Sectional roundup, 2/27

Wednesday's snowstorm forced postponement of the Class AA women's semifinals at Hudson Valley Community College and the men's Class D semis at Cool Insuring Arena.

However, HVCC did host the Class A women's semis before fans were sent home early Wednesday night.

Averill Park will look to make it six titles in a row on Saturday afternoon after shutting down the Academy of Holy Names, 46-31. The Colonial Council's last hope couldn't penetrate the Lady Warriors' defense enough, unable to reach double figures in any quarter. Meanwhile, in a battle of Foothills Council co-champions, Queensbury defeated Amsterdam, 63-51. The Lady Rams had been the bridesmaid to Averill Park the last three years, and before that, AP knocked off Troy in an overtime thriller in 2015.

Speaking of Troy High, their men's semifinal vs. Mekeel Christian Academy has been moved up on the schedule for today in Glens Falls. In order to fit in the Class D semis, the A semis will be sandwiched in between. Gloversville vs. Mohonasen will tip at 5, followed by Troy vs. Mekeel at 6:30. The quadrupleheader starts with the first D semi, Fort Ann vs. Germantown, at 3:30. However, there won't be any time to rest for the D winners, as the final is set for tomorrow.

At HVCC, the women's AA semis will begin at 6 pm, with Albany vs. Saratoga, followed by Shenendehowa vs. Colonie.

Sectional roundup, 2/26

Tonight's card includes the Class D semifinals in Glens Falls, while women's Classes A & AA will set their final round matchups.

Tuesday's games provided a lot of surprises, though.

The Class C semifinals in both men's & women's play saw Hoosick Falls & Maple Hill matched against each other. Hoosick Falls won both games in what have to be considered major upsets. The women's game was a low-scoring affair, with Hoosick Falls advancing to Friday's title game, 38-28. The men's game was a little more one-sided, as Hoosick Falls completed the sweep with a 56-38 verdict.

The Hoosick Falls women will play Cambridge on Friday night at Hudson Valley Community College after Cambridge downed Warrensburg, 64-49.

In women's Class B, Mechanicville defeated Mekeel Christian Academy, 62-38. Fonda-Fultonville upset Tamarac, the top seed, 52-41. Fonda & Mechanicville will play Saturday morning at HVCC, leading off a tripleheader at McDonough Field House.

In Men's Class AA, top seeded Bethlehem got a scare from CBA before winning, 50-48. The Brothers were the only team to beat the Eagles so far this season, having beaten Bethlehem in the last regular season game two weeks ago. In order to win their 2nd Section II title in three years, A. G. Irons' club will have to go through third seeded Saratoga, which knocked off #2 Shenendehowa, 60-53.

The Class A men's semifinals will be played tomorrow in Glens Falls, and then, the titles will be decided Friday & Saturday. The C & D title games will be on Friday, while Classes AA-B will be on Saturday.

News & notes

Former Union College star Keith Kinkaid was traded by New Jersey Monday to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a draft pick. The Devils had been the only NHL organization that Kinkaid had played for since graduating from Union, and he's one of two ex-Dutchmen on NHL rosters (Philadelphia's Shayne Gostisbehere is the other) at present.
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If you're a Mets fan like me, you're not going to like this next item.

Reporting in today's Albany Times-Union, Pete Dougherty revealed that Pamal Broadcasting, the parent company of WROW, WFLY, and other area radio stations, chose not to renew its contract with the Mets, meaning the Amazin's will have to scramble to find a new upstate affiliate for their radio network before the season begins in late March. The Mets also switched flagship stations in New York, from WOR-AM to WCBS, the latter of which previously had been the Yankees' flagship before they flipped to WFAN, which was home to the Mets for many years.

Pamal's WINU (104.9 FM) flipped from sports talk to alternative music last year, prompting Pamal to move Mets broadcasts to WROW. Yankee games are heard on ESPN Radio affiliate WTMM, while Fox Sports Radio affiliate WOFX is home to the Red Sox. We'll see if someone steps up to the plate to give the Mets a radio home in the tri-cities.
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Covering Saturday's Class AA quadruple-header at Hudson Valley Community College, I could hear plenty of chirping behind me to have a chorus of birds in a recording studio.

Albany Times-Union high school reporter James Allen, in today's editions, noted that the veteran referees assigned to the Saratoga-Colonie game blew two calls late in the game that should've, in Allen's opinion at least, gone in favor of Colonie, but didn't. All that does is fuel the flames of conspiracy theories that someone in the Section II hierarchy wanted to ensure that the top 4 teams in Class AA (Bethlehem, Shenendehowa, Saratoga, CBA) advanced. I wish they would leave politics out of high school sports. Period. Let the games be decided on the court by the players themselves, not by a couple of guys who should be collecting Social Security.
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Shen grad Ian Anderson pitched in relief in Atlanta's pre-season game vs. Washington on Monday, and reportedly looked good against the Nationals. WNYT's Rodger Wyland has gone so far as to suggest Anderson could be in the big leagues this year. Let's not put the cart before the horse.

Sectional roundup, 2/25

The Class B men's semifinals took place Monday at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls, kicking off a week of high school action at the former Glens Falls Civic Center.

It'll be 1 vs. 2 in the final on Friday night. Top seeded Schalmont, out of the Colonial Council, defeated Fonda-Fultonville, 66-36. Talk about overmatched. Homestanding Glens Falls, the #2 seed defeated Watervliet, 88-70, with 75% of the Indians' scoring done by Joseph Girard III, who lit up the Cannoneers' defense for 66 points.

I tell you, Girard will have to adjust to a different role in the offense when he gets to Syracuse next season. It'll be Glens Falls vs. Schalmont on Friday.

The first Class C semi-final saw top seeded Lake George eliminate Mayfield, 69-44. The other C sem will be played tonight.

In women's action, the Class D semis were played at Ballston Spa, and the first top seed of the tournament to fall was Fort Edward, losing to North Warren, 54-53. Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons advanced by beating Hartford, 57-53.

North Warren and Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons advance to the finals, Friday at Hudson Valley Community College.

Sectional roundup, 2/24

Bethlehem repeated as Section II Division I champions in hockey as they downed Shenendehowa 4-2, on Sunday night at Union College. Now, it's on to the state tournament for the Eagles, who were eliminated in the first round of state play last year.
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Class A boys basketball took over Hudson Valley Community College's Ed McDonough Field House on Sunday with a quadruple-header. Defending Class A champ Mohonasen, now representing the Colonial Council, beat Averill Park, 62-57. Chase Monroe had a game high 22 points for the Mighty Warriors.

Last year's Class B champs, Mekeel Christian Academy, having played an independent schedule after leaving the Western Athletic Conference (sounds like they did the same thing Emma Willard did on the women's side, leaving their league at the last minute), beat Lansingburgh, 66-61. That's the good news for the Lions. The bad news? They get top seeded Troy High next, and, oh, did the Flying Horses enjoy the home cooking at HVCC, or what? Virtually every man on the active roster got into the game and scored against Queensbury. Nazaire Merritt led Troy with 18 points, Latyce Faison added 15, and Troy blew away the Spartans, 87-51. Ouch!

Troy's the only Suburban Council team left in Class A, as Gloversville, like Queensbury a Foothills Council rep, beat Ballston Spa, 52-44.

The semi-finals, then, are set for Thursday at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls:

Gloversville vs. Mohonasen.
Mekeel Christian vs. Troy.

If yesterday told us anything at all, the only sure thing on Thursday is that there is no sure thing. Mekeel & Troy will play for the first time ever, for example, and that could make all the difference in the world.

Sectional roundup, 2/23

Yes, there was women's sectional action on Saturday, too. Courtesy of the Albany Times-Union, here are the results from Classes B & C:

CLASS B
Tamarac 45, Broadalbin-Perth 22 (Final)
Hudson 60, Ravena 39 (Final)
Fonda 58, Voorheesville 42 (Final)
Schalmont 42, Watervliet 35 (Final)
Mechanicville 64, Glens Falls 34 (Final)
Ichabod Crane 37, Cobleskill 34 (Final)
Mekeel Christian Academy 60, Cohoes 45 (Final)
Johnstown 54, Albany Academy for Girls  27 (Final)

CLASS C
Cambridge 66, Canajoharie 30 (Final)
Greenwich 51, Duanesburg 32 (Final)
Warrensburg 49, Mayfield 31 (Final)
Berne-Knox-Westerlo 49, Chatham 39 (Final)
Hoosic Valley 55, Schoharie 21 (Final)
Hoosick Falls 65, Middleburgh 48 (Final)
Maple Hill 53, Stillwater 40 (Final)
Lake George 73, Rensselaer 52 (Final)

Also: As we speak, Shenendehowa and Bethlehem are playing for the Section II hockey title after the Plainsmen eliminated Burnt Hills-Ballston Spa, 4-3, Saturday at Union College. I've a feeling these two schools will meet on the basketball court next week. Just a hunch.

