Like Mike - Section 2 1st Team, Thanksgiving Week

Welcome to basketball season! This week will be the inaugural Like Mike selections, which highlights our All-1st Teams for each week in Section 2 & 3 boys & girls hoops. As the season goes along, I may extend it to making a 1st team each week for each class, or perhaps add a 2nd team as well. As a matter of fact, so many solid weeks going around in what was a light week in Section II, adding a 2nd team for the boys. Who'd I roll with?

Joel Wincowski (Lake George) - Tough to pick against the UMBC commit's week. He had 33 & 9 in a W over a pesky Ravena squad, and followed it up the next day with 37 in a W over Class A Lansingburgh to take home the Mechanicville tournament trophy. Signing their NLI to a Division I program and averaging 35 isn't exactly the worst way someone can start their season.

Evan Dunn (Mechanicville) - The junior had one hell of a weekend in that same tournament. In a tough L to Lansingburgh, he was about the only thing his team had going for them. Got them the lead after being down 13 in the 3rd quarter behind a spirited performance - had 21 of his team's first 31 and finished with 25 - and followed it up with 36 (including 18/19 from the line) in a W over Ravena. Crafty lefty that doesn't make mistakes. Expecting more games like this as the season goes on!

Shea Irish (Warrensburg) - 39. Nuff said. He's got the Section 2 season high early, dropping 39 of his team's 56 (including 24 of their 25 in the 4th quarter) in a 56-50 W over Johnsburg. 24 points in the 4th quarter is basically a guarantee to get your name on this list and get everyone to stand at attention.

Danny Reidell (Northville) - How about some more huge performances? Northville only had 7 (couple starters were on Thanksgiving va-ca) so they needed a huge night from the sophomore. He certainly delivered, dropping 35 and leading his squad to a 45 point 2nd half and a 67-55 W over Sharon Springs.

Kevin Lenehan (Duanesburg) - The big man worked his way to a pair of dominant performances in 2 Duanesburg wins this week. He averaged 24, with games of 27 and 21, in Ws over Waterford & Spa Catholic. He was one of Section 2's leading scorers at one point last year, and I'm fully expecting him to put up the kind of numbers to get near the top of the leaderboard this year.

John Rooney (Hoosic Valley) - It was a rough start for the defending state champs in Class C, but a 22-3 4th quarter turned a close game into a 25 point W over Maple Hill, and the state player of the year was the main man. 28 for him - he might do that every game this year.

2nd Team
Sean Daly (Ichabod Crane) - The big guy for the Riders will probably be their only consistent scoring threat - he works hard in the blocks to get position, feasts on 2nd chance buckets, and has a surprisingly nice touch around the rim. Averaged 20.5 per game (20 & 21) while splitting a pair of games.

Mitchell Wayand (Stillwater) - He almost outscored the team he was playing. Yeah. Stillwater put the hammer on Mayfield, 61-30, and the junior dropped 27 big ones in the W. We'll see if this becomes a breakout year for him.

Kyle Fairclough (Waterford) - The shooter did just that for Waterford, finishing with 22 of his team's 45 in a L to Duanesburg and adding 17 points (5 treys) in a W to even the record.

Dylan Klock (Oppenheim-Ephratah/St. Johnsville) - Shoutout to my King of Kings Prospect League. The junior, who's been doing it for almost half a decade at this level already, hung 26 on Schoharie in a 55-47 W. He's really coming into his own as more than a scorer, but the Wolves need him to put the ball in the cup, and that's what he did. He hit 2 threes and had an assist in a game-clinching 8-0 run late as well. Not bad.

Davonte Jones (Lansingburgh) - The floor general. His scoring isn't going to blow you away - he averaged 16 in 2 games with 15 points in a win and 17 in a loss - but he's the unspoken leader of his Lansingburgh squad on both ends of the floor. They may have a decent team with him consistently making the right play on offense, constantly pressuring the ball on defense without committing dumb fouls, and being the emotional head of the group. Impressed by the junior's play at the Mechanicville tournament.


Time for girls' hoops! Not a lot of Fuccillo huuuuge performances - so I'll stick to 1 team for this week.

Madison Purcell (CCHS) - The Le Moyne commit showed why she was able to sign that NLI, averaging 20 and stuffing the stat sheet in a pair of blowout wins at Ichabod Crane's tipoff tournament. She had 29 in a W over Tamarac, then started off hot against Ichabod in the championship before her teammates took over. Good start for the tournament MVP.

Alexis Case (Greenwich) - In the Witches' 1 game this week, this standout did pretty much what I'd expect... destroy. 35 points & 5 steals in their 67-39 thrashing of Middleburgh. Can't say much more about that than.. good luck stopping it!

Carly Johnson (Greenville) - Yeah, she's really good at soccer. No, that's not all she can do. Greenville had a huge 4th quarter to beat Berne-Knox-Westerlo by 20+, and Johnson had a whole lot to do with it. Another one of those athletes that just excels at whatever she does. 30 big ones in the victory, we'll see if that keeps up!

Sophie Tougas (Glens Falls) - Glens Falls went down to Watervliet and took home their tournament championship, beating a couple tough teams in Section IV Susquehanna Valley and the home Cannoneers. Tougas had a big hand in that, averaging 17.5 in the 2 wins - that includes 20 of Glens Falls' 46 in the championship W.

Kiera Morgan (Middleburgh) - Middleburgh thrashed and got thrashed this week, but Morgan gets on here thanks to nearly outscoring Gilboa on her own. She had 24 early in a 64-27 W, and averaged 17.0 over the 2 games.

Taylor Engster (CCHS) - Averaged much less than the rest on here, and less than a number of girls I left off (10.5 over 2 games), but it's about more than scoring. The sophomore had a huge role in the beatdown of Ichabod Crane Saturday - even with other studs on the court, the youngster truly looked like the best player on the floor for long stretches of the game. People that know this game of basketball took notice. I'm one of them. More games like Saturday from her, and this Crusader squad is scary.

Like Mike - Section 3 1st team, Thanksgiving Week

Welcome to basketball season! This week will be the inaugural Like Mike selections, which highlights our All-1st Teams for each week in Section 2 & 3 boys & girls hoops. As the season goes along, I may extend it to making a 1st team each week for each class, or perhaps add a 2nd team as well. However, it's the first one and this was as light of a week as there will be in the winter, so we'll keep it at an overall 1st team. First, for boys hoops:

Interesting mix. Couple Frontier kids, couple OHSL, couple TVL (or former TVL). There were a few big individual performances out there - and with not too many games being played, the big performance is more than enough to get you on here this week. Show love to...

Jake Fusilli (Watertown IHC) - Fusilli had himself a night against Thousand Islands. Got to the free throw line a bunch, hit 13 free throws en route to the highest scoring game in Section III so far, 37 points in a 64-58 W.

Peyton McLaurin (Carthage) - I said it in the preview for this season. I've been waiting for it to be Peyton's team, and he showed he's more than capable of putting up serious numbers. The standout senior - and the only Frontier League representative on the Central region BCANY squad this summer - had 25 points, 9 boards, and 5 assists in his squad's 63-52 W over General Brown.

Nick Craig (Cortland) - They lost in the championship game of the Oneida tournament to the home squad, but the junior had a weekend to make people take notice. He hung 25 in their W over Bishop Grimes and averaged 21.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5 assists over the 2 games. Nick's a very interesting prospect down the road for colleges - 6'4", looks like he may grow a little more, with real guard skills. Look for him to have a breakout year.

Jeffrey Coulter (Oneida) - Not huge numbers, but he was the steady performer for Oneida in their 2-0 week. He averaged 15.5 points per game, which was good for tops on his team in wins over VVS and Cortland. Just a sophomore (who plays up a year on Syracuse Select's national AAU squad), he may be coming into his own for a big year as well.

Jeremy VanDuLuitGaarden (VVS) - Such a good last name. Big Stef must be proud of how the young man played in the tournament this week. Averaged 23 per game in a 1-1 split, including 31 big ones in a close L against Oneida. He's been around for a little while - contributions like that from him will mean good things for an interesting Red Devil squad.

James Boeheim (J-D) - Adding a 6th spot for the hot hand. A little growth spurt and a lot of work on his game have done wonders for the junior, and it doesn't hurt when the NBA Jam guys yell 'HE'S ON FIIIRE' as soon as you touch the ball. He dropped 21 off the bench, including 4 treys, in J-D's 74-59 W over Notre Dame. Spoiler alert: I'm thinking this might be the sectional final matchup in Class A!


Alright, time to move to girls' hoops. Most of the action was out Syracuse way, so that's where we head for the 1st team this week.

Hope DeFazio (Baldwinsville) - The Bees started off the season by cracking Henninger and Homer to take home their tournament title, and their coach picked up W #300 in the process. She's the only player in Section III with 2 games under their belt that dropped 20+ in both, with 22 & 24. Simple math, averaged 23 per game in 2 blowout wins. I'll take it.

Emily Pascale (Baldwinsville) - Can't forget about the person who supplies the dimes. Wanna talk about a nice stat line? The junior averaged 14.5 points, 4 boards, 8 assists, 4.5 steals, and a block in those 2 blowout wins. Yo, put her on my FanDuel fantasy team. That's value!

Rachel Scalisi (Fabius-Pompey) - F-P started off their season nicely with a 48-34 W over Syracuse Academy of Science, and Scalisi (who's been around a while) laced her squad with half of their points. 24 for her in the win, and they look to keep it rolling with the season underway.

Chelsie Delperuto (Solvay) - Arguably the best overall athlete in Section III. She bounces back and forth between being a strong goalie and one of the league's most potent scorers in soccer. She's been putting up big numbers on the basketball court for years. She's a Division I commit in softball. Tough. She started off the season just fine this week, 20 points in Solvay's 42-23 W over Chittenango.

Courtney Welch (Henninger) - Locked up to 10 points in a loss to Baldwinsville, but her 27 point outburst in the other game of the tournament has her averaging 18.5 per game in a 1-1 start - and it's also the Section III girls season high so far.

Lyrik Jackson (SAS) - New look for the Atoms without Azaria Wade. Whatever the look may be, they better hope they can give Lyrik some help. They took a double-digit L to Fabius-Pompey, but Jackson had 20 of her team's 34 points along with 10 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, and a block. Big individual performance in a losing effort.

Where Are They Now? College Roundup, November 24

Division II
 -
- Allyson Freiermuth (Holland Patent) got 10 minutes off the bench for West Virginia Wesleyan, finishing with 2 points, 5 rebounds, and an assist in a 75-59 L to Shepherd.

Division III

-  Marcus Jackson (Albany Academy) had 3 rebounds and 2 steals in 10 minutes off the Skidmore bench in their 60-57 OT loss to Plattsburgh. That's 2 straight losses in overtime for the Thoroughbreds.

- Kelly Donnelly (Averill Park) started for Skidmore and had 9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals in 29 minutes in their 57-50 W over Hamilton. Lauren Getman (Fayetteville-Manlius) started on the losing end and had 2 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals in 17 minutes.

- Regan McFerran (CCHS) had 7 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block in 14 minutes off the St. Joseph's (ME) bench and they handled Maine-Farmington 69-37.

- Amanda Marcely (Bishop Grimes) had herself a game for D'Youville College, finishing with 16 points, 14 boards, 3 assists, and 4 steals in 36 minutes in their 58-46 W over Houghton.

- 3 Section II grads got the start for MCLA in their 73-30 W over Becker, and some others got some run off the bench. Kayla Hotaling (Ravena) finished with 16 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, 5 steals, and 2 blocks in 23 minutes, Troy grad Brayleigh Hanlon added 11 points, 3 boards, an assist, and 3 steals in 19 minutes, and Emily Castle (Catskill) had 4 points and 2 steals in 17 minutes. Courtney Durivage (Columbia) came off the bench and finished with 9 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, and 5 steals in 18 minutes, and Brittany Alexander (Colonie) had 4 points, an assist, and a steal in 5 minutes. Svetlana Morrell (Stillwater) had 5 boards, an assist, a steal, and 2 blocks in 17 minutes, and Anna Despart (Maple Hill) had a rebound, an assist, and a steal in 9 minutes.

