GERMANTOWN–The school here hosted a triple header of Section II Class D, first-round playoff games Tuesday, February 21. The night started off with the fifth seeded Hawthorne Valley boys basketball team hosting Bolton, followed by a match-up between the eighth seeded Germantown girls against the ninth seed Hawthorne Valley and a nightcap between eighth seed Germantown boys and Fort Edward.
In the first game the Wildcats got all they could handle in a game that was closer than many expected. In the opening quarter Christian Peterson scored seven points for the Wildcats, but they still found themselves in a five-point hole. Peterson put up another eight in the second quarter, but the deficit widened to eight at the half.
Coming out of the half Hawthorne Valley awoke behind the inspired play Ezra Glatt, who scored the first 11 points of the half, as the Wildcats took a lead they would never relinquish. Things stayed close throughout the third and fourth, and some shaky free-throw shooting by Hawthorne Valley down the stretch made things interesting, but a half court heave at the buzzer by Bolton went wide as the Wildcats held on for a 45-44 win.
Peterson finished with 25 points, while Glatt had 11, Thomas Oelhaf added 7 and Brendon Paholak had 2. Hawthorne Valley now moves into the second round, where they will face off with fourth seeded Loudonville Christian at noon at Stillwater High School. These two teams met twice this season with the Wildcats winning 47-38 in December, before Loudonville Christian got some revenge with a 46-43 win in January.
Game two between the Germantown and Hawthorne Valley girls got off to a slow start, as Claudia Jones scored four for the Clippers and Megan Phelan added two with the Wildcats held off the board until there was no time left in the opening quarter. Susanna Geilen was fouled as time expired and made one free throw. Geilen scored the first and last buckets of the second quarter, while the Clipps’ had four different players score, pushing their lead to 13-5 at the half. Germantown just continued to stretch the lead through the second half on their way to a 35-24 victory against the shorthanded Wildcats.
Phelan scored 10 in the win, while Jones added 7 and Keri Hallenbeck had 6. Rounding out the balanced Germantown attack were Emily Palmeiri with 5, Jessica Van Ort with 4 and Emily Rifenburgh, Kylie Helsley and Angela Fix each of whom scored two. Geilen scored a game high 16 in the loss, while Emily DeGeyter, Maud Sipe, Barr and Heishler each added two. Germantown will now travel to Fort Edward Friday to face the top seeded Flying Forts.
In the night game the Germantown boys led at the end of every quarter and won 44-40 in a game that was close from the get-go. The story of the game was the Flying Forts’ ability to knock down the three pointer (they made nine in the game) against the inside presence of the Clippers. After an early three by Fort Edward gave the Flying Forts a 3-0 lead, William Wyant went into attack mode for the Clipps, scoring 6 quick points and picking up an assist on a Daniel Thomas fast break layup. Mandy Fuchs added three points from the free throw line and Germantown found themselves up three at the end of one. Fuchs scored again to start the second before Fort Edward hit a pair of triples then scored twice inside to seize the lead. Fuchs and Thomas each scored on follows to pull the Clippers within one before Fort Edward hit yet another shot from beyond the arch. But Germantown finished strong, as Nolan Lewis scored inside off a Wyant assist before Wyant scored two hoops of his own to end the half with the Clipps up 24-22.
The third quarter was a defensive showdown, as the two teams combined for just 11 points. Up one after a missed shot Wyant forced a tie-up and a jump ball that gave possession to the Clippers with only 4.8 seconds left in the third. Wyant missed the ensuing shot off the inbounds, but grabbed his own rebound and scored as Germantown went up 30-27 after three. Fort Edward made some big shots down the stretch, but every time they pulled within one possession Germantown had an answer. Over the final minute Thomas made four shots from the free throw line to help ice the game and the win.
Wyant finished with a team high 15 points, while Fuchs had 9, Thomas 8, Lewis 7, Dan Rifenbuugh 3 and Mike Jennings added 2. Germantown will now face top seeded Argyle Saturday at Stillwater High School at 1:30. Argyle has just one loss the entire season and enters the game averaging nearly 78 points per game.
Earlier in the week the Central Hudson Valley League announced its Boys Basketball Post Season Awards. Hawthorne Valley’s Christian Peterson was named co-MVP of the league, while Germantown senior Daniel Thomas was named to the First Team. New Lebanon junior Zach Krajkowski, Germantown junior Nolan Lewis, Germantown senior William Wyant and Hawthorne Valley senior Thomas Oelhaf were all named to the Second Team. Ezra Glatt a Hawthorne Valley junior, Dan Rifenburgh a Germantown senior along with Shane Powell and Kyle Trombley a pair of seniors from New Lebanon were all named to the Honorable Mention list.