Both Girls and Boys Varsity Basketball Teams secured back to back wins to wind up on top for The DownTown Classic played at the Nexus Center in Downtown Utica!
The New Hartford Spartans Girls Team won against Ludden Varsity Girls Basketball Team with a buzzer – beater three-pointer scored by Senior Captain Danielle Lucas, with the final score being 58-57.
The Spartans are led by Senior Captains : Tara Fobare, Ava Brazier, and Danielle Lucas with a current record of 5-5 this season.
“It felt amazing to hit the game winning shot, especially with all the pressure I could feel,” said Lucas after a post-game interview about scoring the three-pointer to win the game.
“The energy during the game was through the roof and everyone was on the edge of their seats with how close the score was. The team especially was playing as hard as we could knowing that every play was crucial to help win the game” spoke Lucas about what the energy was like throughout the game.
The final game was a hard fought battle between both teams as they both went all out for the win, and it is safe to say that they had their moments of glory, but also challenge as both teams were struggling to get the win.
When asked about where the team had success or could have improved throughout the game, Lucas said, “I think we could have done better with getting out and running the floor for more fast break points. We also seemed to let up in some moments which kept our opponents in the game.”
However, the team still managed to end up on top and were able to take home the win!
Spartan fan Maggie MacTurk, whose older sister Charlotte MacTurk plays center for the Varsity Girls Basketball Team, said the games were “very entertaining and it was very fun to watch and it was a good setup there! Plus, the games were rarely late.”
“Each team played very well and obviously I was there to root for my team but they were well played games and sometimes they tend to get heated but every game was fun to watch,” said MacTurk.
According to MacTurk, there was also great food at the concession stands to eat and enjoy while cheering on your favorite teams at this tournament. Food options ranged from “The standard concession foods, Pizza, Coffee, Slushies, and Chicken Tenders and Fries” to added favorites like Dippin Dots.” Macturk says these foods and the games were her favorite parts of the experience.
The New Hartford Varsity Girls Basketball Team went on to secure a win against Homer, January 8th, with the final score being 78-42 and the game was played there at Homer in their gymnasium. However, after that game they went on to play RFA in Rome and fell short of a win with the final score being 58-50. They will move on to play a home game against Holland Patent at 7:00 pm tonight.
Now, for our New Hartford Varsity Boys Basketball Team. They played Gloversville and got the victory, winning the game with the final score being 45-43 with a buzzer-beater 2-pointer layup scored by Junior Liam Noonan. Then the next day, the team went on to play Westhill but fell short of the victory with the score being 62-45 at the end of the game.
The Varsity Boys Basketball team is led by Senior Captain Salvatore Weller, Senior Captain Jameson Stockwell, and Junior Sam Beaton.
“Well we beat Gloversville the first game and I thought we played really well and worked as a team to get easy, open shots which led us to victory. On the other hand, when we played Westhill the next day, it wasn’t our best showing. Our shots weren’t falling and we weren’t connecting on the court as a team,” said Senior Captain Salvatore Weller about how he thinks the team played in this tournament.
“Our energy and team morale was at an all time high before the games. We were all getting fired up listening to music in the locker room and getting mentally prepared. You could feel our confidence and positive energy in the locker room,” Weller said, describing the energy going into these games in the tournament.
Weller spoke about where he thinks the team had the most success in these games versus where he believes they could have improved saying, “I believe we had the most success when we were patient on offense. For example, instead of forcing a bad shot early in the possession, when we took the time to let the play develop, that’s when we found success on the scoreboard. On the other hand, I feel we need to improve on our decision making. Taking bad shots or giving up countless turnovers ultimately led us to fall behind.”
The Varsity Boys Basketball Team later went on to play at Watertown on January 7th, with the score at the end of the game being 47-42 giving them the win against Watertown! Although they then went on to play RFA and like the girls, the boys were not able to snag that win with the game ending at 86-68. While the girls will play home, the boys will hit the road to play Holland Patent playing there at 7:00 tonight as well.
Overall, The Downtown Classic seems as though it was a great event for our New Hartford Spartans Basketball Teams! It is a tournament that draws in many fans and teams from everywhere who go head to head to compete in this tournament from all different places in NY State. It tends to draw in lots of new fans and is a fun event no matter which team you are going to see! The event also draws in a lot of recurring fans like Maggie MacTurk who says she “would like to go again!”
