Photos by J. Phalon, Jan. 2023
Tightening up the defense was Blair basketball head coach Joe Mantegna as the Buccaneers began the second half of the 2022-23 season.
Despite beating Peddie 76-65 Jan. 11, Mantegna was not happy with the defense.
“They outplayed us,” Montegna said. “They worked harder.”
Winning by 11 points was not a particular achievement as far as Mantegna was concerned when the defense left many opportunities for Peddie to score.
“We left them open for a lot of threes,” Mantegna said after the Peddie game.
But he was pleased with the play on the offensive side, he added.
“We have a talented team, and we did a good job of getting open for shots,” he said.
The 17-4 Bucs followed up their win over Peddie with an 84-81 victory over St. Benedicts Jan. 18 but came up one point short against Ramapo Jan. 22 in a 51-51 loss. They came back to beat decisively the George School 95-65.
Blair’s next home game is Feb. 15 against Covenant Prep.
