News & notes

 It was just a matter of who was hungrier. Troy High, which hasn't had a sectional title in women's basketball in 13 years, or Bethlehem, which hasn't won a women's title in 15.

The Eagles had something to prove in returning to Hudson Valley Community College Monday night, after upsetting Columbia on Saturday. They also were looking for some payback after Troy came to Delmar on January 21, and defeated Bethlehem. Instead of Troy looking to collect a receipt from Columbia, it was now their turn to hand out a receipt.

When the final buzzer sounded, somewhere between 9 & 9:30 pm, the Eagles were champions for the first time since 2011, taking down the Flying Horses, 58-56.

For Troy and coach Will Harris, they have the nucleus for another run next season, their 15 game winning streak coming to an end in heartbreaking fashion. 20-3 represents the team's best record since 2013, when they went all the way to the state title.

In Monday's opener, Mechanicville (Wasaren League) downed Corinth (Adirondack League), 54-41, to claim the Class B title.

Now, it's on to state regional play.

Women:

Class AAA: Shaker vs. Baldwinsville @ HVCC, Friday at 8 pm.

Class AA: Bethlehem vs. Oswego @ HVCC, Friday at 6:30 pm.

Class A: Albany Academy vs. Peru @ HVCC, Friday at 5 pm.

Class B: Mechanicville vs. Saranac @ HVCC, Saturday at 11 am.

Class C: Greenwich vs. SS Seward @ Averill Park, tonight at 7:30 pm.

Class D: Saratoga Catholic vs. Schroon Lake @ Averill Park, tonight at 6 pm.

Men:

Class AAA: CBA vs. Bishop Ludden @ HVCC, Saturday at 6:30 pm.

Class AA: Amsterdam vs. Nottingham @ HVCC, Saturday at 5 pm.

Class A: Hudson vs. Peru @ HVCC, Saturday at 3:30 pm.

Class B: KIPP Capital vs. Saranac Lake @ HVCC, Saturday at 2 pm.

Class C: Berne-Knox-Westerlo vs. Mount Academy @ Shenendehowa, tonight at 7 pm.

Class D: North Warren vs. Chapel Field Christian Academy @ Shen, tonight at 5:30 pm.

Speaking as we were of Bethlehem, two of their distinguished alumni have been proven winners.

While she didn't score during the tournament, Claire Hutton helped Team USA win the SheBelieves Cup in women's soccer over the weekend. Maren Louridas has helped Navy to the Patriot League semi-finals in basketball. Louridas only played 5 minutes in a 76-66 win over Boston University on Monday, and was held scoreless after a feature article appeared in the Albany Times-Union.

News & notes

 Hockey season is over in Section 2.

Division 1 champion Shenendehowa surprisingly went 1-&-done, losing to Suffern, 7-3, on Saturday night at home. Earlier in the day, Division 2 representative Queensbury fell to Byram Hills, 4-1, in Brewster. The state title drought continues unabated.

Sunday's basketball sectional results:

Women's Class AAA:

Shaker 58, Colonie 45. Next up for the Lady Bison will be Baldwinsville, right back at Hudson Valley Community College, Friday at 8 pm.

Women's Class A final:

Albany Academy 58, Academy of Holy Names 45. Da Bears return to HVCC Friday afternoon vs. Peru at 5 pm.

Women's Class C final:

Greenwich 45, Stillwater 38. For the Witches, a sub-regional vs. SS Seward awaits Tuesday at Averill Park.

Men's Class AAA:

CBA 66, Shaker 52. 

Men's Class AA:

Amsterdam 58, Niskayuna 56. The Rams will be at Hudson Valley on Saturday at 5 pm vs. Nottingham.

We should have the rest of the state pairings in the next 24-48 hours.

Colleges:

Baseball:

Skidmore swept Baruch, 6-2 & 2-1.

Russell Sage 11, Thomas 9.

RIT 14, Russell Sage 1 (8 innings).

Stevens 9, Union 8.

St. John's 4, UAlbany 3.

Men's basketball:

MAAC semi-finals:

Siena 76, Fairfield 61. The Saints will play for the title vs. Merrimack Tuesday at 9 pm (ESPN2, WJMZ).

Softball:

Sacred Heart 7, Siena 0.

Haverford 9, Skidmore 4.

North Central 7, Skidmore 3.

Scranton swept Union, 6-5 (8 innings) & 7-6.

Water polo:

Harvard 19, Siena 5.

While we cannot confirm this at the moment, it appears the Mets have switched local affilations from WCWN, a CW affiliate, to Fox affiliate WXXA.

This was because of CW's sports schedule taking precedence on Sunday, but Fox23 had no problem bumping a World Baseball Classic 1st round game and most of a college basketball game to Grit (Spectrum channel 1251), knowing the fan base for the Bombers in the 518.

Unfortunately for Yankee fans, the Mets won, 10-4.

Update, 10:42 am: Due to a newly forged agreement between the Mets and Nexstar, which does own WXXA in addition to the CW & WTEN, Mets games will air on WXXA through the 2028 season.

Troy High sports review, through March 7

 Let's just jump right into it.

Women's basketball:

Current record: 20-2.

The streak is at 15 in a row, after Will Harris' club trampled Burnt Hills, 73-46, Saturday afternoon. 

Next: Bethlehem awaits Monday night, looking to collect a receipt of their own after upsetting top seeded Columbia. That should be a fun game.

Unified bowling:

Final regular season record: 8-0.

Don Poutre, the coach, should be encouraged to include the schedule next season on the Colonial Council calendar, as the unified program can serve as a developmental program for the JV's & Varsity.