- RIT picked up another blowout W, 62-38 over Keuka. Ashlynn Palmitesso (Fulton), fresh off dropping her new career high of 33 in a W over the weekend, had a more pedestrian game - because they had it in hand so early. She had 10 points and 3 boards in 15 minutes. On the losing end, Meqala McDonald (Scotia) had 4 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist in 16 minutes, Samantha Blum (Colonie) had 3 rebounds in 15 minutes, and Erica Pendrak (New York Mills) had 2 points, 2 boards, an assist, and a steal in 25 minutes.

- Bay Path... well, they got trounced. They were on the losing end of the biggest blowout of the night in D3 hoops, and this comes on a night that there were D3 vs. D1 games on the schedule. Yikes. They dropped one 110-47 at the hands of Pine Manor - Jayda Bonarrigo (Albany) played 10 minutes in the loss.
 

Jeff's Jabs: A Dose of Reality

I need to stay off social media when there's a big news story.

Or a big story at all. Doesn't matter. I don't even need to go on Twitter - I know what will be on there. Instead of random thoughts, sports stuff (on mine), some Wiz Khalifa parody account getting retweeted that says something Wiz is way too stoned to ever actually say, some memes or Vines with 'bruh' or some emojis next to them... 3 kinds of people appear. The people who voice their opinion, the people who bitch about those voicing their opinion, and a 3rd kind that bitches about the people who bitch about those voicing their opinion.

Think about this for a second. The rest of this is directed more at the people who complain. I'm not one who likes to speak up and complain about things on Twitter, personally. Am I personally alright with the decision regarding the case in Ferguson? Of course not. Do I voice my opinion on social media? No, because there are ways I feel are much more productive. However, will you ever see me complaining about those that do?.. No. Why?

For as much as some of you numbskulls like to bitch about how awful this country is, that's the beauty of it. In America, we have the right to speak. A right that isn't shared by many in other parts of the world. Whether our words do a damn thing or not, we can do it. It's a right that we may not hold as dear as we should, since we weren't the ones who had to fight for it, earn it. When it comes to free speech, we're like the 'old money'. Ya know, those kids who didn't have to work for a single thing and just get what they want because of how rich mom & dad or grandma & grandpa are. All they know is the nice lifestyle. They may not appreciate it as much because their blood, sweat, and tears weren't needed for it. They just were handed it off the hard work of who came before them. That's us. Many people on social media tonight are just bashing something, anything at all. Bashing the country, bashing people voicing their opinions, bashing people bashing others. Next time this happens, ask yourself this question:

Would I rather have to deal with these people being annoying about their opinions, or would I rather not be able to voice my opinion at all?

The irony of it all is this: guess what you're doing when you complain about those going off about their opinions? Well, you're going off about your opinion. You're not doing anything different than they are - you're just directing it in a different light.

Yeah, it's annoying. I get it. But to someone that doesn't share your views on this, you're pretty annoying too. It's all how the shoe fits. Hopefully this can open someone's eyes, just a little bit...

Alright, enough of that. Back to annoyingly posting on Twitter about sports!

Where Are They Now? Section 3 Men's College Hoops Roundup, Weekend

 Division I

- Robert Morris freshie Jafar Kinsey (J-D) came off the bench and finished with 3 points in 13 minutes on Saturday - they lost 80-66 to Georgetown.


Division III

- Jared Bard (Jordan-Elbridge) had a rebound in 7 minutes off the bench Saturday for Alfred State, 62-47 losers to D'Youville.

- 6 Section III grads played for Cazenovia men's hoops in their 98-85 W over SUNY ESF, and 3 of them started. All 3 that started - Fulton grad Nate Hudson, Onondaga grad Ryan Gavin, and Henninger grad Marquane Silvers - had 16 points. Gavin added 16 rebounds, 3 assists, a block, and a steal in 31 minutes. Silvers added 9 boards, an assist, and 3 steals in 29 minutes, and Hudson had 1 rebound, 2 steals, and a block in 17. Malik Adair-Mountain (Onondaga) came off the bench and added 9 points, a rebound, and a steal in 22 minutes. Keith Caiello (ES-M) had 3 points and 3 boards in 16 minutes, and Kyle Hawk (Bishop Ludden) played 2 minutes. On the losing end, Tyler Kuhn (Oneida) had 8 points, 11 rebounds, an assist, and 2 blocks in 17 minutes starting down low for ESF. Ryan Caldwell (Liverpool) had 7 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists in 25 minutes off the bench, and Kyler Brown (Weedsport) had 2 points and a rebound in 4 minutes.

- Mike Hayduk (Clinton) had 2 points, a rebound, and an assist in 11 minutes off the Clarkson bench in their 87-66 W over Wells. Stewart Wright (Fabius-Pompey) saw 2 minutes of action.

- Walt Jeter (Carthage) had 2 points, a rebound, and an assist in 18 minutes off the SUNY Canton bench in their 76-75 W over Davis College. 

- Marty Felicia (Phoenix) had 3 points, a rebound, and a block starting in 12 minutes for Utica in their 76-53 L to Rochester. His brother Mark had an assist in 5 minutes. Jawan Simmons (Nottingham) had 2 points and a block in 2 minutes; Agim Hamiti (Syracuse Academy of Science) had 2 rebounds and a block in 11 minutes.

- Casey Williams (Jamesville-Dewitt) led Keuka with 20 points and 11 rebounds, and he added 2 assists in 34 minutes in their 82-69 L to Hamilton.

- Trent Ward (Auburn) had 22 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals in 31 minutes for Morrisville in their 87-78 W over Vaughn. Jared Donalson (Nottingham) had 9 points, a game-high 16 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and 2 blocks in 34 minutes; Liverpool grad Tyler Bliss had 7 points, 6 rebounds, an assist, and a block in 30 minutes. All 3 started. Will Thomas, the hometown Morrisville-Eaton grad, came off the Mustang bench and finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists in 24 minutes.

- Dan Aiello (Solvay) had a double-double off the bench for Brockport in their 66-63 W over St. Lawrence. He finished with 10 points, 12 boards, an assist, and a block in 24 minutes of action. Marty Collins (Owen D. Young) and Kyle George (Baldwinsville) each saw 2 minutes of action on the losing end - Collins had a rebound, George had a block.

- Andy Drescher (CBA) had 16 points, a rebound, and a block in 25 minutes for Geneseo, 73-57 winners over Rose-Hulman. Connor Rogers (Liverpool) had 2 rebounds, an assist, and a steal in 8 minutes off the Geneseo bench.

- Busy weekend for RIT men's hoops, going 2-0 with wins over Maritime and D'Youville. On Saturday, J.P. Reagan (Cortland) gave them 14 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and a block in 33 minutes, and Kamron Davis (Nottingham) added 3 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and 3 blocks in 19 minutes in their 59-53 W over Maritime. On Sunday, it was Davis' turn to have a double-double. He finished with 11 points, 14 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in 24 minutes, and Reagan added 8 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 blocks in 27 minutes in their 85-72 W over D'Youville. Casey Evans (Bishop Grimes) and Kevin Drain (Baldwinsville) each saw action on Sunday as well. Drain had 2 points and a board, and Evans had 1 point, both in 2 minutes.

 - Mason Phillips (Watertown) had 2 points and a rebound in 9 minutes for Johnson State, who lost 71-55 to Hunter.

Where Are They Now? Section 2 College Men's Hoops Roundup, Weekend

Division I

- Greig Stire (Albany CBA) had 7 points, 2 boards, and a steal in 10 minutes off the pine for Albany on Saturday in their 76-73 L to Quinnipiac.

- Galal Cancer (Albany CBA) started for Cornell - of course, I shouldn't have to say that anymore - and finished with 11 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks in 34 minutes in a 61-59 L to Drexel. The Big Red have lost their last 2 games, both to PA teams, by a combined 3 points.

- Ethan Mackey (Voorheesville) started and played 15 minutes for Maine Saturday, finishing with 2 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block in their 93-70 L to Valparaiso.

- Monmouth split a pair this weekend - Collin Stewart (Mekeel) came off the bench and finished with 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists in 20 minutes on Saturday in their 65-50 W over Central Connecticut State, and he had 7 and 2 in 15 minutes today, a 79-75 OT L to Towson.

- Jamel Fields (Albany Academy) came off the bench for Saint Peter's on Saturday in a 59-50 L to La Salle, finishing with 8 points, an assist, and 2 steals.

Division II

- Nice game for Hoosic Valley grad Mike Pierre in a losing effort for Georgian Court Saturday. The freshman had 17 points, 5 boards, 4 assists, a steal, and a block in 32 minutes as a starting guard in a 90-84 L to Mercy.

- Jordan Greene (South Glens Falls) started for Daemen and had 15 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, and a steal in 38 minutes in their 68-59 L to Holy Family.

- Max Weaver (Albany CBA) and Jalaun Taylor (Bishop Maginn) both started for St. Rose in a 66-51 L to Le Moyne Saturday. Weaver had 9 points, 6 boards, an assist, and 2 steals in 33 minutes; Taylor had 2 points, 5 boards, and 3 assists in 29.

- Trahmier Burrell (Troy) and Cameron Dobbs (Guilderland) both started for American International in their 77-73 W over Adelphi Saturday. Burrell had 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals in 32 minutes, and Dobbs had 1 point, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal in 26 minutes. Side note: attendance at AIC was 197. Show up, people.

- Caleb Stewart (Mekeel) - younger brother of Collin, who is listed in the Division I section - came off the bench to play 26 minutes for USC Aiken, and he finished with 7 points, 5 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and 5 blocks in their 80-76 L to Winston-Salem.

Division III

- Conrad Zampier (Columbia) came off the Clarkson bench and finished with 5 points, a rebound, and 2 steals in 12 minutes in their 87-66 W over Wells. Drew Zlogar (Shen) had 3 boards in 9 minutes.

- Taylor Mulvey (Albany CBA) had an interesting stat line for New Paltz in their 78-73 OT loss to Gordon - scoreless and boardless, but had 4 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks before fouling out in 23 minutes of action.

- Saratoga grad Mikey McElroy led Oneonta with 23 points, along with 2 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals, and a block in 33 minutes of action in their 101-78 L to Eastern Connecticut State. Grant Massaroni (Mohonasen) had a steal in 8 minutes off the bench.

- Matt McGowan (Lake George) had 8 points, 4 boards, and a steal in 24 minutes of action for Cortland in their 72-63 W over Trinity.

- Chris Jeffers (Bishop Maginn) had 2 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 26 minutes for Utica in their 76-53 L to Rochester. Dillan Veeder (Canajoharie) had 3 points in 7 minutes off the Pioneer bench - Griffin Kelly (Watervliet) had 3, 3 rebounds, and a steal in 19 minutes. Rich Smith (La Salle) had 2 rebounds and an assist in 7 minutes off the bench, and Mike Cannizo (Mechanicville) had a rebound in 2 minutes.

- Joey Lufkin (Argyle) started for Hartwick and had 14 points in 30 minutes in their 67-60 W over Cobleskill. Joe Krong (Amsterdam) started and had 3 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in 18 minutes. Matt Petruccione (Bishop Maginn) came off the Hawk bench and had a rebound and 2 steals in 19 minutes.

- John Moutopoulos (Albany Academy) had 3 points, 3 rebounds, a steal, and a block in 29 minutes in Babson's 75-74 OT win over Skidmore. His high school teammate Marcus Jackson (Albany Academy) played 2 minutes off the Skidmore bench. 