A long day's journey into night, basketball style

With apologies to Eugene O'Neill, Saturday's six game marathon at Hudson Valley Community College was exactly a long day's journey into night.

The day started with a Class C quarterfinal double-dip. Form held, as Maple Hill defeated Granville, 52-33, and Hoosick Falls beat Canajoharie, 77-58. The Wildcats & Panthers will meet Tuesday afternoon in a twilight game at Cool Insuring Arena (formerly the Glens Falls Civic Center, though still referred to by its former name occasionally on radio) in Glens Falls.

Over in Stillwater, the Class D quarters saw top ranked Oppenheim-Eprathah-St. Johnsville over New Lebanon, 50-38. #2 Germantown downed Northville, 72-59. #3 Fort Ann beat Argyle, 54-48. #5 North Warren upset #4 Hartford, 68-52.

Back at HVCC, the Class AA quarters offered evidence that, aside from two teams outside the league, this division should be rechristened the Suburban Council Invitational, since most of the teams come from the league.

Six years ago, Green Tech, then an upstart program, upset Christian Brothers Academy in the Class AA semifinal at Times-Union Center. I'm not sure if the two teams had met in the postseason between then and now, and if they hadn't, then CBA coach Dave Doemel might have been thinking about revenge at least in the back of his mind.

However, the Eagles came to play, and even though they entered the game with a sub-.500 record, they played like they were on a mission. Kemore Johnson had the hot hand early, but got into foul trouble, and finished with 12 points. Josh Rodriguez had 13. Jordan King got off to a slow start, but sprang to life in the second half to lead the Brothers with 22 points. Drew Signor finished with 19, and CBA avenged their 2013 loss with a tough 62-56 victory.

Second seeded Shenendehowa had similar problems with Columbia. Dylan Ouimette, for example, was flat unconscious from three point range, and finished with a game high 34 points. Joey Alamprese added 12, Frank Rainville had 9, all on three pointers. James Altenberger led Shen with 23 points, and Jake Reinisch added 13, as the Plainsmen eliminated the Blue Devils, 79-69. Colunbia coach Curtis Sankey's penchant for college style coaching with the late timeouts prolonged the proceedings, pushing the remaining games behind schedule.

#3 Saratoga played the lowest scoring game of the day, if not the season. Nate Chudy didn't have his best game, finishing with just 10 points. Aiden Holmes led Saratoga with 11, and Marcus Davis added 8 for the Blue Streaks. Marcus Shelton led Colonie with 16, and Aaron Satin had 8 despite being saddled with foul trouble for most of the second half. Saratoga moves on to play Shen next after slogging to a 41-39 win.

Even though they were the "road" team as the lower seed in the nightcap, LaSalle treated their game with top ranked Bethlehem like it was a de facto home game, since their campus is virtually next door to HVCC. The field house saw its biggest crowd of the day, but, unfortunately, the Cadet offense was largely missing in action. Bethlehem never trailed, but led only by two at 29-27 at the break, and used a 23-5 third quarter to put this game out of reach. Michael Ortale & Erik Salo led all scorers with 19 points. Jake LeClair added 13, and both teams emptied their benches in the fourth quarter. Gabe Lucarelli led LaSalle with 11 points, but that wasn't nearly enough, as Bethlehem moves on, 72-48.

Curiously, while Columbia was called for an administrative technical foul, due to a player wearing a different number than the one listed in the official scorebook and on the program (Rainville wore #1 instead of his customary #11), Colonie, Bethlehem, & LaSalle all had similar issues, and none of them were called for T's. In the Bethlehem-LaSalle game, as noted, the game was well out of reach, and it didn't seem to make a difference in the eyes of the officials.

Thus, the semifinals are now set for Tuesday in Glens Falls. Bethlehem will play CBA next, and the two teams met on the ice earlier tonight in the hockey semifinals at Union College. The defending champion Eagles move on to the finals with a 4-0 win. CBA will play the third place game tomorrow.

High School Fridays: Class B men's sectional quarterfinals @ HVCC, 2/22/19

It's quarterfinal weekend in Section II men's basketball. The schedule makers split the four Class B games between two venues, Shenendehowa and Hudson Valley Community College, and Section II's #1 gate attraction was at HVCC.

That would be Glens Falls' record setting scoring machine, Joseph Girard III, who had logged over 1,000 points this season alone en route to shattering the Section II scoring record.

Girard led the Indians into the McDonough Field House for a third meeting this season with Foothills Council rival Johnstown. Almost every seat in the bleachers was filled by game time, but it was just a question of how long it'd take before those seats would be emptied.

Surprisingly, Johnstown took the early lead on a three point basket by Patrick Boyle, who wasn't about to let Girard have his way with the Sir Bills' defense again without answering Girard's scoring with some of his own. However, Johnstown coughed up the first quarter lead a couple of minutes later, and never got it back. Once Glens Falls went in front, it was just a matter of time before this one was in the books.

For all of the media hype surrounding the Syracuse-bound Girard, his cousin, Trent, is no slouch from long distance, either. Trent hit 5 treys, and finished with 18 points. Cousin Joe had 48. It got to the point where fans were already leaving at halftime, knowing the game was over, and once Joe Girard exited halfway through the fourth quarter, the exodus resumed in earnest, though it can be excused that some of the senior citizens attending the game might've needed to return to Van Rensselaer Manor before bed check.

In any event, Glens Falls is now assured of at least one more game in front of their home fans, as they routed Johnstown, 93-66.

In the nightcap, Colonial Council Patriot Division champion Schalmont took on another Foothills Council representative, Schuylerville, but it had to be embarrassing for Section II to see the main event of the evening played in front of a smaller crowd.

Give the Black Horses credit, though, for trying to stay in the game, as they held the Sabres' junior star, Shane O'Dell, in check at the break, with Schalmont leading by just three. The lead doubled to six after three quarters, but Schuylerville's offense did a disappearing act for most of the final frame. It wasn't until Stratton Sherman reached into the WABAC machine and hit a three pointer to wake up the Black Horses' offense. However, Schalmont outscored Schuylerville, 25-8, in the final period to pull away to a 65-42 victory.

The opening act was a Class C quarterfinal mismatch between top seeded Lake George and Schoharie. Lake George romped, 75-31. They'll next play fifth seeded Mayfield, which beat #4 Chatham at Shen, 71-56. The other Class C quarterfinals will be played tomorrow as the opening act before a Class AA quadruple-header at HVCC.

In other Class B action at Shen, Watervliet ended Mechanicville's Cinderella bid, 74-59, while Fonda-Fultonville took down Catskill, 69-56. The semi-finals take place at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls on Monday, with Watervliet the next target of the Girard Express, while Schalmont takes on Fonda. The Lake George-Mayfield game will also be on Monday, while tomorrow's winners in Class C will meet in Glens Falls on Tuesday.
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Other stuff: Troy High senior sharpshooter Nazaire Merritt earned the first of what will likely be a handful of all-star selections, as he was named to WNYT's All-Star team. Merritt and the Flying Horses will headline Sunday's quadruple-header at HVCC when they face Queensbury.

Sectional roundup, 2/21

Playing in the Class A sectionals for the first time in three years, Troy High was hoping to at least make a Cinderella run to the finals, where they'd likely play arch-nemesis Averill Park.

Uh-uh. Not happening.

Troy, for the second straight year, is one-&-done in tournament play, as they took Amsterdam to double overtime before losing 70-64, at Queensbury High. Alaina Holmes led Troy with 22 points in a losing effort, and, with no box score available as of press time, it appears Troy finished the season without sophomore star Jenalyse Alarcon, whose season ended due to injury a couple of weeks back. Jackie Stanovich led Amsterdam with a career high 32 points, and if that last name sounds familiar, it should. Jackie's brothers, Dale & Bryan, were multi-sport stars for Amsterdam, and largely responsible for Amsterdam beating Troy in the Class A Super Bowl in 2015.

The Lady Rams will play Queensbury next, as the Lady Spartans dispatched Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, 75-33.

Over in Averill Park, the top-seeded Lady Warriors routed league rival Ballston Spa, 67-36. Next for Sean Organ's club will be the Academy of Holy Names, which beat Gloversville, 55-44.

Troy finishes its season 10-12 overall.

