Warriors, Wildcats on to semis
Stillwater, Maple Hill to meet at Civic Center
TROY, N.Y. >> No. 14 seed Maple Hill and No. 2 Stillwater started the Section II Class C boys basketball playoffs as opposite seeds.
The Wildcats had to win a playin game just to reach a first-round road contest, while the Warriors (184) 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 Duanesburg (139) was finishing its chances en route to a 16-4 lead.
The Warriors (18-4), a veteran team, never flinched though.
“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 16-10, 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 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’ 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. the first points of the third quarter and clinched the game with a steal and layup for his team-high 13th point. It was his team’s final points in Maple Hill’s 51-45 victory over Mechanicville.
“Garrett is the heart and soul of the soccer team, he’s the heart and soul of this team,” Maple Hill coach Scott Hanrahan said. “He shoots a terrible 3 and it goes in. He manages to come up with a big play.”
The win advances the No. 14 seed to the Section II Class C semifinals against No. 2 Stillwater scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
There were times when it looked like Maple Hill was going to turn the contest into a blowout.
A 6-0 run to open the second half, a 10-point lead midway through the third quarter and multiple points in the fourth looked like the death blow for Mechanicville’s season.
The Raiders found ways to get back into the game time and time again. A 7-0 run to end the third quarter, capped by two Keegan McHale free throws, made it 31-28. After trading baskets to start the fourth, substitute Peter Enzien made a 3-pointer on his first field goal attempt to pull the Red Raiders to within 35-33. Freshman point guard Kendrick McCann even had a shot to tie the game next time down the court.
The shot was of target, however, and Maple Hill’s Austin Decker made a 3-pointer at the other end to extend the lead.
Decker, Axtmann and Ethan Samarija took turns making big shots down the stretch to keep Mechanicville at bay.
Decker finished with 11 points while Samarija and Nate Mannion contributed nine apiece for Maple Hill.
Zach Hansen led the Raiders with 11 points, McHale added eight while Reggie McCann and Enzien contributed six apiece.
Mechanicville turned the ball over 15 times in the first half and went 8-for-21 from the free throw line. Effort and defense helped coach Rian Richardson’s squad keep things close time and time again.
“It wasn’t our day but we still had a shot,” Richardson said. “We finally turned the corner about five weeks ago and started playing the way we’re expected to play. The heart was there. The determination was there. The results weren’t.”