Whitesboro – In true New Hartford / Whitesboro rivalry fashion, Warriors forward Josh Gregory had a night he’ll never forget, hitting four 3 – pointers in the fourth quarter to lead Whitesboro to a dramatic 53-51 victory over New Hartford, tonight in the “Warrior Dome” at Whitesboro High School.
Gregory’s twelve 4th quarter points capped a game high 22 points for the senior, helping Whitesboro improve to (11-7) overall, (5-3) in the TVL East, good enough for sole possession of 2nd place. Eighteen of Gregory’s 22 came from outside the arc.
Josh Gregory (1) creates some space from New Hartford’s Frankie Policelli (5) early on. The two would battle closely all evening. (Photo By Jeff Pexton – Perfect Game Imaging)
Tonight’s contest was eerily similar to the game back on December 22nd, when New Hartford held a 14 point lead headed to the 4th quarter. That night, Whitesboro put up 21 points in the fourth quarter, before falling on the Spartans floor, 60-59. Tonight, the outcome would be different.
The visiting Spartans jumped out early again, opening up a 12-5 first quarter advantage. Whitesboro, on the other hand, came out sluggishly, mustering only a 3 pointer from Brian Passatore and a put back from Jimmy Bushey in the opening frame. New Hartford got a long three pointer from Connor Nelson early, then a hoop and a harm on Nick Courto late, to open up the 7 point advantage after eight minutes of play.
Gregory got the huge home crowd fired up late in the second quarter, hitting long three pointers on consecutive trips down the floor to cut into a 10 point lead the Spartans had built. New Hartford sophomore Frankie Policelli had 5 of New Hartford’s 15 second quarter points though, and the Spartans were able to take a 27-21 lead into the intermission. Cooper Deck also chipped in 5 late in the second for New Hartford to help maintain the lead at the half.
Whitesboro’s Ryan McAndrew (20) was hitting on all cylinders, pouring in 4 field goals in the third quarter. (Photo By Jeff Pexton -Perfect Game Imaging)
The third quarter saw Whitesboro seniors Ryan McAndrew and Jimmy Bushey take over the boards at both ends, against the much taller Spartans. McAndrew’s gritty 8 third quarter points accounted for half of Whitesboro’s 16 points in the third frame. Bushey, meanwhile played a less glamourous, yet equally critical role, banging with New Hartford’s big front line and grabbing rebound after rebound to keep the home team rolling. New Hartford went to the fourth quarter clinging to a 30-27 advantage.
New Hartford’s Cooper Deck (24) heads for the hoop as Whitesboro’s Brian Passatore (10) during third quarter action. (Photo By Jeff Pexton – Perfect Game Imaging)
The 4th period saw Gregory simply go off from three point land, making the long ball look easy and bringing the noise level from the home crowd to more deafening levels with each bomb he connected on. A gregory 3 point swish tied the game at 49-49 with 3:35 remaining and the Warriors took over from there.
Meanwhile, New Hartford could not get foul shots to fall down the stretch and a driving last second shot from Spartans point guard Cooper Deck, that would have tied it, rolled off the rim as time expired.
Mass of humanity under the basket as a last second shot to tie the game for New Hartford falls away. (Photo By Jeff Pexton – Perfect Game Imaging)
Tonight’s loss was the 4th straight for the Spartans, who dropped to (9-9) overall. Whitesboro, which improved to (11-7) won it’s 3rd in row.
Gregory led all scorers with 22 points, followed by New Hartford’s Frankie Policelli who netted 20 points.
Whitesboro will look to extend their 3 game winning streak at Central Valley on Friday night, before finishing out the regular season on Monday at home against Oneida.
New Hartford has a chance to get things back on track on Friday when they host Rome Free Academy in their final TVL game of the season.
New Hartford 12 15 13 11 51
Whitesboro 5 16 16 16 53
