Spa Catholic tops Granville in thriller

CLIFTON PARK — In a game that came down to the last shot, Spa Catholic bested Granville 44-42 at Shenendehowa High School.

In the first quarter both teams played at extreme paces as it seemed as both teams had no time to set up their defense. However, at times both Spa Catholic and Granville rushed shots resulting in just an average scoring quarter with Spa leading 19-17 heading into quarter two.

Timmy Barrett led Spa Catholic with six first-quarter points and Aidan Dagostino added five, including a three-pointer to open up the game’s scoring. Spa Catholic connected on a trio of three-point field goals in the first quarter with the threes coming from Aidan Dagostino, Terel Tillman and Ben Scammell. Granville had three scorers with four points, and they evenly distributed the ball throughout the night.

“Timmy Barrett was awesome for us in the first half and our seniors all stepped up tonight.” Spa Catholic coach Ken Mantia said.

The second quarter was a complete switch in terms of tempo, with both teams slowly walking the ball up the court and now the defenses were given time to settle in. The quarter saw both teams score 11 points. Granville’s Bart Bartholomew had five points in the quarter.

Heading into halftime Spa Catholic led 30-28. The third quarter featured more excellent defensive play, this time Spa Catholic outscored Granville 11-10. Tillman and Dagostino connected on back to back threes to end the quarter.

The fourth quarter was completely dominated by defense, with both teams combining for nine points.

“I thought defensively we were tremendous, we rebounded the ball and only held them to one shot every trip down the floor which was huge for us. The kid’s effort was everything we could have asked for.”Mantia said.  “We took away their penetration in the zone in the second half and that’s what won us the game was defense and rebounding.”

Only four baskets were made in the fourth quarter with Granville scoring first at the 7:00 minute mark and then they didn’t score again until 1:28 left in the game.

The second basket Granville scored was huge because it tied the game at 42 all. On the next possession Spa Catholic missed and then Granville pushed the ball out on a fast break. Soon, a scramble for the ball occurred and a jump ball was called, awarding possession to Granville. After a missed shot off the inbound pass, Spa Catholic got the ball and then with 43 seconds left, Aidan Dagostino hit the game-winning shot on a 12-foot floater. Granville’s last chance effort was no good.

Dagostino finishes with 13 points, and Tillman and Barrett both added eight.

Bartholomew finished with 13 points and Nick Summer chipped in eight.

Spa Catholic now advances to Class C Semi-Final play where they take on the undefeated, number one state-ranked Lake George.