Berne-Knox-Westerlo boys basketball downs Duanesburg in top-10 Class C clash

DELANSON, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- When the first New York State boys basketball rankings of the season dropped earlier this week, the wealth of talent in Section II, Class C was made apparent, with four teams slated in the top-20. The two highest-ranked squads, No. 4 Duanesburg and No. 6 Berne-Knox-Westerlo, squared off Wednesday night in Delanson.

Duanesburg star Jeff Mulhern did everything he could to defend his home court, carrying the Eagles with 38 points. But it wasn't enough to overcome the BKW trio of Shane Kirker, Dayne Coates and George Wright, who combined to score 70 points, guiding the Bulldogs to a 78-59 victory that snapped a six-game losing streak against their Western Athletic Conference foe.

BKW got out to a blazing start. Kirker hit a turnaround jumper to give the Bulldogs a 16-5 edge at the 2:30 mark of the opening quarter.

Duanesburg closed the gap to eight by the end of the quarter, and started the second stanza on a 7-0 run. Five of those points came from Mulhern, who cut the margin to one at 21-20 with a lay-up midway through the quarter.

But BKW countered with a 12-4 run over the final four-plus minutes of the quarter. Kirker put the finishing touches on a 17-point first half with a three-pointer just before the horn, and the Bulldogs headed for the locker room leading 33-24.

Duanesburg outscored BKW 20-18 in the third quarter, with Mulhern contributing 14 of those points. The Eagles managed to cut a second-half deficit that reached as high as 14 points to four with 5:24 remaining after a Jansen Proulx trey ball.

BKW responded with a flourish, though, outscoring Duanesburg 19-4 over the final five-plus minutes to secure the 78-59 victory. Kirker posted a team-best 30 points, Coates had 24 and Wright added 16.

BKW improves to 5-0, 4-0 in-league, and has a well-deserved, nine-day break before its next game on Friday, Dec. 27 - a home contest against Middleburgh. Duanesburg falls to 4-1, 3-1, and will be back in action Saturday. The Eagles will play host to Rensselaer.