March Sadness in the 518

 Only one team remains in the state basketball tournament, representing Section II.

Class B champion Catholic Central will get an early wake-up call tomorrow after advancing to the state finals with a 62-52 win over Southamption earlier today at Cool Insuring Arena. The finals tip off at 1 pm Sunday, with the Crusaders taking on Westhill.

Men's Class D champion North Warren was eliminated later in the day, losing to Chapel Field, 47-46. North Warren, because they play in the Adirondack League, don't get the same kind of coverage as most of the other teams in Section II, but they have built a solid program the last few years.

As for the women, all four remaining Section II teams were knocked out in the space of a little more than 24 hours between Friday morning and this afternoon.

In a shocker, defending Class A champion Averill Park got off to a slower than normal start against Walter Panas, which advanced to the title game with a 47-42 upset. As reported yesterday, Class B champion Albany Academy saw their historic rise stop at the hands of Putnam Valley, 70-50. The Bears, though, do have a nucleus for next season, and Averill Park always reloads.

Today, Oxford Academy, using the same kind of trapping, pressure defense that Section II teams have embraced in the last couple of years, eliminated women's Class D titlist Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons, 75-54, pulling away in the 4th quarter after the Golden Knights had gotten within 4 at one point. Nate Lull, who has been posting results on Twitter, repeatedly referred to Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons as the Crimson Knights before someone finally corrected him in the 4th quarter. Apparently, the Knights' road colors confused Lull.

Finally, Class C champion Greenwich fell to Millbrook, 70-52. I'd make a reference to bread, but they stopped making Millbrook bread years ago.

The ill fortune followed UAlbany along the Massachusetts Turnpike, as the Lady Danes went 1 & done in the women's NIT, losing to homestanding UMass-Lowell, 73-48. Kayla Cooper was the lone Lady Dane in double figures with 18 points.

Of course, there's always next year.