By SPENCER BATES
SALAMANCA — The CCAA Div. I is notorious for its close contests.
A league known for its parity, contests exactly like the one between the Salamanca and Olean boys basketball teams on Jan. 12, are more often than decided by a miniscule number of possessions.
For 24 minutes, the Warriors and the Huskies were locked in a chess match where neither managed to build more than a two possession lead. But it was not a back and forth shootout by any means. It was the defenses of both sides that stood out and ultimately, the affair was decided by Olean’s late game execution on that side of the floor as it pulled out a 47-44 victory on the road.
“I don’t think this had anything to do with an X or an O to be honest. I don’t think it really had to do with us as coaches. I think our guys just came out and they just made some plays and they played for each other,” Olean head coach Tim Kolasinski said. “Even when things didn’t go well, they just picked each other up and moved on. I think playing together as one unit tonight was evident.”
And despite winding up on the losing end of the result, Salamanca head coach Adam Bennett echoed that sentiment.
“I thought it was a really high quality high school basketball game, especially if you love defense,” Bennett said. “I was proud of our guys for their effort all game long. … Credit Olean. They made plays, and I thought the plays that they made to win the game, were off of their defense. We defended hard start to finish too. They just made a couple more defensive plays than we did down the stretch.”
A microcosm of the tug-of-war that the game became was the battle in the paint. Both Salamanca and Olean have big men who can control the glass on any given night. For the Warriors, it is Payton Bradley, who finished with 10 points to his name. For the Huskies, it is Connor Hogle. And while, according to Kolasinski, he is a junior that is still learning the ropes of the varsity level, he managed to finish with a team-high 14 points for the visitors.
“There’s no secret out there, Payton (Bradley) is a very good player, he’s their leading scorer, obviously a big, physical guy, and I thought as a team we did our best to try to keep him away from the rim,” Kolasinski said. “We did our best to try to keep him off the boards. Then on the flip side, offensively, Connor Hogle is really coming into his own. … I thought Connor did some really good things on the offensive end as well, let alone rebounding. I thought he had some huge rebounds for us.”
Olean’s Taylor Teachman (14) fights through contact for a layup against Salamanca. Teachman scored six points for the Huskies in the win. (Spencer Bates)
And while he was a stalwart, defensively, a significant portion of Kolasinski’s offensive plan was centered around Hogle. According to the Huskies’ bench boss, a key to the game was moving the ball quickly without taking much, if any, time to dribble. That way, they would be able to slice through the paint and find open layups near the rim.
“We’ve been facing a lot of zone defense lately, and we’ve really been working on moving the ball,” Kolasinski said. “I thought the guys moved the ball really well today, and doing it without the dribble … was really beneficial for us today. It allowed us to get the ball to the high post, it allowed us to counter in the low post, and I think it was critical to us limiting some of the turnovers that may have plagued us in the past.”
In fact, it was Hogle’s performance and willingness to fight tooth and nail on both sides that Bennett pointed to as the biggest reason for defeat.
“Credit Hogle man, that’s somebody who’s grown a lot and that’s a credit to Tim (Kolasinski) and his coaching,” Bennett said. “I thought he was the difference in the game tonight in terms of his ability, the rebounds and the put-backs. … You got to tip your cap and give him credit.”
But Salamanca was not without a game-changing weapon of its own. Carlton Farmer, who drained five 3-pointers in a game-high 17-point outing, was a constant thorn in the side of the Olean defense. Time and time again, Farmer popped up with big shots from range that kept the hosts in the contest. But the confidence and efficiency he is playing with at the moment comes as no surprise to Bennett.
“I’m proud of him, because he put a lot of work in in the fall,” Bennett said. “He really worked hard on his shot … and that’s his strength in our team, his ability to jump shoot. I’m happy with where he’s at results-wise right now, because I think he deserves it with the work that he’s put in. The other thing with Carlton that goes unnoticed is he’s been a tremendous leader for us this year, in every facet. He’s competitive, he holds guys accountable and he holds himself accountable. He’s been an outstanding leader, and I’m more proud of him for that.”
Salamanca’s Carlton Farmer (1) launches a 3-pointer against Olean. Farmer drained five 3-pointers in a 17-point outing against the Huskies. (Spencer Bates)
But when it came to crunch time, it was Olean’s defense that managed to shut things down as it held Salamanca to just one point over the final four minutes of the contest. A resilience that Kolasinski is pleased with.
“We were really proud of the defense,” Kolasinski said. “I think we played fairly good defense throughout this season, but there’s playing good defense, and then there’s getting the stops when you absolutely need them. I think that’s what we did tonight. … Our guys just stiffened their back bones and got the stops they needed.”
The win was a pivotal one for the Huskies as well as it put an end to its two-game CCAA Div. I losing skid. They will look to build upon the result in their next game, a non-league home affair against Westfield on Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m.
As for the Warriors, they will look to bounce back on the road at Southwestern on Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m.
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AT SALAMANCA
Olean (47)
Hogle 7 0-0 14, Bohdanowycz 6 1-1 13, Teachman 3 0-0 6, Mest 2 0-0 6, B. Ruggles 2 0-0 5, Rivera 1 0-0 3. Totals: 21 1-1 47
Salamanca (44)
Farmer 5 2-4 17, Bradley 3 3-4 10, Hill 2 1-2 6, Maybee 3 0-0 6, Ghani 2 1-2 5. Totals: 15 7-12 44
OL 7 21 29 47
Sala. 10 20 31 44
Three-point goals: OL 4 (Mest 2, Rivera, B. Ruggles), Sala. 7 (Farmer 5, Bradley, Hill); Total fouls: OL 11, Sala. 8; Fouled out: None.
