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.
Joe brings decades of journalism experience to the Ridge View Echo, covering everything from local school boards to the U.S. Supreme Court. A former National Law Journal editor and Columbia Law School press officer, he now enjoys telling community stories in Blairstown, where he lives with his wife, Rose, and their two dachshunds.
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
