C-A advances to Class B quarterfinals
COXSACKIE — The No. 15 Coxsackie-Athens Indians beat the No. 18 Tamarac Bengals, 56-49, in Friday night’s Section II Class B boys basketball play-in game.
Joshua Kiefer led the way with 20 points for Coxsackie-Athens as he emerged as the offensive facilitator for the Indians throughout. Kiefer hit shots whenever his team needed them, grabbed rebounds down low, and kicked it out to open teammates all night.
The first half was the quintessential back and forth fight that playoff basketball breeds. To start, the Indians went up 4-0 after tip-off, but the Bengals stormed right back with five quick, unanswered points.
Both sides play with intensity on offense and stayed aggressive on defense as well. Though Tamarac trailed by more than one possession, it continued to shoot with confidence and did not get overzealous.
The Bengals managed to knock down a three pointer with 21 seconds left in the first quarter, and keep pressure on the Indians who failed to attempt a shot on the final possession of the period. Nevertheless, Coxsackie-Athens led 17-16 after one quarter of play.
The second quarter brought about even more lead changes, one after another, as both teams fought to stay on top. Tamarac took a three point lead thanks to a steal and a floater off the glass, making the score 26-23 with 3:21 to go before halftime.
On the Bengals’ next possession, Dan Honsinger was fouled hard and came down on his right hand with a good amount of his body weight. Honsinger went to the bench to ice his hand and he would not return.
The Indians retook the lead on a put-back after a missed free throw, but the Bengals tied it at the other end with a midrange jumper. The score was 32-32 when the first half ended, and the teams got their much needed break.
The third quarter was absolutely dominated by defense from both teams, making points hard to come by. There were also multiple stoppages this quarter as a result of excess water on the court and players slipping, though no one suffered injury thankfully.
The last four points of the quarter were scored by Joshua Kiefer, as he willed the Indians back to a 40-40 gridlock with the Bengals.
On their first possession of the fourth quarter, C-A’s Andon Roe hit a three-pointer to fire up his teammates and start off strong on offense. Two possessions later Roe knocked down another three, and suddenly the Indians were up by seven.
At the midway point the Bengals were down by six but that was not an insurmountable lead with the way they had been pressuring the Indians on defense.
Now down by eight with 2:00 on the clock, Tamarac lost the ball, but managed to steal it back and hit an open layup to cut the lead to six. Unfortunately for the Bengals, this sequence took over 30 seconds of game time away and a potential comeback was slipping away.
Tamarac called timeout with 39.0 left in regulation, trailing 54-49, and tried to draw up some miracle plays. Any chance at a comeback came to a screeching halt however, when the Bengals missed a three pointer after the Indian defender hit his hand and no foul was called.
It was too late in the game to bank on missed free throws and try to keep fouling, and Tamarac Bengals lost this one to Coxsackie-Athens.
The Indians advance to play at No. 2 seed SChalmont on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Class B quarterfinals.
