And, verily, the worm hath turneth

It's only a small sample size, but, to borrow from Bob Dylan, the times are a'changin' at Troy High in the young winter sports season.

The December 3 boys & girls doubleheader at Bethlehem didn't count in Suburban Council league standings, as the league openers came three nights later. For Troy's boys' basketball team, that's bad news, because any momentum generated from beating Bethlehem that night has dissipated into a morass of misfortune.

Greg Davis' club has since lost three in a row for the first time since the latter days of the Rich Hurley era, the latest a 64-61 defeat to Schenectady on Friday at Pat Riley Center. Marquis Hamby ended a two game scoring slump by leading Troy with 21 points, and Jadon Cummings added 13. Troy (1-3 overall) may not be entirely together as a team just yet, but they do have less than a week before their next game, as they'll continue their road trip in Colonie on Thursday. Per Schedule Galaxy, they'll then travel to a "undetermined" site----I'm guessing Kingston----next Saturday.

Meanwhile, at Zotto Memorial Gym, the women dispatched Schenectady with ease, 54-39. The Lady Patriots have been one of Troy's favorite patsies in recent years, and just didn't have the talent to keep up. Troy led, 28-10, at halftime, and that pretty much told the tale. Alaina Holmes led Troy with 18 points and 6 rebounds, followed by Jenalyse Alarcon with 13 and 5, respectively. Troy finishes the current homestand with Colonie on Thursday night.

So where does the problem lie with the boys? Part of it might be a slower than expected transition from football season to basketball season, and a majority of the roster were also on the football team (i.e. Alex Wolfe, Tyrell Penalba, Makai Cruel). Starting with Thursday's game at Colonie, the boys will play four games over a ten day period, including the Holiday Classic in two weeks. Practices will be harder, to be sure.

In contrast, the women's team has been together for a couple of years now, with only two seniors graduating last year, and are poised to make a run at perennial Gray division leaders Averill Park and Albany this season, having erased the bitter taste of getting blown out by Shenendehowa eight days ago with dominating wins over Guilderland and Schenectady. Like the boys, Ryan Meikle's club will play a tournament in two weeks, on the road, in Amsterdam, where they're scheduled to play Pittsfield on the 27th. The real litmus test will come starting January 10 when they begin a run of games against some of the Suburban Council's powers, including Albany, Saratoga, and Shaker. Once again, Senior Night comes too early for the ladies, January 28 vs. Columbia, leading to a season ending five game road trip, including a stop in Averill Park on February 7.

As previously noted, Troy will host a boys & girls doubleheader vs. Kingston, on Monday, January 20 (Martin Luther King Day). The Lady Horses swept Kingston last season, so maybe they can show the boys how it's done.

To borrow a line from Howard Jones, things can only get better. They'd have to.