The road to Syracuse begins for 5 Section II teams: State regional preview

 Between 4 pm today and approximately 3:30 pm tomorrow, 5 Section II football teams will vie for berth in regional semi-finals in their respective classes. 2 Section II schools---Shenendehowa & Lansingburgh----will host three games between them. Games will be streamed on the NFHS Network, as Spectrum News 1 has finished its slate of games for this season, even though Shen is hosting a doubleheader tonight. Contracts, and all that, you know.

Here we go:

Class AA:

North Rockland vs. CBA at Lansingburgh, 1 pm Saturday.

'Burgh native Bob Burns will finally coach a game at his old stomping grounds at Lansingburgh. We know CBA fans travel well, and the seasonal conditions should not be a deterrent. If the bleachers aren't filled, though, that might be because people would rather watch the college games....!

Job 1 for North Rockland will be to stop, not just slow down, Lucius Anderson. Good luck with that. Burns may actually get CBA all the way to Syracuse this time.

Pick--CBA.

Class A:

Somers vs. Averill Park at Shen, 7: 30 pm tonight.

These two teams are no strangers. The Tuskers beat AP in a non-league game last year en route to a state title, and are the #1 ranked team in the state, sharing that distinction with Garden City, but the Long Island school doesn't play in this tournament, as the NYC area has its own tournament. I don't see anything changing here.

Pick--Somers.

Class B:

Glens Falls vs. Ogdensburg Free Academy at Potsdam, 6 pm tonight.

Hard to believe it's been 6 years since Joe Girard III and friends went all the way. The Black Bears have mowed down everyone in their path, and this will be no exception.

Pick--Glens Falls.

Class C:

Gouverneur vs. Schuylerville at Shen, 4 pm today.

The Black Horses woke up in the 2nd half to end Cobleskill-Richmondville's bid for a perfect Section II season last Friday. Gouverneur, the Section X champ, will run into the same problem, and Schuylerville will advance.

Pick--Schuylerville.

Class D:

Greenwich vs. Moriah at Beekmantown, 1 pm Saturday.

The Witches are back in the state tournament for the first time in 3 years. Moriah won the Section VII title with just a 4-4 overall record, half those wins vs. AuSable Valley, which Greenwich blew away back in September. Historically, Witches & Vikings don't get along, but I don't think Moriah has a counter-spell......

Pick--Greenwich.

Of course, I could be wrong.

Wednesday's college scoreboard, 11/20

 UAlbany's women's basketball team scored a very important win on the road Wednesday at Syracuse, upsetting the Lady Orange, 73-70, to go to 4-0 on the season.

Kayla Cooper led Albany with 21 points. Lily Phillips (Cambridge) had the game winning basket, and finished with 14 points. Meghan Huerter (Shen) went scoreless in 8 minutes, and Abby Ray (Saratoga) didn't play.

Next up is a return to Broadview Center Saturday night to host Cornell. UAlbany is paying homage to Taylor Swift with "Swifties Night", and a 4 pack of tickets will cost just $19.89. (True Swifties know what that means)

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Siena's men's team has now dropped two straight after getting blown out on national television by Xavier, 80-55. Reid Ducharme, a former Musketeer, led with 15 points for the Saints (3-2). Marcus Jackson (Albany Academy) & Brendan Coyle (Niskayuna) had 6 points each. The Saints head to Fort Myers, Florida on Monday morning to face Miami of Ohio, with a 11 am tip.

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The rest of the scores:

Women's hockey:

Union 3, Vermont 0.

Men's basketball:

Russell Sage 64, Vermont-Castleton 57.

RPI 72, Hobart 55. 

Mount St. Mary's 73, Cobleskill 69.

Women's basketball:

Middlebury 56, Skidmore 43.

LaSalle's bowling & basketball 2024-5 schedules

 Should've had this out sooner, but, well......!

Anyway, in the interests of equal time, here is LaSalle's basketball & bowling schedule for the 2024-5 season. Schedule dates are subject to change due to weather.

November: 

21: Women's home opener vs. Maple Hill.

25: Both the men & women will be at Ravena.

26. Men's home opener vs. Troy. Women vs. Mechanicville.

December:

3: Women's basketball home opener vs. Niskayuna.

5: Bowling @ Schalmont.

10: Bowling vs. Lansingburgh. Men's basketball home opener vs. Ravena. Women @ Ravena.

12: Men's bowling @ Catholic Central. The match will be contested at Hilltop Bowl. Women's basketball vs. Lansingburgh. Men @ 'Burgh.

16: Bowling vs. Mohonasen.

17: Men's bowling vs. Cohoes. Women @ Cohoes. Women's hoops vs. Mohonasen. Men @ Mohon.

19: Men's bowling @ Mechanicville. Women @ Maple Hill.

20: Men's basketball vs. Voorheesville. Women @ Voorheesville.

22: Men's basketball vs. Shenendehowa @ Siena College.

27: Women's basketball tournament vs. Mechanicville. Men's tournament @ CBA vs. Bethlehem.

28: Men's basketbal @ CBA.