Over in Class AA:

#1 Shenendehowa 59, Niskayuna 42.
#2 Albany 56, Bethlehem 47.
#3 Saratoga 59, Shaker 50.
#4 Colonie 59, Guilderland 54.

Semi-final pairings:

Colonie vs. Shen.
Saratoga vs. Albany.

The finals will be next weekend at Hudson Valley Community College, which will begin hosting men's action tonight.

Sectional roundup, 2/20

We'll start today with a recap of Wednesday's basketball action:

Women's Class B quarterfinals:

Tamarac 52, Hudson 47.
Fonda Fultonville 55, Schalmont 39.
Mechanicville 57, Ichabod Crane 37.
Mekeel Christian 48, Johnstown 34.

Semi-final pairings:

Tamarac vs. Fonda-Fultonville.
Mechanicville vs. Mekeel Christian.

Women's Class C quarterfinals:

Cambridge 69, Greenwich 50.
Warrensburg 57, Berne Knox-Westerlo 56.
Hoosick Falls 49, Hoosic Valley 36.
Maple Hill 60, Lake George 52.

Semi-final pairings:

Cambridge vs. Warrensburg.
Maple Hill vs. Hoosick Falls.

Men's Class AA 1st round:

LaSalle 66, Schenectady 54.
Christian Brothers Academy 80, Guilderland 61. The Dutchmen end the worst season in school history.
Green Tech 84, Shaker 64.
Colonie 62, Albany 36.
Columbia 57, Niskayuna 37.

Quarterfinal pairings, Saturday @ Hudson Valley Community College:

1. Bethlehem vs. 8 LaSalle. LaSalle will be the visitors even though it would be a de facto home game, with their campus next door to HVCC.
2. Saratoga vs. 7. Colonie.
3. Shenendehowa vs. 6. Columbia.
4. CBA vs. 5. Green Tech.

Men's Class A 1st round:

Queensbury 67, Scotia 53.
Mekeel Christian 87, Bishop Maginn 32.
Lansingburgh 71, Burnt Hills 53.
Ballston Spa 74, Amsterdam 65.
Mohonasen 62, Catholic Central 37.

Quarterfinal pairings, Sunday @ HVCC:

1. Troy vs. 8. Queensbury.
2. Gloversville vs. 7. Ballston Spa.
3. Averill Park vs. 6. Mohonasen.
4. Mekeel Christian vs. 5. Lansingburgh.
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The hockey semi-finals are now set as well.

Top seeded Bethlehem blasted "Guilderville", 8-3. Well, at least the Storm scored this time, after the Eagles shut them out, 12-0, back in December.

#2 Shenendehowa eliminated #7 LaSalle, 3-1. Sebastian Geiger had the lone goal for the Cadets.

#6 Burnt Hills-Ballston Spa upset #3 Saratoga, 4-3, in triple overtime. They'll play Shen next, while Bethlehem gets another go with CBA, both games on Saturday night at Union College, with the championship game on Sunday.

Sectional roundup, 2/19

Quarterfinal action began in the Capital District High School Hockey League playoffs Tuesday night. #4 CBA defeated #5 Albany Academy, 4-3. Blake Van Epps, Connor Momrow, & Anthony Sericolo scored for the Cadets, but Sericolo, it seems, spent way too much time in the penalty box, assessed a grand total of 12 penalty minutes. Van Epps, you'll recall, made the same mistake at LaSalle ten days earlier. Hunter Pemrick led CBA with two goals and an assist.

The Brothers now await the winner of tonight's game between "Guilderville" and top-seeded Bethlehem.
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In basketball action, two Section II teams cracked the 100 point barrier Tuesday night in advancing to the next round.

Men's Class B:

#1 Schalmont 79, Hudson Falls 51.
#2 Glens Falls 98, Greenville 57. Joseph Girard III had 55 points.
#3 Watervliet 101, Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons 56.
#4 Catskill 89, Voorheesville 79.
#5 Fonda-Fultonville 69, Coxsackie-Athens 47.
#6 Hudson dropped a 69-66 decision to #11 Mechanicville.
#7 Johnstown 79, Tamarac 50.
#8 Schuylerville 63, Cobleskill-Richmondville 57.

Quarterfinal pairings:

Schuylerville @ Schalmont.
Johnstown @ Glens Falls.
Mechanicville @ Watervliet.
Fonda @ Catskill.

Men's Class C:

#1 Lake George 105, Cambridge 53.
#2 Hoosick Falls 58, Rensselaer 39.
#3 Maple Hill 77, Hadley-Luzerne 35.
#4 Chatham 64, Fort Plain 46.
#5 Mayfield 57, Greenwich 37.
#6 Granville 60, Waterford 58.
#7 Canajoharie 56, Hoosic Valley 53.
#8 Schoharie 53, Stillwater 51.

Quarterfinal pairings:

Schoharie @ Lake George.
Canajoharie @ Hoosick Fals.
Granville @ Maple Hill.
Mayfield @ Chatham.

Women's Class D:

North Warren 61, Germantown 44
Fort Edward 38, Whitehall 27.
Hartford 54, Argyle 38.

High school hockey's elite eight is now set

Earlier today, the Guilderland/Mohonasen/Scotia-Glenville/Voorheesville/Schalmont Storm advanced to the quarterfinals of the CDHSHL playoffs with a 6-2 win over Niskayuna-Schenectady-Albany. Depleted by a case of the flu ravaging their locker room, the Storm got 33 saves from back-up goaltender Allie Kelley, whose brother, Jayden, scored a key goal in the third period to give the Storm a two goal lead.

The Storm are one of a handful of teams in the league using female players, a popular trend in the league the last couple of seasons. Allie Kelley might be starting in goal again Wednesday night, when the Storm travel to top-seeded Bethlehem.

The quarter-finals are now set:

Tuesday:

#5 Albany Academy @ #4 CBA.

Wednesday:

#8 "Guilderville" @ #1 Bethlehem.
#7 LaSalle @ #2 Shenendehowa.
#6 Burnt Hills-Ballston Spa @ #3 Saratoga.

The winners over the next two nights will advance to the semi-finals at Union College on Saturday, with the championship game on Sunday.

Karmic justICE (Adirondack @ LaSalle, 2/16/19)

Five days ago, LaSalle closed the regular season in the CDHSHL with a 5-0 loss to Adirondack, a game moved forward a day due to a winter storm that would arrive the next day. To say that the Cadets came out flat on Monday would be a gross understatement.

Tonight, the Rivermen came to Troy for the rematch in a play-in game leading to the playoffs. Just getting to Hudson Valley Community College was a struggle for the players, as there were transportation issues forcing a hour-long delay before the start of the game. The funny thing was, coach Mike Di Fiore and his staff were already on-site, when common sense says the players & coaches travel together.

Roughly seven minutes into the first period, Sebastian Geiger jammed one under the glove of goaltender Ben Di Fiore, the coach's son, to give LaSalle a 1-0 lead. Two minutes later, Taylor Nitz cashed in a power play goal to give the hosts a 2-0 advantage going into the first intermission.

In the second period, Nitz struck again, going top shelf on Di Fiore to increase the lead to 3-0. Less than a minute later, after Reid Murray was sent to the penalty box for interference, Nitz completed the hat trick by whistling one more past Di Fiore, virtually in the same spot. An Adirondack timeout prompted the LaSalle student section to launch into a chant of "Pull your goalie!". Mike Di Fiore didn't take the bait, and left Ben in the game for the rest of the night.

In the third period, Willis Bickford broke the shutout with a power play goal of his own, but it was too little, and too late. Nic Pauley answered with a power play of his own to end the scoring, and LaSalle advances to face Shenendehowa in the next round with a 5-1 win.
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Hoop du jour: Women's basketball sectional results:

Form held in both Classes B & C tonight.

Class B:

Tamarac 45, Broadalbin-Perth 22.
Hudson 60, Ravena 39.
Fonda-Fultonville 58, Voorheesville 42.
Schalmont 42, Watervliet 35.
Mechanicville 64, Glens Falls 34.
Ichabod Crane 37, Cobleskill-Richmondville 34.
Mekeel Christian Academy 60, Cohoes 45.
Johnstown 54, Albany Academy For Girls 27.

Class C:

Cambridge 66, Canajoharie 30.
Greenwich 51, Duanesburg 32.
Warrensburg 49, Mayfield 31.
Berne Knox-Westerlo 49, Chatham 39.
Hoosic Valley 55, Schoharie 21.
Hoosick Falls 65, Middleburgh 48.
Maple Hill 53, Stillwater 40.
Lake George 73, Rensselaer 52.
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Back on the ice, Burnt Hills-Ballston Spa ended the Capital District Jets' putrid season, crushing the Jets, 9-0. The Spartan Scotties will play Saratoga next.