- Luke Khachadourian (Loudonville Christian) had 4 points and 3 rebounds in 8 minutes in Houghton College's 78-77 W over Anderson.

- Cliff Stevens (Ballston Spa) started for Keuka in their 82-69 L to Hamilton, finishing with 2 points, 5 rebounds, an assist, and a block in 17 minutes.

- Joe Hulbert (Duanesburg) started for Morrisville and had 15 points, 6 boards, 8 assists, 2 steals, and a block in 35 minutes in their 87-78 W over Vaughn. Keishaun Wheelings (Schenectady) had 1 rebound in 6 minutes off the Mustang bench.

- Andrew Holmes (Shaker) played 3 minutes for Mount Saint Mary in their 71-59 L to Pacific Lutheran.

- Mike Gallagher (Bishop Gibbons) started for Brockport and had 5 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists in 23 minutes. David Clark III (Green Tech) also started and saw 16 minutes of action, finishing with 5 rebounds, an assist, and 2 blocks in their 66-63 W over St. Lawrence. Riley Naclerio (Albany Academy) started on the losing end of that game, finishing with 8 points, 2 rebounds, and a block in 25 minutes, and Jeremy Mendrick (Ballston Spa) added 3 points and a rebound in 4 minutes off the SLU bench.

- Matt Laclair (Albany Academy) had 4 points and a steal in 11 minutes for Sage in their 94-90 OT loss to Brooklyn. Brett Ullman (Sharon Springs) came off the Gator bench and had 12 points and 5 boards in 14 minutes.

- Andrew Haschytz (Mayfield) had a steal in 5 minutes for New England College in their 74-70 W over Norwich.

- These Albany CBA kids keep popping up everywhere. The Section II school with the most graduates playing college ball has another representative, with Noah Marini finishing with 3 points and a rebound in 19 minutes off the Roger Williams bench in their 81-76 L to Wheaton (MA).

- Ellijah Williams (Albany) started for Green Mountain, finishing with 9 points, a rebound, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 21 minutes in their 83-60 L to Maine-Presque Isle. Jaquan Jones (Bishop Maginn) had a rebound in 9 minutes off the bench in the loss.

- Ron Adrian (Bishop Gibbons) led Johnson State with 18 points, and added 4 rebounds, an assist, 3 steals, and a block in 35 minutes in their 71-55 L to Hunter. Devon Johnson (Albany) had 2 points & a rebound in 4 minutes off the bench.

- A pair of Section II grads started for Southern Vermont in their 73-69 L to Marymount (VA) - Will Bromirski (Cambridge) had 5 points and a rebound in 22 minutes, and Casey Hall (Shaker) had 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 blocks in 27 minutes.

- Dillon Bowman (Mekeel) had 2 points, a rebound, and an assist in 11 minutes in Baptist Bible College's 82-56 L to Stevens.

- Brian Renauld (Albany CBA) had a rebound and a steal in 9 minutes for Rhode Island College in their 66-60 W over Brandeis.

- Sean Thaxter (Cobleskill) had 4 rebounds in 6 minutes for Swarthmore in their 53-48 L to Gettysburg.

- John-Michael Fragnoli (Niskayuna) had another nice game for Wentworth IT in a losing effort, finishing with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block in 32 minutes. They lost 58-51 to Tufts. Fragnoli leads the hard-luck 0-4 squad in scoring (10.5), rebounding (4.8), and blocks (1.8) per game.

Where Are They Now? Section 2 College Roundup, November 21

Busy. Busy. Did I mention busy? Lot of people in action tonight. Start off with the men, then get to the women's hoops, as usual. 29 guys got some run from Section II - 3 of them being Division I, the rest Division III. 16 girls got in on the action - 15 Division III, the other being Division I. Here goes...

- Galal Cancer (Albany CBA) had a nice game for Cornell in a losing effort. Starting again, he finished with 17 points (12/12 from the line), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 36 minutes in their 72-71 L to Penn State. He tied for the team lead in scoring with Devin Hatter.

- Ethan Mackey (Voorheesville) started for Maine, finishing with 5 points, a rebound, and an assist in 17 minutes in their 76-48 L to Central Michigan. The Blackbirds lost to a D3 this year. Let's just say they're having a rough go of it.

- Collin Stewart (Mekeel) had 20 minutes of action off the bench for Monmouth in their 73-50 W over Bethune-Cookman - 4 points, 2 boards, an assist, and 4 of his squad's 13 steals.

- Ron Adrian (Bishop Gibbons) had 6 points & a board in 19 minutes off the bench for Johnson State tonight, and Devon Johnson (Albany) had 5 minutes off the bench. They dropped to 0-4 with a 108-60 loss to #2 Amherst.

- Utica got 9 treys from Coleman Catholic's Conor Maisch in a 84-72 W over New Paltz (Section IX, but worth mentioning). Chris Jeffers (Bishop Maginn) played 31 minutes in a starting role and finished with 4 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal; Griffin Kelly (Watervliet) had 2 points and a board in 5 minutes off the bench, and Rich Smith (LaSalle) had 3 points, a rebound, an assist, and a steal in 7 minutes. Dillan Veeder (Canajoharie) had 2 minutes off the pine. Taylor Mulvey (Albany CBA) played 14 minutes off the bench for New Paltz and had a point, 3 rebounds, and a block.

- Riley Naclerio (Albany Academy) started for St. Lawrence and finished with 8 points, 3 rebounds, and a steal in 25 minutes in their 62-58 L to Oswego. Jeremy Mendrick (Ballston Spa) had 9 minutes off the bench and 3 points, a rebound, and an assist to show for it.

- Ellijah Williams (Albany) and Jaquan Jones (Bishop Maginn) saw action for Green Mountain in their 91-62 shalacking from Eastern Nazarene. Williams had 2 points, an assist, and a steal in 8 minutes, and Jones had a point and an assist in 7 minutes.

- Matt McGowan (Lake George) started for Cortland, finishing with 4 points, 4 boards, and a steal in 20 minutes in their 75-54 victory over Farmingdale.

- Brett Ullman (Sharon Springs) and Albany Academy grad Matt Laclair each played for Sage in their 68-65 W over NYU. Brett had 4 points and 3 boards in his productive 8 minutes, and Matt had 2 points and 2 assists in his 7.

- Oneonta killed Cobleskill. How bad? No one played 20 minutes. Up 28 en route to a 90-52 W. Mikey McElroy (Saratoga) had 18 points in 18 minutes, along with 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal. Grant Massaroni (Mohonasen) had 12 minutes off the bench and had 4 points, 6 boards, and an assist. Darnell Sutton (Lansingburgh) had 3 points, an assist, and 3 steals in 9 minutes off the bench for Cobleskill.

- A trio of Section II grads got some run off the bench for Castleton St. in their 96-80 W over MCLA. Alexander Homkey (Queensbury) had 3 points, an assist, and 2 steals in 12 minutes. Joshua Horton (Argyle) hit a trey in his 9 minutes on the court, and Casey McGraw (Bethlehem) had a rebound and a block in 13 minutes. 2 Section II grads played for MCLA in defeat, and both scored in double digits. Khalil Paul (Troy) led them in scoring with 21, adding a team-high 8 rebounds and an assist in 28 minutes, and Todd Hunt (Cambridge) had 11 points, 6 boards, and a steal in 23 minutes off the bench, connecting on all 5 field goal attempts.

- 5 Hartwick Hawks had double digits in their 74-71 W over Eastern Connecticut - a pair of them are Section II grads. Joey Lufkin (Argyle) had 10 points, a rebound, and 3 assists in 29 minutes as the starting point guard, and Matt Petruccione (Bishop Maginn) had 12 points - 4 treys - along with 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 21 minutes off the bench. Joe Krong (Amsterdam) started and had 2 rebounds and an assist in 14 minutes.

- Andrew Holmes (Shaker) had a rebound in 7 minutes off the bench for Mount Saint Mary, who dropped one 82-53 to Puget Sound.


Alright, time for women's hoops!

- Emily Weber (Shenendehowa) started for Canisius tonight, finishing with 14 points on 6/8 shooting, 4 boards, an assist, and a steal in 30 minutes - they lost 71-68 to Bryant, dropping to 0-2.

- Sage VanAmerongen (Shaker) had 4 minutes off the pine for Ithaca, finishing with 2 points and a rebound in their 80-40 W over John Jay.

- Meqala McDonald (Scotia) started for Keuka, finishing with 5 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals in 16 minutes in their 68-52 L to Alfred. Samantha Blum (Colonie) came off the bench and played 24 minutes, finishing with 6 points, 4 rebounds, an assist, and 3 steals.

- Cassidy Chapko (Hoosic Valley) got the start for Cortland and finished with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal in 35 minutes in their 67-57 W over St. Lawrence. Rae Frasier (Schenectady) had 2 points and 2 rebounds in 4 minutes off the bench. Three Section II grads came off the bench in defeat for SLU: Cara Waterson (Albany) had 6 points and 2 boards in 18 minutes, Samantha Godfrey (Fort Edward) had a rebound and a block in 5 minutes, and Ellie Gonyeau (Hudson Falls) had a rebound in 3 minutes.

- Allie Olsen (Bethlehem) had an assist in 6 minutes off the bench for Elmira, who lost 71-51 to the University of Dallas.

- Kit Small (Holy Names) and Scotia grad Alli Casey both saw 9 minutes for New Paltz in their 76-46 W over Purchase. Small started and finished with 7 points, a rebound, an assist, 4 steals, and a block. That's like 20 points on Fanduel fantasy. In 9 minutes. Not bad! Casey came off the bench and had 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Her 9 fantasy points would do well, too.

- 3 Section II grads started for Clarkson, and a 4th played in their 74-57 L to Rochester. Ashley Loggins (Colonie) led Clarkson in scoring with 19 points, and added 8 rebounds, an assist, and 3 steals in 26 minutes. Alyssia Marsal (Shenendehowa) played 25 minutes and had 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals; fellow Plainswoman Madison Shea had 2 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 26 minutes. Voorheesville's Melissa Bogart played a minute.

Where Are They Now? Section 3 College Roundup, November 21

Really, really busy Friday night in college hoops. Check the guys first, with the women after, as usual. 13 Section III guys saw action tonight: 1 Division I, 1 Division II, and 11 Division III. 11 Section III girls played, all Division III. See how everyone did!

- Dylan Haines (CBA) played 3 minutes for Boston and had a rebound in their 89-65 L to the Big Blue Nation of Kentucky and their 30 1st round draft picks.

 - Mount Olive held off Division II Virginia State 74-69, but Lamar Kearse (J-D) had a monster game on the losing end. The senior who spent his first years at Division I NJIT dropped 27 points with a rebound, 2 assists, and a steal in 36 minutes.

- Mason Phillips (Watertown) started for Johnson State and finished with 6 points, a rebound, and a steal in 18 minutes in their 108-60 L to #2 Amherst.

- Marty Felicia (Phoenix) started and played 10 minutes for Utica in their 84-72 W over New Paltz. His brother Mark came off the bench and had a rebound in 5 minutes of action. Agim Hamiti (Syracuse Academy of Science) had 2 rebounds and an assist in 7 minutes of play. Jawan Simmons (Nottingham) had 2 minutes off the pine.

- Dustin Pond (Watertown) came off the bench for Oswego and finished with 4 points, 4 rebounds, and a steal in 19 minutes in their 62-58 W over St. Lawrence.

- Jared Bard (Jordan-Elbridge) had 3 points and a block in 11 minutes off the bench for Alfred State, who got cranked by Maritime, 93-66.

- Andy Drescher (CBA) started for Geneseo and had 14 points, 5 rebounds, a steal, and a block in 30 minutes, and Connor Rogers (Liverpool) also got the nod in the starting 5, getting a rebound, 4 assists, and a steal in 17 minutes. They lost 83-81 to Wilmington.

