Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Great Scott! (Colonial Council title edition)

Lansingburgh senior Haneef Scott (23) dropped 40 points on Cohoes on Tuesday night and he didn't even play the final 5:27 of the game. Lansingburgh won, 79-54 to claim sole possession of their first Colonial Council title since the 1979-80 season. (All photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

Xavier Murray leaps over Cohoes' Mark Gallerie for a first quarter layup in Tuesday's Colonial Council game at Lansingburgh High School. Murray, a senior transfer from Troy High, scored 10 points and pulled down six rebounds for the Knights.
Michael Collins (right) tries to block a shot by Cohoes' Josh LeMay (00). Collins was one of six Lansingburgh seniors that led the Knights on a 15-0 first quarter run, which led to a 35-9 lead after one quarter.
Lansingburgh's Jordan Zareski (center) grabs a rebound as Cohoes' Nick Benoit (21) and Josh LeMay (right) look on. The Knights learn their fate in the Section II Class A tournament on Wednesday afternoon and could likely be seeded fifth in the nine-team field.

Remember to check back here on Wednesday afternoon for the opening round brackets and seeds from the Section II seeding meeting. I'll also open up a chat window if anyone wants to chime in and sound off.
And check out Wednesday's edition of The Record for plenty more on Scott's performance on Tuesday night.

Boys Basketball

Big 10

B. Maginn (AA, 16) (16-0, 17-3)
C.B.A. (AA, 22) (14-2, 17-3)
Albany (9-7, 11-9)
B. Gibbons (9-7, 12-8)
Schenectady (9-7, 11-9)
Catholic Central (4-12, 5-15)
La Salle (4-12, 6-14)
Troy (4-12, 5-15)
Amsterdam (3-13, 5-15)

Bishop Maginn clinched Big 10 title
The Griffins in Class AA and Bishop Gibbons in Class A likely locked up No. 1 seeds for their respective Section II tournaments with strong play in the Big 10 this season. Gibbons, however, needs senior Brian Hamor to come back healthy if the Golden Knights think they can hold on in the sectionals.
CBA and Schenectady also should be strong dark horse teams in the AAs.

Suburban Council

North Division
Shenendehowa (AA, 18) (15-1, 19-1)
Saratoga Springs (11-5, 14-6)
Shaker (9-7, 10-10)
Burnt Hills (7-9, 9-11)
Niskayuna (4-12, 5-15)
Ballston Spa (1-15, 4-16)

South Division
Colonie (12-4, 14-6)
Mohonasen (11-5, 13-7)
Guilderland (10-6, 12-8)
Bethlehem (8-8, 8-12)
Columbia (6-10, 10-10)
Averill Park (2-14, 3-17)

North Division: Shenendehowa clinched title
South Division: Colonie & Mohonasen tied
Burnt Hills is at Colonie and Mohonasen is playing Saratoga on Tuesday night, so neither of the South Division frontrunners will have an easy time trying to claim sole possession of the division.
When the Class AA tournament kicks off next week, the Albany Academies will likely be seeded on the Suburban side, if history is any indication, as Albany Academy head coach Brian Fruscio told me early in the season. With an 19-1 record and a No. 2 Class AA ranking from the New York State Sportswrtiers Association, the Cadets should be placed ahead of Shen, but the committee could also reward Shen with a No. 1 for actually winning a league title and put the Cadets at No. 2. We'll have to wait and see what happens, but either way, it will be the most compelling topic of the day.
The Plainsmen have a tough team and the Blue Streaks are always dangerous with Jordan Stevens, but Big 10 teams have won seven consecutive large school Section II titles and I wouldn't expect that to change this year.
(Averill Park and Burnt Hills have had success at the Class A level, however)


Colonial Council

Lansingburgh (13-1, 15-5)
Voorheesville (12-2, 14-6)
Cohoes (9-5, 11-9)
Watervliet (9-5, 11-8)
Mechanicville (5-9, 6-14)
Cobleskill (4-10, 4-16)
Ravena (2-12, 2-16)
Schalmont (2-12, 2-17)

Lansingburgh clinched Colonial Council title

The Knights can lock up sole possession of their first Colonial Council title since 1980 with a victory over Cohoes tonight and also should be considered a dark horse in the Section II Class A bracket. Scotia-Glenville will be tough, as will Bishop Gibbons, but 'Burgh played ND-BG pretty tough at the Kirvin Cup tourney in December and were 5-1 against Class A competition this season.

Wasaren League

Hoosick Falls (C, 15) (11-3, 15-5)
Granville (10-4, 16-4)
Tamarac (10-4, 16-4)
Hoosic Valley (7-7, 13-7)
Schuylerville (7-7, 10-10)
Stillwater (7-7, 10-10)
Cambridge (2-12, 3-17)
Greenwich (2-12, 8-13)

Hoosick Falls clinched Wasaren League title
All of the Wasaren League teams are dangerous in the sectionals because they play a scrappy, man-to-man style that teams from other conferences may be uncomfortable with.
Tamarac and Granville should be up there among the Class B seeds and Hoosick Falls and Hoosic Valley could make a push in the Class CC bracket.

