A big second quarter put the game out of reach.

The Spackenkill Spartans outscored the Highland boys’ basketball team by 21 points in the second quarter as they handed the Huskies an 83-39 Mid Hudson Athletic League Division III loss on Friday night at Highland High School.

“Spackenkill’s a good team,” Highland coach Mike Milliman said. “They went out west to play. They play together. Nasir (Snell) is a great player. Their big kids are tough inside. Our kids just need to keep learning and they are.”

The Spartans got the jump on the Huskies from the opening tip, scoring the game’s first 11 points before Michael Koehler’s basket put the Huskies on the board with 1:57 left in the first quarter.

After taking a 15-6 lead after the first quarter, the Spartans put some serious distance between the two teams, outscoring the Huskies 30-9 in the second quarter, opening a 45-15 lead.

“Even in the first half, the effort was there,” Milliman said. “But in the second half, the effort was even better. When you’re down 30 points to a team, and you come out and you play that type of second half with the effort, as a coach, that’s all you can ask for.”

The Huskies didn’t close the gap in the second half, but they stayed closer as the Spartans outscored them, 20-14, in the third quarter, and 18-10 in the fourth.

“In the second half, they came out and they did what we asked them to do,” Milliman said. “Go out there and hustle and don’t put your heads down. Just get out there, and play. And they did.”
Kris Cummings led the Spartans with a game-high 22 points, leading four Spartans in double figures. Snell added 15 points, Lamin Sesay added 13 and Jalin Thompson added 11. Cummings also grabbed 3 rebounds for a double double.

Reid Berean led the Huskies with 17 points.

“One of the things we talked about from Day 1 is that it’s going to be a struggle,” Milliman said.

“This year, it’s going to be a struggle, so you got to be getting better each day, and better doesn’t always mean winning. Better means that you stick with each other; you play together.”

It was a challenging week for the Huskies as they opened their divisional schedule on December 12 with an 85-46 loss to Ellenville on December 12.

Jason Kinsey scored a game-high 33 points for the Blue Devils, and K.J. Jackson added 27. Michael Koehler led the Huskies with 17 points.

But even though the result wasn’t there, Friday’s game was a stark improvement.

“I saw that they stuck together,” Milliman said. “The other night we were down to Ellenville, and we had some kids holding their heads and not hustling back. Tonight, I didn’t see that. I’m proud of it.”