By James A. Ellis
LOUDONVILLE – In the 2022 Section II Class A quarterfinals, the Gloversville Dragons pulled off a double-overtime 76-72 upset victory over top-seeded Troy.
The Horses were determined to not let it happen again this season.
The squads faced off again in the Class A quarterfinals; only this time third-seeded Troy did not let its lead slip away as the Horses held on for a 70-64 victory Sunday at the UHY Center on the campus of Siena College.
“Last year we were the number one seed and they broke our hearts,” Troy coach John Killian said. “They went to the foul line 34 times and made 32 and knocked us out as the one seed in double overtime. This year we went out and played them on a Saturday off a back-to-back playing Ballston Spa the night before and were able to grind out a 73-70 win. I have a great respect for [Gloversville coach] Ed Collar over there and those kids are tough. They never quit and you saw that, they battled right to the end.”
Troy advances to face second-seeded Hudson Falls in a Class A semifinal at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls.
Stetson Merritt the Troy offense rolling in the opening quarter, hitting 10 first-quarter points, while Terrance Clark added seven points, while Dom Dorman hit a pair of 3-pointers for Gloversville as the Flying Horses took a 24-17 lead.
Troy stretched its lead to 13 midway through the second quarter before Gloversville went on a 12-2 run to cut the lead to three, 35-32, with two minutes left in the half. The Flying Horses settled down to close out the half with a 7-0 run to take a 42-32 lead into the locker room at the break.
“We knew we had to try to stop Stetson Merritt and Terrance Clark,” Coach Ed Collar said. “Stetson got off to a great start and Dom [Dorman] made a couple of 3s to keep us in it. It just seemed like they were making everything in the first half. We tried to take their stars away and their role players stepped up and were making shots. We tried to figure something out and made some halftime adjustments.”
Senior James Collar found his shooting touch in the third quarter, hitting 13 of the Dragons’ 17 points to trim Troy’s lead to seven, 56-49, heading into the final eight minutes of play.
Gloversville opened the fourth quarter on a 6-2 run to again cut the lead to three, 58-55 before Stetson Merritt hit back-to-back baskets and Legend Merritt added a basket to take the Flying Horses lead back up to nine with just over three minutes left in regulation.
Gloversville put together a final run, cutting Troy’s lead to four, 66-62, with 42-seconds remaining before Clark added a pair of baskets to help close out the 70-64 victory.
“We played a really tough schedule this year and were 10-10 overall and you know how tough the Suburban Council is,” Killian said. “So we were battle tested. I told the guys just now that being battled tested is what helped us close that game out at the end.”
Stetson Merritt finished with 24 points for Troy, while Clark finished with 19 and Legend Merritt added 14 points. The Flying Horses made 12 of 15 free throws in the contest.
James Collar led Gloversville with a game-high 32 points, while Mariano DiCaterino hit for 16 and Dorman finished with nine points. The Dragons shot 18-for-20 from the free-throw line.
“The second half we cut it to three but if we could have tied it or taken the lead it might have changed the a little bit of the thinking on some parts. A couple of key calls here and there and maybe a couple of loose balls didn’t go our way and it was just hard to come back again. I thought our players gave a full effort. A lot of it boils down to shooting the ball. They made more of their open looks than we did. Sometimes you go back and try to pick apart what you could have done more. But sometimes it just boils down to they made the open shots and we didn’t. When you lose at the end the year, the one thing you want from your players, as a coach, is to go out empting the tank and playing with everything you got and being able to say the other team just played well and beat us. Credit Troy, they played well.”
Troy 70, Gloversville 64
Gloversville 17 15 17 15 - 64
Troy 24 18 14 14 - 70
Gloversville scoring: J. Collar 9-14-32, Dorman 3-0-9, DiCaterino 5-4-16, Porter 1-0-3, Halloran 1-0-2, Insonia 1-0-2. Troy scoring: S. Merritt 9-3-24, Tucker 1-0-2, Wiltshire 1-0-2, Faust 1-3-5, Clark 7-5-19, L. Merrit 6-1-14, Gilmore 2-0-4. Team scoring totals: Gloversville: 20-18-64. Troy 27-12-70.
By James A. Ellis
LOUDONVILLE — The Amsterdam Rams checked another of their preseason goals off the list.
The top-seeded Rams defeated No. 8 Columbia 60-45 to advance to the final four of the Section II Class A postseason tournament Sunday at the UHY Center on the campus of Siena College.
“We are going back to Glens Falls. That is where we wanted to be", Amsterdam coach Tim Jones said, "It has been a tiring time off. We are advancing and doing the right things. We are just appreciative of being able to play Lansingburgh next for a shot at the title."
The Rams will face fourth-seeded Lansingburgh in a Class A semifinal Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls.
Despite a two-week layoff since their last game, the Rams came out shooting and put up a 9-0 run to open the game and roll to a 15-8 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
Amsterdam kept the momentum on its side, stretching its advantage to 13 points, 23-10, just under three minutes into the second quarter. The Blue Devils cut the lead down to seven, 23-16, with 3:45 left in the half before the Rams took their lead back into double-digits for a 30-20 halftime advantage.
Amsterdam remained in control of the pace in the second half
With Alec Bartone, Ceasar Thompson and JaShean Vann doing the bulk of the scoring in the second half to close out the 60-45 victory.
Bartone led the Rams with his double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds to go with five blocked shots, while Thompson finished with 15 points and Vann added 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists to go with 13 points and three assists from Jhai Vellon.
Evan Rainville led Columbia with is game-high 25 points, while Peyton Walters added a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Amsterdam 60, Columbia 45
Columbia 8 12 11 14 — 45
Amsterdam 15 15 15 15 — 60
Columbia scoring: Walters 5-2-12, Rainville 9-6-25, Fisher-Layoton 2-0-4, Thorpe 0-2-2, Blake 1-0-2. Amsterdam scoring: Vann 5-4-14, Dueno 1-0-2, Thompson 7-0-15, Vellon 4-5-13, Bartone 8-0-16. Team scoring totals: Columbia: 17-10-45. Amsterdam: 25-9-60.
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 James A. Ellis
LOUDONVILLE — Wesley McIntyre scored a game-high 21 points to lead Lansingburgh into the Section II Class A final four with a 68-57 victory over Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Sunday at the UHY Center on the campus of Siena College.
Isaiah Allison joined McIntyre in double figures with 17 points, while James Oliver finished with 12 and Logan Hardt added 10 points.
Alex Doin paced Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake with 19 points, while Luke Haluska added 13 and Myles Yannuzzi chipped in with 11.
The fourth-seeded Knights with face top-seeded Amsterdam in a Class A semifinal at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls.
Lansingburgh 68, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake 57
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake 14 11 11 21 - 57
Lansingburgh 13 11 23 21 - 68
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Scoring: Doin 7-2-19, Haluska 4-1-13, Frame 3-0-6, Kline 2-0-5, Yannuzzi 5-1-11, DiCaprio 1-1-3. Lansingburgh scoring: McIntyre 4-13-21, Allison 5-5-17, Green 2-2-6, Hardt 4-1-10, Green 1-0-2, Oliver 5-2-12. Team scoring totals: Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake 22-5-57; Lansingburgh 21-23
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
1st Team
- Kaitlyn Robbins – Bethlehem
- Jayla Geter - Shaker
- Kate Milham- Shen
- Arianna Verardi – Averill Park
- Ella Trimarchi - Colonie
2nd Team
- Sarah Rainville - Columbia
- Brooke Lilley – Guilderland
- Jasanii Francis Torres – Albany
- Azera Gates – Albany
- Kendyl Ouimette – Columbia
3rd 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
