As it stands right at this moment, Vernon-Verona-Sherrill boys basketball head coach Al Knapp is on the brink of standing alone among all the coaches in Section III history.
When the Red Devils beat Holland Patent 59-44 last Friday night at “The Pit”, it improved to 12-3 on the season, which was nice — but for Knapp, it meant much more.
The win was Knapp’s 519th in his long, illustrious coaching career. One more win, and Knapp will match Oswego’s Dave Powers for the most wins in sectional annals. That chance could come this Friday, when VVS hosts New Hartford.
To reach that point this winter, Knapp had to have another high-quality team that excelled on the defensive side — which he does, as shown once more against a stubborn foe in Holland Patent.
Nothing was decided right away. Instead, VVS steadily gained baskets and prevented the Golden Knights from getting anything easy. So when the two sides went to halftime, the Red Devils owned a 33-22 lead.
Throughout the second half, the pattern continued, VVS doing just a bit more to build its comfortable margin, knowing that the defense would snuff out any HP run.
Evan Croll, who hit three 3-pointers on the night, had 23 points to lead both sides. Adam Kemp worked inside for 14 points, while Joe Barbano added six points. In defeat, the Golden Knights got 12 points from Craig Schmadel and 11 points from Alex Smith.
