Stillwater rallies into C semis
TROY, N.Y. » No. 14 seed Maple Hill and No. 2 Stillwater started the Section II Class C boys basketball playoffs from opposite ends of the bracket.
The Wildcats had to win a playin game just to reach a first-round road contest, while the Warriors (18-4) cruised to a home win against Berne-Knox-Westerlo in its first round game.
Either way, the teams ended up in the same spot after Saturday’s action at Hudson Valley Community College — the Class C semifinals.
Here’s how they did so:
No. 2 Warriors overcome early deficit
STILLWATER 65, DUANESBURG 50 » Minutes into the contest, things weren’t looking good for Stillwater. Leading scorer Jared D’Aloia was missing shots and Duanes-
burg (13-9) was finishing its chances en route to a 16-4 lead.
The Warriors (18-4), a veteran team, never flinched.
“This group has a ton of character,” head coach Dave Cook said. “We don’t believe any deficit is too big. Nate (Thrane), Jared (D’Aloia) and Zack (Travis) all started for us last year on a league championship team. It’s awful nice as a coach to have kids that are old.”
As D’Aloia struggled to find his stroke, the rest of the Warriors picked up their game. Ezra Echeandia scored four points to end the first quarter to cut the Duanesburg lead to 1610, then Travis opened the second with a jumper.
“It was nothing we hadn’t faced before,” Travis said of the deficit. “Once you just get playing it’s more about having fun.”
Sean Kane and freshman Brian McNeil also contributed on the boards and the scoring column for Stillwater.
D’Aloia scored his first points of the contest to tie it at 20-20, then made a runner to provide the Warriors a 21-20 lead.
Stillwater never looked back, as D’Aloia reverted to his usual dominant self in the second half and the secondary scorers continued to contribute.
Even Nate Thrane, listed at 5-foot-8, was grabbing offensive rebounds and putting them back in.
“He’s so tough, every team could use Nate,” D’Aloia said of his backcourt partner.
D’Aloia finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Travis added 16 points and McNeil had career highs with 11 points and 10 rebounds.