Saratoga Catholic tournament back again
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Four teams from four different leagues will converge for Saratoga Central Catholic’s annual holiday tournament Thursday.
The host Saints, representing the Western Athletic Conference, will welcome Hudson from the Patroon Conference, Stillwater from the Wasaren League and Voorheesville from the Colonial Council to the two-day event that begins Jan. 27.
Stillwater (2-2, 2-3) is the defending tournament champs after topping Saratoga Catholic 79-49 in the final last season. The Class B school began its season 2-0 in the Wasaren League but has since dropped games to Schuylerville and Greenwich.
Stillwater is led by Shawn McNeil and John Hoin who both average 13.4 points per game. The inside-outside combo has had to pick up its game early in the season after starting point guard Robert Stickney went down with an injury.
Coach Dave Cook’s Warriors could use the tournament to regroup and work on their signa- ture zone defense before return to league play Jan.
4 against Cambridge.
Stillwater will play fellow Class B school Hudson at 6 p. m. in the tourneyopener. The Blue Hawks opened the season 4-1, but lost its most recent contest to undefeated and state-ranked Catskill. Hudson ( 4- 2, 4- 2) is led by Everton Higgins, T. J. Gardner and Javel Grant. Higgins a 6- foot- 2, 220pound junior is averaging 12 points a game, while Gardner puts up about 10 and is the Blue Hawks’ biggest 3-point threat.
Saratoga Catholic (3-2, 35) enters its own tournament-opener, Thursday at 7: 30 p. m. against Voorheesville, coming off its biggest victory of the season. Ryan Czarnecki, Michael Naughton, Luke Spicer and Keegan Murphy each scored in double figures in a route of Fort Plain — the No. 16 ranked team in the NYS Sportswriters poll at the time.
The win put the Saints above .500 in the WAC North Division and still within striking distance of league leaders Canajoharie (4-1) and Fort Plain (4-1).
Murphey is the Saints’ leading scorer at 13.5 points per game, followed by Czarnecki ( 12.5) and Naughton (8.5).
Voorheesville has had an up- and- down season thus far, pulling out Colonial Council wins over Fonda and Mechanicville but falling to Watervliet, Schalmont and Ichabod Crane. The Blackbirds are led by 6-foot-3 junior Logan Hotaling, averaging 12.2 points and 3- point specialist Dylan Hensel’s 10 points per game.
The winning teams will play in the tournament championship at 7:30 p.m. Friday, immediately following the consolation game scheduled to start at 6 p.m.