The Buffalo News

What: New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AA final four.

Today’s semifinals: Jamestown vs. Union-Endicott, 12:30 p.m.; XI-Brentwood Indians (22-2) vs. II-Green Tech Eagles (16-5), 2 p.m.

Sunday’s final: 3:15 p.m. (broadcast on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel Ch. 323 and TWCSportsChannel.com.)

Where: Glens Falls Civic Center.

New York State Sportswriters Association Class AA rankings: 1. Cardozo-PSAL (last week: 10); 8. Brentwood (9); 9. Jamestown (14); 11. Green Tech (15); 12. Union-Endicott (Honorable mention).

How they got here: Jamestown beat Clarence, 60-40, for its second straight Section VI title and fourth in five years; it then knocked off favored Section V (Rochester area) champion Greece-Athena in the Far West Regionals, 61-52 thanks in large part to Zack Panebianco’s 34 points. Union-Endicott pulled off one of the biggest upsets in recent state tournament history last week when it beat state power Mount Vernon in overtime, 69-66.

Where’s Union-Endicott? The champions of Section IV are about 6 miles west of Binghamton.

Jamestown starters and key reserves: 5-10 Jr. Zack Panebianco, 6-5 Sr. Quinn Lee Yaw, 5-6 So. Zacc Kinsey, 6-4 Jr. Stephen Carlson, 6-0 Jr. Ben Larson 11; 6-1 Sr. Matt Hoaglund, 6-3 Sr. Brian Park, 6-1 Sr. Josh Colwell.

Court vision: Jamestown coach Ben Drake, one of the top coaches in Western New York, has lauded his team for two straight excellent executions of the game plan. The Red Raiders’ performance last week was just that, as they used patient, proper sets to gain a big first quarter lead (20-5), played physical defense, and had Panebianco lead them to the finish (22 points in second half, including 4 for 4 on threes). Union-Endicott stunned the state last week behind 6-foot senior guards C.J. Krowiak (25 points) and Osama Barwari (23). One of Union-Endicott’s losses came to Horseheads, which Jamestown beat in a Binghamton holiday tournament. U-E’s football team lost to Williamsville North in this past fall’s Class A semifinals.

Bracketology: Drake says that the field appears wide open, in contrast to his 2011 team’s visit to Glens Falls, where the Red Raiders beat an undefeated Albany Christian Brothers Academy team in overtime before falling to a Mount Vernon team with three Division I players in the final. High-flying Brentwood of Long Island boasts Oakland University-bound 6-8 Femi Olujobi, while Green Tech, a four-year-old charter school from Albany, is led by guard Jamil Hood Jr. (17.1 ppg), son of the head coach.

Coming Sunday: Coverage of Jamestown’s semifinal and the Class C and B finals .

At BuffaloNews.com: Our #PrepTalkLive blog will have play-by-play coverage of all Section VI games in Glens Falls; comment in the blog or via Twitter using the hashtag #PrepTalkLive. Photo galleries and a video recap will follow.

When: 2 p.m. today at Fordham University’s Rose Hill Gym (streamed live on msgvarsity.com.)

New York State Sportswriters Association Class B rankings: 1. III-Westhill (last week: 1); 3. Olean (4); 25. St. Mary’s (25). Regis has not been ranked.

How they got here: St. Mary’s became the Monsignor Martin Association’s Class B representative when Class B school Nichols won the Manhattan Cup and thusly entered the state playoffs in Class A (Nichols lost in the A semifinals last week). Regis beat Sacred Heart of Yonkers, 47-41, in overtime in Monday’s downstate Class B championship.

St. Mary’s starters and key reserves: 6-4 sr. Tyler English, 6-5 sr. Matt Wrobel, 6-3 junior Corey Kiebzak; 5-10 sr. Dione Strong; 5-1 so. Takal Molson; 6-3 sr. Latrell Tyson; 6-4 jr. Sean Wilson; 6-1 jr. Jake Concannon; 5-7 sr. Anthony Hinton.

Where’s Regis? On the Upper East Side of Manhattan, less than two blocks east of Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Court vision: St. Mary’s, undefeated against Class B competition through the Monsignor Martin season and a top five small school all year, is making its sixth straight appearance in the state championship game. It has lost the last two years. It won the state Catholic B title three times, in 2004, 2010 and 2011. Regis was moved down to Class B this year after five years in Class A but, like St. Mary’s, played many larger schools in nonleague games. Regis senior co-captain Luke Passanannte had 10 points and 12 rebounds in the state final victory.

