An era is ending: Catholic Central School makes more changes

 Declining enrollment has been the bane of the Roman Catholic Diocese the last few years. It wasn't so long ago that Bishop Maginn in Albany closed its doors, for example.

Now, Catholic Central is moving their high school program out of the Latham campus they've shared with St. Ambrose since 2021-22.

With just 22 students in grades 8-11, meaning no seniors, and no commencement this season, the diocese is moving Catholic Central's high school program to Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons in Schenectady, starting in September.

In terms of sports, Catholic Central has been diminishing as a brand the last few years. Women's soccer & softball have been functioning under the Holy Trinity banner the last few years, with Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons the other half of Holy Trinity. ND-BG plays most of its sports in the Western Athletic Conference, which is where Bishop Maginn was a member until their closure. Catholic Central had been a member of the Colonial Council since 2015, following the dissolution of the Big 10. A year removed from a sectional title in women's basketball, Catholic Central sank near the bottom of the standings this season, due largely to transfers and graduation the previous summer.

This season, Catholic Central did not field teams in men's basketball or men's bowling due to the lack of available players.

What's likely to happen next? The Crusaders will become part of Holy Trinity, probably in all sports, save for football, which was discontinued a few years back, meaning a shift from the Colonial Council to the WAC. With the shift to Latham (classes started there in 2022), Catholic Central moved their home basketball games to the Riverside Center in Mechanicville prior to the 2024-5 season, likely taking the court floor dedicated to living legend Don Bassett a few years earlier, with them. Now, they'll move home games to Schenectady, starting in the 2026-7 season.

One chapter is ending. The next one will soon begin. Stay tuned.

News & notes

 Less than 24 hours after Siena defeated Merrimack to claim the MAAC championship and an accompanying bid to the NCAA tournament, coach Gerry McNamara's name has come up in relation to the prospect of returning to his alma mater, Syracuse, as their next head coach.

The Orange dumped another former player, Adrian Autry, on Wednesday after Syracuse had been eliminated from the ACC tournament in a loss to SMU in the 1st round. McNamara had been an assistant under Autry before leaving for Siena in 2024, and it wouldn't surprise anyone if he actually took the opportunity to return to Syracuse.

Stay tuned.

Troy High completed a perfect season in unified bowling by winning a regional tournament on Wednesday. 3 matches won added to the team's total, as they finished 11-0 on the season.

Varsity stars Aiden Couture & Jamari Flowers got in on the fun, as Troy ran away from the field. Congratulations to coach Don Poutre and the Flying Horses.

Wednesday's college scores:

Baseball:

Skidmore 8, Rockford 6.

Skidmore 19, Hiram 6 (8 innings).

Women's lacrosse: 

UAlbany 16, Wagner 4.

Rhode Island 7, Siena 6.

Softball:

Skidmore 10, Suffolk 9 (8 innings).

Rhode Island College 12, Skidmore 9.

Siena 5, UAlbany 4.

News & notes

 Siena won the MAAC men's basketball title Tuesday with a 64-54 decision over top ranked Merrimack to punch its ticket to the NCAA tournament in Atlantic City. Gavin Doty led 4 Saints in double figures with 23 points. Riley Mulvey (Albany Academy) added 11, as only 6 players were in the game for 2nd year coach Gerry McNamara. Justice Shoats only had 9 points in playing all but 2 minutes.

On the women's side, Fairfield won the tournament Monday night, taking down Quinnipiac 51-44. Jillian Huerter (Shenendehowa/Rutgers) was named tournament MVP. As a junior, Huerter has a chance to win back-to-back titles next season.

Both the men & women will find out their NCAA opponents on Sunday.

Bill Arsenault is reporting in the Albany Times-Union today on the progress of former Troy High multi-sport athlete Austin Francis. Now a senior at New Jersey Tech, Francis leads the team in batting with a .405 average (17-42). The only question is whether or not Francis will be drafted this summer.

Tuesday's state regional scoreboard:

Women's basketball:

Class C sub-regional:

Greenwich 64, SS Seward 34. The Witches await the winner of today's game between Moriah & Lisbon Central. The game will be played Saturday at either Clinton Community College or SUNY Potsdam.

Class D sub-regional:

Schroon Lake 62, Saratoga Catholic 33.

Men's basketball:

Class C sub-regional:

Berne-Knox-Westerlo 67, Mount Academy 28. BKW awaits either Lisbon Central or Northern Adirondack at either Clinton CC or SUNY Potsdam, likely Saturday.

Class D sub-regional:

Chapel Field Christian 44, North Warren 41.

The rest of Tuesday's college action:

Siena placed 8th at the Sacred Heart Spring Break Invitational golf tournament, won by Manhattan.

Men's lacrosse:

Georgetown 16, UAlbany 8.

Softball:

Washington & Jefferson 4, Russell Sage 3.

Russell Sage 4, Dean 1.

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 11.

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 2015, 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.