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.
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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.