By Aidan Joly
SARATOGA SPRINGS – Saratoga needed a strong fourth quarter in order to hold off a hard-charging Jamesville-DeWitt squad, but they were able to in the end, grabbing a 64-56 win over the Red Rams on Friday night.
After Jamesville-DeWitt’s John Withers made a clutch three to make it a 56-53 game with less than two minutes to go, the Blue Streaks had to check their guts and keep themselves on top in a game where they had led by as much as 17, a lead that had come much earlier in the game.
However, the Blue Streaks were able to hit some key free throws courtesy of Aidan Holmes and Luke Britton in order to conserve the victory against the non-league opponent, out of Section III.
Despite that, the main story of the game was the Blue Streaks playing hard both inside the paint and giving themselves some help on the perimeter when going inside wasn’t going to work. They did this without the usual strong play of Holmes, but with Britton and Michael Rogan, who both played very well and led Saratoga with 16 and 19 points respectively.
“It was different because it was hard to match up with them with the size, but we just had to work harder than them and I think honestly we just wanted it more than them. We just kept pushing the ball and we gave it our all,” Rogan said.
Holmes did end up finishing the game with 13 points, however nine of them came on free throws in the fourth quarter.
“That’s what we talked about after the game, it’s tough to prep and plan for a team that has four or five guys that can score the ball. If it’s one or two guys you can really key in on them and try to focus your game plan on taking them out,” Saratoga head coach Matt Usher said.
It was not that close the entire game, though. The Blue Streaks dominated in the first parts of the night, getting a lead as large as 17 at one point late in the second quarter before Jamesville-DeWitt went on an 11-0 run to close the half, making it only a six-point lead for Saratoga at the break. From there, the margin stayed under 10 points, but Jamesville-DeWitt never had the lead, despite their best efforts to get back into the game.
“We were up big in the first half and then we kind of gave it away. From then on, we knew we could (hold them off) and then we let up a possession and they hit a three, they kept trickling back. It was a good win,” Rogan said.
Usher said of the night overall, a game against a non-league opponent and his team’s first game in 15 days, “We were more focused on us improving in several areas and I think we did that tonight.”
The Blue Streaks placed three players in double figure scoring. Michael Rogan led the Blue Streaks with 19 points. Luke Britton added 16 points. Aidan Holmes tallied 13 points.
The Blue Streaks buried 7 trifectas.
Michael Rogan made 4 three-pointers. Luke Britton added 3.Saratoga Springs shot outstanding from the free throw line as they made 68.4%, 13 of 19.
The Red Rams had a trio of players players in double figure scoring. Preston Shumpert paced Jamesville-DeWitt with 15 points. Trey Autry powered in 13 points. Matthew Cieplicki collected 12 points. Payton Shumpert had 7 points.
Jamesville-DeWitt drilled 7 hoops from long range.
The Red Rams shot with sterling accuracy from the charity stripe as they produced 78.6%, 11 of 14.
| SCORE BY QUARTER | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | FINAL |
| Jamesville-DeWitt | 11 | 17 | 13 | 15 | 0 | 56 |
| Saratoga Springs | 15 | 19 | 12 | 18 | 0 | 64 |
| Jamesville-DeWitt | Saratoga Springs | |||||
| FGM - | 19 | 22 | ||||
| FTM - | 11 | 13 | ||||
| FTA - | 14 | 19 | ||||
| FT% - | 78.6% | 68.4% | ||||
| 3PtM - | 7 | 7 | ||||
| Jamesville-Dewitt | ||||||
| Name | FGM | 3PM | FTM | FTA | PTS | |
| Trey Autry | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 13 | |
| Matthew Cieplicki | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 12 | |
| Gunther Schnoor | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| Payton Shumpert | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| Preston Shumpert | 6 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 15 | |
| John Withers | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| Saratoga Springs | ||||||
| Name | FGM | 3PM | FTM | FTA | PTS | |
| Luke Britton | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 16 | |
| Aidan Dagostino | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| Chris Dufort | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| Aidan Holmes | 2 | 0 | 9 | 12 | 13 | |
| Garrett Myers | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Michael Rogan | 7 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 19 |
JAMES A. ELLIS
Amsterdam's Rocco Natale (1) draws a foul from Mohonasen's Carter Bullinger (3) as he drives to the hoop during Wednesday's Section 2 Class AA opening round game at Amsterdam High School.
By James A. Ellis
AMSTERDAM — When Amsterdam and Mohonasen met in a non-league matchup on Feb. 8, the Rams were able pulled off a fourth-quarter rally to defeat Mohonasen 56-48.
Wednesday, the Rams and Warriors squared off again in the opening round of the Section 2 Class AA tournament.
Seventh-seeded Amsterdam again found itself trailing No. 10 Mohonasen at the half and staged a second-half rally. Only this time the second-half surge fell short as the Warriors held on to defeat Amsterdam 43-33 and advance to face second-seeded Mekeel Christian Academy in Sunday’s quarterfinal round at Siena College.
“It was hard facing them again, but we had time to go back and watch the tape and see what we needed to improve on,” Mohonasen senior Drew Batcher said. “Fortunately we had enough to hold them off this time.”
The Warriors dominated play, especially under the basket where the physical play kept the Rams from getting into a rhythm of play.
The Warriors’ attack also hurt Amsterdam, as key players Aundray Fowler and CJ Miller saw limited time in the opening half due to foul trouble.
Mohonasen took full advantage of the situation to build a solid 28-11 halftime advantage.