January:

3: Women's basketball vs. Guilderland.

5: Men's basketball vs. Notre Dame-Utica @ Hamilton College.

6: Bowling vs. Ravena.

7: Men's bowling vs. Troy. Women's bowling @ Mechanicville. Women's basketball---1st ever meeting vs. Troy. Men vs. Troy in their first meeting since the 2019 Holiday Classic.

9: Bowling vs. Schalmont.

10: Men's basketball @ Catholic Central. The game will be at the Riverside Center in Mechanicville, as apparently, CCHS is no longer using Monsignor Burns Gym. Women vs. CCHS.

14: Bowling vs. Lansingburgh. The Knights will be the home team for this match. Women's basketball @ Holy Names.

15: Men's basketball vs. Albany Academy.

16: Men's bowling vs. Catholic Central.

17: Women's basketball @ Albany Academy.

18: Men's basketball tournament vs. Bishop Ludden.

19: Men's basketball tournament vs. Our Lady of Lourdes.

20: Women's basketball vs. Emma Willard.

21: Women's basketball vs. Hoosick Falls.

24: Men's basketball vs. Schalmont. Women @ Schalmont.

28: Bowling @ Mohonasen.

29: Men's basketball @ Cohoes. Women @ Mechanicville.

30: Bowling @ Cohoes. This means, unless there was an error in the earlier scheduling, that the women would bowl at Cohoes Arena twice.

31: Women's basketball vs. Cohoes.

February:

1: Men's basketball @ Albany Academy.

3: Colonial Council bowling championships @ Boulevard Bowl.

4: Men's basketball vs. Ichabod Crane. Women @ Ichabod Crane.

7: Men's basketball vs. Catholic Central. Women travel to Mechanicville to play CCHS.

11: Women's basketball Senior Night vs. Holy Names.

14: Men's basketball Senior Night vs. Albany Academy.

The men's bowling team was to open their season tomorrow vs. Voorheesville, but that match was postponed, with no make-up date set.

News & notes

 The NY Phoenix, the newest franchise in The Basketball League, brings owners Sam & Rebecca Clifford back into the league after a year away.

The Cliffords sold the Albany Patroons after the 2023 season, putting the team back in the hands of Washington Avenue Armory owner Ben Fernandez. On Tuesday, there was a presser in Schenectady that produced another surprise.

Trevis Wyche, who played for coach Derrick Rowland the last three years with the Pats, will now be coaching the Phoenix.

Photo courtesy Albany Times-Union.

According to Rebecca Clifford, the long term goal is to move up to the Basketball Super League. Don't think the Pats don't also have that goal, because they probably do.

The 2025 TBL season begins in February.

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OTB's physical parlors are slowly disappearing, one by one.

It was reported Tuesday that the Catskill area OTB is closing down, citing financial difficulties that have plagued it for years. Online betting has been a big factor in other parlors closing, including in Troy, Menands, Watervliet, and downtown Albany in recent years. The Menands OTB closed during the COVID pandemic period (2020-1). Aside from a branch in Lansingburgh that doesn't appear to be still active most of the time, Troy's lone remaining branch is at Uncle Sam Lanes at last check.

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Pokemon has been a popular collectible card game for over 25, nearly 30, years.

Pokemon Go, an online, interactive version of the game, is just as popular, but not with politicians in Colonie, who've decided to ban the game at The Crossings. Apparently, there's been a few accidental collisions between players and non-playing guests......!

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Tonight's Siena-Xavier men's basketball game can be seen nationally on FS1 (Spectrum channel 400), with a 6:30 pm tip. The Saints (3-1) will look to bounce back after losing to UAlbany on Saturday. The Musketeers are undefeated as they wrap a season opening 5 game homestand.

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The Albany Firebirds have released their 2025 Arena Football 1 (AF1) schedule:

March:

14: @ Orlando.

21: Home opener vs. Nashville.

April:

5: @ Nashville.

11: Billings.

Weekend of April 18-20: @ Salina. Exact date & time has not been finalized.

26: @ Nashville.

May:

1 or 4: @ Wilkes-Barre.

9: Southwest Kansas.

24: Wilkes-Barre.

31: Orlando.

June:

7: @ Orlando.

14: Wilkes-Barre.

News & notes

 In sports, rivalries create good business.

For example, in the 80's, the Albany-Colonie club in the Eastern League, representing either the Yankees or Athletics, would play a few games a year against a team from Glens Falls, which had affiliations with the Tigers and White Sox at different points.

The 90's brought the Albany River Rats vs. the Adirondack Red Wings in hockey.

Now, the Albany Patroons have some company in The Basketball League.

TBL head man Dave Magley announced Monday that there would be a franchise based out of Schenectady in the winter-spring 2025 season, and, depending on the final number of teams in each conference, the teams would see each other up to four times, two games each in Albany & Schenectady.

It ain't exactly RPI vs. Union or UAlbany vs. Siena at the college level, but let's see where it goes.

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We now know where Section II's volleyball teams will take the court this weekend.

On the men's side, Division 1 champ Shenendehowa will play Ward Melville at the Capital Center Saturday, with an approximate starting time of 11:30 am.

