News & notes

 We've talked at length about how Troy High's women's basketball team was undermanned last season.

That pales in comparison to Northville High in the Western Athletic Conference.

Northville's women's team (2-0) is dressing only 6 players presently due to injuries and players dropping out, similar to what Troy went through last year. The difference? A Hall of Fame coach who was running an AAU program earlier this year joined the Northville program this season, but is better known for working with men's teams.

Jim Zullo hadn't coached varsity basketball in 13 years since ending a 4 year run at Indian Lake. His resume also includes stops at Little Falls, Broadalbin-Perth, and, most famously, Shenendehowa. At 80, Zullo is the oldest active coach in Section II, having signed with Northville after their coach resigned at the end of last season. It would not be a stretch to think Northville & Zullo being at Hudson Valley Community College for the sectional finals come March.

============================================

Amsterdam's annual Holiday College Showcase is set for Deecmber 27-29, with plenty of Section II representation.

The Rams will be joined by Albany, Bethlehem, Colonie, Shen, Columbia, & Shaker, plus state Class AA champ Webster Schroeder and Class A state runner-up Canandaigua Academy. Now, if only the press paid more attention, but there are tournaments all over Section II that week, including at Troy. Shen is set to make a 2nd trip to Troy December 30, after the tournament.

=============================================

It's official. The Belmont Stakes is coming to Saratoga.

It won't be the first Belmont event to be relocated to the Old Spa, but for at least two years, due to continuing renovations at Belmont, the 3rd jewel of the Triple Crown will move upstate.

Governor Kathy Hochul made the announcement Wednesday, along with NYRA officials, who announced that there would be a 4 day mini-meet at Saratoga, June 6-9, prior to the annual July-September meet. Businesses in the city will be spoiled silly by the additional revenue.

===============================================

Duanesburg's Allison O'Hanlon scored a game high 28 points to lead the Eagles past OESJ, 58-36, in Western Athletic Conference play on Wednesday. O'Hanlon, a senior, is committed to Siena for next season.

================================================

Speaking of Siena, the Saints' men's team dropped its 7th in the last 8 games, 67-51, to Bryant on Wednesday. Gio Emejuru led Siena (2-7) with 18 points. Michael Eley was inactive again with a sprained ankle, and his absence has had a psychological effect on the Saints, who have lost all 7 games that Eley has missed.

Next up for the Saints is a road trip to St. Bonaventure for the Franciscan Cup on Saturday.

==================================================

The rest of Wednesday's action:

Colleges:

Women's basketball:

Union 63, Bard 40.

Vassar 64, Skidmore 51.

Cobleskill 84, Oneonta 51.

UAlbany 56, Central Connecticut State 37. Kayla Cooper & Helene Haegerstrand led Albany with 14 points each. Meaghan Huerter (Shen) added 10.

Hockey:

Maine 3, Union 1.

High schools:

Women's basketball:

Non-league:

Burnt Hills 65, Schalmont 31.

Saratoga Catholic 43, North Warren 31.

Western Athletic Conference:

Northville 53, Fonda-Fultonville 40. Jim Zullo's club is now 3-0 (1-0 league).

Men's basketball:

Western Athletic Conference:

Canajoharie 43, Fort Plain 36.

Swimming:

Fonda-Fultonville-Johnstown 84, Canajoharie-Fort Plain 82.

Wrestling:

Suburban Council:

Burnt Hills 45, Bethlehem 30.

Men's bowling:

Suburban Council:

Saratoga 28, Columbia 4.

Women's bowling:

Columbia 30, Saratoga 2.

News & notes

 The Will Harris era at Troy High got off to a rocky start Tuesday. While the Lady Horses showed spurts of energy, the cohesion of this year's team is still a work in progress, and Ballston Spa took full advantage, pulling away in the 2nd half to defeat Troy, 63-35. Sophia Lee led the Lady Scotties with 15 points. Troy's road trip continues at Shenendehowa on Friday.

Meanwhile, back in Troy, Josh Pelletier is still looking for his 1st win, as Ballston Spa took down Troy, 72-59. Legend Merritt led Troy with 20 points, but Nico Savini, fresh from football season, killed the Horses with 6 3 pointers among his game high 23 points. Shen will be in town on Friday.