Who’s got next: The NYSCHSAA champion advances to the Federation Tournament of Champions March 21-23 at the Times-Union Center in Albany. The Catholic champion will face New York City’s Public Schools Athletic League champion at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Brooklyn Community (22-1) plays Fannie Lou Hamer (23-5) in the PSAL title game at 1 p.m. today at Long Island University-Brooklyn.

— Keith McShea

GLENS FALLS — The last time Olean played in the Glens Falls Civic Center, it was a gloomy day for basketball fans in Olean. St. Bonaventure lost in the NCAA Tournament before Olean High fell in the semifinals of the state Class B tournament.

It was the complete opposite on Friday evening.

Hours after Bonaventure recorded a stirring win over Saint Louis in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament, Olean High came through with a fantastic performance as it relished its return to the mecca of New York State high school basketball.

With leading scorer Wil Bathurst hampered by foul trouble, senior center Sam Eckstrom dominated inside with 31 points while senior guard Nick Schmidt – son of St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt – hit 7 of 9 three-pointers in a 25-point game as Olean overcame hot-shooting Woodlands, 71-63, before an estimated 2,500.

“It feels like when we play well, they play well or when we play bad, they play bad,” said Schmidt of his squad – and his father’s team. “It’s good that we both won and hopefully we both keep moving on.”

The Mr. Inside-Mr. Outside combination of 6-foot-7 Eckstrom and 6-foot Schmidt was all the more important because Bathurst (10 points) spent time on the bench.

“They did a great job,” Olean coach Jeff Anastasia said. “Nick was on fire. He did a phenomenal job and the guys did a great job finding him, I thought. Sam was just a force inside. They could not stop him. They did not have an answer for him all night. I was really proud. He played a great game.”

Olean, ranked third in the New York State Sportswriters Association Class B poll, will play for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class B championship at 9 tonight against the state’s top-ranked team, undefeated Westhill (24-0) of Section III (Syracuse area). Tonight’s winner will advance to the Federation Tournament of Champions next weekend in Albany.

Olean, with its five starting seniors, displayed playmaking and clutch shotmaking that was forged by its independent schedule, one it embarked on to help prepare it for a run at a state championship.

Two years ago, all were sophomores on a team that lost its semifinal to eventual champion Bishop Ludden of Syracuse, hours after St. Bonaventure fell to Florida State in the first-round of the NCAAs. Last year’s expected return to Glens Falls for the Huskies was stunningly nixed by a buzzer-beater loss to Batavia in the Far West Regionals.

Olean took control of the game with a 22-13 third that ended with a Bathurst-to-Eckstrom layup to give it a 54-49 lead heading to the fourth. Woodlands stayed within two possessions for much of the fourth, and came within 66-63 with 1:09 left when Olean beat Woodlands’ pressure and went inside to Eckstrom for a nice pivot and finish. Eckstrom added a big rebound and two free throws.

email: kmcshea@buffnews.com

GLENS FALLS — At one point in the third quarter of Friday afternoon’s Class C state semifinals, Friends Academy went to a man-to-man defense on Middle Early College.

And that’s when Bri’an Brown and Kevin Briggs took over.

Senior guard Briggs scored 31 points while 6-4 classmate Brown had a triple-double (18 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists) as both were near-unguardable to help lead the Kats to a 72-66 victory before an estimated 500 at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

“We noticed when they went to man, we knew they couldn’t check us when we went to the hole,” Brown said. “We knew we were too fast for them, so we got to the hole every time when they were playing man.”

Middle Early College (19-5), which won the Buffalo Public Schools’ Yale Cup this season, will play for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class C championship at 7:15 tonight against Section II (Albany area) champion Hoosic Valley (20-3).

“We’ve been waiting for this for a whole year – we still have to work hard, we still have one more game to go,” Briggs said. “Our coach always told us, we’re unstoppable, we’re the best two guards in the city – we just try and take advantage of it. We played our game and good results happen.”

It is the third time in five years that the Kats will play for the C title. Middle College won in 2010 in the school’s second year of existence, and it lost in the final in 2012.

