DRYDEN –– The Dryden boys basketball team went back-and-forth with visiting Newark Valley all four quarters, but the Lions failed to convert late while the Cardinals made timely baskets, leading to a 68-59 Newark Valley win Friday at Dryden High School.
The game was ultimately decided in the final two minutes of regulation. Newark Valley held a three-point lead and scored a crucial bucket to make it 64-59 with 1:35 left.
Dryden was forced to foul after it had a shot blocked with 45 seconds left and sent Daniel Pirger to the free throw line with 35 seconds remaining. Pirger missed both shots, but an offensive rebound from Daniel Truesdail IV led to Newark Valley regaining possession. The Cardinals kicked the ball out to the perimeter and eventually found a wide-open Truesdail, who converted the easy layup.
The Lions’ following possession resulted in another miss and they were forced to foul with 13.1 seconds left. Pirger then redeemed himself with two made free throws to give Newark Valley a 68-59 lead and seal the win.
Dryden went into the final quarter right within striking distance, down 55-49. Newark Valley struggled to pull away early in the fourth as the Lions always had an answer, often getting within a single score, but they just couldn’t tie or take the lead.
The Lions struggled at times from the field and head coach Zack LeViere believes had they knocked down a couple more shots, the result could’ve been different.
“We kept getting it down to two or three points in the fourth quarter but could never crest that,” LeViere said. “Offensively tonight our shots weren’t falling. We had a lot of good looks. Luke (Eshelman) and Danny (Murphy) missed a couple that I normally would’ve expected them to make. If one or two of those 3-pointers goes in, it’s a different game.”
Pirger and Truesdail IV did a great deal of damage to Dryden all night and that duo that helped seal Newark Valley’s win. Pirger looked like he couldn’t miss at times, finishing with 34 points, 20 in the first half. Truesdail IV finished with 18 points and was big on the boards and defensively down the stretch.
“Those were their two best players from last year that they brought back,” LeViere said. “Pirger shot the ball very well and didn’t miss much. A couple of them we left him open, but a lot of them were tough shots with him driving with some contact or a pull-up jump shot with a hand in his face.”
Alexander Scott put in a strong effort for Dryden in the loss. Scott finished with 22 points and grabbed rebounds at will. He also made it difficult for Newark Valley to convert easy looks with his shot-blocking ability. Melo Miles finished with 12 points, Murphy added 10 points, Eshelman had seven points, Jay Miles had four and Scott Baylor had two.
Dryden is rolling with a small group right now, with only seven players dressed on Friday. The Lions will be without Peter Nydam for at least another two to three weeks with a wrist injury. Nydam’s return will likely give them a spark, but until then they are looking to improve each game and compete with the personnel they have. LeViere is seeing things he likes, but also things they need to do better.
“Each game I feel like we’ve been improving bit by bit,” LeViere said. “Today we had much better defensive intensity than we’ve had over the last couple games. We put pressure on the ball and denied one pass away. We did better on the boards today too, but right now, it is just one or two guys boxing out.”
Dryden’s next game is at 7 p.m. Wednesday at home against Lansing.
BOYS BASKETBALL
SYRACUSE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 57, HOMER 34
Homer made it a 13-point game with 90 seconds left in the third quarter, but couldn’t get any closer than than. Wyatt Wilbur scored 15 points and Max Franco had 12 points for the Trojans, who trailed 33-8 at halftime.
Kaden Durham notched four points and Mitchell Earle tallied three points to round out Homer’s scoring.
DERUYTER 67, MCGRAW 52
Devens Whalen went off for 20 points and Wes Pforter followed him up with 18 as DeRuyter picked up its second straight win to even its record at 2-2.
Daniel Holl notched 10 points, Dylan Foster had six points, Nick Whitt scored five points and Colin Wilken and Jeramy Prince each scored four points for the Rockets.
Caleb Epp led McGraw with 16 points, seven rebounds, nine assists, two steals and two blocks, but the Eagles shot just 4-for-22 from the free throw line in the loss.
Dylan Truman contributed 18 points, two rebounds, a steal and a block, Calob Sutton had eight points, two assists and two steals and Jaydon Bassett contributed six points and 10 rebounds. Blair Mulcahy (two points, two rebounds, three assists, one steal), Riley VanLiew (one point, four rebounds, one assist), Mason Allen (one point, three rebounds) and Noah Heath (one rebound, one assist) also contributed for the Eagles.
UNION SPRINGS 64, GROTON 31
Conor Eldred led Groton with 13 points in the loss.
MORAVIA 49, SOUTHERN CAYUGA 36
Abram Wasileski went for 24 points, six rebounds and four blocks and Aiden Kelly notched a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead Moravia to the win.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
STOCKBRIDGE VALLEY 34, MCGRAW 27
Lexi McCall paced McGraw with 10 points, eight rebounds, an assist and three steals, but the Eagles lost the fourth quarter 13-3 after leading 24-21 heading into the frame.
Hannah Wilson contributed eight points, 10 rebounds and a steal, Leah Terwilliger had six points, four rebounds and seven steals and Heather Magee tallied three points, three rebounds and a steal. Eden Sears (six rebounds, one steal), Gianna Guernsey (two rebounds, one steal) and Madison Sweeney (two rebounds) also contributed for the Eagles.
MADISON 36, CINCINNATUS 23
Cortney Scutt scored 15 of Cincinnatus’ 23 points and the Lions lost the fourth quarter 15-5 after facing a 21-18 deficit heading in.
Rachael Standish and Sidney Glover each scored four points to follow up Scutt.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
BOYS BASKETBALL
Moravia at Horseheads, 7 p.m. today
Cortland at Syracuse Academy of Science, 7 p.m. Tuesday
Union Springs at Marathon, 7 p.m. Tuesday
McGraw at Madison, 7 p.m. Tuesday
Moravia at Groton, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday
Cincinnatus at Otselic Valley, 7:15 p.m. Tuesday
GIRLS BASKETBALL
McGraw at Tully, 1 p.m. today
Moravia at Groton, 6 p.m. Monday
CBA at Cortland, 6:45 p.m. Tuesday
Marathon at Union Springs, 7 p.m. Tuesday
Cincinnatus at McGraw, 6 p.m. Tuesday
Dryden at Lansing, 7:15 p.m. Tuesday
HOCKEY
New Hartford at Cortland/Homer, 7 p.m. Tuesday
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Cincinnatus at McGraw, 7 p.m. Monday
WRESTLING
Cortland, Southern Hills at Central Square, 9 a.m. today
Homer at Chenango Valley, 9:30 a.m. today
Dryden at Norwich, 8 a.m. today
Moravia at Elmira, today
Marathon at Sidney, 6 p.m. Tuesday
INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Groton, Dryden, Moravia at SUNY Cortland, 9 a.m. today
BOWLING
Bishop Grimes at Cortland, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at Cort-Lanes
CBA at Homer, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at Hi-Lanes
Newark Valley at Groton, 4 p.m. Tuesday at Memory Lanes