Sectional roundup, 2/15

There was a full slate of sectional basketball action Friday night, in addition to the Emma Willard-Troy game. Here's the rest of the results from Friday:

Women's Class AA:

Niskayuna defeated Columbia, 60-54. That's the good news. The bad? The Silver Warriors earn another date with Shenendehowa.

Bethlehem downed Catholic Central, 61-37, leading to a meeting with #2 Albany, and there's been some friction in recent history between the Eagles & Falcons.

Women's Class A:

Ballston Spa defeated South Glens Falls, 59-34, to earn a rematch with Averill Park.

Gloversville beat Mohonasen, 61-42, ending the Mighty Warriors' 1st season in the Colonial Council on a downer. Academy of Holy Names is next for Gloversville.

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, trying to prove they're not a doormat anymore, having won a couple of league games this season, beat Scotia-Glenville, 51-49, but will get Queensbury in the next round.

Women's Class D:

Whitehall edged Fort Ann, 36-31, and will face top-seeded Fort Edward in the quarterfinals.

Germantown beat Northville, 51-22. North Warren is next.

Argyle shut down Loudonville Christian Academy, 64-32, to earn a date with Hartford.

Heatly beat Salem, 62-31, and will play Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons next.

Men's Class B:

Hudson Falls over Cohoes, 58-56. The top team in the Colonial Council, Schalmont, awaits.

Greenville beat Broadalbin-Perth, 71-51. Unfortunately, that means a meeting with Joseph Girard III and Glens Falls in the next round.

Men's Class C:

Cambridge beat Saratoga Central Catholic, 51-44, and will play Lake George next.

Fort Plain beat Galway, 62-57, earning a match with Chatham.

Rensselaer downed Berne Knox-Westerlo, 54-52, and will play Hoosick Falls next.

Hadley-Luzerne beat Duanesburg, 59-44. They'll play #3 Maple Hill next.

Hockey sectionals begin today, and we'll have a report from Hudson Valley Community College later.

High School Fridays: Emma Willard @ Troy, 2/15/19

There was a certain amount of significance to tonight's first round Class A women's basketball sectional between Troy and Emma Willard at Zotto Memorial Gym. Unfortunately, that significance was lost on the local press.

You see, this was, to my knowledge, the first ever meeting between the two city schools on the hardwood. The only other time in recent memory that Troy & Emma Willard had met was in soccer, and that was a JV game a couple of years ago at Picken Field. Because junior varsity sports as a rule are ignored by the press these days, the result was never reported.

Even more shocking is the fact that, even though this was a sectional game, there was no admission charge. The only time Section II will charge admission for women's sectionals will be for neutral site games in the later rounds, including the finals, which will be at Hudson Valley Community College in a couple of weeks. I guess the people in charge don't believe women's sports are enough of a draw.

There was no pre-game hype, promoting the fact that this was the first meeting of the two programs, so add this to the list of missed stories by the local press over the last seven years. Yes, there were television cameras present, recording the action for the late news. As maligned as Troy has been for prohibiting the hometown paper from interviewing student-athletes & coaches, the Jesters feel like the daughters of Rodney Dangerfield. No respect.

Had it come down to wins & losses, the Jesters would've had the home court for this one. They won 17 games in the regular season, even after an 11th hour decision to leave the Central Hudson Valley League (CHVL) to take on an independent schedule. Had they stayed, the Jesters would've won the league title, as they ran the table, going 12-0 against CHVL competition.

Instead, because Emma Willard hadn't played a school above Class B (their lone loss was to #1 seed Tamarac), and played mostly Class D schools, the Section II committee deemed the Jesters to be a #11 seed, sending them down the road to Troy.

To their credit, the Jesters' fans came out in force, a loud, lively group. Zotto Gym wasn't full, but that was largely because of the lack of promotion.

On to the game. Emma Willard had just 10 players on their roster, but dressed 8 due to injuries. Troy was again without Jenalyse Alarcon for the fourth straight game. For legal reasons more than anything, schools will not disclose injuries or disciplinary issues, unlike in college.

At first, the Jesters played like they deserved to be a higher seed, and rightfully so. Senior Khairat Raji scored the first four points of the game for the visitors, and finished with 12 points. However, Troy came roaring back in the second quarter behind sophomore forward Jakaiya Dewer, and were only down by two at 19-17 at the break.

In the second half, Troy picked up right where they left off, and once they took the lead, they never trailed again. Dewer led all scorers with 15 points, and Troy pulls off what amounts to an upset, beating Emma Willard, 45-37. Molly Zahnleuter led Emma Willard with 13 points.

Up next for Troy is a trip to the North Country, as they'll play Amsterdam in the first half of a double-header at Queensbury on Thursday. The Flying Horses have now won three in a row, and have to hope Alarcon can return on Thursday.
=====================================================
Hockey news: The pairings for the CDHSHL sectional tournament are out. As expected, two-time Delvecchio Cup champ Bethlehem is the #1 seed, followed by Shenendehowa, Saratoga, CBA, & Albany Academy. The latter two will meet on Tuesday. LaSalle, seeded 7th, will host Adirondack (#10) in a rematch from Monday at HVCC tomorrow night. #6 Burnt Hills figures to get a lay-up as they'll host the hapless, winless Capital District Jets, with the winner to face Saratoga on Wednesday. "Guilderville" and Niskayuna-Schenectady-Albany will meet on Monday. Should LaSalle beat Adirondack, they would get a 3rd crack at #2 Shen.

Sectional roundup, 2/14

First round action in the women's sectionals in Classes B & C took place Thursday night, with only one upset to report.

That would be in Class B, where #17 Broadalbin-Perth took down #16 Hudson Falls, 42-28. Broadalbin-Perth will next play tomorrow at Tamarac.

As for the rest of the scores:

Class B:

Fonda Fultonville blew away Corinth, 53-19, earning a Saturday date with Voorheesville, the #4 seed.
Cohoes defeated Cairo-Durham, 39-33. They'll play Mekeel Christian tomorrow.
Glens Falls beat Greenville, 77-54. Next for the Lady Indians will be Mechanicville.
Watervliet downed Catskill, 64-41, and will play #5 Schalmont next.

Class C:

Canajoharie downed Saratoga Central Catholic, 48-44. They'll play top seeded Cambridge next.
Schoharie crushed Galway, 74-25, earning a date with #2 Hoosic Valley in the next round.

First round action in Class A begins tonight.

News & notes

After spending the last few years as varsity football coach at Hoosic Valley, Pete Porcelli is moving his tack to Watervliet High for the 2019 season.

Porcelli has been a fixture in local sports since his playing days as a lineman for the Albany Firebirds in the Arena Football League. As a high school coach, Porcelli has logged time at Lansingburgh & Catholic Central (before it became part of Holy Trinity) before going to Hoosic Valley. Coaching the Cannoneers allows Porcelli to work closer to home, and, with his reputation, Watervliet could be players in Class B this fall.
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The regular season in the Capital District High School Hockey League (CDHSHL) wraps up over the next two nights, but here are the current standings.

Team	GP	Record	Pts	GP	Record	GF	GA	Last 6	Streak	Win %
CDHSHL
Bethlehem	15	12-2-1	18.5	20	17-2-1	118	48	5-0-1	Tied 1	.875
Shenendehowa	13	10-3	18	20	14-5-1	79	55	5-1	Won 4	.725
Saratoga	15	11-4	15	20	15-5	82	53	5-1	Won 2	.750
Queensbury (D2)	11	7-3-1	15	19	12-6-1	68	46	4-1-1	Won 1	.658
CBA	16	10-6	14	20	12-8	75	64	4-2	Won 3	.600
Albany Academy	14	10-4	14	18	12-6	72	48	3-3	Lost 2	.667
Burnt Hills/Ballston Spa	15	6-6-3	11	20	10-7-3	88	68	1-3-2	Lost 1	.575
La Salle	16	6-10	9	20	7-12-1	59	72	2-4	Lost 1	.375
Niskayuna/Schenectady/Albany	15	4-10-1	5.5	20	5-14-1	48	73	0-6	Lost 7	.275
Guild/Mohon/S-G	14	3-9-2	5	19	5-11-3	59	77	1-4-1	Tied 1	.342
Adirondack	12	3-9	5	19	4-13-2	45	81	2-4	Lost 1	.263
Shaker/Colonie	16	0-16	-	20	0-20	27	133	0-6	Lost 20

As reported earlier this week, LaSalle will play a play-in game on Saturday, likely against the team that beat them on Monday, Adirondack, if the Capital Region (Shaker-Colonie) Jets don't get into the tournament. We'll know for sure tomorrow.

