By James A. Ellis

LOUDONVILLE — The second-seeded Hudson Falls Tigers held Averill Park to eight first-half points en route to cruising into the Section II Class A semifinals with a 43-25 victory Sunday at the UHY Center on the campus of Siena College.

Peyton Smith led Hudson Falls with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Noah Tyler added 11 points and three assists and Noah Williamson chipped in with 10 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

Jacob Phelps led Averill Park with eight points, while Cavan Hicks had six and Brady Mazzeo finished with five.

Hudson Falls 43, Averill Park 25

Averill Park    3  5  0  17  —  25

Hudson Falls  11  11  8  14  —  43

Averill Park scoring: Phelps 3-0-8, M. O’Connor 1-0-3, Nardacci 1-1-3, Hicks 2-0-6, Mazzeo 2-1-5; Hudson Falls scoring: Williamson 4-0-10, Tyler 3-2-11, Palmer 1-0-2, P. Smith 4-4-12, B Smith 3-2-8. Team scoring totals: Averill Park 9-1-25. Hudson Falls 15-8-43.

By ROB JONAS

TROY – Overtime was the right time for the Mohonasen boys basketball team.

The Mighty Warriors scored the first nine points in the extra period and carried the momentum to a 76-71 victory over Section 3 champion Notre Dame of Utica in the Class A regional finals Saturday, March 10, at Hudson Valley Community College.

“It's not how you start, but how you finish,” said Mohonasen junior guard Duncan Tallman.

Mohonasen had to overcome 20 turnovers and a 26-point performance from Notre Dame senior guard Dante Griffin to punch its ticket to Binghamton for next weekend's state tournament. The Mighty Warriors did so with unselfish play (19 assists) and a gritty defensive performance to pull off the upset.

“I'll be honest. I think everyone but Mohonasen had us as huge (under)dogs,” said Mohonasen coach Josh Peck.

Notre Dame started the game on a 10-2 run, but Mohonasen responded with an 11-2 burst late in the first quarter. That set the tone for the rest of regulation. For every run one team made, the other team responded in kind to keep the lead changing hands.

“It's been like that the last two games. We came out slow and kept chipping away,” said Tallman.

Griffin hit a three-pointer at the end of the second quarter to give Notre Dame a 28-27 halftime lead, but back-to-back threes by Tallman and Gregory Van Epps to start the third quarter propelled Mohonasen to a five-point advantage. The Mighty Warriors eventually pushed their lead to as much as seven points before Griffin ended the period with an open three-pointer and a layup that closed the gap to 48-47.

Griffin wasn't done. He drained a jump shot to start the fourth quarter and added some free throws to put Notre Dame ahead 53-50. All told, Griffin went on a personal 11-2 run.

“We knew he was going to be a player. He had 36 points in his previous game,” said Peck.

Again, Mohonasen refused to go away. Avery Deas kicked the ball out to Van Epps for a corner three-pointer to tie the score at 53-53. On the next possession, Tallman fired a three-pointer with a defender in his face to put the Mighty Warriors ahead 56-53. Tallman then hit a reverse layup to give Mohonasen a five-point advantage.

Griffin ended Mohonasen's run with a long three-pointer. Tallman made the back end of a pair of free throws to put the Mighty Warriors ahead 59-56 with less than a minute left, but Derek Lindsay tapped in a missed shot and Treijen Garrett sank one of two free throws to tie the score at 59-59.

Mohonasen wasted little time taking the momentum back. Tallman got behind the Notre Dame defense for an easy layup off the opening tip, and Chase Monroe sank two free throws to quickly put the Mighty Warriors ahead 63-59. That was the start of Mohonasen's decisive 9-0 run.

“The end of regulation, we got a little sloppy, and it nearly cost us the game,” said Peck. “But, I think that (run to start overtime) speaks to this team's character.”

