Rome Free No More Say Cadets

ALBANY, NY- It's been so long if ever that Albany Academy has lost a senior night game that head coach Brian Fruscio tried to rack his brain to come up with a time it happened, but he couldn't which just goes to show the dominance of the Cadets over the past couple of decades.

Sunday though proved to be one of Albany Academy's stiffest senior night challenges yet as Rome Free Academy came to the area from Section 3 to face the Cadets, and with just under 4 minutes to play actually led 63-60.

It was at that point though that the Cadets dug down deep, finishing the game on a 15-1 run to pull away from Rome Free in the final few minutes to come away with a hard fought 75-64 victory over the Knights.

With it being senior night Fruscio started 4 seniors who don't normally get to start alongside of regular starter Marlon Campbell '20. That meant the likes of Andre Jackson '20, Marcus Jackson '21, and Riley Mulvey '22 were all sat down to start to give some deserving seniors who don't normally get this type of opportunity the chance to hear their names called as a part of the starting lineup.

That did put Albany Academy in a bit of a hole as they fell behind 8-0 out of the gate. Once the regular starters for the Cadets came in they were able to get back on the right track a bit as Preston Graber '21 drained a big three to put the Albany up 12-11, though with Rome Free's Damien Call '20 finishing on a tough runner and scoring 8 in the opening quarter it was the Knights retaking a 15-12 lead.

One thing easy to see in the early moment for the Cadets was that Jackson, the UConn commit, was not his usual explosive self. Fruscio noted that he took a hard hit late in the game a week ago against Newburgh Free Academy and that has him right now at nowhere near 100%.

"Andre is banged up, he hit the wall hard there when we played Newburgh Free and he has tendinitis and maybe even a bit of a bone bruise," Fruscio explained.

He took out Jackson a couple minutes into his run in the opening quarter but Fruscio said Jackson told him he was alright, and while it wasn't a dominant scoring performance he found ways to impact the game be it on the glass, with his great passing, and even his perimeter shooting touch.

With Jackson and Graber each feeling it from the outside in the second quarter it was the Cadets who after the rough start began to assert control as they began the second quarter on a 15-0 run to take a 27-15 lead. All seemed back on the right track for Albany Academy, but to the credit of Rome Free they never backed down and got themselves back into the game before the half.

Call, Isaac Howard '20, and Jordan Baldwin '20 each found space to get off good looks from the outside to help the Knights rally back and get within 33-28 of Albany Academy at the half.

For a short period of time there it seemed as if Albany Academy was going to take control but that didn't happen because of some late half lapses if you ask Graber who felt they gave Rome Free hope going into the locker room.

"They were getting downhill and we did a bad job of closing out on their shooters which helped them get back into the game there," Graber admitted.

You would've thought the third quarter was a replica of the second quarter but the way it went as well as Albany Academy fed the ball more inside to Mulvey who finished on a couple of buckets and fouls, while Marcus Jackson was able to slice his way into the lanes and create contact as the Cadets upped the lead back up to 14 with 2:44 to go in the third.

That lead again went away as the Knights did a good job at closing the quarter strong from the outside as the perimeter shot, along with a better defensive effort, again allowed Rome Free to finish the quarter on a 12-4 run to let them going into the fourth quarter be within 56-52.

Unlike how Albany Academy started out in the second and third quarters though, it was Rome Free who continued with their momentum as Jeremiah Bartholomew '21 was able to connect on a floater to begin the final stanza, and when Jordan Baldwin '20 hit a three from the left corner it was the Knights who had taken a 57-56 advantage.

The lead for Rome Free grew to 63-60 with just under 4 minutes to play when Call, who had 20 points, was called for his fifth foul sending him to the bench meaning that the Knights without their leader and leading scorer would have to try and finish the job.

Trailing by 3 on senior night with under 4 minutes to play meant nervous moments for many on the Albany Academy side as Mulvey was the first to admit that he wasn't wanting to have the seniors, who have meant so much to the Cadets over the years, go out with a bad taste in their mouths.

"I feel like the pressure on us really spiked up in the fourth when they started to come back because we shouldn't lose a senior night game for our seniors," Mulvey said. "We just couldn't lose for them."

Fruscio saved all his timeouts even when things weren't necessarily going Albany Academy's way because he wasn't bailing them out understanding that later in the game he wanted to have the opportunity to make offense/defense substitutions so holding on to the timeouts and making sure they were available when he really needed and wanted them was critical.

With his substitution pattern in place and Call out the momentum and tide shifted, with Campbell hitting on a floater in the lane off a great feed from Jackson to put the Cadets up 65-64 with 2:22 to go, and off a Rome Free miss it was Campbell on the other end who found Graber in the right corner who then would drain an enormous three to put Albany Academy up 4 with under two minutes to go in what felt like a shot that really gave the Cadets control.

After scoring a career high 36 points on Saturday, Graber's confidence was through the roof coming into Sunday and he said that he was ready to do anything needed to help the seniors end their home careers right, including making the game clincher.

"Yesterday helped but I didn't let it get to me too much. I just knew we needed to make shots today, and when it counted most I had to knock them in," Graber stated.

Coming off his hands Graber admitted the shot felt good and when it tickled the twine he ran back to the Albany Academy bench when a timeout was called and high fives every one of his teammates with the energy level in the building amped up to another level.