“It never loses that luster – it’s just so exciting to see the look on the kids’ faces when they win,” coach Randall Rich said. “It’s just an amazing feeling for them and makes me feel good about everything we’ve done all year.

“My pregame speech was that we have the four best athletes on the court: Bri’an, Kevin, TJ and Brandon,” Rich said, referring to senior two-way contributors Tarron Scott and Brandon Jefferson.

Middle College had a 24-21 lead at halftime over the private school from Nassau County, Long Island, and it pushed its advantage to 47-39 after three quarters thanks to a three-pointer by Briggs that was set up by a kickout from Brown.

On the first possession of the fourth, another Brown kickout for a Briggs three beat the shot clock buzzer and put Middle up, 50-39. After a Friends miss, 5-6 sophomore Joseph Staton hit a three during another impactful three-point shooting performance in the playoffs (he was 4 for 6 from three for his 12 points).

The Kats maintained their lead with smart defense, good ball movement and the foul shooting of Briggs, who hit 13 of 19 at the line, all of which came in the second half. Scott had nine points and eight rebounds for the Kats.

“Gritty,” was the word Rich used to describe his team’s wins. “We’ve been fighting for every win. They’re not awesome wins, we’re not blowing teams out, they’re all close, grind-it-out, gritty wins, and I’m proud of them. They keep digging in. They refuse to lose. We lost those games early on this season, and we learned from it.”

Hoosic Valley of Section II (Albany area) defeated Section III (Syracuse area) champion Waterville, 62-58, in an entertaining game. Hoosic Valley was led by 27 points from 6-1 senior Mike Pierre while 6-4 junior John Rooney had 19.

email: kmcshea@buffnews.com

MAYVILLE — The Village of Mayville received some well-deserved publicity not too long ago over the building of a giant ice castle. That hasn’t been the only attraction in town this winter.

The Chautauqua Lake girls basketball team has been grabbing its share of headlines in what has been the most successful season in its history.

The ice castle was an impressive structure, made of 1,200 blocks of ice. Built by volunteers on the banks of nearby Chautauqua Lake, it was the centerpiece of the Mayville Winter Festival. The girls basketball team has been building something as well, as an experienced team heads to the state final four this weekend.

From the popular Sweet Spot Cafe on North Erie Street to the American Legion on South Erie Street, this community of 1,700 is ready to welcome its first team state championship since the Mayville and Chautauqua high schools merged in 1996-97.

The Thunderbirds, winners of 19 in a row, are two victories away from the New York State Class C title. They will play Haldane of Section I (Hudson Valley) in today’s 12:30 p.m. semifinals at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy. If they win, they will play for the championship at 1:45 p.m. Sunday against the winner of Hoosic Valley (18-4) versus Harpursville (23-0).

The players are not the only ones who are excited. Jenn Obert is the village treasurer, but she also knows what it’s like to be a state champion. She played on the Mayville volleyball team that won back-to-back state titles in 1993 and 1994.

“I think it’s totally awesome, when we went to states for volleyball it was very exciting,” Obert said from her desk in the Village Hall. “I remember coming back into town, there were a whole bunch of people waiting for us. It’s an experience you never forget.”

The village sent this year’s team off in style last week before they left for the Far West Regionals at Finger Lakes CC. People lined the sidewalks as state police escorted a parade of three fire trucks, a rescue vehicle and an ambulance in a procession that started at the school, went past the lone street light, and looped around the village.

John Crandall is a fire chief, the village clerk and a close follower of the team.

“As far as the village, we’re always excited when we have a team of any caliber headed toward a state championship,” Crandall said. “The fire department, whenever we’re asked, we’re there for a parade or whatever we can do to help. We’re all about that.”

American Legion Post 493 has shown its support with a sign out front that reads: “Congrats and good luck girls, bring it home.”

That sentiment was shared by the school when the team boarded a bus Friday morning following a pep rally. The Thunderbirds like their chances. The only blemish on their 22-1 record is a loss to Jamestown, winners of Class AA.

Coach Eric Schuster has seen Haldane on tape and thinks his team matches up well.

“They have a point guard who can really handle it, No. 10,” he said. “I think we’re going to see a very similar team to what we saw last week” with Keshequa. “They’re a good, quick team that likes to push the basketball, and they’re going to play in-your-face-defense.”

