Class B North is crowded with talented teams at the top of the standings, and two of those squads met Tuesday night in Hermon.
The Hermon Hawks came into the game in first place, and managed to stay there after a 60-47 win over the high-powered Rams.
That 13-point victory was even more impressive given that Cony entered the game averaging more than 70 points per contest and hadn’t scored fewer than 65 in a single game.
The Rams had only lost one other game this season, a high-scoring affair against Gardiner where both teams scored in the 90s. In fact, Cony had already scored in the 90s three different times this regular season.
But it would be a different story Tuesday night, thanks to a strong defensive effort and methodical pace set by the Hermon offense.
“I’m really proud of my kids and the toughness they played with tonight,” Hermon coach Mark Reed said after the win. “The defensive end of the floor, we just really worked hard, made it hard on that side of the floor. We thought we rebounded well, we thought our possessions were good.”
Reed said that Cony does such a good job in transition and is able to speed the game up with pressure.
“We just knew that we had to do a really good job with controlling that aspect of how we played. We had to play the way we wanted to play, not get rushed.”
Cony head coach Isaiah Brathwaite credited the Hermon team for holding the ball and controlling the tempo of the game.
“They sucked the air out of the ball on offense,” Brathwaite said. “They just took their time, very methodical, taking a minute, two minutes per possession.”
He said the loss would be a learning experience for the 7-2 Cony team, which is currently fourth in Class B North.
“We’ve got a lot of growing up to do,” said Brathwaite, who still expects his team to bring an exciting form of basketball to the court as the season continues.
Freshman Carter Brathwaite led the Rams with 16 points Tuesday night, followed by senior Parker Morin with 12.
Hermon guard Carter Wiggin led all scorers with 23 points, and Mason Kinney had 12 for the Hawks.
The game was tight to start, with the score tied 10-10 after the first quarter and Hermon taking a 21-18 lead into halftime.
Kinney knocked down a nice jumper to start the third quarter, and added two more points shortly after with a floater in the lane.
The teams traded buckets for a while in the third, before Wiggin added an and-1 to put Hermon up 32-29.
Kinney later hauled in an offensive rebound and put it off the glass and in to give the Hawks a 39-31 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Hawks stretched their lead to as much as 15 as they coasted in the final minutes.
“All the credit to the kids. I didn’t do anything,” Reed added after the game. “I just got to have a really good seat and watch it all.”
His Hawks are now 8-1 at the top of Class B North.