- Jeremiah Ford (Cooperstown) picked up 8 minutes off the bench for Oneonta, hitting his only shot and grabbing 2 boards along with his 2 points in their 90-52 W over Cobleskill.

- Dante Hatem (CBA) grabbed a board in a minute of action for Castleton St. in their 96-80 W over MCLA.


Time to break into some women's hoops - all Division 3 tonight.

- Hayleigh Hanson (Hamilton) had 6 minutes off the bench for King's College, ending up with 1 steal in their 69-49 L to Ferrum.

- Two Section III grads finished in double digits for Ithaca as they doubled up John Jay College, 80-40. Geena Brady (Onondaga) led the Bombers in scoring with 20 along with 5 boards and an assist (26 minutes), and Fran Cotrupe (Whitesboro) added 10 with a team-high 8 boards and 2 steals (21 minutes). Worth mentioning: Jordan Beers from Section IV's Franklin had 5 points, 2 boards, 2 assists, and a steal in 13 minutes off the bench. We've seen plenty of her, and so have some Section III schools!

- Erica Pendrak (New York Mills) started for Keuka, finishing with 8 points, 4 boards, and 4 assists in 29 minutes in their 68-52 L to Alfred.

- Wheaton (MA) ran their record to 4-0 with a W over Colorado College, 84-68. Kiley Shoemaker (Fayetteville-Manlius) had yet another monster game, with 17 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and 6 blocks.

- Allie Cady (Whitesboro) tied for the team-high in scoring for St. Lawrence in their 67-57 L to Cortland. She started, played 35 minutes, and finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.

- Jackie Hajec (Notre Dame) started for Misericordia and finished with 2 points, 2 rebounds, an assist, and a steal in 18 minutes. They took one on the chin, losing 77-51 to Babson. Fun fact - the men's assistant coach at Babson is Notre Dame grad Sean Burton. Don't play 6 degrees of separation with me.

- Hillary Coates (West Genesee) didn't do much more than get her warmups off, but she did get in the game for Elmira. 1 minute in their 71-51 L to the University of Dallas. Better than the other two Section III grads on Elmira's squad can say, who were DNPs.

- Ally Zywicki (Liverpool) started for Rochester and had 6 points, 3 boards, 5 assists, and a steal in 23 minutes in their 74-57 W over Clarkson. Kayla Kibling (Bishop Ludden) played 17 minutes off the bench and had 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. Devin Sorell (Hannibal) played 6 minutes off the pine for Clarkson and had 2 points and 2 rebounds.

Where Are They Now? College Roundup, November 20

Alright, let's catch up. Trying my best to knock out all divisions in this one for people who graduated from Section 2 or 3 schools. There's a lot of them - although not too many tonight. 15 guys (9 Section II, 6 Section III), 13 girls (9 Section II, 4 Section III). Getting close to finally being done with my master list of who's where!

- Simon Pitman (Notre Dame) saw some court action for Division I St. Francis (PA) in their 102-69 W over Division III Keystone. Pitman had 1 point and 2 rebounds in 4 minutes of action.
- Galal Cancer (Albany CBA) had a rough shooting night, but finished with 10 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal in 28 minutes starting for Cornell in their 69-45 loss to South Carolina.
- Mike Pierre (Hoosic Valley) started for Division II Georgian Court, finishing with 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 13 minutes in a 83-63 loss to Philadelphia U.
- Three of interest saw the court for Division III Johnson State in a 94-59 loss to 5th ranked Williams. Ron Adrian (Bishop Gibbons) was the most productive, with 4 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist in 21 minutes off the bench. Mason Phillips (Watertown) started and played 13 minutes, and Devon Johnson (Albany) saw 2 minutes off the pine.
- 4 guys from Sections 2 & 3 saw action off the bench for Clarkson and combined for 17 points in their 81-58 W over Canton. Drew Zlogar (Shenendehowa) had 8 points and 3 rebounds in 11 minutes, Mike Hayduk (Clinton) saw 10 minutes and finished with 6 & 2, Conrad Zampier (Columbia) had 3 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist in 18 minutes, and Stewart Wright (Fabius-Pompey) saw 6 minutes and had an assist. A pair of Carthage freshmen saw action for Canton - Walt Jeter started and had 5 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist in 17 minutes, and Keyan Pinnock had 2 rebounds in 9 minutes off the bench.
- Lucas Curtin (Schalmont) saw a minute of action for Emmanuel in their 76-54 loss to Wesleyan and pulled down a board.
- John-Michael Fragnoli (Niskayuna) led Wentworth IT in scoring tonight in a losing effort. He started down low and had 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and 2 swats in 26 minutes. They took a 68-59 L to Clark.
- Andrew Haschytz (Mayfield) got 12 minutes off the pine for New England College, and he had 2 points, a rebound, and an assist in their 94-81 W over Newbury.


Time for the women!

- Zakiya Saunders (Carthage) started and played 23 minutes for Albany, finishing with 2 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists in their 63-54 loss to Western Kentucky.
- She just keeps getting it done. Bri Kiesel (Proctor) went 6/9 from beyond the arc and finished with 27 points, 3 boards, 3 dimes, and 2 steals in 34 minutes for Pittsburgh, who put on a clinic in the 85-64 W over Michigan.
- Katie Roth (Maple Hill) and Mary Pattison (Troy) both saw minutes off the bench for Division I Hartford in their 57-54 W over Providence. Roth played 16 minutes; Pattison had 2 rebounds and 3 assists in her 13 minutes.
- Shauntesha Bryant (Nottingham) played 17 minutes off the bench for Division I Maryland-Eastern Shore, finishing with an assist and 2 steals in their 72-50 L to VCU.
- Despite Holy Cross' 69-53 L to Dartmouth, they got some production from Jordan-Elbridge's Molly Hourigan. She started at center, logging 25 minutes and finishing with 10 points, 5 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and 4 blocks. I guess taking the back half of the summer off for a procedure on her knees did wonders!
- Western New England beat MCLA 67-52. Alicia Lewis (Hoosic Valley) came off the bench for WNE and had 2 points & 3 rebounds in 10 minutes. MCLA has 7 players on the roster from Section II! 3 of them started, 6 of them played. Kayla Hotaling (Ravena) had the start and 32 minutes of action, finishing with 8 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Brayleigh Hanlon (Troy) started and had 7 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist, but fouled out in just 11 minutes. Emily Castle (Catskill) also got bit by the foul bug - started, but had just 2 rebounds while picking up 4 fouls in 5 minutes. Columbia grad Courtney Durivage had 12 points, 7 rebounds, and an assist in 32 minutes off the bench. Svetlana Morrell (Stillwater) also got 32 minutes off the pine and had 8 rebounds and a steal. Brittany Alexander (Colonie) played 6 minutes.

Where Are They Now? D3 Roundup, November 18

Time to show some love to the former Section II and III high school athletes who are now hooping at the Division III level. Gotta love it whenever we take it to the next level! From what my eyes caught, 22 guys (13 Section II, 9 Section III) and 21 women (9 Section II, 12 Section III) saw game action for their Division III squads tonight. Let's see how they did.

- John Moutopoulos (Albany Academy) started at guard, had 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists in 20 minutes for #23 Babson in their 87-65 W over Lasell. Nick Comenale (New York Mills) played 3 minutes and recorded a steal in the win.
- Taylor Mulvey (Albany-CBA) started at center, 2 rebounds in 10 minutes for New Paltz in 70-61 L to Vassar.
- Mikey McElroy (Saratoga) started, had 10 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals in 27 minutes in Oneonta's 74-68 upset W over #5 Williams. Grant Massaroni (Mohonasen) had 2 rebounds in 3 minutes in the win.
- 3 Section II guys saw the court for Castleton St. in their 73-65 loss to Skidmore. Alexander Homkey (Queensbury) started at forward and had 8 points, a rebound, and 2 assists in 32 minutes. Casey McGraw (Bethlehem) and Joshua Horton (Argyle) saw 8 minutes apiece off the bench. McGraw had 2 points, and each had 1 rebound.
- Matt McGowan (Lake George) started for Cortland, finishing with 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 blocks in 25 minutes of action. They beat Utica 73-54. The Pioneers received contributions from numerous former Section II & III athletes; they've got 9 on the roster, and 2 of them started. Chris Jeffers (Bishop Maginn) had 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists in 26 minutes; Phoenix's Marty Felicia had 3 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist off the bench. Dillan Veeder (Canajoharie) had 3 points, an assist, and a block in 11 minutes off the bench. Griffin Kelly (Watervliet) had 3 points and 2 rebounds in 11 minutes. Agim Hamiti (Syracuse Academy of Science) had 3 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a block in 22 minutes. Jawan Simmons (Nottingham) had 2 points & 1 rebound in his 3 minutes. Rich Smith (La Salle) played 8 minutes; Mike Cannizo (Mechanicville) played 1.
- Michael LaValle (West Genesee) started for Hobart and finished with 7 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists in 19 minutes. Pete Drescher (J-D) had 2 points in 5 minutes off the bench in their 84-66 W over Ithaca.
- Oneida's Tyler Kuhn was the leading scorer in a game SUNY ESF would like to forget. He had 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks (in 18 minutes off the bench) in a 118-33 loss to Marywood. Ryan Caldwell (Liverpool) started at forward and contributed 6 points and 3 rebounds in 21 minutes; Weedsport's Kyler Brown had a rebound and an assist in 11 minutes.


- Half of Hartwick women's team is from Section II and III, including 3 starters. They took a 70-32 drubbing to Tufts, ranked #4 in the country. Christina Graziadei (Oriskany) had 4 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block in 33 minutes starting at center. Johnstown's Courtney Cirillo had 4 points, 2 rebounds, and a steal in 27 minutes; Jess Ballai (Schalmont) finished with a rebound and a steal in 12 minutes. Shannon Curley (South Glens Falls) saw 5 minutes off the bench.
- Alicia Lewis (Hoosic Valley) had 2 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists in 13 minutes off the bench for Western New England in their 68-63 W over Springfield. Heather Lewis (Saratoga) started at guard, played 26 minutes, and had 9 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in a losing effort.
- A few contributors for Cazenovia in a last-second L with an NBA score, 98-96 to Keystone. Kali Davis (Jordan-Elbridge) started at forward and had 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 25 minutes. Mary Salo (Berne-Knox-Westerlo) played 32 minutes off the bench and finished with 16 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and a block. Kelli Shepardson (Little Falls) dropped 13 in 22 minutes with 3 rebounds and an assist. Rachael McDonough (Lansingburgh) grabbed 2 rebounds in 3 minutes. A non-Section 2 or 3 girl that I've seen often, Franklin's Marisa Cawley played 4 minutes.
- Rachel Miller (Fayetteville-Manlius) had a rebound in 8 minutes for Lycoming in their 60-49 W over Penn State-Hazleton.
- Lyteshia Price (Liverpool) started for Oneonta and finished with 9 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks in 22 minutes in their 69-54 W over Utica. Jamesville-Dewitt's Caitlin Cariseo also started, playing 14 minutes and finishing with 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. Jillian Davis (Queensbury) had 2 points and 2 rebounds in 10 minutes off the bench. Christy Traglia (Mohawk) started for Utica and finished with 9 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 steals in 33 minutes in a losing effort. Adriana Surprenant (New York Mills) had a rebound and an assist in 3 minutes.
- Rochester handled William Smith 81-50, and both sides had Section III contributors. Ally Zywicki (Liverpool) started for U of R, finishing with 7 points, a rebound, 6 assists, and a steal in 18 minutes. Kayla Kibling (Bishop Ludden/OCC) came off the bench and had 2 points in 18 minutes. Gabby Eure (East Syracuse-Minoa) came off the bench for HWS to score 10 points along with 4 rebounds in 19 minutes; Krista Anken (RFA) had 3 rebounds in 9 minutes.
- Jayda Bonarrigo (Albany) had 2 rebounds and a steal in 6 minutes off the bench for Bay Path in their 70-41 L to St. Joseph's of Connecticut.