Haldane will have to find an answer for the Thunderbirds’ front court of 5-10 junior Jenna Einink (20.1 ppg, 12.1 rpg) and 5-9 junior Ashton Albanesius (15.1 ppg). Junior guard Courtney Hewes (10.0 ppg) can also be dangerous if left unchecked. They will also have to tighten their defense, which gave up 11 three-pointers to Keshequa.

Haldane has its share of weapons with Sam Lisikatos, who wants the ball when the game’s on the line, along with top defender and younger sister Marissa Lisikatos. Their post players include the sure-handed Jessica Harrison and standout soccer goalkeeper Cali Schweikhart. Junior guard Allie Monteleone has skills that can hurt a team in several ways.

Chautauqua Lake looks to put this team on ice. This week they were selling T-shirts in school that read: “Section VI Class C Far West Regional Champions.”

“I’m sure if by chance we can come home with a state title, we’ll have some new shirts made,” promised Schuster.

email: mmonnin@buffnews.com

GLENS FALLS — Jamestown was in control for nearly all of Saturday afternoon’s Class AA state semifinal. But with 2.2 seconds left, all it could do was watch.

Jamestown was up one and Union-Endicott was at the line. The two free throws would very likely determine if the Red Raiders would win, lose, or head to overtime.

Miss. Timeout. Miss.

Jamestown will play for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AA championship today after a 64-63 victory that included another outstanding performance by junior guard Zack Panebianco. The triumph was secured only after several agonizing moments as Union-Endicott senior Osama Barwari missed both of those free throws.

“That was probably the craziest two minutes of my life right there,” said Jamestown senior forward Quinn Lee Yaw. “During the free throws, I was the most nervous … and after he missed both of them, I became the happiest. It’s just a great win for us.”

The Red Raiders (20-3) will play Albany charter school Green Tech (18-4) today at 3:15 in the AA title game (Time Warner Cable SportsChannel) at the Glens Falls Civic Center. It is Jamestown’s second in the last four years after losing the title game to Mount Vernon in 2011.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been a part of a game that had so many things happen, back and forth, in the last minute of a game, especially for it to happen in a state semifinal — I’m not even sure exactly what happened at the end of the game,” said Jamestown coach Ben Drake, who appeared uncharacteristically shaken.

“We seemingly had control of the game and all we needed to do is be strong with the ball, and get the ball to Zack, and make some free throws and the game is ours. … We hung on. You know, survive and advance, and now we play tomorrow for a state championship.”

The 5-foot-10 Panebianco had another outstanding state playoff performance, scoring 31 points a week after a 34-point effort led the Red Raiders past Greece-Athena in the Far West Regionals. Panebianco hit 9 of 18 shots, was 4 of 10 from three-point range and was 9 of 14 at the line.

Barwari had an outstanding steal of an inbound pass by Jamestown from under its own basket, with his layup tying the game at 63-63 with about 12 seconds left. Jamestown inbounded the ball to Panebianco, who was fouled with 9 seconds to go.

He hit his first free throw, but missed the second, and U-E rushed upcourt and Barwari drove down the lane and was fouled while his shot went off the rim. With a chance to tie the game, his first bounced off the back iron.

Then Drake called timeout.

“Mainly it was to ice him because I wanted him to think about that first miss and think about having to come back and knock down that second free throw,” said Drake. “And also we had 2.2 seconds left, which is a lot of time, so I wanted to draw up a play so that if he did knock it down, we could try and get a last-second shot.”

The second free throw was short, rebounded by Jamestown, and time expired.

Union-Endicott deserved to be on the cusp of victory as it kept coming at Jamestown, with senior backcourt mates C.J. Krakowiak (30 points) and Barwari (17) leading the way, as they did in last week’s state-wide stunner of power Mount Vernon in the regionals. Meanwhile, the Tigers’ constant double- and triple-teams on Panebianco and Lee Yaw (15 points, 10 rebounds) were more and more effective as the game went on.

In the fourth quarter, Jamestown got a big three-pointer by sophomore Zacc Kinsey (eight points, two steals) and a putback rebound off a missed free throw by junior Ben Larson (five). Kinsey also had a layup in the final minute to give Jamestown a five-point lead out of a timeout.

Green Tech, whose varsity program is in just its fourth year of existence, beat Brentwood of Long Island, 52-44, in a tightly played second semifinal Saturday.

