Advance to face No. 1 New Paltz
The Beacon boys’ basketball team, which started the season 2-7 before winning 10 of their final 11 games, added to that total with an upset win on Monday (Feb. 26) at Red Hook in the Section IX, Class A tournament.
The Bulldogs, seeded No. 5, held on for a 56-54 win over the No. 4 Raiders when Derek Fortes Jr. blocked a last-second three-point attempt. When the teams met during the regular season earlier this month, Beacon edged Red Hook, 56-53, after giving up a 19-point, third-quarter lead.
Beacon (13-8) travels to face No. 1 New Paltz (15-3) at 6 p.m. on Wednesday (Feb. 28). The game will be streamed on nfhsnetwork.com. The winner advances to the title game on March 1 at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh.
Red Hook had its chance when, with 16 seconds left and the lead, Beacon turned the ball over. After calling time-out, the Raiders’ Robert Paschal received the inbound pass and attempted a three-pointer. Fortes got his hand on the ball; Paschal regained possession but his second shot was far off the mark as time expired.
On the final play, “we took away two of their best shooters, forced the ball to a different shooter, Derek got out there and made a play,” said Coach Patrick Schetter.
Beacon started the game with a blistering tempo, opening up a 11-0 lead. The Raiders didn’t score until 2:52 left in the first quarter. But Beacon got sloppy and the game was tied at 27 at half.
“We got a little impatient offensively and defensively,” said Schetter. “We play our best when we play straight up, and we will build on that, get better for Wednesday.”
The game stayed even until the end of the third quarter, when Beacon took control. During one play, Jahcier Ballard drove to the hoop, drawing contact. He missed but got his own rebound and, while lying on his back, dished it to Michai Thompson, who drained a three to give the Bulldogs the lead.
On the next Red Hook possession, Thompson stole the ball and drove to the hoop to score as the quarter ended, giving the Bulldogs a 41-38 lead.
Fortes scored down low for what would be the winning basket with 1:30 remaining in the game, giving Beacon a 55-54 lead. After being fouled with a minute left, Ryan Landisi hit one of two free throws to make it 56-54.
Fortes finished with 20 points, while Thompson and Marciano Rodriguez each added 11.