Shenendehowa beat Adirondack, and Saratoga took down Burnt Hills-Ballston Spa last night. Queensbury will have Senior Night tonight, hosting Albany Academy, and Adirondack & "Guilderville" will close the regular season tomorrow.

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Yesterday, we presented the pairings for the Section II basketball tournament. Early round games are scheduled for tonight & tomorrow in some classifications, weather permitting.

However, what throws me for a loop is how Emma Willard, which made the jump all the way to Class A after taking on an independent schedule this season, making an 11th hour decision to leave the Central Hudson Valley League (CHVL), can be seeded 11th in Class A, and play on the road against a sub-.500 Troy team (9-11). The Jesters were 17-1 at last count, dominating their former rivals in the CHVL, and losing only to Class B power Tamarac, out of the Wasaren League.

Section II suits will cite strength of schedule as an excuse. The Jesters didn't play anyone higher than Class B this season, while Troy plays in the Class AA-heavy Suburban Council.

BOLLOCKS & BALDERDASH!!!

Screw the politics. 17-1 is 17-1, no matter how you slice it, and the Jesters deserve to have a home game on their Pawling Avenue campus. We have seen Class B beat Class A on the men's side (Schalmont over Troy earlier this month). I wouldn't sleep on the Jesters tomorrow if I'm Troy coach Ryan Meikle. I'd start thinking about scheduling games with them on a regular basis going forward, as it would help both teams.

Of course, if Troy doesn't get star sophomore Jenalyse Alarcon back tomorrow night, the Lady Horses may be in trouble.

Now, the real fun starts

The brackets for the 2019 Section II basketball tournaments have been released.

While LaSalle is a Class A school in football, they remain a Class AA school in basketball. Go figure.

We'll start with the women:

Class AA:

The top 2 seeds, Suburban Council Blue champ Shenendehowa & Gray division champion Albany, have byes.

1st round games, Friday at 6 pm:

9 Columbia @ 8 Niskayuna.
10 Catholic Central @ 7 Bethlehem

Quarterfinals, February 21:

@ Shenendehowa:

5 Guilderland vs. 4 Colonie, 6 pm.
1 Shen vs. Columbia-Nisky winner, 7:30 pm.

@ Albany:

6 Shaker vs. 3 Saratoga, 6 pm.
2 Albany vs. Bethlehem-CCHS winner, 7:30 pm.
==================================
Class A:

The top 4 seeds, Averill Park, Queensbury, Amsterdam, & Academy of Holy Names, have byes.

1st round games, Friday at 6 pm:

9 South Glens Falls @ 8 Ballston Spa.
12 Mohonasen @ 5 Gloversville.
10 Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake @ 7 Scotia-Glenville.
11 Emma Willard @ 6 Troy. First meeting ever between the two city schools.

Quarterfinals, February 21:

@ Averill Park:

1 Averill Park vs. South Glens Falls-Ballston Spa winner.
4 Holy Names vs. Gloversville-Mohonasen winner.

@ Queensbury:

2 Queensbury vs. Scotia-Burnt Hills winner.
3 Amsterdam vs. Troy-Emma Willard winner.

"High School Fridays" will be at THS one final time on Friday.
=================================
Class B:

The top 5 seeds, in this case Tamarac, Mechanicville, Mekeel Christian (moving from Class C), Voorheesville, & Schalmont,  have byes.

1st round, Thursday @ 6 pm:

17 Broadalbin-Perth @ 16 Hudson Falls.
20 Corinth @ 13 Fonda-Fultonville.
21 Catskill @ 12 Watervliet.
18 Glens Falls @ 15 Greenville.
19 Cairo-Durham @ 14 Cohoes.

2nd round, Saturday @ 6 pm:

11 Albany Academy for Girls @ 6 Johnstown.
10 Cobleskill-Richmondville @ 7 Ichabod Crane.
9 Ravena @ 8 Hudson.
5 Schalmont vs. Catskill-Watervliet winner.
4 Voorheesville vs. Fonda-Corinth winner.
3. Mekeel Christian vs. Cohoes-Cairo winner.
2. Mechanicville vs. Glens Falls-Greenville winner.
1. Tamarac vs. Broadalbin-Hudson Falls winner.
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Class C:

The top 2 seeds, Cambridge & Hoosic Valley, have byes.

1st round, Thursday @ 6 pm:

17 Saratoga Catholic @ 16 Canajoharie.
18 Galway @ 15 Schoharie.

2nd round, Saturday @ 6 pm:

1 Cambridge vs. Canajoharie-Saratoga Catholic winner.
2 Hoosic Valley vs. Galway-Schoharie winner.
14 Stillwater @ 3 Maple Hill.
13 Mayfield @ 4 Warrensburg.
12 Chatham @ 5 Berne Knox-Westerlo.
11 Rensselaer @ 6 Lake George.
10 Middleburgh @ 7 Hoosick Falls.
9 Duanesburg @ 8 Greenwich.
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Class D:

The top 4 seeds, Fort Edward, Hartford, Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons, & North Warren, have byes.

1st round, Friday @ 6 pm:

9 Fort Ann @ 8 Whitehall.
10 Loudonville Christian @ 7 Argyle.
11 Salem @ 6 Heatly.
12 Northville @ 5 Germantown.

Quarterfinals, February 19:

1 Fort Edward vs. Fort Ann-Whitehall winner.
2 Hartford vs. Argyle-Loudonville Christian winner.
3 Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons vs. Salem-Heatly winner.
4 North Warren vs. Northville-Germantown winner.
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Now, let's move on to the boys' tournament:

Class AA:

1st round, February 20, 7 pm:

9 Schenectady @ 8 LaSalle.
12 Shaker @ 5 Green Tech.
13 Guilderland @ 4 CBA. Why are the Dutchmen even bothering after a winless Suburban Council season?
10 Albany @ 7 Colonie.
11 Niskayuna @ 6 Columbia.

Quarterfinals, February 23, at Hudson Valley Community College:

CBA-Guilderland winner vs. Green Tech-Shaker winner, 2 pm.
3 Shenendehowa vs. Columbia-Nisky winner, 4 pm.
2 Saratoga vs. Albany-Colonie winner, 5:30 pm (approximate).
1. Bethlehem vs. LaSalle-Schenectady winner, 7 pm (approximate).

Note: There should be a half hour window between each game, not just the first two.
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Class A:

1st round, February 20, 7 pm:

9 Scotia vs. 8 Queensbury.
13 Bishop Maginn vs. 4 Mekeel Christian (moving up from Class B).
12 Burnt Hills @ 5 Lansingburgh.
10 Ballston Spa @ 7 Amsterdam.
11 Catholic Central @ 6 Mohonasen.

Quarterfinals, February 24, @ HVCC:

Mekeel Christian-Maginn winner vs. Burnt Hills-Lansingburgh winner.
3 Averill Park vs. CCHS-Mohonasen winner.
2 Gloversville vs. Amsterdam-Ballston Spa winner.
1 Troy vs. Queensbury-Scotia winner.
===============================================
Class B:

1st round, Friday @ 7 pm:

17 Hudson Falls @ 16 Cohoes.
18 Broadalbin @ 15 Greenville.

2nd round, February 19 @ 7 pm:

9 Cobleskill @ 8 Schuylerville.
10 Tamarac @ 7 Johnstown.
11 Mechanicville @ 6 Hudson.
12 Coxsackie @ 5 Fonda-Fultonville.
13 Voorheesville @ 4 Catskill.
14 Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons @ 3 Watervliet.
Greenville-Broadalbin winner @ 2 Glens Falls.
Hudson Falls-Cohoes winner @ Schalmont.
==============================================
Class C:

1st round, Friday @ 7 pm:

19 Duanesburg @ 14 Hadley-Luzerne.
18 Rensselaer @ 15 Berne Knox-Westerlo.
17 Saratoga Catholic @ 16 Cambridge.
20 Galway @ 13 Fort Plain.

2nd round, February 19, @ 7 pm:

11 Waterford @ 6 Granville.
10 Hoosic Valley @ 7 Canajoharie.
12 Greenwich @ 5 Mayfield.
9 Stillwater @ 8 Schoharie.
4 Chatham vs. Fort Plain-Galway winner.
3 Maple Hill vs. Hadley-Duanesburg winner.
2 Hoosick Falls vs. Berne Knox-Rensselaer winner.
1 Lake George vs. Saratoga Catholic-Cambridge winner.
================================================
Class D:

1st round, February 20, at 7 pm:

13 Salem @ 4 Hartford.
12 Whitehall @ 5 North Warren.
11 Hawthorne Valley @ 6 Argyle.
10 Fort Edward @ 7 Northville.
9 Loudonville Christian @ 8 New Lebanon.
3 Fort Ann vs. Argyle-Hawthorne winner.
2 Germantown vs. Northville-Fort Edward winner.
1 Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville vs. New Lebanon-Loudonville Christian winner.