Najee Ward, a 6-1 senior guard, had 15 points. Isiah Dobere, a 6-1 junior guard, had 12, and 6-5 senior Ramion Burt had 11.

email: kmcshea@buffnews.com

Mike Cerone of Regis High in Manhattan rebounded the last missed shot by St. Mary’s with 9 seconds to play, was fouled and made a final free throw to finish of a 56-50 victory over the Lancers in the State Catholic High Schools Class B boys basketball championship game at Fordham’s Rose Hill Gymnasium in the Bronx.

The rebound was the 18th of the game for Cerone, a 6-foot-4 junior, who finished with 16 points.

A three-pointer by Conor Peterson with five minutes left gave Regis (17-11) the lead for good, 44-42.

Regis was clinging to a 48-47 lead with 3:21 left before running off four straight points on a pair of free throws by Charles Gavigan and a layup by Cerone to build a five-point lead with 2:01 remaining.

St. Mary’s ended its season with a 19-8 overall record. The Lancers were 12-2 in the Monsignor Martin Association with losses to only Canisius and Bishop Timon-St. Jude.

It was the sixth straight year that St. Mary’s has played in the State Catholic Class B championship game, losing the last three. The Lancers won their third state title in 2011. The others were in 2004 and 2011.

It was the fifth Catholic state championship for the Raiders, who’ll play Brooklyn Community, the New York City Public Schools champ, in the semifinals of the Federation tournament in Albany Saturday.

TROY — Haldane has made an outrageous 17 appearances in the New York State girls basketball tournament, winning five titles, but on Saturday it was Chautauqua Lake that played like battle-tested veterans on the big stage.

The Thunderbirds, first-time visitors to states, completely dismantled their Section I opponents, winning the Class C semifinal, 61-39, before an estimated 800 at Hudson Valley Community College.

Chautauqua Lake (23-1) will take a 20-game winning streak into today’s 2:45 p.m. championship game championship against Hoosic Valley (19-4) of Section II.

The Indians knocked off previously undefeated Harpursville, 55-44, in the other semifinal.

A state title would be the 12th for Section VI since the event’s inception in 1981 and the first since Clymer won the Class D crown in 2009-10.

The Thunderbirds can only hope their momentum carries over. Their 2-3 zone defense held Haldane to 13-of-54 shooting and forced 25 turnovers.

Haldane showed flashes of what got them there, but this one was never close. Chautauqua Lake was ahead, 15-7, after the first quarter before junior Courtney Hewes connected for three three-pointers in the second quarter to help her team build a 21-point halftime lead. Hewes was 4 of 5 from three-point range for the game to finish with a team-high 19 points.

“In the rest stop on the way here I said, ‘Hey, you gotta go out and be aggressive tomorrow, do you hear me?’ ” said coach Eric Schuster, “and she’s real quiet and she gave me a head nod. She was just unbelievable today and we needed it. Our bigs got into foul trouble and we were able to keep them on the bench.”

Hewes got hot at the right time as CL was forced to sit two starters in foul trouble.

“I usually don’t shoot that much, but I was feeling it today,” said Hewes. “When our forwards went out, I knew I had to step it up a little bit.”

Hewes’ long-range shooting helped the Thunderbirds outscore Haldane, 22-9, in the second quarter. Haldane was unable to mount any runs in the second half.

“After we got that big lead, it was just a matter of boxing out, contesting their shots and rebounding, and we did that,” said Schuster.

Jenna Einink finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds. Ashton Albanesius added 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Ashley Moulton grabbed 11 rebounds and Tara Hunt handed out five assists. The winners also made 12 of 18 free-throw attempts.

Haldane’s Sam Lisikatos led all scorers with 22 points. She had five three-pointers, but by the time those shots started to fall, the game was out of reach.

“They were very big compared to us and they were very strong, they overpowered us” said Lisikatos. “Before we came out here we said ‘give it all you got, leave it out on the floor no matter what,’ and I think we did that.”

While Lisikatos got her points, Haldane’s other big scorer, Allie Monteleone was 1 of 20 from the floor.

“We knew they like to put it on the floor, but even when they put it on the floor we were able to force that deep three,” said Schuster. “No. 1 (Lisikatos) got hot from the three, but to be honest with you, she wasn’t the one we were really worried about. It was No. 10 (Monteleone), but she didn’t have one of her best games.”

email: mmonnin@buffnews.com

GLENS FALLS — This year’s Olean basketball team will be remembered as one of the best in Section VI history.

