By ROB JONAS
TROY – How does a team make only four field goals and turn the ball over a bunch of times in the second half and win a playoff basketball game? Make free throws.
Senior Isaiah Moll went 8-for-10 from the foul line in the final 3:30 to help No. 4 Colonie fend off No. 5 Troy 51-47 in the Section 2 Class AA quarterfinals Saturday, February 24, at Hudson Valley Community College.
“I'm just glad we got the win,” said Moll, who led the way with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists.
Colonie (18-4) led by as many as 14 points in the first half before Troy (14-8) battled back behind a defensive effort that yielded 10 steals and 13 Colonie turnovers.
“We didn't execute, but Troy makes you do that,” said Colonie coach Ken Dagostino.
“We knew we had to change the tempo on defense,” said Troy coach Greg Davis. “We were able to force some turnovers, and we executed on the (fast) break. We just missed some shots at the end.”
Moll was on fire in the first quarter. He made a couple of jump shots early on and then connected on a four-point play as part of a 9-0 run that gave Colonie a 13-5 lead.
Troy started shifting its defenders around to help out on stopping Moll, but that opened the floor up for Aaron Satin. The junior made a pair of three-pointers and added a fade-away baseline jump shot as Colonie extended its lead to 26-12 midway through the second quarter.
“He's capable of it. We see it every day in practice,” Dagostino said of Satin, who finished with 12 points and six rebounds.
Troy cut Colonie's 14-point lead in half with a 7-0 run, but Moll drained a three-pointer and added a layup off the glass to give the Garnet Raiders a 31-21 halftime advantage. Those would be the last two field goals Moll made in the game.
Troy's defense forced Colonie into turnover after turnover in the third quarter. Defenders would come in from the side or behind to knock the ball out of the Garnet Raiders' hands. Though the Flying Horses only scored nine points in the period, it was enough for them to get within striking distance.
Senior Alonzo Alexander opened the fourth quarter with a corner three-pointer, and senior Joe Casale knocked down a short jump shot to pull Troy within two points. Satin drove for a layup – Colonie's fourth and final field goal of the half – to briefly stem the tide, but another three-pointer from Alexander and a leaner by Latyce Faison tied the score at 40-40 with 5 minutes left.
Senior Will Aybar made a pair of free throws to give Colonie a 42-40 lead. Nazaire Merritt answered with a three-pointer to put Troy in front 43-42, but Moll made both ends of a one-and-one at the other end to push Colonie back in front. Merritt made one of two foul shots to tie the score at 44-44 with 3:12 left, but the Garnet Raiders sank seven of their final 10 free throws to pull away.
“They took the lead, but we persevered,” said Dagostino.
Faison scored 13 points, and Merritt added 10 points for Troy.
“The kids played their hearts out. They gave all they could give,” said Davis.
Colonie advances to the Class AA semifinals Tuesday, February 27, at the Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls.
By ROB JONAS
TROY – A near-perfect performance in the first quarter catapulted No. 5 Gloversville past No. 4 Queensbury 68-56 in the Section 2 Class A quarterfinals Sunday, February 25 at Hudson Valley Community College.
The Dragons (15-6) made seven three-pointers on nine attempts in the opening period to build a 26-11 lead on the Spartans (14-7). Queensbury never got any closer than five points the rest of the day.
“That's what we've been doing all season,” said Gloversville head coach Aric Kucel. “We're a three-point shooting team, and we came out hot early.”
“You can't shoot the ball any better than they did. It was their day,” said Queensbury coach Doug Fraser.
Sophomore guard Dante Bouchard broke the ice for Gloversville with a traditional three-point play – a driving layup and a free throw – before the barrage of first quarter three-pointers commenced. Sophomore guard Joey Rowback sank his first two attempts from behind the arc, and junior guard Julien Deumaga added a pair of open threes to put the Dragons ahead 15-7. Anderson Jones made a coast-to-coast layup before Deumaga and Bouchard knocked down three more three-pointers to build Gloversville's 15-point lead.
“It was good. It set the pace for the rest of the game,” said Bouchard, who led all scorers with 31 points.
Queensbury made a run at Gloversville in the second quarter. A pair of three-pointers by senior guard Cam Bleibtry and a driving layup by Jeff Van Anden trimmed the deficit to 33-28, but Bouchard drove baseline for a quarter-ending basket to give Gloversville a 35-28 advantage. Queensbury never got any closer than seven points the rest of the game.