As for the ladies:

Class AAA:

Shen vs. Fairport, Friday at approximately 3:30 pm at Cool Insuring Arena.

Class D:

Mekeel Christian vs. Candor, also Friday at 3:30.

Class A:

Burnt Hills vs. Pittsford Sutherland, 9:30 am Saturday.

Class C:

Stillwater vs. Portville, 9:30 am Saturday.

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Due to an editing error, the High School Scoreboard in today's Albany Times-Union is reflecting last week's games. Fortunately, James Allen had the above games in his Tuesday column.

Sunday's high school scoreboard, 11/17

 Soccer & field hockey season are officially over in Section II. The state finals in both sports were on Sunday, but for most, it's wait until next year.

Field Hockey:

Class A:

Mamaroneck 2, Guilderland 1 (OT).

Class B:

Burnt Hills 3, Lakeland 0.

Men's soccer:

Class AAA:

Fairport 2, Shaker 1 (OT).

Class A:

Floral Park 2, Schalmont 0.

Women's soccer:

Class AA:

Albertus Magnus 2, Columbia 1.

Class C: 

Byron-Bergen 1, Stillwater 0 (OT).

Class D: Northville 1, Copenhagen 0.

Section II will host the state championships in volleyball this weekend. The women will be in Glens Falls at Cool Insuring Arena, where pool play begins for Classes AAA, AA, & D begins at 2 pm. Classes A-C will start play Saturday at 9 am.

The men will be at the Capital Center in downtown Albany Saturday, starting at 10 am.

State pairings for football:

Class AA:

North Rockland vs. CBA-Albany, Saturday at 1 pm at Lansingburgh.

Class A:

Somers vs. Averill Park, Friday at 7:30 pm at Shenendehowa.

Class B:

Glens Falls vs. Ogdensburg Free Academy, Friday at 6 pm at Potsdam.

Class C:

Gouverneur vs. Schuylerville, Friday at 4 pm at Shen.

Class D:

Greenwich vs. Moriah, Saturday at 1 pm at Beekmantown.

News & notes

 The Albany Cup stays with UAlbany.

The Great Danes took down Siena, handing Gerry McNamara his first loss, 70-60, extending the Danes' winning streak to 3 in a row. Justin Neely led Albany with 21 points.

For Siena, Marcus Jackson (Albany Academy), who was with the Danes last year, led with 17 points, followed by Brendan Coyle (Niskayuna) and Major Freeman with 11 each. The game attracted just under 4,000 fans to Broadview Center, making it a sellout. UAlbany is idle until Friday, when they begin a weekend trip to Puerto Rico.

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Meanwhile, the Lady Danes remain undefeated, beating Sacred Heart, 61-49. Kayla Cooper led Albany with 20 points. Lily Phillips (Cambridge) added 8. Abby Ray (Saratoga) and Meghan Huerter (Shenendehowa) did not score in the first half of the doubleheader. Next for Colleen Mullen's club (3-0) is a trip to Syracuse on Wednesday.

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RPI captured the men's title at the Mideast Regional cross country meet in New London, Connecticut. The women's team placed 2nd behind Williams College.

A correction on the Dutchmen's Shoes game. RPI actually won, 24-7, so we have to apologize for shorting the Engineers 4 points.

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The rest of Saturday's college action:

Men's basketball:

Bard 73, Russell Sage 60.

Women's basketball:

Bowdoin 74, Skidmore 64.

Men's hockey:

Clarkson 4, Union 1.

Elmira 5, Skidmore 1.

Women's soccer:

Division III tournament:

Cade Western Reserve 4, Skidmore 3.

Men's swimming:

RPI 166, Vassar 105.

Women's swimming:

Siena 170, Stony Brook 121.

RPI 164, Vassar 78.

Women's volleyball:

UAlbany 3, Bryant 1.

Maine Maritime 3, Cobleskill 1.

Niagara 3, Siena 1.

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High schools:

Bethlehem won the Class A state title in women's cross country.

Field Hockey:

Class A:

Guilderland 4, Sachem East 1.

Class B:

Burnt Hills 3, Garden City 0.

Men's soccer:

Class AAA:

Shaker 2, Scarsdale 1.

Class AA:

Clarence 2, Bethlehem 0.

Class A:

Schalmont 2, Brockport 1 (OT).

Class D:

Hamilton 3, Northville 0.

Women's soccer:

Class AAA:

Arlington 5, Saratoga 0.

Class AA:

Columbia 2, Vestal 0.

Class C:

Stillwater 3, Cincinnatus 1.

Class D:

Northville & Keskequa played to a 1-1 tie through overtime. Northville advances via penalty kicks.

Women's volleyball:

Class AAA:

Shenendehowa 3, Baldwinsville 0.

Class AA:

Fayetteville-Manilus 3, Niskayuna 0.

Class A:

Burnt Hills 3, John Jay-Cross River 0.

Class C:

Stillwater 3, Ausable Valley 0.

Class D:

Mekeel Christian 3, Chateauguay 1.