Its three-year run came to an end Saturday night against a team, and a player, which put forth one of the greatest performances in state playoff history.

Westhill junior Jordan Roland scored 32 of his 41 points in a phenomenal first half in which the Warriors outscored Olean, 49-18, all but settling what would end up a 93-55 victory in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class B championship game.

An estimated 2,500 in the Glens Falls Civic Center were either gasping at Roland’s first-half shooting performance (12 for 14 from the field and 6 of 7 from three-point range) or murmuring to each other in between his shots.

Westhill took a 22-12 lead after one quarter before the show really got going in what would be a 27-6 second that left Olean trailing by 31 at the half.

“It was just unbelievable. I’ve never seen a team or individual shoot like that in my 30-some years of coaching basketball,” said Olean coach Jeff Anastasia. “They never slowed down. They just kept going.”

Westhill shot 70 percent from the field in the first half (19 for 27) while it was 9 of 12 on three-pointers (75 percent). The 6-foot-1 Roland repeatedly elevated high on his jump shot, swishing threes or hanging jumpers despite good defense from several different Huskies.

It was a surreal performance, and Olean senior Wil Bathurst described it in very much that way.

“It was almost like my body was there but my mind was somewhere else,” said Bathurst. “It was like I was looking down on myself on the court from up there in the rafters somewhere, watching the game unwind and watching this kid hit shot after shot after shot. We’re playing good defense, hand in his face, and it just doesn’t seem to matter, he just keeps hitting shots.

“Just keep looking at the scoreboard – first it’s five, then its 10, then it’s 20, and it gets to a point that you know that that’s it, and all you can do is keep fighting.”

Roland scored just nine points in the second half – at one point, he passed up a jumper and the crowd groaned in disappointment – leaving him short of the state final four record of 47 points (achieved by Jamesville-Dewitt’s Bernard Blut in 1990 and Hamilton’s Adonal Foyle in 1994). Roland’s seven three-pointers is one short of the tournament record, set by Norwich’s Charlie Wightman in 1993.

While Roland cooled off, 6-5 junior Tyler Reynolds continued the Warriors’ staggering shooting performance, scoring 27 of his 38 points in the second half. For the game, Section III (Syracuse area) champion Westhill (25-0) was 36 of 56 from the field (64 percent) and 14 of 21 from three (67 percent). After three quarters the score was 76-42.

“I just felt like if we took care of the ball on a few more possessions offensively and just kept it a little closer … I don’t know,” Anastasia said, “but the way that they shot I don’t think it really would have made a difference.”

Olean (21-4) won three Section VI Class B championships with the same core group of four senior starters of Bathurst (17 points) and fellow All-Tournament Team selection Sam Eckstrom (13) as well as Nick Schmidt (eight) and point guard Luke Hennessy (12).

“It’s a time of the season that I was dreading the most because I just did not want to say goodbye to these guys,” said Anastasia, following a meeting with his emotional locker room. “I love these guys. ... I told them, what you’ve accomplished the last three and four years is phenomenal.”

email: kmcshea@buffnews.com

GLENS FALLS — It wasn’t the way Middle Early College wanted to go out, not by a long shot.

The Kats, after a promising start, were outplayed on both ends of the floor and lost to Hoosic Valley, 67-55, in the Class C final at the New York State Championships in front of an estimated 2,500 at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

Bri’an Brown (24 points) and Kevin Briggs (15) were named to the Class C all-tournament team after a stellar weekend, but that did little to console the Kats who were looking to bring a state title back to the Buffalo Public Schools for the second year in a row.

With the game slipping from their reach, Kats coach Randy Rich was ejected from the game with 2:13 left, his team trailing 59-47, after being called for his second technical.

“When I get frustrated the kids get frustrated. They kind of reflect me. I’ve been cool all year, and they’ve been cool all year,” said Rich. “I definitely should apologize to my school district, my principal, the kids first of all, I let them down, I embarrassed them. It’s not the way it should be done. I didn’t handle things correctly. It’s not a good example, it’s not the way high school basketball should be.”

It was the third time in five years the Kats have reached the state final, but this one will be remembered for John Rooney of Hoosic, who made sure it would be a long bus ride home for the Kats. He scored a game-high 29 points on 12-of-17 shooting and was named the Class C tournament MVP. Teammate Mike Pierre proved a tough matchup as well as he connected for 24 points.