Patroon Conference

Maple Hill (C, 5) (17-1, 19-1)
Ichabod Crane (15-3, 15-5)
Rensselaer (13-5, 14-6)
Hudson (11-7, 12-8)
Cairo-Durham (10-8, 12-8)
Chatham (9-9, 12-9)
Catskill (7-11, 8-12)
Greenville (6-12, 7-13)
Coxsackie (2-16, 2-18)
Taconic Hills (0-18, 1-19)

Maple Hill clinched first Patroon Conference title since the 2003-04 season
It will be very interesting to see where the Section II committee puts Maple Hill. Some of their wins did come against teams like Taconic Hills and Coxsackie-Athens, but the Wildcats also defeated Class A Ichabod Crane twice, which is much more than teams from the Western Athletic Conference or Colonial Council can say.
Rensselaer, the defending Class C champions, should also be pretty high up on the Class C pecking order.

CHVL

Heatly (14-2, 16-4)
Germantown (12-4, 15-5)
Loudonville Christian (12-4, 13-7)
Berlin (10-6, 10-10)
Waterford (10-6, 11-9)
Hawthorne Valley (5-11, 5-11)
New Lebanon (5-11, 5-13)
Doane Stuart (4-12, 6-13)
Berkshire (0-16, 0-19)

Heatly clinched CHVL title
A CHVL team has not won a Section II title since Berkshire won the Class D title in 1998. Heatly, however, should be highly seeded and I know they have a deep bench that should help them in close games. CHVL foes Germantown and Loudonville Christian will be hanging around, too.

Girls basketball

Big 10

Schenectady (AA, 20) (10-2, 17-3)
B. Maginn (9-3, 12-6)
Catholic Central (8-4, 13-6)
Albany (7-5, 11-9)
Amsterdam
(6-6, 9-11)
Troy (2-10, 7-13)
B. Gibbons (0-12, 1-18)

Schenectady clinched Big 10 title
The Lady Patriots' only early season defeat came at the hands of Niskayuna, and they'll be hard-pressed to pick up a win over any of the Suburban Council teams in sectionals, either.
CCHS, with Olivia DeMarco returning to form at just the right time, could pose a very interesting matchup for teams like Shenendehowa or Bethlehem, the favorites heading in.

Suburban Council

North Division
Shenendehowa (AA, 15) (14-2, 16-4)
Niskayuna (10-6, 13-7)
Saratoga Springs (7-9, 9-11)
Shaker (5-11, 6-14)
Burnt Hills (2-13, 3-16)
Ballston Spa (2-14, 4-16)

South Division
Mohonasen (A, 7) (14-2, 18-2)
Bethlehem (12-4, 14-6)
Averill Park (A, 19) (9-7, 13-7)
Colonie (8-7, 10-9)
Columbia (7-9, 9-11)
Guilderland (5-11, 9-11)

North Division: Shenendehowa clinched title
South Division: Mohonasen clinched title
Shen and Mohonasen should take No. 1 seeds in the Class AA and A tournaments respectively, and they look like the odds-on favorites to win Section II titles.
Averill Park, however, will surely be in the Class A mix and Bethlehem is one of the strongest teams in the AAs.

Colonial Council

Holy Names (A, 3) (18-0, 20-0)
Lansingburgh (A, 20) (14-4, 14-6)
Voorheesville (C, 16) (14-4, 15-5)
Watervliet (12-6, 14-6)
Cobleskill (8-10, 10-10)
Cohoes (8-10, 9-11)
Mechanicville (7-11, 9-11)
Ravena (4-14, 4-16)
Albany Acad. for Girls (3-15, 4-17)
Schalmont (2-16, 3-17)

Holy Names clinched Colonial Council title
Although Holy Names is 20-0, they'll likely be the No. 3 seed in the Class A tournament behind Averill Park and Mohonasen, who both hold a number of victories over Class A teams. Holy Names beat Lansingburgh twice and also defeated Maple Hill in a non-league game, but the committee will likely hold their relatively weak Colonial Council schedule against them.

Wasaren League

Hoosic Valley (C, 5) (13-1, 19-1)
Stillwater (11-3, 15-5)
Greenwich (9-5, 15-5)
Schuylerville (8-6, 11-9)
Tamarac (8-6, 12-8)
Cambridge (4-10, 8-12)
Hoosick Falls (2-12, 4-14)
Granville (1-13, 6-14)

Hoosic Valley clinched fourth consecutive Wasaren League title
With their trademark defense, the Indians will be one of the favorites in the Class CC bracket. Stillwater also proved that they are a very tough team and should be there in the end as well.

Patroon Conference

Maple Hill (C, 3) (16-0, 19-1)
Catskill (13-3, 15-5)
Greenville (12-4, 15-5)
Rensselaer (9-7, 12-8)
Hudson (9-7, 11-9)
Coxsackie (6-10, 10-10)
Taconic Hills (4-12, 6-13)
Cairo- Durham (3-13, 5-15)
Chatham (0-16, 0-20)

Maple Hill clinched third consecutive Patroon Conference title, 45-game Patroon Conference winning streak
It will be interesting to see how the Wildcats are seeded in the tournament as their league schedule probably doesn't help them in the minds of the committee. They do hold a non-league victory over Cohoes and their only loss came to Class A undefeated Holy Names, so they should be up there. A Maple Hill-Hoosic Valley would be awfully fun to watch, but probably not so much for the scoreboard operator.

CHVL

Germantown (D, 2) (16-0, 20-0)
Berlin (13-3, 14-4)
Emma Willard (12-3, 12-6)
Heatly (10-6, 11-9)
Waterford (8-8, 8-11)
New Lebanon (5-11, 5-15)
Loudonville Christian (4-11, 5-14)
Doane Stuart (2-14, 2-15)
Hawthorne Valley (0-14, 0-14)

Germantown clinched CHVL title
The Clippers haven't lost yet and it looks like they have the inside track towards the No. 1 seed, having defeated Class B Emma Willard twice during the season.


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