shooters.
As a team, the Blue Streaks shot 22-of-29 from the charity stripe.
Saratoga Springs controlled the entire game against the Patriots (11-8), holding them to just nine points in the third quarter at the Pat Riley Sports Center. Schenectady, a young team led by eighth grader Tobias Holmes, handed CBA a loss and also gave Class A Scotia-Glenville its closest game of the season.
However, the Blue Streaks were able to dictate the games tempo and limit the Patriots up-and-down game. unable to dictate an up-and-down tempo
“I thought our guys did a very nice job executing our game plan as far as limiting their layups in transition and taking care of the ball, trying to limit turnovers,” Usher said. “It’s one of our best games and we’re clicking at the right time.”
The Blue Streaks now get a third chance to take down the most dominant team in the Suburban Council—Shenendehowa.
The Plainsmen have given Saratoga Springs more trouble than any other squad this season, losing both regular season meetings by 32. They have also been the only team to hold Arciero to single digits, and they did it twice (seven points on December 13, nine points on February 4).
Having four players who have scored over 200 points this season, led by sophomore Kevin Huerter’s 14.5 points per game, doesn’t hurt either.
“We need to look to get stops and get out in transition,” Usher said. “We need other guys to be aggressive and hit shots. If they can focus their entire defense on Noah, it’s going to make it tough to get him going.”
The Blue Streaks will play their second straight playoff game against a 3-2 defense, although Usher noted Schenectady’s 3-2 is much different than that of Shen’s.
The length, athleticism and balanced scoring of No. 1 Shenendehowa (17-2) attributed to the team’s 13-game winning streak and 18 victories in the last 19 contests.
Hoping to break the 40-point barrier for the first time this season against Shen, Usher is optimistic.
“Right now jour guys are confident and happy with the way they’re playing,” Usher said. “Obviously it’s nice to get on a roll this time of year. We know Shenendehowa’s a great team. We’ve seen them twice. They have guys who can make shots and they do a nice job in that zone.”
The third meeting between the two teams is set for 7:45 p.m. on Saturday at Hudson Valley Community College.
