Fredonia and Silver Creek both enjoyed very successful campaigns last season, but despite only being separated by one exit on the NYS thruway, never faced each other last year.  The 2014 campaign brought divisional realignments in the CCAA ranks, based more on what made geographical sense.  Among the changes, the Hillbillies and Black Knights found themselves playing in the same league, meaning we would get to see the two stellar small school basketball programs play twice this season.  Last night was the first meeting between the two, and each came in unbeaten in league play.  Score round one for Fredonia, who now sits atop of the standings.

Dylan Meyer scored a game-high 21 points and the Hillbillies clamped down defensively in the second half, to earn a 62-49 victory over visiting Silver Creek.  The win improves Fredonia 3-0 in CCAA I West and 6-3 overall, while the Black Knights dropped their first league contest since 2011.

Emotions were running high right out of the opening tip, with players chirping at each other, an intentional foul call, and a noticable intensity from both teams, particularly Fredonia.  The Hillbillies raced out to a 10-0 lead before Silver Creek finally netted its firstbucket of the game, over three minutes in.  John Piper had the hot hand early on for Fredonia, canning three 3-pointers in the opening quarter to help his squad out to a 17-11 lead after one quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, Fredonia had built a 10-point lead at 27-17, before the Black Knights finally found their groove.  Kaine Kettle stroked a pair of treys and Frank Wolf added another as part of a 17-3 run that gave Silver Creek a 34-30 lead late in the first half.  Junior Alec Ambrose sank a floater just four seconds prior to the break for Fredonia, and they headed into the locker room trailing 34-32.

Foul trouble was one of the game's subplots for Silver Creek, as starters Bill Brooks and Connor Gates each entered the second half with four fouls apiece, while Kaine Kettle quickly earned his fourth foul in the third quarter.  Halfway through the quarter, the Black Knights were in front 41-37, but the inability to defend aggressively would begin to hinder them, while at the same time, Fredonia dialed up its defense to another level over the stretch run of the contest.  The Hillbillies closed the quarter on a 12-4 run, including a 3-pointer from sophomore Patrick Moore that put his team in front for good.

Fredonia crowded the paint and was successful in limiting the touches for Brooks over the game's final 12 minutes.  During that stretch, Brooks was held to just one field goal, as the Hillbillies closed the game on a 23-8 run.  Meyer scored eight of his 21 points in the fourth quarter.

Piper finished the game with 16 points for Fredonia, with 14 of those coming in the first half.  Point guard Nick Johnston added 13 points.

Brooks racked up a team-high 20 points for Silver Creek, along with 15 rebounds and 13 blocked shots.  Kettle added 11 points.

-centercourt

@centercourt42