Best of luck to everyone.

Monday sports roundup

With another winter storm heading into the home district Tuesday, Section II moved some basketball & hockey games to today. There are still some games scheduled for Tuesday, but not likely to be played due to the weather, and, with sectionals scheduled for the end of the week, won't be made up at all.

LaSalle's hockey team traveled to Glens Falls to play the Adirondack Rivermen in an afternoon contest, but left their offense at home. Adirondack picked up a rare win, shutting out the Cadets, 5-0. LaSalle acknowledged on their Twitter feed after the game that the Cadets will have to play a play-in game on Saturday, finishing in 8th place with a 6-10 record in league play (7-12-1 overall). What had been a promising start to the season wound up with a disappointing finish.

With the annual coaches' meeting set for Friday night, the Cadets will know by then who they'll play on Saturday, and it'll either be a rematch with Adirondack or the winless Capital District Jets. Either way, the game will be played at Conway Arena, but Hudson Valley Community College will be busy with the basketball sectionals, too, and there's always a chance LaSalle's basketball team will play that day.

Jon Desso's club closed their regular season with a 54-49 road win over Niskayuna earlier tonight. Connor Cepiel led the Cadets with 17 points for the second straight game. Sean St. Lucia matched Cepiel with 17 of his own in a losing effort for the Silver Warriors, who are one of the teams that still has a game on the calendar, a Suburban Council match vs. Saratoga set for tomorrow, but unlikely to be played.
==========================================
Seems that Spectrum News has cancelled Toyota Sports Night, and the automaker is now sponsoring the station's five minute sportscasts each half hour. No confirmation yet, but this is a case of taking a programming step backward. When WRGB/WCWN cancelled Upstate Sports Edge earlier this season, this writer's feeling was that Spectrum should've stepped up and expanded Sports Night to a full half hour, but apparently ratings might be the cause of this cancellation.
===========================================
Both of Troy High's basketball teams will enter the sectionals with momentum on their side. The women destroyed Schenectady on Senior Night at the Riley Center, 73-37, this coming on the heels of a 30 point demolition of Kingston on Saturday. Jaylei George recorded her first career triple double with 15 points, 13 rebounds, & 10 blocked shots, to lead the way. First year coach Ryan Meikle's club finishes 9-11 overall (5-11 Suburban Council), and should get a favorable seeding in the Class A tournament when the pairings are announced on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, at Zotto Memorial Gym, the Troy boys completed a season sweep of the Patriots, 86-78. Schenectady made a late run in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough. Troy's three senior stars, Nazaire Merritt, Latyce Faison, & Lateef Johnson, all finished with 20 points or better to lead Troy (16-4 overall, 15-1 league). Figure that Troy could be in line for a first round bye if there is one in the Class A tournament, but if there isn't a bye, there's a pretty good chance, depending on the draw, that Troy & LaSalle could see each other in the tournament. Stay tuned.

News & notes

The good news for long time Albany Patroons fans is that the team sits atop the standings in The Basketball League at 7-0 after beating Mesquite in overtime, 130-123, on Friday at the Washington Avenue Armory.

The bad news? Attendance ain't what it used to be. Tim Wilkin, writing for the Albany Times-Union, said the announced attendance was just 300 fans on Friday, a far, far cry from the team's golden years in the Continental Basketball Association. When the CBA was resurrected by NBA icon Isaiah Thomas in 2006, the Patroons saw the attendance diminish almost immediately. The reason for that, and this is something coach-GM Derrick Rowland, one of the team's stars in the glory years, has to address, is that Albany is not a haven for minor league sports anymore. The AHL's Albany Devils left for Binghamton, and Times-Union Center doesn't have a minor league sports team to complement Siena anymore. Arena Football begins in April, after Siena's basketball season is over. Sports fans in Albany are more interested in the college game (i.e. Siena) or high school hoops. It's been that way since the Patroons first left town in the early 90's.

The release of the documentary, "Minor League Miracle", last fall at the Palace Theatre convinced Patroons management to change their minds about returning for another season, and so far, it turns out to have been the right move. However, to change the fortunes at the box office, the team has to go old school with their advertising, because, clearly, social media promotion alone isn't getting it done. The team plays their home games mostly on weekends, but that means conflicts with high school & college sports. The team's website isn't exactly working as well as it should. Ye scribe has an easier time picking up streaming broadcasts of RPI hockey or the Tri-City Valleycats.

Can the Pats run the table and bring another title home? Stay tuned.
====================================
As of press time, the result of Friday's Senior Night basketball game between LaSalle vs. Lansingburgh hadn't been reported to the Times-Union or the Daily Gazette. El Cheapo Media, however, had the result in today's editions of The Record & The Saratogian. The Knights completed a season sweep of the Cadets, 74-56, behind a game high 25 points from Isaiah Knight. Trevor Green added 17, and Vinny Tario had 15 for the winners. Connor Cepiel paced LaSalle with 17 points.

Lansingburgh's regular season is over. LaSalle finishes on the road tomorrow at Niskayuna.

Sectional seedings will be announced on Wednesday.

This beating is military (Albany Academy @ LaSalle, 2/9/19)

"Revenge is a dish best served cold".

Last month, Albany Academy defeated LaSalle, 6-4, as they resumed one of the classic sports rivalries in Section II hockey. As LaSalle honored their seniors tonight, the mission at hand was to extract some payback.

The speakers were cranked to not 11, a la Spinal Tap, but to 12, just like they do when they play basketball at LaSalle. Two students played the National Anthem on guitars to warm up the nearly full house at Conway Arena.

And, then, LaSalle got down to business.

41 seconds into the game, senior sharpshooter Sebastian Geiger put the hosts on the board, beating Academy netminder Dan Guy. Late in the first period, Anthony Sericolo evened the game for Academy, beating Leo Paul, and the score remained tied into the first intermission.

In the second period, Geiger added to his scoring counter with his second of the game, a laser shot that went top shelf on Guy, and put LaSalle up for good. In the third period, Brendan Witte netted his second goal of the season, Geiger completed his hat trick, and Taylor Nitz tacked one on for good measure. In between, Connor Momrow tried to bring Academy back, but it was too late.

Just when it looked like they would play the game clean as a whistle, with no penalties through two periods, things got chippy in the third period. Academy's Blake Van Epps was cited for a post-whistle unsportsmanlike conduct that ended his night. Momrow's goal came just seconds after LaSalle's Jagger Sessa was sent to the sin bin for slashing. Well, sooner or later, there will be a clean game.

LaSalle evened the season series at a game each with the 5-2 win. With the loss, Academy drops back to third place in the CDHSHL behind regular season champion Bethlehem, which ended their season with a 2-2 draw against Burnt Hills on Friday. Academy ends its season Wednesday at Queensbury, while LaSalle will also be in the north country to end their season, Tuesday at Adirondack.

If only cancer could get blown out this easy (Kingston @ Troy, 2/9/19)

Less than 24 hours after a tough loss to Bethlehem, the women of Troy High were back on the court for their final home game of the season today, a rematch from last month vs. Kingston, and with Troy in the unlikely position of completing a four game sweep of their non-league schedule.

For the second straight game, coach Ryan Meikle was missing his sophomore star, Jenalyse Alarcon, who apparently suffered an undisclosed injury Tuesday vs. Albany. Freshman Makya Chapman started in place of Alarcon, but was quickly lifted as Meikle is only giving her limited minutes per game.

It had been assumed that Kingston's women were just as tough as the men, but that has proven not to be the case. After taking an early 1-0 lead on a free throw, the Lady Tigers would only lead once more before Troy took control of the game. In fact, no Tigers player had reached double figures in scoring, and Troy held Kingston under 10 points in each quarter, the first time this year that has happened on either side in a Troy game. By halftime, Troy was on the verge of blowing the Tigers out of the gym, a diametric opposite from last month, when they escaped Kingston with a narrow victory.

Jakaiya Dewer led all scorers with 15 points. Alaina Holmes & Jaylei George added 9 each. The game got so lopsided, that the starters were pulled early in the fourth quarter, although Chapman returned in the final two minutes. Troy had their biggest margin of victory this season, and completed the non-league sweep, 56-26. Ouch!