“We hung around, but it was an uphill climb the whole game,” said Fraser. “It was grind for us today. Nothing flowed.”
Kucel credited a strong defensive effort from Gloversville, which limited Queensbury to shooting 39 percent from the field, including a 7-for-28 performance from behind the three-point arc.
“We know if we want to win a championship, we have to do it at the defensive end,” said Kucel.
Deumaga contributed 15 points, and Rowback added 11 points for Gloversville, which advances to the Class A semifinals Wednesday, February 28 at the Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls.
Cam Bleibtry paced Queensbury with 19 points, and sophomore Bryce Bleibtrey added 18 points.
By ROB JONAS
TROY – Six years to the date they last won the Section 2 Class AA girls basketball title, the Colonie Garnet Raiders have ascended to the top of the mountain.
Aliyah Wright hit four of her seven three-pointers on her way to a 23-point afternoon to lead No. 2 Colonie past No. 4 Bethlehem 67-49 in the championship game Saturday, March 3, at Hudson Valley Community College.
“It means so much,” said Wright, who was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. “Last year, we were the eighth seed and we lost in the first round. This year, we won it as the second seed.”
“We talked about signs,” said Colonie coach Heather DiBiase. “Realizing that six years to the day we won our last title, and here we are six years later – sectional champions.”
Colonie came out of the gate strong and never let up. A 9-0 run midway through the first quarter opened up a 13-4 lead. Then, the Garnet Raiders started the second quarter on a 12-4 run to push their advantage to 17 points. Bethlehem never got any closer than 11 points the rest of the game.
“We just never got into a good rhythm,” said Bethlehem coach Matt Bixby. “Nothing consistent enough to make a substantial run.”
At the heart of Colonie's championship performance was a trio of four-year starters – Wright, Erin Fouracre and Alivia Paeglow. Besides Wright's 23 points, Paeglow was a force in the paint with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Fouracre had eight points, contributed three assists and did not turn the ball over once. Sophomore forward Sareena DiCerbo added 13 points and eight boards.
“This group has been together for a long time,” said DiBiase. “They deserved this today.”
Bethlehem had its own group of experienced starters – seniors Julie Okoniewski, Tessa Hughes, and twin sisters Molly and Maggie Kirby. The Lady Eagles wanted to establish Okoniewski near the basket, but Okoniewski committed two fouls in the first three minutes of the game and sat out much of the first half. Okoniewski was limited to four points and five rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Maggie Kirby led Bethlehem with 15 points and seven rebounds. Molly Kirby contributed 10 points, and Hughes and Ava Clair each added seven points.
Colonie advances to the Class AA regionals next weekend against the Section 3 champion.
By ROB JONAS
GUILDERLAND – Shenendehowa's three-year reign as Section 2 Class AA champions came to an end Monday night.
Tessa Hughes made a key defensive stop with less than 30 seconds left, and Molly Kirby and Julie Okoniewski each sank free throws down the stretch to lift No. 4 Bethlehem to a 49-45 victory over No. 1 Shen in the Class AA semifinals at Guilderland High School.
“It felt so good,” said Kirby, who led Bethlehem with 17 points. “It felt like a miracle was happening.”
Shen (19-3) led exactly three times in the game – after the opening three-pointer by Alexandra Tudor, late in the second quarter and midway through the third quarter. But almost as quickly as Shen took the lead, Bethlehem (15-5) took the lead back.
“Credit Bethlehem. They hit shots when they needed to, and they hit free throws when they needed to,” said Shen coach Joseph Murphy.
Bethlehem's “core four” of Hughes, Okoniewski, and Molly and Maggie Kirby each came up big when the Lady Eagles needed it. Hughes had the defensive play of the game when she blocked a shot with 22 seconds left that would have potentially given Shen a one-point lead.
“That is a defensive rotation that we have worked on all year. Sometimes, it takes four months to get it right,” said Bethlehem coach Matthew Bixby. “We finally got the rotation right on that play.”
Okoniewski hit several baskets in the first half to help Bethlehem take a 23-21 halftime lead, but it was her defensive work on Shen center Catherine Almeida that made a difference. Despite giving three inches in height to the 6-5 Almeida, Okoniewski limited the junior to four points.
