Some days, showing up is about the best you can do.
So it was for the Waterville boys varsity basketball team in the consolation round of the VVS Holiday Tournament. The Indians lost 57-33 to Broadalbin Perth for an 0-2 holiday appearance that ran their record to 3-5 with a four-game losing streak.
With one player missing who tested positive for the flu that felled a good percentage of WCS Junior-Senior High students during Christmas week, and some others who played despite being sick, the Indians used up the little energy they had in the first three quarters of the opening game vs. New Hartford. With five minutes left in that game, Waterville led 55-54, but the Spartans outran the tired Indians in the last four minutes for a 68-59 win.
Twenty-four hours between games did not appear to be enough recovery time, although Waterville did take an early lead against the Patriots in the consolation game. A traveling call against the Indians seemed to zap some of their momentum and B-P went out in front 20-17 after the first quarter and lengthened that to 33-23 at the half.
B-P opened the second half with two quick 3-pointers, countered only by a free throw by Cole Pearsall, and before 90 seconds of game time had elapsed, the Indians were down 39-24. Darren Johnson cut underneath for a layup and Tyson Maxam stole the ball and scored, then hit a free throw to make it 43-29. Maxam was Waterville’s selection to the All-tournament team.
Pearsall muscled up for a basket after B-P scored, but the Patriots took a 50-31 lead into the fourth quarter.
Those final eight minutes showed just how out of gas the usually run-and-shoot Indians were, as they missed everything: 3-point attempts, layups underneath, jumpers and even free throws. Only Johnson’s side jumper with three seconds left provided points for Waterville, which by then had fallen behind by 26 points.
Johnson had 9 points in the second game, Maxam 11, Pearsall 7 and Connor Marriott 6...