I may have missed something. I did this by old-fashioned detective work... looking at rosters to see who teams had, then matching up box scores. Took me 3 hours in a busy Division III night. I have no life. If I did miss someone that at least got in the game that once graced a Section II or III jersey, let me know so I can add them to the watch list. Good luck to all of you! Keep working hard!
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King of Kings Prospect League Update

As you probably know, I (Jeff Mlinar) ran the King of Kings College Prospect League in Utica this past summer. Between the 6 teams, we had 78 high school boys play in at least one game over the course of the summer. It was a pretty successful season, with players from many areas and ages represented. Signing day for national letters of intent just hit, and a couple of the guys who showed out in KoK have put the ink on the paper as commits to Division I and II schools. I'd like to give a quick congratulations out to each of them.

Start off with the league's MVP Jahlil Nails. Jah's a senior at Columbia that was consistently the top player on the offensive end in the league for Rising Stars. In recent weeks after the end of the league, he was offered by Central Connecticut State, a Division I in the NEC. He eventually verballed, and his since signed his NLI to attend CCSU on full scholarship next year. Congrats, Jah!

Raiquis Harris, a senior at Catholic Central who played on the same team as Jahlil, he was attracting some interest from a few Division I and II schools at that point. The 2nd team selection at KoK just signed his NLI with a school I don't believe was on the radar during the summer - Bloomfield College, a Division II in New Jersey whose playing style definitely plays to Raiquis' strengths. He should be a solid fit there and compete for playing time on a roster that's graduating impact guards this year. Congrats, Rai!

There are numerous others who are in the hunt but have not signed NLIs yet. At last update, Bethlehem senior John Sica, who played for Takeover, was a verbal commit to Columbia. Utica Select center God's Power Ogide, now in prep school in North Carolina, had offers on the table from Buffalo and Temple during the summer - he's added NC State and Southeastern Louisiana to those two. Troy senior Zach Radz has a few Division Is showing major interest, with Rider being the main one in discussion, as this basketball season tips off. The Rising Stars honorable mention selection may be looking to do a post-grad year at prep school. Kinnon LaRose, an Ogdensburg senior who was an honorable mention pick from Takeover, had received a scholarship offer from Division I Hartford at last update, but has yet to make a commitment.

Has there been anything else I missed with King of Kings players and scholarship offers? Let me know and I'll update it!

5 Things I Learned This Weekend

There's one thing I'll always be willing to admit to you: I don't know everything. I'm always trying to learn, no matter what it is. I was able to spend a lot of time in different places this weekend. Caught high school boys soccer, JuCo men's & women's hoops, along with Division II men's hoops. Didn't go to Cortland for girls soccer, but kept a close eye on it. I've learned over this weekend - or at least have been reminded of some things previously learned. Let me reflect:

1.) Downstate runs soccer. I mean, shoutout to WNY squads Greece Athena and International Prep in boys soccer and Arkport girls soccer taking home state titles, but it was all downstate heaven besides that. Section I took the individual award with 3 state champs - all girls soccer, with Somers, Bronxville, and Haldane winning in Classes A through C. Section IX took home a boys title - Rhinebeck rode one of the greatest soccer moments I've ever seen personally straight to a state championship in Class C. Long Island took home 3 titles as well, with Section XI's Commack and Mattituck winning boys titles in AA and B, and Massapequa taking the girls AA title out of Section VIII. Mind you, those downstate sections sometimes don't even have Class D schools. Out of the 4 sections, only one had a girls entry in D and 2 represented in the boys bracket. All Section 2 & 3 teams except for Schoharie, Poland, and Bolton took their losses from a downstate school. Whatever they do in the tri-state area, the rest of NY better get on that downstate diet!

2.) Don't kick the ball away after committing a foul to burn more time. Lansing learned that in the hardest of ways on Saturday. They broke a scoreless tie with 1:30 remaining in the Class C boys semifinals, and on Rhinebeck's last charge, an attacker was making a run up the right side towards the flag. A Lansing defender took him down and was called for a foul. Just a foul, nothing more... until he kicked the ball to the fence after the whistle was blown to try and let more time run down. The ref wasn't having it. Play was blown dead and the defender was given a yellow card with 11.8 showing, stopping the clock and letting Rhinebeck bring all numbers forward - even the goalie - for one last set piece. The free kick was served into the 6 yard box and headed home with 8.5 seconds left, sending the game into OT. In the 8th minute of OT, a beautiful Rhinebeck strike won the game. Rhinebeck went on to win the state title, but it would've been Lansing there if the kid just left the ball alone. Rhinebeck didn't really have any numbers up when the foul was called, and there was under 15 seconds left anyway. Even if the kid got up and took the kick, it would've been down to a few short seconds remaining on the kick and Rhinebeck would've had half the numbers up that they ended up having. Leave the ball alone, and Lansing is most likely playing World of Inquiry instead of Rhinebeck.

3.) The only place 'Section 3' football is better than 'Section 4' football is the Cortaca Jug. Ok, maybe a little harsh. At least Section 3 took a couple games this year, instead of the 0-5 from 2013. Henninger's win was very convincing - they're legit. Indian River, a team that housed everyone they played in Section III this year, even the AAs, won (just) 19-0 against a Union-Endicott team that was 3-6 coming in. It speaks to the strength of Section IV when a 3-6 team is going to give a team regarded as one of the top 3 or 4 in Section III, regardless of class, the best game they've had all year. That's where the luck ended for CNY. Homer ran through everyone with offense all year - Maine-Endwell held them to 10. Notre Dame's offensive was also explosive - held to 14 while being grounded & pounded to nearly 60 points. Tioga played hard for one half in their win over Dolgeville, which is the same result they've had since 2011. All I ever hear in Section III is how football is king, football this, football that. Well, my advice to you: might want to spend a week down in Section IV to see what you guys are missing, because the southern tier has been flexing on you for a while now.

4.) Don't sleep on Division II hoops. If you have a Division II school in your area, make it a point to watch some of their basketball games. If you like good hoops, it's fun. Talented guys who can all score, but also work hard and play defense. They take pride in what they do and really want to win. The difference between a JuCo with scholarship-level talent (Herkimer) and Division II schools is the effort. The best players on Herkimer's team and other JuCos can play D2 ball, but every guy on the 4 teams I watched Sunday worked harder than every guy I watched in the NJCAA so far. It's refreshing to watch guys sacrifice their bodies, play tough pressure defense up top, bodies banging down low, no easy layups, crisp sets on offense, unselfish fast breaks. If you love hoops, check out a Division II game. All the fun at half the cost of D1!

5.) At least Section II can hang its hat on football this year. 5 section champions, 5 advance to the state semifinals. Ok, ok. All of them except Shen practically got a bye since they were playing the north country. Section VII & X playing Section II might be worse than III playing IV. I know. But still, Shenendehowa, Queensbury, Schalmont, Hoosick Falls, and Cambridge/Salem still play at Dietz Stadium next weekend with the chance to advance to the Carrier Dome. Good for them. Hell, I might even want to go to the Dome if Shen/Henninger happens...

Knights Avoid Disaster, Eke Out a Home W

St. Rose 76, Bloomfield 73

Once you get to scholarship-level hoops, everyone can play. No lead is safe. The College of Saint Rose and their loads of freshmen got shown that today, squandering just about all of a 16 point lead in the final 10 minutes. However, they were able to step up and make just enough plays, and an untimely missed free throw from a Bloomfield team that was nearly perfect from the stripe helped the Golden Knights move to 2-0.


Both teams were in their 2nd game of a back-to-back, with St. Rose on the winning end and Bloomfield on the losing end of close games Saturday night. They both came out with the baskets as big as the State Capitol building, combining to hit 7 of their first 8 shots along with each sinking a pair of free throws. Jalaun Taylor had 8 in the first 3:33 for the home Golden Knights (wearing away jerseys) to push them up 14-7. Bloomfield got hot from beyond the arc to get a run going themselves - 2 Clarence White treys followed by a pair of left elbow 3s from Claude Blue all came in 2:37 of action, and were the first 12 of a 16-2 run that game Bloomfield its largest lead at 23-16. St. Rose responded with an 11-0 run of their own - 5 from Jack Jones and another 4 from Taylor - to give them a lead that Bloomfield would never get back. Treys from Jones and Julian Lipinski speared another 10-0 run to give St. Rose their first double-digit lead late in the half, and after Bloomfield cut it to 6, a Sam Eckstrom 3 point play and another trey from the 6'9" Jones pushed St. Rose up to their largest 1st half lead of 12 going into the locker room. Both teams were en fuego from deep, combining to shoot just under 50%. Bloomfield hit 6, St. Rose hit 7. Bloomfield's problem: they shot 46% from beyond the arc, 21% inside of it. Don't see that every day.

Back-to-back buckets by Max Weaver - one of only 5 non-freshmen on the St. Rose roster - put them up 50-34 to start the 2nd half. This matched the largest lead of the game, with the Golden Knights hitting it twice more. A Jones 3 point play made it 55-39 inside the 17 minute mark, and after Bloomfield quickly knocked the deficit down to 9, a quick 9-2 run in response ending with a Sam Eckstrom layup made it 66-50 in favor of St. Rose with 10:06 left. That's when the freshman-heavy home team learned that no lead is safe. The colors got Bloomfield right back into it - Blue & White combined for 12 straight, including 7/7 from the free throw line. A Marvin Williams basket finished off Bloomfield's 14-0 run to get all the way back to a 2 point game at 66-64 with 6:17 left. A Weaver floater ended a 4:10 scoreless stretch for St. Rose to end the run. A Maksis Uskans finish brought St. Rose back up 6 at 72-66 with 3:46 left, but 4 Williams free throws cut it back to 2. Jalaun Taylor responded with his only points of the half, a mid-range J that bounced home to make it 74-70. Bloomfield responded by getting to the line once again - Williams hit 2 more free throws with 51 seconds left. After a St. Rose turnover, Bloomfield got it back with 22 seconds left and a chance to tie. Claude Blue got the ball inside and was fouled going up with 3.1 seconds remaining - his 1st free throw bounced off to prevent the tie. Only Bloomfield's 3rd miss of the night, but a huge one. He made the second to cut it to 74-73, and they were forced to foul Jack Jones on the ensuing inbound pass. Jones buried both free throws, and a desperation half-court heave by Williams knocked off the backboard at the buzzer. St. Rose was led by freshman Jones, who finished with 18. Jalaun Taylor added 16, and Max Weaver chipped in 15 to move to 2-0. Bloomfield dropped to 0-2 in a pair of close losses. They were led by Claude Blue, the game's high scorer with 20. The starting backcourt added 33, with Clarence White scoring 17 and Marvin Williams adding 16.

The Stat Gun
75% of St. Rose's scorers tonight were freshman. They accounted for 54 of the Golden Knights' 76 points. Bloomfield only had 8 of their 73 from the fresh blood... It was a shootout at the OK Corral from deep in the 1st half. The teams combined for 17 made treys, 13 of them coming in the 1st half. They shot just under 50% in the 1st half, but only 20% in the 2nd... Bloomfield's offense was 3s and free throws. They hit 9 treys and went 24/27 at the line, only 11 field goals from inside the 3 point line on the night... I won't say the dude's name to protect the innocent, but Claude Blue put someone in the trunk in the 2nd half. Hammer time, and 1. The same guy went up a few minutes later for a block against him, and I swear his life flashed before his eyes for a second before giving up another 3 point play opportunity.

Bloomfield: Marvin Williams 4-6-16, Clarence White 4-6-17, Ignacio Diez 1-2, Matt Hall 4-2-12, Claude Blue 5-8-20, Nick Davidson 2-2-6. Totals 20-24-73.

