Knights begin playoff run today

LANSINGBURGH, N.Y. >> Before every practice, Lansingburgh head coach Marc Fruscio talks to his players about leaving their stamp on the school and the community. Lansingburgh last won a Section II title in 1967. As the No. 1 seed in this year’s bracket, it might be the school’s best shot to end that drought.

“We’re trying to do something special for Lansingburgh,” Fruscio said. “Now we’ve got 15 guys, and they all want to leave their stamp, and everyone wants to look back to that 2016-2017 year.”

Lansingburgh has used last year’s section title loss to Troy as a motivator for what this season could be. There are eight seniors on a team that finished 17-3, and will face Burnt Hills on Sunday at 6 p.m. inside the Hudson Valley Community College Gym.

At the beginning of the season, team captain Devonte Jones said the Troy loss was a constant conversation among his teammates. Now that conversation has turned

to making up for it. And Sunday afternoon is the first chance to make a dent in that goal.

“We’re just trying to take it game-by-game,” senior Jahidi Wallace said. “Not trying to look past sectionals right now, just trying to win, game-by-game. It takes a lot of hard work — for everybody to play together and not be selfish.”

The Knights are coming off a loss to Albany Academy, a team that accounts for two of their three losses on the season. A one-point defeat to Ichabod Crane is the other. They scheduled tough in the nonconference in the hopes that it would pay off in form of a Class A title.

Jones leads the team in scoring, and Wallace is right behind him. Tyler Rhoden has hit a team-high 47 3-pointers this season.

Burnt Hills is the No. 9 seed in the bracket, and though they beat Gloversville in an upset — a game Fruscio attended — they also have recent losses to Columbia and a 40-point defeat against Averill Park. Lansingburgh will be the heavy favorite to advance to the semifinals.

“We haven’t really been in this situation all year where our backs are against the wall,” Fruscio said. “The records are out the window. When I showed these guys the bracket and the pairings, I made sure they knew it didn’t say anybody’s records next to the name.”