Rebels Fall Behind Early, Drop Home Opener to Bayard

As the players finally filled Stuyvesant’s home court for the first time this season, the crowd’s energy could hardly be contained. The chants, taunts, and bleacher banging were in full force as the students and family in attendance did their best to get under the skin of the Bayard Titans, who were rolling into Thursday’s contest on the back of two straight wins.

Though much of that emotion was transferred to the floor during the game, it just wasn’t enough to propel the Runnin’ Rebels to their first league victory of the year, as the Titans cruised past them in the Rebels’ home opener at 77-56.

Despite the 21-point separation, the game never felt like a complete rout. Coach Paul Goldsman, now in his second stint as bench general of the Rebels, emphasized the fire that his team played with despite battling through double-digit deficits throughout the second half.

“The effort was awesome. The energy that we came out with—it was evident throughout the game. Yeah, the effort was there. I mean, as you saw, we were down by 10, 15, 20 points [in the second half], but we never quit, and that was a great sign,” he said.

Part of the reason that the Rebels were able to keep the game competitive was the season debut of senior center Samson Badlia. The 6’5” rebound machine shone in the paint when he was on, especially for stretches in the second quarter in which he appeared virtually unguardable. He ended up logging a team-high eight rebounds (six in the offensive half) in addition to nine points, matching his season-high from last year. Junior guard Nicky Lin, who in his short time with the varsity team has been everything the Rebels could ask for in terms of offensive contributions, also quietly had himself a gem of a performance, knocking down seven field goals, tossing up a team-leading four assists, and going a perfect 4-4 from the foul line for a stellar 18-point game. Lin and Badlia, who were the team’s top two point-getters respectively, both received high praise from Coach Goldsman after the game.

“Nicky Lin was a beast, especially in the corner. Him driving baseline, him hitting his three-foot floaters—that was very good, very promising. Samson was a beast down low. They couldn’t stop him, [and] I was very impressed by that. I would say Samson and Nicky played excellent today,” he said.

Another notable performance was that of senior guard Brian Poon, who gave the Titans issues by beelining to the hole early and often. In addition to his two layups and one free throw, Poon contributed one shot from beyond the arc—one of only two made by the Rebels on Thursday. The other was pitched in by junior guard-forward Mitchel Fogel, who finished the afternoon with five points.

The three-point line, however, is where this game might’ve been decided. The Rebels’ relaxed 1-3-1 defensive formation opened up the perimeter for the Titans’ best shooters, who took no prisoners, knocking down seven of their eight total three-balls inside the first half. The presence and volume of the three-point shot allowed the Titans to open the game up early and never look back, despite the Rebels doing well to field opportunities under and in front of the basket. Switching over to a man-to-man strategy helped restrict the Titans to only one three-pointer the rest of the game.

Senior co-captain Ben Zenker, who chipped in with four points and four rebounds, echoed some of these remarks after the game, but he is optimistic about what this group can achieve this season. “We were coming in fully expecting a win [but] ended up letting their best players take the game out of our hands. [We need to] come out with more intensity on the defensive end. We started off flat-footed, and they took advantage with seven 3’s in the first half. I feel like I personally have the potential to do better, and that when all our players finally feel like [they’re] firing on all cylinders, we’re a deadly team,” he said.

Though the Rebels are now winless in their first three league games, there is still a lot of basketball left to play, with plenty of time for the new roster to jell. However, their most difficult test might be right on the doorstep, as they now embark on a challenging stretch of five games in 11 days right before winter break begins. They start their run on Tuesday against the undefeated Murry Bergtraum Blazers, who have put up at least 90 points in every game they’ve played this season, and will cap it off against the Hunter Hawks, who finished last season with the best record in the Manhattan A1 Division.