St. Rose: Jamaal Greenwood 1-2, Max Weaver 5-4-15, Jalaun Taylor 6-2-16, Chris Dorgler 3-7, Jack Jones 6-3-18, Julian Lipinski 2-2-7, Sam Eckstrom 3-1-7, Maksis Uskans 2-4. Totals 28-12-76.

3-Point Field Goals: Bloomfield 9 (White 3, Williams 2, Hall 2, Blue 2), St. Rose 8 (Jones 3, Taylor 2, Weaver, Dorgler, Lipinski). Free Throws: Bloomfield 24/27 (Williams 6/6, White 6/7, Hall 2/2, Blue 8/10, Davidson 2/2), St. Rose 12/13 (Weaver 4/4, Taylor 2/3, Jones 3/3, Lipinski 2/2, Eckstrom 1/1).

A Win is a Win: Generals Hold Off Late Rally

Herkimer College 78, Hudson Valley 63

If you asked Herkimer players or coach Matt Lee after the game, I'm sure there are plenty of things they weren't too pleased about. They had multiple opportunities to break it open, but didn't pull away for good until the last moments. But when all is said and done, the visiting Generals led wire to wire and gave Hudson Valley's Vikings their first loss of the season on their home court.


They say in basketball, it's best not to overthink. Do what you do best, and feed the hot hand. The Generals did that in the 1st half. Their press caused fits early, with HV burning a pair of timeouts in the first 3+ minutes. On the offensive end, it was Jamell Johnson's world and everyone else was just living in it. He scored 7 straight to give them an early 8-2 lead, and it kept on coming. The sophomore Finney product had 19 of Herkimer's 35 points in the half - when their offense stalled (often), it got bailed out numerous times by a Johnson finish. His bucket following back-to-back 3 point plays by Mohawk grads Kainan McCarthy and Carson Murphy gave the Generals their largest 1st half lead of 12. Much like the rest of the game though, the undefeated Vikings wouldn't go away. They scrapped throughout, and with 5 straight to close the 1st half, it was a manageable 35-28 margin.

The Vikings came out strong early in the 2nd half, with 3s by Codi Gorman and Imre Megyeri along with a Brendan Archer bucket cutting the deficit to 3. Herkimer then stretched their lead again, going on a 10-0 run over 2:46 of action to extend it to 13. The run extended to 14-2 with Pat Dorrian & Julio Galay finishes - which along with Dantre Langhorne's prior to that was 3 straight 3 point play opportunities with missed free throws - to push the lead to 53-38. The lead got to 16 with 8:47 remaining on an and 1 from Dan Owens (playing in his home area, a CBA graduate) before HV made one last push. The Vikings sustained a 13-3 run over 4 minutes of game time to work it back to a 6 point game. An Elijah Newsome bucket started it, and he had 8 of the 13 in that run. The run also saw the ejection of Herkimer PG Julio Galay, whistled for a flagrant 2 (yes, that's in more than just the NBA) foul on HV's Nhoel Deverson. The run was answered by Murphy, who reeled off 2 free throws, a breakaway dunk, and a floating finish in the matter of 59 seconds with just a pair of Newsome free throws in response from HV. In all, Herkimer went on an 11-2 run in a 3 minute stretch late capped by an alley-oop hammer from Kenny Woodard on a sideline out of bounds play to give them their largest lead of 17. Jamell Johnson had 20 to lead Herkimer. Carson Murphy (13) and Dan Owens (11) also had double digits for the Generals. Elijah Newsome had a big 2nd half and finished with 21 for HVCC, and Brendan Archer contributed an active 11.

Herkimer: Julio Galay 3-1-7, Carson Murphy 5-3-13, Jamell Johnson 8-1-20, Dan Owens 4-2-11, Jallah Tarver 1-2, Kenny Woodard 4-1-9, Dantre Langhorne 4-8, Pat Dorrian 1-3-5, Kainan McCarthy 1-1-3. Totals 31-12-78.

Hudson Valley: Elijah Newsome 8-3-21, Codi Gorman 1-3, Nhoel Deverson 2-2-7, Tyler Dahlin 3-2-8, Valdon Baptiste 1-2-4, Brendan Archer 4-3-11, Imre Megyeri 1-3, Garrett Pitcher 1-2, Blake Mosley 2-4. Totals 23-12-63.

Three-Point Field Goals: Herkimer 4 (Johnson 3, Owens); Hudson Valley 5 (Newsome 2, Gorman, Deverson, Megyeri). Free Throws: Herkimer 12/19 (Galay 1/3, Murphy 3/3, Johnson 1/2, Owens 2/2, Woodard 1/2, Langhorne 0/1, Dorrian 3/5, McCarthy 1/1); Hudson Valley 12/22 (Newsome 3/4, Deverson 2/2, Dahlin 2/5, Baptiste 2/2, Archer 3/9).

Most Valuable Thoughts: Section III Boys Hoops

Time for me to ramble.

Class AA
It'll be very interesting to see how AA plays out over the course of the year. Defending champ Proctor will be right back in the thick of things, with Tyvon Reed leading the way. The 6'2" freak athlete tweener was an all-state honorable mention in AA last year. Daquan Testamark, among others, will also be back, along with a very talented sophomore in Jalen Hawkins. He'll be brought up to the varsity and expect to start at point guard, taking over where J'Von Evans (now at Utica College) left off. We shall see what they do without J'Von and Ziggy Tracey (now at prep school). They do have competition. Last year's Henninger team was the worst they've had in a while, but they were young. Marquane Silvers graduated and is playing at Cazenovia, but that was their only real loss. They still have 7th team all-stater Romero Collier running the point, with athletes Terrence Walker & Destin Blunt ready to make sizable contributions. Maybe Shaitique Blatche is back after the issue last year? Not sure. Bishop Ludden will also be interesting - the Gaelic Knights moved up to AA after their recent success in Class A. They graduated a pair of 1,000 point scorers in Dan Kaigler (Division II Gannon) and Ben Hackett (Genesee CC), but still have 2 of the best bigs in the section in Zach Walser & Jack Rauch. I've been told they have a couple talented young freshman transfers in to help at the guard spot they so desperately need to be successful in AA, so we'll see how they progress. If you ask me, the most interesting team right now is Baldwinsville. They had a nice crew of juniors last year running the show, with Ben DiOrio and Cameron Skipworth in the backcourt and Devyn McLeod manning the blocks. They had a close battle with Union-Endicott in the season, who finished the season #11 in the state in AA. Look out for the Bees - they might be buzzing on the radar real quick! Who else will make an impact? C-NS lost a lot from last year's team that made it to the sectional final, but they still have all-stater Connor Evans. They were an underdog in the semis that beat F-M, who lost John Schurman (Binghamton) among others, but still have their all-state point guard Jake Wittig (if he's healthy). Nottingham has a year older & more mature Malik Zachery at the point with freshly Canisius-offered 6'7" Nathan Knight down low. I'll toss it up. Anyone's game.

Class A
With Ludden out of the picture, it looked like J-D's to lose for a minute. However, one private school leaves and another enters. Notre Dame gave Westhill their toughest game last year, a 3 point decision in the sectional finals. The Jugglers are now Class A's problem, and they're all back. Kevin Warmack leads the way, a 4th team all-state selection last year in Class B. The floor general still has the enforcer Joe Sullivan down low and firepower at the wing with Jerome Brabham, along with returning starters Alex Rushton & Cal Schaaf. J-D graduated Jafar Kinsey (Robert Morris), but they still have Dom DeRegis and Evan Dourdas. Put some pieces around those 2 (Isaiah Williams and the athletic big whose name I'm forgetting), and they'll be just fine for another battle for the title. Look out for Carthage up north, too. Walter Jeter is gone, but that means it's time for Peyton McLaurin to take over. I thought he was a little too reluctant to do that last year, but now he has to - and they were better when he took over games. Who else will challenge? Exactly how far can TJ Borza, Luke Moore, and Emmett Cavanaugh take Whitesboro? A little birdie in the sky told me Fulton will be tough. McLaurin is the only returning player who was an all-state selection in Class A last year - a lot of room for new heads to step up!

Class B
Ok, Notre Dame is out. Anyone want to step up and try to tangle with Westhill? You? You? Anyone? Didn't think so. There's 3 returning all-state players in Class B and 1 more that was an honorable mention selection. They're all Westhill kids. Oh boy. Jordan Roland, fresh off signing his NLI for George Washington, is the returning Class B state POY, and it's way more than just him. Fellow Division I prospect Tyler Reynolds was 2nd team all-state last year, and that might be selling him short. Jeff Lobello runs the show at point guard - the heady floor general was 1 of 2 players in Class B that got the all-state nod while scoring less than 10 points per game. Mr. OC is also back down low - Dan O'Connell was an honorable mention selection, and even Brian 'Tha Term' Daily and his 'I had so much espresso before I came here' energy on the court is back. Some of the best would-be returning players besides them in Class B are now gone - Bobby Leslie (Skaneateles) and Ross Gerber (Cazenovia) both went the prep route. Institute of Tech and Syracuse Academy of Science are always interesting, but it's really tough to see anyone messing with Westhill.

Class C
The defending champs are primed to make a repeat run. Waterville lost Jon Piersma and Tyler Lemery, but Sawyer's back. English is back. Williams is back. Zach Sawyer was a 2nd team all-state selection last year that basically turned into a better version of himself for the postseason. Where he played 2nd fiddle to Piersma to start the season, he was totally dominant after Game 18. Jake English will be the floor general for this year's squad, and certainly is capable of taking much larger of a load than he did last year. They surely aren't the far & away favorite, though. Fabius-Pompey lost Stewart Wright, but they're always tough. Tully lost Schoemaker, but they always find a way. MPH made a nice run last year, too. West Canada lost a lot, but they always have a good program and Bobby Davenport is back. The lone Division I commit in Class C is a Pulaski Blue Devil - look for them to challenge this year behind Lehigh signee Caleb Sedore. Weedsport still has JJ O'Connor. My dark horse this year in C... look out for Cooperstown. Christian Alexander was the 2nd best player in his league last year behind Sawyer as a sophomore. He averaged over 17 a game as the center, but the 6'4" fundamentally sound player is now more experienced as a wing after stepping out quite often for his AAU team. Where they went sour last year was ballhandling - the coach's kid can change that. Tyler Bertram could handle varsity presses as a JV kid, and he'll be expected to jump in and make huge contributions right off the bat - something that he can handle.

Class D
New York Mills is not the normal New York Mills. They always field a team that challenges, and it'll be the same this year with Terry Nichols (now one of the top players in the section in Class D) and Andrew Suprenant in the backcourt, but the lack of size and other potent scorers besides those two may prove very costly. My early favorite has to be Oriskany. They have the best returning player in the section in Class D in Ryan Schmadel. The junior is a scoring machine that would put up 20 a game in Class AA, too. The honorable mention selection was one of the big snubs of last year - I watched some of the guys placed above him. He was one of the top 10 in the state in Class D last season. Look for him to explode, and he's got a shooter in Anthony Warcup and point guard in Marcus Smithling back. Most of last season, they started 4 sophomores and a junior and made it to the sectional finals. Hamilton will be on their heels, with Logan Bailey, a much-improved Zach Wilcox, and Bryce Belanger back. Wilcox showed a great deal of improvement over the course of the summer, in particular, and he'll have a breakout senior year if the reigns are loosened a little bit. Sackets always challenges up north, and Copenhagen has Figueroa back. We'll see if the NYM dragon gets slayed by a CSC opponent or if the Marauders march on again.

Thank God there's no NFF.

Questions Only: This Weekend

Let's get right to it.