Tallman led Mohonasen with 25 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Jared Abdul-Aziz contributed 18 points, and Van Epps added 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. Besides his team-high 26 points, Griffin pulled down five rebounds and added four steals for Notre Dame.

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Below you'll find league all-star teams selected by the coaches. These lists have been sent to us by the league representative.

2024-2025

Suburban Council

Girls’ Basketball All-League Teams

MVP – Alivia Landy – Columbia

1^st Team

• Kaitlyn Robbins – Bethlehem
• Jayla Geter - Shaker
• Kate Milham- Shen
• Arianna Verardi – Averill Park
• Ella Trimarchi - Colonie

2^nd Team

• Sarah Rainville - Columbia
• Brooke Lilley – Guilderland
• Jasanii Francis Torres – Albany
• Azera Gates – Albany
• Kendyl Ouimette – Columbia

3^rd Team

• Skye Linyear - Niskayuna
• Sofia Lanni – Shaker
• Peyton Hoblock – Shaker
• Kayleigh Ahern – Averill Park
• Gianna Winter – Shen
• Olivia Hoffman - Colonie

2024-2025
Suburban Council
Girls’ Basketball Senior Teams

1st Team
• Alivia Landy – Columbia
• Kaitlyn Robbins – Bethlehem
• Arianna Verardi – Averill Park
• Azera Gates – Albany
• Kendyl Ouimette – Columbia

2nd Team
• Kayleigh Ahern – Averill Park
• Jasanii Francis Torres – Albany
• Kate Bannigan – Bethlehem
• Mallory Sprissler – Ballston Spa
• Nyonah Austin - Albany

3rd Team
• Lillian Wohlleber – Averill Park
• Hannah Lauenstein – Bethlehem
• Jessica Bowens – Ballston Spa
• Gabby Taylor – Albany
• Madyson Hamilton – Guilderland

By ROB JONAS

TROY – Section 3 champion Liverpool fashions itself after Syracuse University – right down to the orange-and-blue color scheme of its uniforms and its vaunted zone defense.

But when Shenendehowa found some openings in Liverpool's zone, the Warriors had to do something unorthodox for them. They went to a man-to-man defense. And it worked.

Liverpool outscored Shen 18-5 in the third quarter and cruised to a 69-59 victory over the Plainsmen in the Class AA regional final Saturday, March 10, at Hudson Valley Community College.

“Going man-to-man was something different for us,” said Liverpool head coach Ryan Blackwell. “Shen was getting some open threes against out zone in the first half, so we had to make a change.”

“They had to make the adjustment to go to man, and we had a hard time dealing with it,” said Shen coach Tony Dzikas.

Liverpool also made the conscious effort to drive to the basket in the third quarter – something it did not do much of in the first half. The end result was if Liverpool didn't make a shot, it got to the free throw line more often than not.

“(Ball) movement was better in the second half,” said Blackwell. “We started driving to the basket more, and we started making plays.”

Shen made a couple of mild runs at Liverpool in the fourth quarter, but the Warriors made 11 out of their 13 foul shots to maintain a comfortable cushion.

“The score was where we wanted it to be,” said Dzikas. “I think the difference was at the free throw line. They had 18 (points), and we had six.”

Charles Pride had a monster game for Liverpool. The senior guard scored 25 points, including a buzzer-beating three-point shot from beyond the mid-court stripe at the end of the first quarter. He also pulled down seven rebounds, recorded three steals and added three assists.

“He's a really good ballplayer,” said Dzikas. “He had a great shot at the end of the first quarter.”

Alan Willmes Jr. contributed 15 points and nine rebounds for Liverpool, and Nahjeir Johnson added 10 points and two steals.

Senior guard Christopher Hulbert scored 10 of his team-high 17 points in the first half for Shen, including a three-pointer that gave the Plainsmen a 34-32 halftime advantage. Abbas Merchant netted 15 points, and Jake Reinisch chipped in with 10 points off the bench.

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