But the day was not a total loss for Troy High Nation. The basketball teams simply didn't pick up any momentum from the bowling team blowing out Ballston Spa, 28-4. Vince Mainello led 4 Troy bowlers into the 600 series club with a 262 high single and a 656 triple.

==============================================

Despite the knowledge that they're now a lame duck team, the College of St. Rose's women's basketball team blew out St. Michaels, 59-31, on Tuesday at Nolan Gymnasium. Maddisyn Mahoney (Shaker) led the Lady Knights (5-1, 4-1 Northeast 10) with 15 points. Payton Graber (Schalmont) added 10.

================================================

The rest of Tuesday's high school action:

Men's bowling:

Colonial Council:

Ravena 28, Catholic Central 4.

Lansingburgh 23, Voorheesville 9.

Patroon Conference:

Maple Hill 5, Taconic Hills 0.

Suburban Council:

Burnt Hills 17, CBA 15.

Guilderland 24, Albany 8.

Shenendehowa def. Schenectady. Final score was not reported.

Saratoga 28, Niskayuna 4.

Wasaren League:

Mechanicville 5, Hoosic Valley 0.

Men's basketball:

Colonial Council:

Cohoes 65, Cobleskill-Richmondville 47.

LaSalle 53, Lansingburgh 46.

Ichabod Crane 54, Schalmont 53.

Suburban Council:

Schenectady 55, Shenendehowa 54.

Niskayuna 53, Saratoga 44. Ethan Gilson, another football hero, had 15 points for Nisky.

Shaker 65, Averill Park 38.

CBA 89, Burnt Hills 50.

Bethlehem 58, Columbia 47.

Wasaren League:

Hoosick Falls 101, Cambridge 48. Carson Glover led 5 Panthers in double figures with 22 points.

Mechanicville 68, Waterford 29.

Stillwater 67, Hoosic Valley 48. Fresh off the disappointment of not bringing home a state football title, Lukas Lilac led Stillwater with 18 points. Jaxon Mueller added 9.

Non-league:

Northville 63, Wells 50.

Hudson Falls 74, Granville 60.

Women's basketball:

Colonial Council:

Schalmont 67, Ichabod Crane 36.

Academy of Holy Names 54, Mohonasen 43.

Catholic Central 68, Albany Academy 64 (OT).

Suburban Council:

Averill Park 68, Shaker 42.

Shenendehowa 82, Schenectady 12. Troy is in deep trouble on Friday.

Niskayuna 48, Saratoga 34.

Bethlehem 61, Columbia 60 (2 OT). The two teams met for the 2nd time in 5 days, and again, the Lady Devils nearly pulled the upset.

Non-league:

Warrensburg 33, Galway 27.

Men's swimming & diving:

Bethlehem 101, Troy/CBA/Columbia 79.

Hockey:

Guilderville 4, Albany Academy 2.

Bethlehem 8, Mohawks 1.

Queensbury 7, Adirondack 4.

============================================

UAlbany's Dylan Kelly is a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the FCS Defensive Player of The Year. We'll know, probably before Saturday's game at Idaho, if Kelly picked up some more hardware.

Meanwhile, on the court, the Great Danes ran their winning streak to 5 in a row with a 98-59 blowout over Potsdam. The Danes (6-3) placed 5 players in double figures, led by Marcus Jackson (Albany Academy) & Tyler Bertram with 12 points each. Amare Marshall & Jonathan Beagle (Hudson Falls) added 11 each, and Sebastian Thomas had 10. UAlbany moves on to the NABC Showcase at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Sunday, where they'll play Temple at 7 pm.

Monday's high school scoreboard, 12/4

 Men's bowling:

Colonial Council:

Cohoes 32, Cobleskill-Richmondville 0.

Foothills Council:

Scotia-Glenville & Johnstown tied 2-2.

Suburban Council:

Burnt Hills 29, Schenectady 3.

Women's bowling:

Suburban Council:

Niskayuna 23, Bethlehem 9.

Saratoga 24, Ballston Spa 8.