1.) Section III vs. Section IV football. Let's put it this way. Does Section III have a chance? The only class they've had success in over recent years has been AA, and even last year's CBA squad was knocked off by EFA-SS last year, which gave Section IV a clean 5-0 sweep. The small school games have been straight beatdowns. All 5 classes offer a new champion in Section III - and it's much of the same faces from the Southern Tier. Union-Endicott, Maine-Endwell, Chenango Forks, Tioga... all perennial powers, although it looks like M-E is far from the usual M-E this year. Union-Endicott, the Class B rep, hasn't lost a game in what, 4 years? Just about. Cazenovia gave them a heck of a battle at U-E last year, and it's Homer's chance this year. Chenango Forks & Waverly go back and forth winning C in Section IV, and the top-ranked team in the state gets a new Class C champ in Notre Dame this year. Tioga has won Class D in Section IV 4 years in a row, and Dolgeville marks their 4th different Class D opponent. They beat Westmoreland soundly in 2011 (55-14?), Sandy Creek in 2012 (I left that game at halftime, 40-0), Herkimer last year (43-14). See a pattern? Ahhh, let's see if Dolgeville can keep it under 4 touchdowns. For the record, I think Section III will do better this year than last - I mean, you can only go up anyway - but Section IV will still run the regional.

2.) Jamesville-Dewitt. Is it their year for something besides hoops? They're one of two schools in all of NYS with both boys & girls soccer making it to the state semifinals (Section IV's Lansing being the other). The girls team was basically expected to get to this point all year. Don't want to say the boys were an underdog because they were at the top of a pretty balanced field in Section III, but they weren't the prohibitive favorite in the way the Lady Rams were. Regardless, they're in the same spot: 2 wins away from a state title. They'll be competing 2&1/2 hours away from each other, with the boys battling the East Hampton Millionaires (ok, I'm assuming that's not their team name, but it sounds right) bright and early at 8:30 and the girls taking on Somers at 2:30. Both teams have won relatively convincingly in their sub-regionals and regional finals - the boys have outscored opponents 6-0 in 2 post-sectional games, and the girls have done it by a whopping 14-0. Do the Sir and Lady Red Rams have what it takes this weekend?

3.) Is Schoharie ticked because they're still flying under the radar? The Section II, Class C girls soccer champs closest call really came in the section quarterfinals. 7th seeded Stillwater gave them all they could handle, but the Indians won 1-0. They won the semis over Greenville by the same score, but it was a much more convincing win on the field. Another 1-goal win over the top seed (ranked #2 in the state at the time) Canajoharie in the finals, but they were up 2 until 3 minutes remaining. Then they beat Potsdam in regionals, 2-0. They haven't been making people take notice with gaudy numbers, but they keep on shutting teams out. Only 1 goal given up in postseason play and 9 all season. They keep on winning. They get Lansing in the semis, and I certainly hope the buzz will happen if they win that one. They're doing it with a lot of underclassmen. Hell, their leading scorer is a freshman & scorers 3 and 4 (both in double digits in goals & assists) are juniors. Let's see what the squad brings to Cortland this weekend.

4.) How many people watching high school soccer in Cortland on Saturday will wish they were partaking in Cortaca festivities instead? Ehh, I'm leaving that question alone.

5.) The usual powers won again in Section II football. Shenendehowa, Queensbury, Schalmont, Hoosick Falls, and Cambridge/Salem all brought home the hardware. I've made mention that Section II & Section III are very different in football. Long story short, Section III is more competitive. However, the top teams (as in literally the top team in each class, not the top few) in Section II are generally a bit stronger than the top ones in Section III. Where Section III teams have a dogfight to win the section and proceed to get blasted by the Southern Tier, Section II champs have a pretty easy go of it, but are strong enough to go much deeper into the state playoffs. How successful will they be this year? I'm interested to see if Schalmont can get over that hump and win the state in Class B. Let's see what Shen has to offer, too. CBA gave them a little more of a battle than I thought would happen last week. Not to skip ahead, but I'd love to make the trip to Dietz next Friday for Queensbury/Cornwall...

6.) You guys ready for another hell of an action-packed weekend? Bring it on!

Where in the World Is Jeff? - Rest of 2014

Yeah, you read it right. Mapped out a hopeful schedule up until New Year's Eve - well, December 30. No games on 12/31. Note that I said 'hopeful schedule'. Things will get in the way: snow days, crap weather that I think twice about driving like a fool in, sickness, car troubles, hospital visits for working myself too hard. There's a number of days where I have a 6:00 & 7:00 game planned. Obviously, they overlap. The plan is to go with the flow on those; if the early game is good and I'm not itching to be at the late one, I stay until it ends. If it's not good, I leave. I at least plan on being there. Enough talk... let's see where the initial plan is!

***By the way, I took these schedules/game times off league websites generally. Viewmyschedule, SportsPak, Colonial & Wasaren websites, syracuse.com for Section III stuff. If you see your school on here and the time on your schedule doesn't jive with the time I have here, PLEASE TELL ME!!! I wouldn't want to make the trip for nothing because the schedule was off!***

11/12
Women's Basketball - ACP @ HVCC - 6:00
Men's Basketball - ACP @ HVCC - 8:00

11/15
Boys Soccer State Semifinals @ Middletown
Games of Interest: East Hampton/Jamesville-Dewitt - 8:30, Mattituck/Skaneateles - 9:15, World of Inquiry/Potsdam - 11:15
Women's Basketball - HCCC @ HVCC - 1:00
Men's Basketball - HCCC @ HVCC - 3:00
Men's Basketball - Wilmington @ St. Rose - 7:00

11/16
Girls Soccer State Finals @ Cortland
Games of Interest: Will bounce through them all - AA at 9:30, C at 10:30, A at 12:15, D at 1:15, B at 3:00

11/19
Boys Basketball - St. Thomas More @ Hoosac (Prep School) - 5:00
Women's Basketball - Utica @ RPI - 6:00
Men's Basketball - ACP @ Sage - 7:00

11/20
Girls Basketball (Scrimmage) - Shenendehowa @ Tamarac - 4:00
Boys Basketball (Scrimmage) - Watervliet @ Bethlehem - 6:00

11/21
Football - Class D Semifinal at Dietz Stadium - 4:00
Football - Class A Semifinal at Dietz Stadium - 8:00

11/22
Girls Basketball (Scrimmage) - Hoosic Valley @ Troy - 9:00
Football - Class C Semifinal at Dietz Stadium - 11:00
Football - Class B Semifinal at Dietz Stadium - 3:00
Football - Class AA Semifinal at Dietz Stadium - 7:00

11/23
Oneonta Mayor's Cup - TBD


11/24
Girls Basketball (Scrimmage) - Galway @ Ballston Spa - 4:00
Boys Basketball (Scrimmage) - Troy @ Shenendehowa - 5:30
Girls Basketball (Scrimmage) - Columbia @ Maple Hill - 7:00

11/25
Boys Basketball (Scrimmage) - Maple Hill @ Averill Park - 4:30
Women's Basketball - Adelphi @ St. Rose - 5:30
Men's Basketball - Adelphi @ St. Rose - 7:30

11/26
Boys Basketball (Scrimmage) - Broadalbin-Perth @ Mohonasen - 9:30
Boys Basketball (Scrimmage) - Mekeel @ Niskayuna - 11:00
Girls Basketball - Bishop Maginn @ Ballston Spa - 2:00
*maybe boys basketball scrimmage - Valley Central @ Red Hook instead?
Boys Basketball - Rensselaer Tournament (Rensselaer, Heatly, Ichabod Crane, Berne-Knox-Westerlo) - 6:00/7:30

11/28
Boys Basketball (Scrimmage) - Amsterdam @ Guilderland - 10:00
Girls Basketball - Watervliet Tournament (Watervliet, Schenectady, Susquehanna Valley, Glens Falls) - 2:30/4:00
Boys Basketball - Mechanicville Tournament (Ravena, Lake George, Mechanicville, Lansingburgh) - 5:30/7:00

11/29
Girls Basketball (Scrimmage) - Albany @ Guilderland - 10:30
Girls Basketball - Johnstown @ Mohonasen - 1:00
*Toss-up, depending on game times/matchups.. Cohoes or Ichabod Crane girls tournaments

12/1
Boys Basketball - CBA @ Watervliet - 7:00
*may do boys scrimmage, Our Lady of Lourdes @ Poughkeepsie instead

12/2
Girls Basketball (Scrimmage) - Albany @ Ichabod Crane - 4:00
Girls Basketball - Mohonasen @ Averill Park - 6:00
Women's Basketball - Cazenovia @ Sage - 7:00

12/3
Girls Basketball - Hoosic Valley @ Ravena - 6:00
Girls Basketball - Troy @ CCHS - 7:00

12/4
Girls Basketball (Scrimmage) - Lansingburgh @ Tamarac - 6:00
Girls Basketball - Hoosick Falls @ Albany Leadership Charter for Girls - 7:00

12/5
Girls Basketball - Ogdensburg @ Scotia - 5:30
Boys Basketball - Ogdensburg @ Scotia - 7:00

12/6
Boys Basketball - Gloversville @ Averill Park - 12:00
Boys Basketball - Ogdensburg @ Cohoes - 1:30
Boys Basketball - St. Laurent (Canada) @ CCHS - 4:00
Boys Basketball - Waterford Tournament (Tamarac, Stillwater, Duanesburg, Waterford) - 5:30/7:00

12/7
*Toss-up, depending on game times/matchups.. Albany girls tournament or Waterford boys


12/8
Boys Basketball - Glens Falls @ Fonda-Fultonville - 7:00
*may do boys basketball, Webutuck @ Coleman Catholic instead

12/9
Boys Basketball - Bethlehem @ Averill Park - 6:00
Girls Basketball - Averill Park @ Bethlehem - 7:00

12/10
Girls Basketball - Mechanicville @ Stillwater - 7:30
*may do girls basketball, FDR-Hyde Park @ Monroe-Woodbury instead

12/11
Girls Basketball - Berlin @ Cambridge - 4:00
Boys Basketball - Heatly @ Doane Stuart - 6:00

12/12
Girls Basketball - Niskayuna @ Guilderland - 6:00
Boys Basketball - Guilderland @ Niskayuna - 7:00
*may do boys basketball, Red Hook @ Saugerties instead

12/13
Boys Basketball - Poughkeepsie Tournament - All Day


12/15
Boys Basketball (Scrimmage) - Housatonic @ Pine Plains - 5:30


12/16
Boys Basketball - Saratoga @ Columbia - 7:00
*may do boys basketball, FDR-Hyde Park @ Saugerties

12/17
Girls Basketball - Mohonasen @ Schalmont - 7:00

12/18
Girls Basketball - Fonda-Fultonville @ Cohoes - 7:00

12/19
Boys Basketball - Colonie @ Shaker - 7:00
Boys Basketball - CBA @ Albany - 7:30 (maybe end of it)

12/20
Boys & Girls Basketball - Saugerties Tournament - All Day
*may do girls basketball, Nottingham @ Troy - 2:30

12/22
Boys Basketball - Scotia Tournament - 4:30 (just first game)
Boys Basketball - Watervliet Tournament (Notre Dame, LaSalle, Nazareth, Watervliet) - 6:00, 7:30

12/23
(hi, Section 3)
Boys Basketball - Fowler @ RFA - 12:00
Boys Basketball - Hamilton @ Oriskany - 7:00

So yeah, this is where it gets dicey and I have chicken scratch all over my paper. I'll talk about Christmas tournament week with just a rough draft of places I'm mulling over hitting. They include:

12/26
Boys Basketball - Colonie Tournament - 5:30/7:00
Girls Basketball - Ballston Spa Tournament - ?

