CENTRAL NEW YORK – In his first season at the helm of the Baldwinsville boys basketball team, Patrick Beilein emphasized defense, and it translate into a squad that had its struggles, but was difficult for any opponent to deal with.
Now the Bees, who finished last season at 9-13, want to pair up that defense with an offense that can produce more victories, and it started out in almost perfect fashion in the first quarter of last Wednesday’s opener at PSLA-Fowler.
All that B’ville did was nearly shut out the Falcons, building a 15-2 margin that it would spend the rest of the night protecting quite well on the way to claiming a 51-40 decision.
For the most part, when the Bees did convert, it came from Tyler Nilsen or Nick Hollngshead. Nilsen finished with 21 points, while Hollingshead worked his way to 16 points, the pair combining to hit six 3-pointers.
Matt Young, with seven points, offered some help, while the Bees contained most of Fowler’s lineup. Only Jayderr White, with 12 points, hit double figures for the Falcons.
It would get a lot tougher Friday night when B’ville traveled to Fulton, a confident side off to a 3-0 start after reaching the sectional Class A semifinals a year ago.
The newly-named Red Dragons illustrated the challenges the Bees still face, prevailing 75-51 in a game that actually was far closer most of the way.
During the first, second and fourth quarter, it proved an exchange of baskets. But Fulton dominated the third quarter with a 30-7 outburst to decide the game as Tyler Ditton (27 points), Gavin Doty (21 points) and Aidan Baldwin (18 points) led the Red Dragons.
B’ville travels Tuesday to Fayetteville-Manlius, then returns home Friday for a clash with Rome Free Academy.