I don't know for sure, but I'd think coach Meikle would like to get Alarcon back in time for the season finale at Schenectady on Tuesday or the sectional tournament, which starts a couple of days later. Troy is now 8-11 overall (4-11 Suburban Council), and will enter a hostile Riley Center on Tuesday to face the winless Lady Patriots.

High School Fridays: Bethlehem @ Troy, 2/8/19

It was assumed by many that tonight's game between Bethlehem & Troy, a meeting of division leaders in the Suburban Council, would be closer than it really was.

However, Troy had one thing going against them.

History.

Since entering the Suburban Council in 2015, Troy's basketball teams have never beaten Bethlehem. In fact, the two schools first met in regular season play in 2014 when Troy was an independent. Hence, Troy was 0-4 vs. the Eagles going into this heavyweight clash. The Eagles were without senior guard Jakob LeClair, still serving a four game suspension for fighting vs. Averill Park two weeks ago. However, the combination of roster depth and A. G. Irons' wall-to-wall pressure defense, coupled with some questionable officiating decisions, tipped the scales in favor of the Blue division leaders.

Three different times in the game, what should've been offensive fouls against the Eagles went the other way. Twice in the first half, Xavier Wakefield got away with charges, with the fouls going against Troy's Jay-Quan Moore in at least one instance. In the second half, Erik Salo got the benefit of a similar misread. What that says to me is that there is a pecking order not only in the league but in Section II as well. Troy is in its 4th season in the Suburban Council. Even though they've beaten everyone else, there's still the small matter of being a Class A school going up against the top Class AA team in the league. Remember when Bethlehem beat Lansingburgh on December 1? Same deal, though 'Burgh is a Class B school, and also had to deal with some dubious officiating.

Bethlehem pulled a little decoy action in pre-game introductions. Senior guard Michael Mullen was announced as a starter, but when tip-off came, he was abruptly replaced by fellow senior Justin Barnes, who finished with 10 points. Troy, for whatever reason, didn't have their lineup introduced, probably due to time constraints, but I guess we'll never know. Job 1 for Troy's defense was to stop Bethlehem's leading scorer, Michael Ortale, but that didn't happen. Ortale finished with 23 points for the second straight game. Wakefield had 10, and Salo had 16. Nazaire Merritt heated up in the second half, and had a game high 28 points after being ice cold for most of the first half. Latyce Faison finished with 21.

Most of the fans streamed for the exits with about three minutes left in the game. Bethlehem led by as much as 20, but won by 13, 87-74, clinching the Blue division title for the second time in three years. The Eagles finish the regular season at home against CBA on Tuesday, while Troy entertains Schenectady.
=======================================
Bethlehem also won the women's game in a low scoring affair, 45-36. Ava LeClair, Jakob's sister, had a game high 12 points. Jakaiya Dewer led Troy with 10. The Lady Horses (7-11 overall, 4-11 Suburban Council) return home tomorrow to play Kingston before visiting Schenectady on Tuesday.
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Schalmont will not run the table in the Colonial Council. The Sabres dropped an overtime decision to LaSalle, 80-69, on Thursday night, as they couldn't complete the Collar City Hat Trick of playing three of the city's four high school teams in the space of a week. Sean DeSharnais led LaSalle with 21 points. Shane O'Dell led Schalmont with 27. The result of tonight's game between LaSalle & Lansingburgh has not been reported as of press time.

News & notes

For years, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) has operated on a six day a week schedule at Saratoga, and, in recent times, four or five days at Aqueduct, currently in its winter meet, and Belmont.

This year, while NYRA is still committed to a 40 day meet at Saratoga, it'll start a week earlier than normal, and it'll be a five day a week calendar, with Monday & Tuesday dark, just like their downstate sister tracks. NYRA will only open Belmont or Aqueduct on a Monday if it's a holiday, but were thwarted last month when a card scheduled for January 21 (Martin Luther King Day) was wiped out by extremely cold temperatures. The 2019 meet at Saratoga will start on Thursday, July 11, and wrap on September 2 (Labor Day), the lone Monday on the meet calendar. Attendance, you figure, won't change much, as horse-players from downstate will gravitate north for the summer.

The move is being made to coincide with the construction of a new arena in Elmont, home of Belmont Park, for the NHL's New York Islanders, who are splitting their home games this season between their ancient home at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, and the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Current Islander ownership doesn't like the Brooklyn locale for some reason.

Will this be a one-season thing? Stay tuned.
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As of press time, we don't know if Troy & Burnt Hills were able to have their bowling match on Tuesday, but I'm going to guess that the answer there is "no", because the Suburban Council championships took place the next day. Troy finished 11th in the team competition. Still, if the match was cancelled for the 2nd straight week, Troy finishes with a respectable 5-7-1 ledger, an improvement over the last three seasons. We hope to have some clarification before the end of the weekend.
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As LaSalle's hockey team preps for tomorrow's Battle of The Cadets II, their Senior Night meeting with Albany Academy, Tim Flanigan's club needs to shake off a 4-2 loss to CBA on Wednesday night. The Cadets are 1-2 on the current four game homestand, having beaten Burnt Hills last Saturday night, and they'll close at Adirondack on Tuesday. If anything, Conway Arena should be packed tomorrow night for the first hockey visit by Academy in several years. A win for Dave Rider's club will lock down the #2 seed in the playoffs, which begin with the play-in round next week.

Meanwhile, CDHSHL regular season champ Bethlehem thumped the Capital District Jets, 12-2, on Wednesday, and will finish their schedule tonight vs. Burnt Hills.

Tuesday hoops roundup

We're in the homestretch in high school basketball. Some teams will be finishing their regular season this weekend, others next Tuesday. We'll start in the Suburban Council.

Boys: Bethlehem clinched a tie for the Blue division title Tuesday night after beating Shaker, 65-44, and this was despite the fact they played without Jakob LeClair, who was suspended not for one game, but four for his part in a skirmish vs. Averill Park a week and a half ago. LeClair will also miss Friday's road game at Troy, and return for Senior Night vs. CBA. Michael Ortale, as he's done all season, led the way for the Eagles with a game high 23 points.

Saratoga kept pace by thumping Colonie, 60-28, paced by Aidan Holmes' 14 points. Sophomore star Michael Rogan was held to just five points. If Bethlehem beats Troy on Friday, they'll clinch the division outright.

Speaking of the Gray division champions, they took care of business at Albany on Tuesday, completing a season sweep of the Falcons, 75-68. Nazaire Merritt had a season high 29 points, and Latyce Faison added 21. Troy trailed, 17-14, after the first quarter, but then took a nine point lead at halftime, and took it from there. Michael Alamo-Benitez matched Merritt's 29 points to lead Albany.

Girls: In the Gray division, Albany & Averill Park are tied for the lead, with two games left each, and should they finish tied, Albany would have the tie-breaker in hand to clinch their third division title in four years. The Lady Falcons routed Troy, 58-36, Tuesday, spoiling Senior Night at Zotto Gym. They never trailed, and held Troy to 17 points in the second half. Alaina Holmes led Troy with 13 points, and Jenalyse Alarcon was held to a season low 4. Ahniysha Jackson led Albany with 13. Albany will have their Senior Night next week vs. Burnt Hills, but will finish the road portion of their schedule Friday at Shaker.

Over in the Blue division, Shenendehowa has already clinched, and has one game remaining after beating Nisky, 62-42. The Lady Plainsmen get a week off before their season finale vs. Colonie.

Moving on to the Colonial Council:

Boys: Schalmont sealed up the Liberty division with a 79-63 win over Lansingburgh. Shane O'Dell had a game high 27 points, while L. J. Randle tallied 19 for the second straight game. Knights senior Trevor Green had 20 for the hosts in a losing effort. LaSalle is locked into fourth place after losing, 52-41, to Mohonasen. The Cadets were held to just six points in the fourth quarter, which sealed the game for the Mighty Warriors. Pending make-up games from last week's postponements, it looks like Mohonasen, in its first season in the Colonial Council, will finish 3rd in the division. Watervliet has, for all intents & purposes, clinched the Patriot division after routing Voorheesville.

Girls: The Academy of Holy Names won the Liberty Division, and are unbeaten in league play (17-1 overall). They'll close the regular season at Lansingburgh on Friday. Voorheesville is the Patriot Division champ, as they're 5 1/2 games clear of Cobleskill-Richmondville as of press time.

