Saratoga Springs, CBA lock up playoff victories
Blue Streaks overcome strong performance by Ceccucci; CBA rebounds in fourth quarter with semifinals clash slated
TROY — Grady Ceccucci found the surroundings at Hudson Valley Community College’s Mcdonough Complex court much to his liking Sunday afternoon as the Shenendehowa junior guard showed he could hit shots from anywhere against rival Saratoga Springs.
The Plainsmen, seeded 11th in a 14-team Section II Class AA bracket, found themselves up four points with 3:12 left against the third-seeded Blue Streaks. Saratoga Springs trimmed the lead in half on a pair of free throws by Ryan Farr and Ceccucci looked to answer, but his 3-pointer went in and out. Hutton Snyder proceeded to drain a 3-pointer that gave the Blue Streaks the lead and extended what turned out to be a 10-0 run.
Led by 20 points from Farr and 15 by senior forward Andrew Stallmer, Saratoga Springs’ late surge secured a 69-66 victory in a contest featuring 15 lead changes and nine ties. The Blue Streaks were down 63-59 and responded by keeping Shen scoreless until a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
“That was a high-level game. Shen played great,” Saratoga Springs coach Matt Usher said. “Ceccucci was really good, and we knew he was good. I walked away more impressed with how hard he plays and how tough he is. Credit to Shen. We knew that was going to be a battle. It was a war. I couldn’t be more proud of my guys. In the second half, they dug deep. They’ve done that all year.”
“I knew it was going to be a good game,” said Farr, a junior guard. “We played them not that long ago (on Feb. 3 and won 61-52) and it was a good game right to the end . ... We have been the comeback kids all year. We were down 10 against Colonie and were down 10 in other games. We always find a way to battle back.”
Overcoming a deficit also came into play between No. 2 seed Christian Brothers Academy and No. 10 seed Mekeel Christian Academy. The Lions led after the first, second and third quarters, but it was the Brothers who fared better down the stretch in producing a 57-49 victory.
Saratoga Springs (17-5) and CBA (14-6) will meet Thursday night in the semifinals at Cool Insuring Arena. Game time is 5 p.m.
Ceccucci did not compete in the first showdown against Saratoga Springs. He definitely made his presence felt Sunday, pouring in a game-high 26 points. He scored to provide the Plainsmen (8-13) a 60-59 edge with 3:42 left.
Snyder’s 3-pointer gave the Blue Streaks
a 64-63 lead. Shenendehowa turned over the ball on its next possession and Farr extended the lead to three points with two free throws and Stallmer added two more from the line with 12.4 seconds remaining.
“He has been huge for us all year,” Usher said of Stallmer. “He is tough. He gets to the rim and he does a nice job for us defensively and rebounds. He’s had 10 double-doubles for us this season, so he does more for us than just score the ball. He finds a way to get big baskets for us when we need them down the stretch.”
The Brothers outscored the Lions (15-6) 22-12 in the fourth quarter to grab the victory. Eighth-grader J.J. Osinski, the son of former Schalmont and Siena star Corey Osinski, delivered 11 of his 16 points over the final eight minutes. In addition to draining a 3-pointer, Osinski also produced a pair of three-point plays to highlight his fourthquarter exploits.
“He has been big at big moments. His maturity belies his age,” CBA coach Dave Doemel said.
The Brothers trailed 39-35, but used a threepoint play by JT Vogel, another eighth-grader, and Osinski. Vogel drained a pair of foul shots with 3:47 left to put CBA ahead to stay.
Juniors Kaelen and Matt Sgambati produced 14 and 13 points, respectively, for the Brothers. MCA was paced by 21 points from sophomore center Isiah Rose. Freshman Terrence Robinson scored 13 points and Nykim Taylor, another freshman, chipped in with 12 points for the Lions.