Redbirds still looking to capture elusive victories Allentown boys face pair of top teams this week

Redbirds still looking to capture elusive victories
Allentown boys face pair of top teams
this week

JERRY WOLKOWITZ Allentown’s David Peterson lets go of a fade-away jumper during Friday’s game against Steinart in Allentown.

The Allentown boys basketball team continues to flirt with victories, only to see them slip away in the fourth quarter.

Going into last weekend’s play, Head Coach Brian Fifield was stressing the importance of finishing games strong in order to pull out some wins. His team, which entered Friday’s game against Steinart at 1-9 after losing a number of close games throughout the season, was hoping to play well when it mattered against a team which had already handed the Redbirds a loss earlier in the year.

But unfortunately, despite playing well, the Redbirds were beaten again 66-56. The game was close throughout, as Allentown was led by the 18 points of senior Paul Buszko, who provided the team with an offensive lift.

But it was the Redbirds’ inability to get the big baskets in the fourth quarter which was the difference once again against a Steinart team that seemed to hit the shots when they needed them most.

"We played pretty well against Steinart, but just not good enough," Fifield said.

On Monday, the Redbirds looked to bounce back against North Burlington on the road. But Allentown gave one of its poorer performances of the year in losing 72-63.

After the game, Fifield was disappointed with his team’s performance.

"I was happy with the effort on Friday, but (Monday) we kind of regressed a little," he said. "We just played poorly throughout."

In the loss, senior Matt Krantz came off the bench to provide the Redbirds with a spark, netting 28 points. But his scoring was not enough to overcome Allentown’s overall poor play.

Fifield’s team will look to bounce back this week in a pair of games against two of the tougher opponents on their schedule. Allentown is hosting Nottingham tonight (7 p.m.) and will travel to McCorristin on Saturday.

Fifield knows that although is team could really use some wins, getting one this week will be a very tall order.

"Our next two games are against a pair of teams who are 12-1 and 11-2, so it could be a rough couple of outings for us," the Coach said.

But despite the records going in, the Redbirds have reached a point where any victories will help the young squad better prepare itself for the future. Fifield’s program is on an upswing, with talented players at both the freshman and jayvee levels, and the next few years should allow Allentown to improve on this year’s mark.

Following the McCorristin game, the Redbirds will have seven games left on their schedule, and will look to pick up some wins along the way. Logic would dictate that if they continue to play teams close, they should be able to pull a game or two out.

But if not, at least the four underclassmen in the starting line-up will continue to get a sense of how it feels to lose on a consistent basis, a formula which usually makes players work harder to improve. And the fact is, based on their ability to play good teams close, the Redbirds don’t have too far to go before they’ll start getting those elusive wins.