“I would argue that Julie was the mismatch,” Bixby said of Okoniewski. “She's defended players taller than her. She's defended players three inches shorter than she is. She's been playing great all year for us.”
The Kirby twins were clutch from beyond the three-point arc when Bethlehem's offense stagnated in the second quarter. Maggie Kirby drained a pair of threes to keep the Lady Eagles in front while Shen was rallying from a five-point deficit. Then after Cameron Tooley made a pair of free throws late in the second quarter to put Shen ahead 21-20, Molly Kirby sank a three-pointer to give Bethlehem its two-point halftime advantage.
Shen scored six of the first eight points of the third quarter to grab a 27-25 lead before baskets by Maggie Kirby, Okoniewski and Molly Kirby propelled Bethlehem back in front. Shen got within one point several times after that, but Bethlehem pulled away each time to hand the Plainsmen their first Section 2 playoff loss since 2015.
“Shen has always been our rival,” said Molly Kirby. “They're a tough-to-beat team. We just had to keep playing hard and working together.”
Okoniewski contributed 12 points, and Hughes and Maggie Kirby each added 10 points for Bethlehem, which advances to Saturday's Class AA final against No. 2 Colonie, which defeated No. 3 Shaker 57-47 in the other semifinal game.
Tudor paced Shen with 17 points, and Tooley chipped in with 10 points.
By ROB JONAS
TROY – Like she did so many times during the course of the Section 2 Class C girls basketball final, Sophie Phillips drove the lane looking for either a shot or a foul. She got the shot.
Phillips hit the go-ahead basket with 13.1 seconds left in overtime to help No. 1 Cambridge knock off No. 2 Mekeel Christian Academy 62-59 Saturday, March 3 at Hudson Valley Community College.
“I knew we just needed it, any way we could get it,” said Phillips, who finished with a game-high 19 points and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
“One of the big keys to the game was to drive to the hoop,” said Cambridge coach Anthony Bochette. “They saw the lane, and they were aggressive to the basket.”
Rebekkah Dean paced Mekeel with 17 points and 10 rebounds, but she suffered an ankle injury on the opening tip of overtime.
“She was playing well. She was finishing off down low,” Mekeel coach Kelsey Collins said of Dean. “She could have helped us (in overtime).”
Sophie's twin sister, Lily Phillips, opened the scoring in overtime with a runner in the lane. Liz Singleton made one out of two free throws with 1:06 left, and dished a pass to Maraya Davis for a layup with 22 seconds left to give Mekeel a 59-58 lead.
Cambridge didn't take a timeout to gather itself, though. Instead, the Indians put the ball in Sophie Phillips' hands, and the freshman guard delivered the shot that propelled them to their first Sectional title since 2001.
“They showed they were much more mature than freshmen,” Bochette said of the Phillips twins and Fiona Mooney, who added four points and seven rebouds.
Mekeel built a 33-23 halftime lead on the strength of six three-pointers, but Cambridge stormed back with an 18-8 run to tie the score at 41-41 late in the third quarter. Madison Show nailed a three-pointer with three seconds left in the period to put the Lions ahead 44-41.
“They just came out with more energy than we did,” said Collins.
Show nailed another three-pointer to start the fourth quarter to make the score 47-41, and for a while, Mekeel managed to maintain a two-possession lead before a three-pointer from Grace Snyder and foul shots from Helen Mooney and Lily Phillips put Cambridge ahead 52-51. Altagracia Delarosa answered with a three-pointer to give Mekeel a 54-52 advantage, but two foul shots from Sophie Phillips and an open jump shot by Mooney propelled the Indians back into the lead.
Mekeel's Jillian Ballard tied the score at 56-56 with a driving layup in the final 35 seconds of regulation, and a Cambridge shot fell short with one second left to send the game into overtime. Neither team scored a point through nearly the first two minutes of the extra period before Lily Phillips made her shot.
Mooney netted 14 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, and Lily Phillips added 11 points and eight boards for Cambridge, which advances to the Class C regionals at Saratoga Springs High School.
“We're going to watch some film to see who we've got the next game,” said Bochette. “First, I'm gonna let the girls have a day (to celebrate).”
Delarosa sank four three-pointers and finished with 12 points, and Show added 11 points for Mekeel.