Men's basketball:

Non-league:

Saratoga Catholic 56, Mayfield 29.

Women's basketball:

Western Athletic Conference:

Canajoharie-Fort Plain 34, Galway 27.

Non-league:

South Glens Falls 62, Hadley-Luzerne 18.

News & notes

 When Troy High's women's basketball team opens Suburban Council play on Tuesday vs. Ballston Spa, they will have their 3rd head coach in as many seasons, and this one is a familiar face to 518 sports fans.

Troy, predictably, kept the dismissal of last year's coach, Steve Lombard, under wraps after a 1-20 ledger led to his ouster and the departure of two key players from last year's team. No word on if Lombard is headed back to Metropolis.

However, another branch of the Will Brown tree at UAlbany has taken root at Troy.

After Josh Pelletier was hired to be the men's basketball head coach, one of Brown's former players steps in for Lombard, and into a very messy---from what I've been told---situation.

Will Harris, who starred for UAlbany, and played some high school ball at Redemption Christian Academy before transferring to Brewster, returns to the 518 as a 1st time high school coach. As with Pelletier and football/track coach Jordan Canzeri, Troy's coaches are getting considerably younger.

Welcome to the Suburban Council, Will & Josh. Hope you survive the experience.

=============================================

After a narrow 2 point win at home over Rider on Friday, Siena laid an egg in Maryland on Sunday, getting blown out by Mt. St. Mary's, 80-48. Michael Eley & Michael Ojo were sidelined for Siena (2-6, 1-1 MAAC) with ankle injuries, and in Eley's case, it's a reaggravation of the injury that kept him out for 5 games. Siena is now 0-6 without Eley. The Saints return home Wednesday to play Bryant.

=============================================

Weekend high school basketball scores:

Johnstown 56, Voorheesville 50.

Albany 44, Fox Lane 36.

Maple Hill 59, Berne-Knox-Westerlo 50.

Lansingburgh 60, Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons 47.

Schalmont 48, Gloversville 44.

News & notes

 Union College split its weekend homestand in hockey.

On Friday, the Garnet Chargers routed Princeton, 7-2. Saturday night, however, was a different story, as Quinnipiac shut out Union, 5-0, snapping the Chargers' 3 game winning streak.

The Bobcats beat RPI, 5-1, on Friday, and Princeton continued the Engineers' recent ice miseries with a 6-4 verdict on Saturday.

========================================

UAlbany's men's basketball team extended its winning streak to 4 in a row, and are 2-0 at Broadview Center after disposing of Dartmouth, 73-68, Saturday night. Sebastian Thomas led the Great Danes with 24 points. Jonathan Beagle (Hudson Falls) added 15, and Amare Marshall had 12. Marcus Jackson (Albany Academy) chipped in with 4.

Earlier, Albany started what would be a perfect sports day on campus with the football team advancing to the FCS quarterfinals after blowing away CAA co-champion (w/Albany & Villanova) Richmond, 41-13. However, the Danes will leave the cozy confines of Casey Stadium to play Idaho, which defeated Southern Illinois, 20-17, in overtime. Kickoff is set for 10 pm (ET) on December 9.

==========================================

Fonda-Fultonville has played its last football game as the Braves, and an era ended with a 46-26 loss to Waverly in Syracuse Saturday night.

News & notes

 The Josh Pelletier era at Troy High didn't get off to a good start Friday at Zotto Gym.

Stetson Merritt led Troy with 26 points, but Columbia's Evan Rainville was better, leading all scorers with 29 points to lead the Blue Devils to a 60-55 victory. Troy will play Ballston Spa on Tuesday.

================================================

Union College's football balloon just Popped.

After just 1 season, Jon Poppe is gone, returning to Columbia University, where he served as an assistant to another former Union coach, Al Bagnoli, until Bagnoli retired after the 2022 season. Poppe went 10-2 in his lone season with the Garnet Chargers, the season ending last week with a loss to Johns Hopkins. Poppe was at Columbia as an assistant for 7 seasons, and before that was at Harvard for 9, so he knows the Ivy League pretty well. 

