By ROB JONAS
ROTTERDAM – Shane O'Dell is listed as a sophomore on the Schalmont boys basketball team roster, but he plays with the maturity of a senior.
O'Dell scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the first half to lead the Sabres (8-3) to a 61-44 Colonial Council victory over Lansingburgh Saturday, Jan. 6.
“He's got two older brothers and two parents who put a basketball in his hands. He got beat up a lot, but they made him a better player,” Schalmont coach Greg Loiacono said of O'Dell. “He plays older than he is.”
When O'Dell struggled to hit shots early in the third quarter, he gave the ball up to his Schalmont teammates. Older brother Jesse O'Dell netted six of his eight points in the third quarter, and junior guard Nick Boyd scored eight of his 11 points during a 10-minute stretch of the second half to help the Sabres stay comfortably ahead of Lansingburgh (5-4).
“The shots weren't really falling for me, so I had to get the ball to my teammates,” said Shane O'Dell, who has been averaging approximately 20 points per game.
On the other side of the court, Lansingburgh's shooters were nearly as cold as the sub-zero temperatures outside of Schalmont's gymnasium. The Knights made one out of 15 three-point attempts and sank 5 of their 14 foul shots.
“We tried to push the tempo, but we couldn't hit our shots,” said Lansingburgh coach Eric Loudis.
Credit Schalmont's defense with frustrating Lansingburgh's shooters, though. The Sabres consistently challenged every shot attempt and added some turnovers by getting a hand in front of several passes by the Knights.
“We knew they had a couple of shooters. We knew we had to get out on them,” said O'Dell.
Schalmont jumped out to an 18-6 lead in the first quarter, thanks in large part to O'Dell. The sophomore opened the game with a three-pointer and capped the run with a three-point play and making one of two technical foul shots.
Justin Van Ness provided Lansingburgh with a boost in the second quarter. The senior forward scored seven points off the bench, including a layup off a steal near midcourt that pulled the Knights within four points of the Sabres.
Schalmont took back the momentum at the end of the second quarter, though. Junior guard Gannon Strube canned a corner three-pointer, and O'Dell scored the final three points on a foul shot and a driving layup to put the Sabres ahead 31-21 at halftime.
Lansingburgh trimmed the deficit in half to begin the third quarter. Senior center John Bessette put back his own missed shot, and sophomore guard Isaiah Knight drained a three-pointer – the only three that went in for the Knights – to make the score 31-26.
That was as close as Lansingburgh got. A pair of buckets down low by Jesse O'Dell sparked a 6-0 burst that put Schalmont up by double digits, and the Sabres finished the third quarter ahead 44-33. A 10-2 run at the end of the fourth quarter sealed Schalmont's victory.
Knight and junior guard Trevor Green each had 11 points for Lansingburgh.
