High school hoops: Five things to watch

1 Albany Academy is steeped in success, having won Federation Class A titles four times since 2013. This season’s squad features a younger roster as the Cadets are rated as an honorable mention selection in Class A. Saturday, Albany Academy plays host to Section IX perennial power Newburgh Free Academy (an honorable mention choice in Class AA).

2 Catskill junior standout Janay Brantley tallied 28 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists Thursday in a 76-22 Patroon Conference victory over Cairo-durham. The point total pushed her into second place all-time on the school’s scoring list with 1,518 points. She passed Stacy O’neil (1,499) and now trails only John O’neil (1,597).

3 There are just six area boys’ basketball teams ranked this week among the five state polls. Three of them compete in Class B with No. 1 Tamarac, No. 11 Mechanicville and No. 12 Cohoes making the list. Friday night in Troy, Cohoes looks to stay near the top of the Colonial Council standings as it travels to take on Catholic Central. 4 Thursday evening, Johnstown senior guard Jaden Wilson became the latest Section II standout to reach the 1,000-point plateau in the Lady Bills’ 70-56 Foothills Council victory against Hudson

Falls.

5 There are a total of 18 state-ranked area girls’ basketball teams. Two of the classifications feature five ranked squads: Class B (No. 4 Schalmont, No. 6 Catskill, No. 12 Albany Academy for Girls, No. 14 Mechanicville and No. 18 Fonda) and Class C (No. 3 Duanesburg, No. 6 Greenwich, No. 9 Berne-knox-westerlo, No. 17 Corinth and No. 23 Mayfield).