Next: A post-season tournament this week to close the season.

Men's basketball:

Final record: 14-8.

The season came to an end for Jamil Hood's club on Thursday with a loss to Amsterdam, an old foe from the Big 10, now representing the Foothills Council. While seniors Jordan Hood & Kayne Behan will graduate in June, there are still some key pieces that will return next season. Congratulations to Coach Hood on another great season.

The sports review returns in 3 weeks.

Sectional results, 3/6-7

 Friday:

Women's Class C semi-finals:

Greenwich 62, Mayfield 35.

Stillwater 53, Berne-Knox-Westerlo 40.

Stillwater & Greenwich played an overtime thriller on TV a few weeks back. Now, they'll play for the 3rd time this season, as the Wasaren League rivals meet again Sunday.

Men's Class AA semi-finals:

Niskayuna 57, Columbia 46.

Men's Class AAA semi-finals:

CBA 43, Green Tech 36.

Shaker 60, Shenendehowa 41.

Sunday at Harding Mazzotti Arena:

Shaker vs. CBA at 2:15. Another rematch of an OT classic.

Niskayuna vs. Amsterdam at 12:30.

Saturday:

Men's Class A finals:

Hudson 51, Lansingburgh 46.

Men's Class B finals:

KIPP Capital 75, Catskill 56. Congratulations to DJ Jones, whose 1st year varsity squad may have made history with the win.

Men's Class C finals:

Berne-Knox-Westerlo 54, Stillwater 33.

Men's Class D finals:

North Warren 53, Fort Ann 41.

Women's Class AA semi-finals:

Troy 73, Burnt Hills 46. Make it 15 in a row for Troy, which reaches the finals for the first time since 2013.

Bethlehem 67, Columbia 56. The Eagles avenged a regular season loss, and now will look to collect a receipt from Troy, which beat them back in January.

Women's Class B semi-finals:

Mechanicville 61, LaSalle 42.

Corinth 55, Coxsackie-Athens 49.

Women's Class D finals:

Saratoga Catholic 43, Northville 41.

Sunday at HVCC:

Greenwich vs. Stillwater, 2:45 pm.

Albany Academy vs. Holy Names, 1 pm.

Colonie vs. Shaker, 4:30 pm.

News & notes

 Troy High's unified bowling team completed an undefeated regular season Thursday, defeating Tamarac, 5-4, at Uncle Sam Lanes. According to coach Don Poutre, there will be a tournament next week to close the season. Troy finishes at 8-0.

A few hours later, the season ended for the Troy men's basketball team, as Amsterdam foiled a late rally to advance to the Class AA title game 67-62. Jamil Hood's club finishes 14-8 as the champions of the Colonial Council. The Rams await the winner of tonight's Suburban Council semi-final between Columbia & Niskayuna, which leads off the tripleheader at Harding Mazzotti Arena.

Other scores:

Class A semi-finals:

Hudson 62, Averill Park 49.

Lansingburgh 56, Glens Falls 34. The Black Bears are denied a 3rd straight sectional title. It'll be Colonial Council ('Burgh) vs. Patroon Conference (Hudson) tomorrow at 12:45 at Harding Mazzotti Arena.

The women's Class C semi-finals were postponed, and will be played tonight, beginning at 6 pm, at Hudson Valley Community College.

Patrick Gymnasium at the University of Vermont has long been a house of horrors for UAlbany.

Two days after the men lost their season finale, the women were bounced from the America East tournament in a first round loss to Vermont, 55-40. Delanie Hill was the only Lady Dane to finish in double figures with 17 points. Bella Stuart (Shen/New Hampshire) finished with 6 points in 25 minutes off the bench. UAlbany finishes at 14-16, a promising season undone by injuries and a couple of rough patches as the new year began.

Siena's baseball team will open the home portion of their season, but not at home.

And you're asking, what?

The MAAC opening series vs. Fairfield will be played at RPI's Robison Field starting with a doubleheader at 11 am this morning, followed by a single game tomorrow at 1 pm (weather permitting). Siena won't play at Connors Park, their home field, until 2 weeks from today, when they open a weekend set vs. Niagara.

Troy High 2026 football schedule released

 Earlier this week, Section 2 released a preliminary schedule for football for 2026. Sure, it's the first week in March, and a lot can change between now and September, but let's see what it looks like for Jordan Canzeri and the Flying Horses.

September:

4: Home opener vs. Amsterdam.

11: @ Mohonasen.

18: @ Queensbury.

25: Homecoming vs. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake.

October:

2: @ Columbia.

9: @ Shaker.

16: Senior Night vs. Bethlehem.

Schedule subject to change, of course, if there are late changes to classifications. Defending Class A champion Niskayuna is moving back to Class AA, which opens up an avenue to revive the rivalry with the Spartans.

Prediction: At least one game will air on Spectrum News 1, especially if Troy gets off to a fast start again.

Wednesday's sectional scoreboard, 3/4

 Women's basketball:

Class A semi-finals:

Academy of Holy Names 69, Glens Falls 59.

Albany Academy 86, Averill Park 40. The Lady Knights suffered a worse blowout than they did the first time around. 

The results ensure that the Colonial Council will be home to the Class A champion.

Men's basketball:

Class B semi-finals:

Catskill 73, Johnstown 37. The Cats will face KIPP Capital Saturday at 2:30 (time approximate).

Class D semi-finals:

Fort Ann 50, Northville 48.

North Warren 62, Germantown 53.

The Class D final is Saturday at 4:15 pm.