Tuesday night, the Charter School for Applied Technologies (CSAT) made the hour-long drive to Fredonia, only to join the list of three consecutive Class A foes that Fredonia has dismissed this season. The Fredonia Hillbillies defeated the CSAT Eagles, 71-59, in a non-league boys basketball game on Tuesday at Fredonia High School.

“It feels good. As a team, we put in a lot of work each and every day in practice,” point guard R.J. Koopman said. “We got bumped up (to Class A) … so we’ve got to raise our bar. We definitely had to adjust, and so far, it has been going good.”

Fredonia (3-0) pulled ahead in the first quarter thanks to 10 points in the opening frame from Colin Luce. In total, five Fredonia players scored in a 21-point first quarter. The Hillbillies led by seven points entering the second quarter.

“At the beginning of the game, we definitely had a lot of fastbreaks as soon as we came out of the gate,” Koopman said.

Fredonia’s RJ Koopman drives the lane while being guarded by CSAT’s Robert Lian during nonleague basketball action on Tuesday. OBSERVER Photo by Ashleigh Brown

Fredonia head coach Nick Bertrando added, “I thought we were running the floor very well, and we were sharing the ball very, very well.”

CSAT (1-2) hung around in the second quarter, with four different players scoring in the period, but Fredonia led by eight points at the break, 34-26. Neither team shot a free throw in the second quarter, and Fredonia held the lead despite not shooting a single free throw in the entire first half.

“CSAT, they are so well coached. They just want to get the ball, and regardless of the situation … they are bringing it at you full tilt. We knew they are very dangerous in transition,” Bertrando said. “… I don’t know if I’ve seen a team that inbounds and then gets up the court as quick as they do.”

The pace of play did not change much in the second half, as Fredonia only shot five free throws in the entire contest, all in the third quarter. Still, the Hillbillies maintained a lead the entire second half, and pulled away in the third quarter.

“They were a very aggressive team, with more pressure than any team we’ve faced yet,” Koopman said.

Luce again paced the offense with eight points in the period, but it was also a new face to the mix this year, Graham Putney, who helped shoulder the load in the frame. Putney also had eight points in the third quarter, and finished with a career-high 14 points on the night. The sophomore had only 17 points all of last season as a freshman.

“Graham has put a lot of work into this,” Bertrando said. “He has definitely taken every opportunity to get better, to learn. I’m happy for him, his teammates are happy for him. He’s in position and he’s showing out.”

Fredonia led 57-44 after three quarters of play, and finished off the victory with a 14-point fourth quarter.

With just five free throw attempts, Fredonia proved its offense can score without the benefit of the charity stripe. Fredonia shot 64% from inside the arc on Tuesday. Overall, Fredonia shot 58% from the field, with 29 shots made from two-point range, compared to just three 3-pointers.

Luce had a game-high 22 points, all in the first three quarters, even without shooting a single free throw on the night. Koopman had 18 points and 10 assists, many of which came while setting up Luce for easy buckets.

“(Koopman) brings a calming presence. He’s a three-year varsity guy,” Bertrando said. “He has the innate ability to score the ball, but he likes to see that pass to the wide open guy. … We always tell our guys to have your hands ready.”

Donovan Dowdy added 12 rebounds to lead the Hillbillies, to go with seven assists and seven points, along with Putney’s career-high 14 points.

CSAT was led by Xzander Taylor with 20 points on the night. Jason Morales was next on the team with 10 points, while Robert Lian had nine points, Kaleb Harris had eight points, and both William Middlebrooks and Na’Shawn Dean-Smith had six points.

“They did an exceptional job of distributing the ball once they met some resistance,” Bertrando said. “They are a good team.”

Fredonia plays another opponent in Class A next, on Monday, but this time, it is a league rival with implications in the standings attached, as the Olean Huskies visit Fredonia Monday night.

“At the end of the day, we’re just looking to sharpen the axe and get ready for league play, which now starts on Monday, with us hosting one of the top teams in our league for many, many years, the Olean Huskies,” Bertrando said.

CSAT (59)

Webster 0 0 0, Lian 4 1 9, Taylor 9 2 20, Harris 4 0 8, Middlebrooks 2 1 6, Morales 4 1 10, Trotter 0 0 0, Dean-Smith 2 2 6. Totals 25 7 59.

FREDONIA (71)

Luce 11 0 22, Kelly 0 2 2, Dowdy 3 1 7, Ferguson 1 0 2, Putney 6 1 14, Koopman 8 0 18, Cuthbert 3 0 6. Totals 32 4 71.

3-point goals–Middlebrooks, Morales, Putney, Koopman 2.

CSAT 14 12 18 15 — 59

Fredonia 21 13 23 14 — 71