Troy's fifth high school team, Emma Willard, is playing an independent schedule this season after leaving the Central Hudson Valley League. The Jesters are the city's best kept secret, sporting a 16-1 record, and they will be a tough out in the sectionals when they begin next week. A quick check of their schedule shows that they beat Voorheesville to start the season, but saw their 14 game winning streak end at the hands of Tamarac on February 2. School officials need to look into the prospect of playing Lansingburgh, Troy, and/or Catholic Central, not only to raise their profile, but for bragging rights. Of the four women's high school teams in the city, they have the best record by plenty, and yet the press sleeps on them every year.

We'll have the sectional pairings next week.

News & notes

Bethlehem has clinched the Capital District High School Hockey League regular season title for the 2nd straight year. The Eagles have just two games remaining, and lead Albany Academy by three points headed into the final full week of play. Bethlehem defeated Academy, 7-2, on Friday, but the Cadets came right back and beat Burnt Hills-Ballston Spa, 4-2, on Saturday. Academy's next league game is at LaSalle next Saturday. Before that, however, they have a pair of non-league games, and by the time the puck drops at Hudson Valley Community College, the Eagles will have completed their schedule.
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On August 31, Schalmont upset Troy High in football, 14-6. Shane O'Dell & LJ Randle were two big reasons why the Sabres had such a good year on the gridiron, at least until the team was derailed pro tempore by Coxsackie virus.

O'Dell & Randle are also starters for Schalmont's basketball team, the leaders in the Colonial Council's Patriot Division. Troy QB Alex Wolfe and RB/DB Makai Cruel come off the bench for the Flying Horses in basketball. These four young men met again Saturday night as Schalmont met Troy in the Sunmark Shootout at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls. O'Dell led all scorers with 36 points, and Randle added 19. For Troy, Latyce Faison followed his 28 point game vs. CBA on Friday with a season high 30, and Nazaire Merritt added 28, but it wasn't enough, as Schalmont prevailed again, 78-76, snapping Troy's nine game winning streak. Troy (14-3 overall, 13-0 Suburban Council) finishes its current road trip in Albany on Tuesday before coming home for a clash with unbeaten Bethlehem. Schalmont will visit Lansingburgh on Tuesday.
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College beat: After dropping a heartbreaker to Union in a shootout for the Mayor's Cup, RPI bounced back and beat Colgate, 3-1, on Friday, before skating to a 1-1 overtime draw with Cornell on Saturday night. RPI goaltender Owen Savory had 40 saves against the Big Red. Union, by the way, beat Colgate on Saturday.

Maybe they need to build a ring........

Due to a lack of specific resources (i.e. money, manpower), the local press doesn't do enough to follow-up on reports of incidents involving Section II schools.

Take for example what happened in Saratoga Wednesday night after a co-ed basketball double-header between Saratoga & Shenendehowa. There was something that went down in the Saratoga High parking lot after the men's game, and police are still investigating, according to the Daily Gazette. In filing his reports on the double-header in Friday's editions of The Saratogian & The Record, reporter Stan Hudy may not have witnessed the incident, hence no mention of it in those papers.

Five days earlier, in Delmar, there was a minor skirmish on the court during the men's game between Bethlehem & Averill Park. One player from each team was ejected, and suspended for each team's next game, and that's where it was left by the press. That happens.

A couple of years earlier, in a women's game between Bethlehem and Albany, the Lady Eagles ended the Lady Falcons' undefeated start, but Albany parents, frustrated by the officiating not going in favor of Albany, caused a ruckus from the bleachers that led to a premature end to the game.

It sparked some unpleasant memories from my time at Troy High back in the day.

During the 1980-1 season, Troy's biggest rivalry was with Linton (now 1/2 of Schenectady High 2.0). While the players respected each other on both teams, we cannot say the same for the spectators.

I'm going to piece this together based on what I was told by fellow students. Following a December game in Schenectady, some Linton students decided to figuratively rub it in after a Linton win, and reportedly shook up not only the players' bus, but the cheerleaders' bus. Fast forward two months to the rematch at Troy, also won by Linton, which completed a season sweep. Some Troy students remembered the incident at Linton, and decided to take action, sparking an ice fight on campus where one lone Troy student was arrested.

I read about the ice fight in the paper two days after it happened, and that's when I learned about the earlier incident in Schenectady. As soon as I learned of the Linton kids shaking the cheerleaders' bus, that upset me, largely because I was close with one of the cheerleaders, who's still a very close friend today. The funny part is that the incident at Linton was never reported as such, if but because the Linton kids were just being immature, not malicious.

To my knowledge, there've been no such incidents at Troy since, nearly 40 years later.

But, it's not just violence of the physical kind that's a problem, and there've been incidents of violence on and off the court across the country in recent years. There's also the psychological factor to consider.

In October, a women's soccer game between Niskayuna and Schenectady was marred by some Nisky students allegedly shouting racial taunts and slurs at some of the Schenectady players. It was bad enough that the Lady Patriots were among the worst teams in the Suburban Council, but to be subjected to such verbal abuse wasn't doing any wonders for the women's self-esteem, either.

In most cases, the schools keep things in-house. The school districts have images to protect, after all, which is why there is little or no follow-up in the press.

But, here's an idea that the schools & police should consider. If there's any more aggression between players, such as in the Bethlehem-Averill Park game, maybe the boys should be asked to resolve their differences in the boxing ring at the local Boys & Girls Club or YMCA under tight supervision. 

Heh, I wonder why no one's ever thought of that.

High School Fridays: Ichabod Crane @ Lansingburgh (boys' basketball), 2/1/19

Normally, Senior Night is the last home game of the regular season. Lansingburgh boys' basketball coach Eric Loudis had other ideas.

Lansingburgh's last home game is against the top team in the Colonial Council, Schalmont, on Tuesday, so Loudis decided the Knights would focus on the Sabres then, and had Senior Night moved to tonight, with Ichabod Crane in town. The Knights crushed the Riders in Chatham back in December, and tonight looked to be more of the same.

Loudis chose to have all five of his seniors--Trevor Green, Lucas McKenna, Jahad Lewis, Anthony Thompson, & Holden Pokaski---start the game. Green & Lewis have been starters all season, with the others coming off the bench. The occasion aside, nothing really changed, as McKenna, Pokaski, & Thompson saw limited minutes anyway. Green scored the first five points for the hosts, and finished with 20.

Ichabod Crane had just two seniors, and both made sure the Riders stayed in the game as long as possible. Christian Pesano hit a pair of rainbow three-pointers in the third quarter, and finished with 17 points. Donovan Brown added 6. Vinny Tario came off the bench to score 17 for Lansingburgh, as the Knights pulled away in the fourth quarter to prevail, 77-52.

Last season, the Riders were division title contenders themselves, but are locked in the Liberty Division basement. Lansingburgh sits in second place behind Schalmont, which beat Mohonasen on Thursday. The Sabres have a tough road in front of them, as in addition to Lansingburgh, their immediate itinerary includes a certain Suburban Council school from the Collar City..........

That would be Troy High, which ran their league record to 13-0 in dispatching Christian Brothers Academy, 80-69. Latyce Faison returned after missing Tuesday's win over Burnt Hills, and led Troy with 28 points. Nazaire Merritt added 21, Lateef Johnson had 15, and Zaveon Little had 5. Little is wearing Hunter Redden's number, and that is causing some confusion for scorekeepers submitting results to the local press. Jordan King led all scorers with 29 points, while Drew Signor had 18 in a losing effort. Troy & Schalmont will meet in Glens Falls tomorrow as part of the Sunmark Shootout.

Next week, Troy finishes the road trip at Albany before returning to play undefeated Bethlehem, and Lansingburgh follows the Schalmont game with a road finale at LaSalle, which lost tonight to Colonie. The Knights beat the Cadets in North Troy in December.
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Other stuff: Troy's women survived a road rematch vs. Burnt Hills on Thursday night, escaping with a 61-59 win. Troy (7-9 overall, 4-9 Suburban Council) was led by Jenalyse Alarcon with a season high 27 points. Alaina Holmes added 13, and Nadia Brown & Jakaiya Dewer each had 8. The numbers come from Troy's Twitter feed, posted on their website, as the Albany Times-Union credited Alarcon with 25, Holmes with 11, Dewer with 10, and Brown with 9. Someone wasn't paying attention, apparently.

Following Wednesday's hoops double-dip between Shenendehowa & Saratoga, there was a parking lot incident involving students from both schools, which have been traditional rivals for years, and is the second incident in as many weeks involving Suburban Council schools. However, unlike Averill Park & Bethlehem, they waited 'til after the game to address hostilities. The incident is under investigation.

Niskayuna can count itself fortunate their basketball teams didn't have to play at home tonight. The high school has been shut down since Wednesday due to a power outage, and they're hoping to resume a full class schedule on Monday.