Saranac Lake’s Landon LaDue looks to get by a double team of Northern Adirondack’s of Brady Boulrice and Matt Boulrice during Wednesday’s game. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)
SARANAC LAKE — Last weekend the Saranac Lake boys basketball team opened up its season by winning its eighth straight game. On Wednesday, the Red Storm earned its ninth straight win with another dominant performance.
“I’ve never experienced nine in a row as a varsity coach for almost nine years here. We’re excited,” Red Storm head coach Dermott Morgan said. “We’re not used to being in this position, we’re used to being at the bottom tier of the league. Right now it feels good.”
Paced by Nate McCarthy’s game-high 26 points, the Red Storm defended its home court by defeating the Northern Adirondack Bobcats 76-54.
The “core four,” which include McCarthy, Gabe Wilson, Carter Hewitt and Landon Faubert, that Morgan said have been playing together since third or fourth grade, combined for a triumphant 54 points.
Faubert, the team’s typical sharp-shooter, appeared to be the main focus for the Bobcats defense to shut down. Faubert finished with just three points but made adjustments to help his team.
Saranac Lake’s Markus Navarra jumps up to block a shot during Wednesday’s game against Northern Adirondack. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)
“We couldn’t find him (Faubert) early. I think that has a lot to do with the other team didn’t want him to shoot. They were really denying him,” Morgan said. “What’s nice about that is if they wanna come out and deny Landon Faubert then we’ve got other guys that can score. Landon did a great job of passing it off and not forcing that shot. I was impressed with him.”
Though the Red Storm won the game, the team had a rough start.
With the Bobcats opening the game on an 8-0 run, the Saranac Lake coaching staff looked toward its young bench to help ignite the team.
“I had a freshman point guard, Landon LaDue, come off the bench. He had nine points tonight and he looked like he wasn’t ready against Tupper Lake,” Morgan said. “Boy did he look like a seasoned veteran out there. I was very impressed with him. A lot of composure.”
Along with LaDue, Saranac Lake’s sophomore guard, Caleb Akey, came off the bench with the hot hand. Akey hit both of his three-point shots in the first half.
Saranac Lake’s Carter Hewitt jumps up to make a shot during Wednesday’s game against Northern Adirondack. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)
“Caleb Akey is another one. Seven points off the bench, a couple threes a couple rebounds.” Morgan said. “If those two can come off the bench and help us out, it’s going to give us more depth and we’re going to be a tougher team.”
After switching up the game plan, the Red Storm finished the first quarter ahead by just three points. In the second quarter, the team really got things rolling, by outscoring the Bobcats 27-14.
From that point on, Saranac Lake stopped Northern Adirondack from mounting any attempt at a comeback and kept the lead for the remainder of the game.
“I thought that Nate Bilow and NAC did a good job of slowing us down at times. He switched up his defenses,” Morgan said. “He showed a zone press and dropped back into a man matchup. He would put a zone in and at half court.
“He kept us on our toes, where it was really good early on for us to practice against that because we’re gonna see it. We’re gonna see it all season long,” he added. “My hats off to NAC. I think we went on a couple of six or 8-0 runs and I think that was the difference in the game.”
Saranac Lake’s Landon Faubert, left, looks to make a play with Northern Adirondack’s Brody Boulrice defending him during Wednesday’s game at home. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)
The Red Storm’s Hewitt and Wilson had strong outings on the offensive side. Hewitt finished with 14 points, while Wilson added 11.
“I don’t think Gabe started out strong,” Morgan said. “He ended up with 11 and a few more steals. He did a great job of getting his composure back in the second quarter.”
Saranac Lake’s Markus Navarra had a strong performance as well. Navarra had six points and was dominant on the glass.
The Bobcats were led by Harold Carter’s 13 points. Brady and Matt Boulrice each had double-digit points in the loss.
“On the defensive, I thought we played better than we did against Tupper Lake,” Morgan said. “But there is still a lot of room to improve. I think if we can tighten up on the defensive end I think that we’re gonna have some big wins.”
Saranac Lake will look to get its tenth straight win today, with the team traveling to take on the 0-1 Ticonderoga Sentinels at 7 p.m.