High School Fridays: Ballston Spa @ Troy (boys' basketball), 1/26/18

Mid-term exam week usually means a smaller than normal crowd for basketball. Then again, there was another reason why Clem Zotto Memorial Gym at Troy High wasn't filled tonight. We'll get to that later.

For Coach Greg Davis' Flying Horses, it was back to business, six days after another heartbreaking non-league loss to Kingston. Ballston Spa provided the opposition tonight, as Troy begins its final push toward its second division title in three years.

Early in the first quarter, Kevin Ledesma-Mora got the scoring started for Troy with a 3 pointer. However, the Scotties answered with a 9-0 run to move in front, and led, 17-14, after the period. As has often been the case this season, Troy's defense had enough holes to allow for at least one opposing player to carry his team. In this case, it was Luke Alteri, who led all scorers with 23 points. Troy held Ballston Spa to just seven points in the second quarter to take the lead for good. Nazaire Merritt led Troy with 16 points. Joe Casale added 10 before getting into foul trouble in the fourth quarter, and Troy put down the Scotties, 63-53.

Troy moves to 9-3 in the Suburban Council (9-5 overall) with the win. They will play three of their last five league games at home, which should be a huge advantage. Up next will be a road game at Colonie on Tuesday, as the Flying Horses will look for their first win vs. Colonie since joining the Suburban Council in 2015.

Conversely, the Troy women continue to trend in the opposite direction. Jenalyse Alarcon's season high 28 points were not nearly enough, as the Lady Horses dropped their seventh in their last eight league games, 59-50, to Ballston Spa. What teams are doing is cutting off whatever support Alarcon could use on offense, forcing her to be virtually a one-woman team on a rebuilding club. Troy's home finale is Tuesday vs. Colonie before finishing with a three game road trip.

As for the other reason why Zotto Memorial Gym wasn't even half-full? Recent graduate Sabrina Wolfe was in town with Rochester Institute of Technology to play RPI's women's team. It was a sweet homecoming for Wolfe, who finished with 18 points, as RIT defeated RPI, 80-59. Sabrina's brother, Alex, is on Troy's JV team, which also won tonight. One wonders if he managed to make it over to RPI to see his sister play after his game was over.
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On the ice: LaSalle had a chance to close some ground on Bethlehem in their game tonight, but the two teams come away with a 4-4 draw. Thomas Ryan had 2 goals, Jack O'Bryan & Ryan Murray had one each, and Casey Boone had 35 saves in net for the Cadets, who are still unbeaten in their last seven games (6-0-1). The Cadets will remain on the road as they visit Niskayuna-Schenectady on Tuesday.