=================================================

Averill Park won its own women's tip-off tournament tonight, holding off Bethlehem, 37-34. The Eagles fought back after being dominated in the 1st quarter, and briefly had a lead in the 3rd. These two teams will meet again later in the season.

In the 3rd place game, Columbia, a 50-39 loser to Bethlehem last night, dominated luckless Guilderland, 71-42. The Lady Dutch were blown out by AP on Friday, 56-25.

==================================================

The pending closure of the College of St. Rose isn't very popular with the student body, to be sure.

The school's heretofore unreported financial issues, which came to the fore this week, has left the sports teams as lame ducks.

That said, St. Rose's last chance for a soccer title went by the wayside on Friday after a loss to Adelphi, which went to a penalty kick shootout after the teams were knotted at 1 after regulation & double overtime.

St. Rose brought back men's basketball coach Brian Beaury and signed Will Brown to lead the women's team, but what happens now? 

====================================================

As of now, it is up to Fonda-Fultonville to bring a state football title home. Fonda vs. Waverly is underway as we write.

Earlier, Stillwater's dream season came to a crashing end at the hands of Tioga, 63-14. For seniors Lukas Lilac, Jaxson Mueller, and some of the others, it's a quick transition to basketball, starting as early as Tuesday.

=====================================================

UAlbany swept the Albany Cup once again tonight, as the women, in their first game at Broadview Center, downed Siena, 76-58. Helene Haegerstrand & Kayla Cooper led the Lady Danes with 13 points each. Lilly Phillips (Cambridge) & Sarah Karpell added 11 points each. Meghan Huerter (Shen/Providence) chipped in with 9. For Siena, Valencia Fontanelle-Posson (Guilderland) had 12 points, and Ahniysha Jackson (Albany) had 5. As per usual, Abby Ray (Saratoga) was off the scoreboard with no points, and didn't play.

The Lady Danes will travel to Central Connecticut State on Wednesday before returning home next Saturday for a Toys For Tots event against another MAAC foe, Marist. Siena, which has dropped three straight, will have their Toys For Tots event Thursday at UHY center vs. Fordham.

================================================

The Siena men snapped a 5 game losing streak in beating Rider, 67-65. Zek Tekin led the Saints with 23 points. Michael Eley did not start, played just 2 minutes, and didn't score, as his injury issues have cropped up again. Mason Courtney (Shen) played 24 minutes, but was also held scoreless.

News & notes

 A quick reminder that the Albany FireWolves will open their season on the road on Friday at Las Vegas. WNYA (Spectrum cable channel 1215) will have the game live at 10 pm. The home opener is December 9 at MVP Arena vs. Buffalo.

===========================================

UAlbany christened the renamed Broadview Center Wednesday with a 86-72 win over Boston University in front of 3103 fans.

Tyler Bertram led Albany with 20 points. Sebastian Thomas added 16, Jonathan Beagle (Hudson Falls) & Amare Marshall had 14 each, and Marcus Jackson (Albany Academy) had just 3 points in 15 minutes. The homestand continues Saturday vs. Dartmouth. Tip time is 8 pm, following the women's Albany Cup.

=============================================

Other college action:

The College of St. Rose's women's basketball team downed Franklin Pierce, 63-50, on Wednesday. Payton Graber (Schalmont) & Maddisyn Mahoney (Shaker) led the Lady Knights with 19 points each. The men completed the sweep with a 93-84 win. Tristan Jeffries led 5 Golden Knights in double figures with 18 points. Adam Myers, a freshman from LaSalle, scored 2 points in 8 minutes of limited action. The two squads will travel to Southern Connecticut State for a doubleheader on Saturday.\

===============================================

High schools:

Women's basketball:

Hoosick Falls 62, Berlin-New Lebanon 8. The hosts were down, 31-4, at halftime, and didn't score again until the 4th quarter.

Greenville 56, Ichabod Crane 14. Graduation took away a lot of the Lady Riders' talent depth, and it showed. Emma Holmberg had 12 of the 14 points for Ichabod Crane.

Wrestling:

Suburban Council:

Shenendehowa 60, Guilderland 7.

Men's bowling:

Wasaren League:

Hoosick Falls 5, Saratoga Catholic 0.