Galway narrowly emerges victorious in tight defensive struggle against Hoosic Valley

GALWAY — Basketball is a game of runs. Teams often find themselves putting together stretches of brilliant basketball, only to allow the opposition to go on a run of similar magnitude. This was the case in Friday’s Section C playoff matchup between the Galway Eagles and the Hoosic Valley Indians, in which the Eagles came out on top in a low-scoring affair of 50-48.

This was Galway’s third win of the season against the Indians, after winning twice in the regular season against them. However, this one ended up being much closer. The Eagles won the first contest 59-19 at home, and then went to win by a score of 71-49 in the second game. This is in stark contrast to the playoff matchup, which was very close the whole night.

When asked about why his team was able to pull out a third victory against Hoosic Valley, Galway head coach Sean Kennedy said that his guys played with, “A lot of grit, a lot of passion, and a lot of energy. We were able to make plays down the stretch where early on we weren’t able to”.

Galway began the contest by leaping to an 11-2 lead in which every starter contributed with a bucket. While this game first appeared to follow the form of the previous two matchups, both blowout wins for Galway, Hoosic Falls had other ideas. The Indians closed the gap to just 13-11 to end the quarter, and a standout for them was the hustle and scrappiness on defense from junior Isaac Carlo and senior Joe Connors. The aggression on defense led to multiple chances on the offensive end, which the Indians converted.

The second quarter proved to be more of the same, with both teams playing well defensively and struggling to take the lid off the basket. For example, Galway, had just 17 points halfway through the second quarter. Both teams were forcing turnovers, but they were also both struggling on the defensive glass leading to a number of long stretches of time spent on defense. These strenuous possessions seemed to impact the offensive aspect of the game, as both teams looked very stagnant on offense throughout the first half.

The Indians’ defensive effort held Galway star Thor White to just four points in the first half, notching a baseline jumper in the first quarter and a nice finish after a drive in the second quarter. White would heat up a little bit in the second half, finishing with 14 points; not a terrible outing, but surely not one up to his standards.

“I had an off game but my teammates really stepped it up today,” White said about his own performance. “Today was really just about momentum. We’re going to come to practice tomorrow, watch some film, and just work hard. Come playoff time, it really matters, it’s where true colors show”.

The Eagles’ true colors really did show throughout the game. Even when their star has a down night, they proved that they can overcome the obstacle with other players stepping up to fill the spot. One such example is Senior Tanner Williams. Williams finished with 19 on the night before fouling out, including a crucial three-pointer in the fourth.

Hoosic Valley came out of the locker room at halftime with a fire. They quickly jumped to an 8-0 run in just a minute and a half, powered by steals setting up the offense yet again. However, as was the case so far, Galway responded with an 15-3 run of their own. This run was powered by Tanner Williams, who scored 7 of the 15 points. Williams’ third quarter scoring output included a very nice and-one after being fouled on an inside shot by Hoosic Valley Junior Zach Ryan.

Contrary to the preceding events of the game, the fourth quarter was very back and forth, with neither side being able to really gain momentum and jump out to the runs seen earlier in the game. Isaac Carlo opened the scoring in the fourth, sinking a three from the wing to give Hoosic Valley a 37-36 lead with 7:24 to go.

As both teams continued to trade buckets, it became evident that this one was going to go to whoever had the determination and composure to pull it out late. Hoosic Valley held a 42-40 lead with 5:14 left in the game. Galway Junior Mike Sowle then converted both free throws of a one and one, and then Tanner Williams connected from downtown after a nice pass from the hands of Jake Restivo to give Galway the 45-42 lead with just under four minutes remaining.

After Restivo converted the back end of a one-and-one with 31 seconds left, Hoosic Valley held the ball at a turning point in the game. They could either hit a shot to tie or take the lead, or they could fall short and give Galway the ball back with a slim chance of victory. The latter of the two outcomes occurred. The Indians moved the ball around the perimeter for a little bit, before entrusting Senior John Acker with the ball. Acker drove to the basket and attempted a contested layup, which ultimately did not go in. Hoosic Valley could have gotten the rebound, but Galway captain Thor White came through in crunch time with a big defensive rebound.

At this point, the Indians’ only hope was to foul White and pray that he misses. White, with all the pressure on, iced the game with two makes. Hoosic Valley bolted down the floor and finished a layup, but it was all for naught as the game concluded as a two possession victory for the Eagles.

Galway’s next game will be against number-one seed Class C powerhouse Lake George on Tuesday. It will surely be an uphill battle for the Eagles, but if they play their hearts out and receive contribution from everyone on the floor then it could be a huge upset in the making.

When asked about what his team needs to carry into the next game against Lake George, coach Sean Kennedy said “Excitement, passion energy… we were excited to be in this game tonight, and we’re going to be very excited to play such a high-tradition basketball program in Lake George”.

SCORING TOTALS:

GALWAY
Tanner Williams: 19
Thor White: 14
Jake Restivo: 6
Mike Sowle: 6
Ryan Lovelass: 3
Erik Matthews: 2
Dave O’Connell: 0

HOOSIC VALLEY
John Acker: 13
Isaac Carlo: 13
Alec Ratelle: 8
Jacob White: 8
Joe Connors: 4
Zach Ryan: 2
CJ Basset: 0
Ethan Ciazza: 0