SCHENECTADY — After taking a fall and banging his hip hard on the court, Schenectady senior Quy-Maine Haggray missed most of the third quarter of Friday night’s Suburban Council basketball game with Averill Park.
While the Patriots were in control after an early push and eventually won 60-43, during that third-quarter stretch they were outscored by the Warriors 9-6.
“We’re different when he’s out there,” Schenectady coach John Miller said of Haggray, whose steal and layup kick-started a put-away fourth quarter by the Patriots. “He gives us so much in terms of offensive and defensive skill. He’s the general, and the guys lean on that.”
As Schenectady’s only returning starter, the 18-year-old Haggray has embraced his role of leading a rather small but hungry team that’s full of new faces.
“This year I knew I had to step up. Senior year,” Haggray said. “My role as a guard is to score — I can get a bucket — but at the same time I am looking to get my teammates involved.”
The 5-foot-10 Haggray has been a consistent scorer with double digits in all but one game, a superb distributor of the ball, and a menace when the other team has the ball. He had seven steals Friday and scored a team-high 18 points, seven of those coming in a 23-12 first-quarter run.
Miller said he had high expectations for the three-year varsity player, and that he’s surpassed them all in leading the Patriots to a 10-6 record.
“He’s doing the same thing every night. Eighteen, 19 points, eight steals, about nine assists. He’s been so consistent,” Miller said. “He’s leading by example. He’s showing grit and toughness. The way he plays is contagious.”
That is reflected in Schenectady’s active defense, with the quick and smart Haggray leading the cause.
“He is the best defender in the league. He’s fun to watch,” Miller said. “He sees it. He understands it. He processes it. He’s one or two steps ahead of everyone else.”
Haggray turned a steal into a layup and also picked up two assists in a key 7-2 spurt Friday that helped Schenectady go up early.
“I like defense more than offense,” Haggray said. “I like the challenge.”
Haggray has done some special things at the other end this season, including a last-second layup that gave Schenectady a 55-54 win over Shenendehowa on Dec. 5. On Jan. 12, he nailed eight 3-point baskets and totaled 29 points in an 82-78 win over Troy. When the Pats beat Troy 86-70 back on Dec. 22, he had 14 points and didn’t make any 3s.
“The first time we played them my shot wasn’t going,” Haggray said. “The second time I got the feel for it early. I hit my first two [3-point attempts] and that boosted the confidence. I kept shooting. My teammates were behind me, boosting me up and telling me to shoot more.”
Haggray opened the season with a 24-point, 8-assist, 5-rebound effort in a 76-45 non-league win over Scotia-Glenville.
“That was a good game for me to start the season,” said Haggray, who sank five 3s that night. “I wanted to show the team that I can step up, and I wanted to see what guys were going to bring it.”
Senior Mykai Anderson, juniors Andre Jackson and Hector Torres, and sophomore Jordin Anderson have led Schenectady’s newcomers. Jackson is an emerging scoring star and has had games with 35, 30 and 27 points.
“It’s my last year and I want to go out with a bang. We’ve got a good team to do it,” Haggray said. “We’ve got to get a little better with our communication, our rotations [on defense] and boxing out.”
The Patriots didn’t do that in last season’s Section 2 Class AA tournament, when a putback basket at the buzzer gave Shenendehowa a 64-62 first-round win.
“My first goal is to get that first-round game,” Haggray said. “We had it, and we didn’t box out.”
Schenectady has won three straight games and five of its last seven heading into the final stretch of the regular season against Suburban Council foes Saratoga Springs, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, Guilderland and Shaker.
The Patriots will be competing afterward in the Section 2 Class AAA tournament that will include Green Tech (Class AA champ in 2023 and 2022), CBA, Colonie, Albany, Saratoga, Shaker and Shenendehowa.
MILESTONE WATCH
Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons junior Esiasyn Starr entered the week 13 points shy of 1,000 for his career, and got his first crack at the milestone Monday when the Golden Knights hosted Mayfield. Starr has been a consistent double-digit scorer, and put in 18 points when ND-BG beat Mayfield earlier this year 70-61.
On Friday Carly Wise of Saratoga scored 36 points and reached 1,000 for her career in a 62-45 win over Guilderland. Ryan Carroll of Holy Names scored nine points including her 1,000th in a 61-24 win over Cohoes. Ben Kline of Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake netted 10 points and got to 1,000 in a 65-44 loss to Shenendehowa.
Isaiah Smith of Schalmont, Stetson Merritt of Troy, Jeff Mulhern of Duanesburg, Angelina Deitz of Bishop Gibbons and Hailey Monroe of Northville are other recent 1,000-point scorers.
3-POINT TALES
Hoosick Falls junior Carson Glover reached career highs with eight 3-point baskets and 35 points in an 83-31 win over Greenwich Friday night. Glover nailed four of those 3s and collected 17 points in a 30-6 third-quarter run. His eight 3s are one shy of the Hoosick Falls one-game record.
STEVENS INDOOR CHAMP
Berne-Knox-Westerlo junior Katie Stevens is doing double duty this winter playing basketball and running indoor track for the Bulldogs, and recently earned a victory in the 45-meter dash at the Section 2 Independent League championship meet.
Stevens was seeded No. 1 in the 45 with a 7.70, and won the title at Union College in 6.58. She is the BKW indoor record holder in the 45, 55, 300 and long jump.
On the basketball court Stevens is a defensive dynamo with a scoring touch, and her efforts helped the Bulldogs (14-1) win the Western Athletic Conference Hudson Division title. She fired in a season-high 24 points when B-K-W beat WAC Mohawk Division champ Duanesburg in mid-December.
Uncaring: who cares about another basketball team’s leadership role
Agree Great to see young athletes stepping up and taking on leadership roles! Excited to see what Haggray brings to the team.