12/27
Girls Basketball - Amsterdam Holiday Showcase - I'm assuming all day
Girls Basketball - Schenectady @ Niskayuna - 2:00
Girls Basketball - Ballston Spa Tournament - ?
Boys Basketball - CBA Tournament - ?
Boys Basketball - Saratoga Tournament (Rice, Burr & Burton, Queensbury, Saratoga) - 6:30/8:15

12/28
Girls Basketball - Amsterdam Holiday Showcase - again, all day?
Girls Basketball - Bishop Maginn @ Niskayuna - 1:00
Girls Basketball - Westchester County Tournament - ?
Girls Basketball - Troy Tournament - ?
Girls Basketball - RFA @ Holy Names (Tournament) - 6:30

12/29
Girls Basketball - Colonie Tournament (Averill Park, Shaker, CCHS, Colonie) - 4:00/5:30
Boys Basketball - Schenectady Tournament - 6:00/7:30
Girls & Boys Basketball - Maple Hill Tournament - 3:00, 4:30, 6:00, 7:30

12/30
Boys Basketball - Granville Tournament (Fort Ann, Hadley-Luzerne, Mount St. Joseph, Granville) - ?
Boys Basketball - STOP DWI Tournament in Binghamton - All Day
Boys Basketball - Burnt Hills Tournament (LaSalle, Bishop Maginn, Saugerties, BH-BL) - 6:00/7:30
Girls Basketball - Queensbury @ Burnt Hills - 3:00 (maybe part of a tournament too?)


Well, that's a rough draft. You'll see me around. Let me know if I didn't mention your school in this, and I'll make sure I throw it in January's. I'm trying to get to every single school I possibly can this winter!

Girls Soccer Regional Roundup: 3 Each in Section 2 & 3 in Semis

Class AA
Bethlehem 2, Liverpool 1 (OT)

Class A
Jamesville-Dewitt 6, Scotia-Glenville 0
Jamesville-Dewitt 8, Massena 0

Class B
Westhill 2, CCHS 0
Westhill 3, Beekmantown 0

Class C
Schoharie 2, Potsdam 0
Lansing 2, Sauquoit 1

Class D
Bolton-Warrensburg 3, Eldred 1 (OT)
Poland 3, Milford 0



Great game on Saturday afternoon in Fulton between Section 2 and Section 3's Class AA representatives in regional finals. Bethlehem, out of Section II, and Liverpool, out of III, both were teams that most didn't expect to get to this point. At least 'Pool was somewhat of a contender - the 3rd seed still had to knock off the top 2 seeds in sectionals to be crowned - Bethlehem had nothing handed to them. Section 2's 6 seed beat the 3, 2, and 1 in succession to get here. The game resembled that of two teams with the kind of grit needed to battle through teams presumed as better. Well, that and two teams that were cold. Everyone was a step slower than usual. Liverpool got on the board first in the earlier stages of the 1st half when Emily Dorr put one inside the left post in the 18th minute. I could hear Bethlehem coach Tom Rogan addressing his team at half. Mental toughness was the message - through sectionals, they had jumped on their opponent early and had a halftime lead. This was the first time in the postseason that they had to play from behind. Toughness is what they showed. Kassie Hautau tied it up with 19:08 remaining (somewhat) off a corner kick - the corner bounced around like a pinball in the box for almost 15 seconds before being cleared. The ball quickly found its way to Hautau, who put it on frame and off the keeper's outstretched hand into goal. Miranda Manziano did a phenomenal job on the other end in goal to make sure Liverpool didn't regain the lead. She made 5 legitimate saves in the 2nd half, including a couple diving stops and sliding kick save. Dorr put a hard shot on goal with 13 minutes to play, but Manziano knocked it away with a diving save to her left. 5 minutes later, she did the same thing, diving to her left to stop a ball that had a tricky bounce to it. We got to see 20 extra minutes of soccer, but the winner happened in just over 2. Kaylee Rickert worked hard to win a ball on a hard run, and the toe poke toward goal snuck underneath a diving Julia Richey to make it 2-1 in favor of Bethlehem with 7:54 left in the first extra session. The Eagles were able to do a nice job through the rest of OT warding off pressure, as Liverpool was only able to get 2 shots off (1 on goal) in extra time. The run for the Eagles that can only be described as magical rolls on - the 3 seed, 2 seed, 1 seed, Section III champ, and now they get North Rockland (#5 in the state) at 9:30 AM on Saturday at TC3 in the semis. Oh, yeah. A team that's supposed to beat them. They've heard this story before.


There hasn't been any drama for J-D. I already wrote a story about the sub-regional game, where they blasted Scotia 6-0. Scroll down for that story if you're interested. As bad as that was, their regional final was even... worse? Yup. The Red Ram train is coming through to flatten anyone in their way, and Massena was on the blank end of an 8-0 smacking yesterday. One person taking over and running up her goal total?.. Nope. The game after 6 girls scored a goal apiece in the 6-0 win, 7 players contributed goals in this 8-0 win (Paige Sherling was the only one with 2) and 5 more had assists (Alex Catanzarite had 2). Think about that. Let it marinate. 12 people were in the scoring column for J-D. In a game. In the regional finals. Wait, what? Yeah. In all, 9 J-D players have scored in the 2 regional games. Pretty sure there isn't a soul that wants to line up opposite them right now. With Sayville, the #1 team in the state in Class A, knocked out by Shoreham-Wading River - and them being knocked out by Rockville Centre South Side - J-D is the favorite in the Class A state tournament. They will get a challenge in the semis, facing #3 Somers of Section I at 2:30 Saturday at TC3.


Westhill's been solid as a rock in Class B. I also already talked about their 2-0 win over CCHS, so scroll down more if you'd like to read about that. They locked up their next opponent in the same way, beating Beekmantown up north 3-0 yesterday to keep on rolling. Jayanna Monds buried two goals to lead the #1 ranked Warriors, giving her 3 and an assist in 2 regional games. Judging by tweets from some northerners, they.. erm... didn't exactly make friends with the Beekmantown girls? But that's irrelevant, I'd dance on the field all day if I dominated someone en route to the semis. Westhill is solid in every position, and they very rarely break down. If you want to have a chance against them, you either have to take advantage of every single time there's a breakdown or just make some phenomenal plays. Good luck. Section I's Bronxville, ranked 3rd in the state, will be the next team to give it a crack. That game is 12:00 Saturday at Cortland HS.

Ahh, the two smaller classes. In C & D, I get to talk a touch more because Section II & Section III reps don't play each other in regionals. 3 plays the southern tier, and 2 plays.. whoever gets there. In Class C, Section II got the winner of the north country. The north country stopped there. Schoharie got its 2nd straight win at the 'Burgh, beating Potsdam 2-0 yesterday. It was the usual suspects involved again, with Carrie Krohn & Seana Cleveland scoring and Kaitlyn Kendle handing out an assist. Schoharie now boasts 3 players with 20+ goals & 10+ assists on the season, and a 4th with 10+ & 10+. Only one of them (Kendle) is a senior, and her 25 goals are matched by Krohn (a freshman), who has 25 as well. Stillwater gave them everything they could handle in the quarterfinals. They must be wondering how far their season could've went if they were able to break through in that one. As a matter of fact, all of their Section II postseason games were 1 goal games, with this being the most "lopsided" in postseason play. Schoharie is battle tested and not afraid of close ones. They like to score early and then focus on shutting you out, and it's worked so far. They've given up just 1 goal in the postseason, and that was with 3 minutes left in the final. Only 9 have been scored on them all season, and I'm sure they'd like to keep it at that number in their game against Section IV's Lansing, 5:00 Saturday at Cortland HS. Lansing got there by beating Section III champion Sauquoit Valley 2-1 yesterday at Fulton. It was a hotly contested game that was the most physical of the three at G. Ray Bodley HS on this day. Lansing got on the board first after Megan Dean knocked one through in the 15th minute. The ball bounced out to her after the pinball effect on a corner and she finished the job. Sauquoit responded with 13:00 left in the 1st half off a corner as well. The ball ended up a little over 20 yards outside of goal, and then Elma Sarajlija happened. The youngster turned on it and sent a rocket right upper 90 with the left foot in what without question was the goal of the night, tying it up at 1. Sauquoit wasn't in full control, but they did have the better half of play. However, it didn't translate onto the scoreboard, and Lansing broke the tie midway through the 2nd half when Reilly Zajac put one home. Sauquoit brought the pressure, but couldn't get the equalizer. Another season coming up short in the state playoffs for a perennial Section III powerhouse.

Both state semifinals in Class D feature a team in my zone. I like it. Section II's Bolton/Warrensburg squad needed an extra 20 minutes, but were able to knock off Eldred 3-1. Eldred made it to the semis last year before getting ousted by Poland; they won't get the chance this year. Liv Seamans is now the leading scorer in Section II, and that won't change. She put home goals 44 and 45 in the extra session to help her squad roll forward. They play at 10 AM Saturday at Homer against Arkport, Section V's rep. B/W is currently #8 in the state; Arkport is at #5. One of Arkport's 3 losses this year... came to Poland. The top-ranked team in Class D advanced to the state semifinals for the 3rd year in a row with a 3-0 W over Milford. They weren't expected to get out of Section III (poor Remsen) in 2012. They did, and it resulted in a state title. They were perhaps expected to win the state title last year, but lost to Jasper-Troupsburg in the final. They're back, looking to go 2 for 3 in the finals. They dominated for all 80 minutes against Milford, who was ranked #4 in the state coming in as Section IV's representative. It took a little while for them to break through, but there was no question who was coming out on top. In the 20th minute, Mikayla Blumenstock (I mean, who else?) started off the scoring off a feed from Jordan Batson. Milford did everything they could to keep Poland off the board, bringing the vast majority of their team back to clog the middle of the field. Despite an 11-1 edge in shots, along with 4 corners, the clutter of defenders mixed with 3 solid saves by Rukiye Henderson held the score at 1-0 by half. Just over 5 minutes into the 2nd half, the other Blumenstock struck. 8th grader Keara is quickly showing why you should remember her name instead of just as 'Mikki's little sis'. Her emergence as the 3rd scoring option behind Mikki (47 goals) and Saige Hampston propels this team to a new level. Oh yeah, Saige. She scored too. The senior knocked one home with 10 minutes left, bumping the lead to 3-0 and effectively ending any thought of a comeback. Milford didn't quit - they nearly tallied with 30 seconds left - but it was all Poland. 20-3 edge in shots with 9 on goal, the ball in their attacking third for what seemed like every minute, they showed why they're tops in the state. For anyone who was at Franklin/Poland in 2012 in Fulton... everything about the two games lined up except for one goal. Fulton HS on a Saturday in November. Really cold. Poland played a Section IV team near Oneonta that wore purple. Dominated, but the other team never quit. Youth on both sides. The other one was 4-0; this one was 3-0. Only difference. Many of the Poland players that are factors now were factors then. The more things change, the more they stay the same. The Tornadoes will have their chance to advance to their 3rd straight state final when they battle Chateaugay, 12:30 on Saturday at Homer. Poland beat Chateaugay 2 years ago in the state semi before winning the final. Let's see if history repeats itself.

Side Notes
Barring anything crazy, Kaitlin Robbins' career goals mark of 208 will not be standing after next year. Mikayla Blumenstock is at 159 and counting, 47 this season. A couple more goals next weekend and match the total next year, and she breaks it. The easiest option to pick for breaking it, though, is Queensbury junior Brittany LaPlant. She has 182, and if she didn't miss the last month of this season with a broken foot, she may be past it now... Section II & III, with 3 reps each in the semifinals, are just behind Sections I & V for most representatives. Section V has 4 teams through, with Class AA being the only one in which they were nipped by Section VI. Section I has teams in all but Class D semis, and that's because there isn't a Class D school in Section I... Three things are certain. Death, taxes, and either Chazy or Chateaugay being in the D semis. Chateaugay beat Chazy this year to get there... Look out for Rockville Centre South Side in the Class A bracket. Long Island's representative (Section VIII) that just beat the team that knocked off the top-ranked team in the state is no stranger to Cortland. RCSS girls soccer has won more state titles than any team in NYS, any school, any sport. Winning one this year would give the program number 18.