Hoosic Valley sets up much anticipated final
GLENS FALLS — The boys’ basketball matchup that two small Capital Region hamlets have waited for since last summer has arrived.
Hoosic Valley overcame a sluggish first half Tuesday night to defeat Warrensburg 67-36 in a Section II Class C semifinal at Cool Insuring Arena.
That puts the Indians (19-3), seeded second in the section and ranked sixth in the state, into the Class C final against top-seeded Duanesburg (22-0), No. 1 in the latest state poll. The game is scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday in Glens Falls.
“We’re excited for Duanesburg,” Hoosic Valley coach Alex Lilac said. “They’ve been following us and we’ve been following them. We played against them in some summer leagues and split. Both communities are looking forward to this. We figured it would be the case, and here it is.”
Duanesburg earned its ticket to the final Monday, beating fourth-seeded Berne-knox 58-33.
At least at the start, it wasn’t a foregone conclusion that Hoosic Valley would join Duanesburg. The sixth-seeded Burghers (14-9), who upset Saratoga Catholic 39-32 in the quarterfinals, hung tough in the first half, trailing only 29-22 at the break.
Hoosic Valley showed its mettle in the second half, riding 3-pointers by Isaac Wiley (two), Logan Reilly, Isaiah Eckler and Landon Reilly to outscore Warrensburg 19-5 in the third quarter.
“For whatever reason, we came out a little flat and looking ahead,” Lilac said. “Now there’s no more coming out flat. They know they’re playing for a championship. They’ll be motivated, ready to go, from the opening tip.”
Chris Jones dominated the inside for Hoosic Valley, scoring 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting, and helping the Indians to a 34-22 rebounding advantage. Eckler had 16 points and Wiley 11.
“One of our parts of our game plan was to lay off of the Wylie kid a little because something’s got to give,” Warrensburg coach Mike Perrone said. “You’ve got to protect the paint when they’ve got a big guy inside, and you’ve got to be ready to help off their dribble drive. When you’ve got five guys that can all pass and shoot, they’re going to make you pay.”
Warrensburg, which had only six healthy players, had only one senior, Landon Olden. Steve Schloss, a junior, had 20 of the Burghers’ 36 points.
“That’s going to be a great matchup,” Perrone said of the final. “Duanesburg’s really good, too. It’ll be a lot of fun for the fans to see two great teams. I think whoever gets out of Section II has a great shot to make a long run (in the state playoffs).”