“Give them a lot of credit, their physicality I believe was the difference in the game,” Amsterdam coach Tim Jones said. “They were really able to bump and, to their credit, they were able to get away with it and hold us to 11 points. We were flat in a couple of areas but give them credit, they rebounded the ball very well.”
The Rams found the offense it was lacking in the opening half in the third quarter.
With Miller leading the way with eight points and Rocco Natale hitting for six, Amsterdam put up 20 points to trim the Warriors advantage down from 17 to five points, 36-31, heading into the final eight minutes of play.
Defense took over for both squads in the fourth quarter as Amsterdam held the Warriors to two field goals and the Rams managed one field goal in the quarter as Mohonasen closed out the 43-33 victory.
The Warriors’ Jordan Knight led all scorers with 14 points, while Batcher hit for eight and Carter Bullinger chipped in with seven.
“We did a good job in the third quarter,” Jones said. “We did a great job of trying to get back in it and we did but couldn’t finish it.”
Miller paced the Rams’ scoring with 12 points, while Natale had eight points and Jude Flint finished with six.
With the Rams’ starting five consisting of a junior, three sophomores and a freshman, Jones sees a bright future for the Rams.
“That is just it. It was a tough loss, but whenever you lose it is a tough loss,” he said. “We are just going to keep working together and growing as a team.”
Mohonasen 14 14 8 7 — 43
Amsterdam 6 5 20 2 — 33
Mohonasen — J. Paolino 1-2-5, L. Paolino 1-0-3, Bullinger 2-2-7, Shaffeeulah 2-1-5, Knight 6-2-14, Lott 0-1-1, Batcher 3-2-8. Totals: 15-10-43.
Amsterdam — Natale 3-2-8, Fowler 1-0-3, Tirado 0-2-2, Daley 0-2-2, Flint 3-0-6, Miller 6-0-12. Totals: 13-6-33.
JAMES A. ELLIS
Mohonasen's Jacob Paolino (1) and Amsterdam's Hingston Daley (5) hustle after a loose ball during Wednesday's Section 2 Class AA opening round game at Amsterdam High School.
JAMES A. ELLIS
Mohonasen's Jordan Knight (20) is guarded by Amsterdam's Jude Flint (11) as he moves the ball toward the hoop during Wednesday's Section 2 Class AA opening round game at Amsterdam High School.
2024 NYSPHSAA Boys Basketball Championships Class AAA 2024 NYSPHSAA Boys Basketball Championships Class AA 2024 NYSPHSAA Boys Basketball Championships Class A 2024 NYSPHSAA Boys Basketball Championships Class B 2024 NYSPHSAA Boys Basketball Championships Class C 2024 NYSPHSAA Boys Basketball Championships Class D GIRLS 2024 NYSPHSAA Girls Basketball Championships Class AAA 2024 NYSPHSAA Girls Basketball Championships Class AA 2024 NYSPHSAA Girls Basketball Championships Class A 2024 NYSPHSAA Girls Basketball Championships Class B 2024 NYSPHSAA Girls Basketball Championships Class C 2024 NYSPHSAA Girls Basketball Championships Class D
Below you'll find league all-star teams selected by the coaches. These lists have been sent to us by the league representative.
2023-24 Girls Adirondack League All-Star team selected by the coaches.
2023-24 Boys WAC All-Star team selected by the coaches.
By Aidan Joly
SARATOGA SPRINGS --
After an even first half, Shenendehowa girls’ basketball picked it up in the second half and it resulted in a 66-51 win against Saratoga on Wednesday night at Saratoga Springs High School.
Holding a two-point lead at halftime, the Plainsmen turned on the jets in the third quarter, outscoring Saratoga 22-9 in the third stanza to open up a 15-point lead. 18 of those 22 points came from Jillian Huerter and Kaleigh Montanez, who scored 25 and 15 points respectively. Huerter added 10 rebounds and seven assists on the night as well.
“We stepped into the locker room and kind of composed ourselves, we said ‘hey, this is a good game, this is the kind of game we want.’ We all saw the first half and what went well and what didn’t go as well, so we took notes and we executed in the second half,” Huerter said.
Things were more of the same in the fourth quarter as Shen opened up as large as a 24-point lead in the waning minutes of the game. Bri Carey was the star in the fourth as 10 of her 16 points came in the final eight minutes.
“We put in a different press break at halftime, we got kids playing different positions because we have a couple kids out right now, so we were a little undermanned, but they stepped up and played well,” Shenendehowa head coach Joe Murphy said. “The biggest thing it came down to was we made some shots.”
The first half was a little bit leaning towards Saratoga as the Blue Streaks opened up a seven-point lead at one point during the second quarter. However, right after, it was Shenendehowa’s 19-2 run that encompassed the end of the second and beginning of the third that did Saratoga in.
“Our shooting percentage wasn’t great tonight as a team. So, when we had those open shots from the outside perimeter, we didn’t hit them and I think Shenendehowa did a very good job of passing the ball and getting it to the open person and unfortunately for us, they hit a lot of their outside shots,” Saratoga head coach Robin Chudy said.
The Blue Streaks were led by Tash Chudy, who had 29 points. Carly Wise had 16 points as well, with the pair scoring all but six of the team’s points. The Blue Streaks drop to 3-4 on the season.
Shenendehowa improves to 4-0 on the season with the victory.
“It’s definitely a good battle, I think it’s good for both teams to get better,” Huerter said. “This is an early game in the season so we can both get better and learn from it.”
