It very quickly became a long night for the Pine Bush boys’ basketball team.

The Washingtonville Wizards got an early jump on the Bushmen with a 25-point first quarter and ran off to a 73-59 victory on Thursday night.

“They took advantage of us early and never let up and they capitalized on our mistakes,” Pine Bush coach Steve Distefano said. “You’ve got to tip your hat to them. They made their shots tonight.”
The Bushmen were unable to contain the Wizards’ Ryan Graham, who torched them for a game-high 33 points, 19 of which came in the first quarter as he singlehandedly outscored the Bushmen.

The Wizards (6-0) continued the onslaught in the second quarter and took a 46-22 lead into the locker room at halftime.

“It’s not about X’s and O’s,” Distefano said. “It’s about pride. It’s about heart and it’s about effort. When you get into a situation like we were in tonight, that’s what you need.”

Sean Walters added 15 points for Washingtonville.

Although the margin was wide, intensity in the gymnasium remained high, even with the game out of reach late.

The Bushmen (1-6), with four players reaching double digits, managed to close the gap to within 14 points by the game’s end.
“We haven’t given up all year,” DiStefano said. “They’re there every day in practice busting their tails day in and day out. That says a lot about their character and it says a lot about the team and a lot about where they’re trying to get to.”

Tim Linton scored a team-high 17 points, while Chris Cain added 16 points. Elijah Johnson and Alfranzo Thomas scored 11 each.

“We were given what we have and we’re working with what we have,” Distefano said. “We are improving day in and day out. We’re a very young team. We have two freshmen, two sophomores and a handful of juniors. We only have one senior that has any kind of experience here so this is a brand new team and it showed early on. Each day I commend these guys for putting in the effort that they’re putting forth.”