News & notes

Siena's basketball season came to an end Wednesday, as both the men's & women's teams were eliminated from the MAAC tournaments in Atlantic City.

In what might be Ali Jaques' final game as coach (her contract expires after the season), the Lady Saints fell to Marist, 63-55. Isis Young led Siena with 31 points. Young is also mulling her options to possibly return for another season. Would being a player-coach help if Jaques doesn't return? Just asking.

Meanwhile, the men went ice cold for nearly 9 minutes in the 2nd half, and Iona extended its postseason winning streak over the Saints to 11 in a row with a 55-52 win. 1st year Iona coach Rick Pitino, like former Gaels coach Jeff Ruland, a veteran of both college and the NBA, is no stranger to March Madness, but might not be aware of the hex the New Rochelle-based Iona holds over Siena this time of year. Jackson Stormo led Siena with 14 points while Jalen Pickett added 13. MAAC Player of The Year Manny Camper was held to just 6 points.

Maybe Siena men's coach Carmen Maciariello might want to keep his players from watching reruns of a certain sitcom also set in New Rochelle. The Dick Van Dyke Show, that is. Just sayin'.

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The semi-finals are set in the Capital District High School Hockey League. As we noted last night, it's all North division teams going forward. Burnt Hills beat "Guilderville", 4-1, in the nightcap, and will play Adirondack on Friday afternoon, with Saratoga and Shenendehowa renewing hostilities in the other semi. The finals are on Saturday.

Apparently, the reason they can't use the Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls is that the arena is currently unavailable due to COVID concerns or something.

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If you're trying to watch last night's Troy-Saratoga basketball game, you'll be directed to YouTube. Saratoga High is blocking 3rd party usage of the game videos. Same with the February 27 game between the two schools. Must be school policy.

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Former Guilderland star Andrew Sischo is in town for the NCAA Division II tournament regionals, which are being played at the Albany Capital Center this weekend. Sischo is currently attending and playing for Daemen College, a heretofore unknown school located just outside of Buffalo. He's being profiled in today's Albany Times-Union, but Dutchmen supporters might not recognize him right away, as he's dropped some 60 pounds from his days at Guilderland. He leads Division II in rebounding heading into Sunday's nightcap

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Wednesday's high school scoreboard:

Suburban Council (men):

Shaker 50, Colonie 29.

Albany 52, Averill Park 37.

Tournament semi-finals:

Troy 75, Saratoga 64. Josh Rodriguez led Troy with 20 points for the 2nd straight game. Alex Wolfe added 17, and Marquis Hamby had 15.

Shenendehowa 53, Niskayuna 34.

Women:

Columbia 57, Burnt Hills 37. Looks like the Lady Devils are next for Troy on Friday.

Troy 52, Colonie 43. Jenalyse Alarcon led Troy with 16 points. Nadia Brown, Jakaiya Dewer, & Makaiya Chapman each had 9.

Tournament semi-finals:

Shen 84, Albany 33. Shen had 4 players in double figures, led by Meghan Huerter's 18 points. Huerter is heading for Providence next season.

Saratoga 49, Averill Park 43. The Blue Streaks played without Natasha Chudy, out with a thigh injury. She has an MRI scheduled for today, which will determine if she'll be able to go vs. Shen tomorrow in the finals.