It was a four-point game after three quarters, but Hoosic flexed its muscles in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Kats, 22-14. Trailing by double digits and its coach reduced to a spectator, the Kats’ fate was sealed. The Yale Cup champs finished the season 19-6.

“They were trying to take away the inside on me,” said Brown, who finished 10 of 19 from the floor. “They were having No. 23 push me to the left. I can still score quite a bit going to my left, but they were making it difficult under there. They caught a lead on us, and then they were able to extend the lead.”

Middle Early College started the game in control. Brown set the tone, scoring his team’s first six points. Briggs added a runner and a nice-looking drive and the Kats appeared on their way.

Hoosic called a time out to adjust and quickly closed the gap ending the quarter on a 6-2 run to climb within 16-14. Rooney gave Hoosic Valley its first lead early in the second quarter, 17-16. The lead changed hands a few times before Rooney made a pair of free throws with 46.2 seconds left to give the Indians a 27-26 lead at the break.

The Kats shot a respectable 12 of 25 (48 percent) from the floor compared to 9 of 27 (33 percent) for Hoosic, but they had nothing to show for it. After the promising start, the shots stopped falling for the Kats, they gave up too many offensive rebounds and Brown cooled off.

The game was tied three times in the third quarter. A basket by Briggs gave the Middle Early College a short-lived lead at 35-33. The Indians went on a 6-0 run and took their largest lead of the game. Rich picked up his first technical with 1:13 left adding to the team’s frustration.

“We needed to play tighter defense,” said Brown. “They got a lot of easy buckets.”

Hoosic Valley is likely to hang around the Capital District. as its girls team plays Chautauqua Lake today at 2:45 at Hudson Valley CC in Troy.

email: mmonnin@buffnews.com

GLENS FALLS — The drums of Green Tech echoed throughout the Glens Falls Civic Center all weekend. The charter school from Albany brought its deep roster, fervent fan base, and its band to the state public school final four, and when things were going well, the Green Tech drums were booming.

Green Tech also had as forceful and persistent a drumbeat on the court — its defense.

The deeper, longer, quicker Eagles of Green Tech wore down Jamestown and ended the Red Raiders’ postseason with a 54-49 victory in Sunday’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AA championship game.

An estimated 2,500, including hundreds from Green Tech which was playing just its fourth varsity season, watched Jamestown repeatedly dig itself out of deficits as it played its second state championship game in school history.

Jamestown (20-4) fell behind by 11 in the second quarter and cut the deficit to six at half. It fell behind by 10 in the third but closed with a 9-2 run to tie the game at 37-37 heading to the fourth.

And while defense drove Green Tech to an 8-0 run to start the fourth, Jamestown made it a one-possession game twice in the final minute. However, the Eagles hit their free throws – and made one final steal – to close it out.

“They just played good defense,” Jamestown coach Ben Drake said. “That was probably the best defense overall that we have faced all year. They had hands everywhere, and really didn’t give us a lot of free looks.”

Junior guard Zack Panebianco fought off excellent man-to-man defense to lead Jamestown again with 20 points. He went 7 of 20 from the field and 3 of 12 from three-point range.

“They were really quick and fast,” said the 5-foot-10 guard who scored 34 points in Jamestown’s regional win and had 31 in Saturday’s semifinal victory. “I think every single one of them were quick and long, which benefited them defensively and offensively. Give a lot of credit to our guys. We played tough, we just couldn’t come out with it at the end.”

Six-foot-5 senior forward Quinn Lee Yaw of Jamestown had 11 points and 14 rebounds as he battled several big bodies inside, including 6-5 senior Ramion Burt (15 points, eight rebounds) and 6-4 junior Anquan McLean (eight). Lee Yaw’s four fouls through three quarters kept him on the bench for the beginning of the fourth in what turned out to be a key opening stretch for the Eagles.

“They were quick, and they were really long inside,” Drake said. “Even when we got the ball inside, there were no easy ones.”

Jamil Hood Jr., the son of Tech’s head coach, earned MVP honors as he had 18 points, a 10-of-12 performance at the line which included a clutch 5-of-6 run in the final minute, and was part of the Eagles’ defensive effort.

“We have an amazing coaching staff, and they gave us the scouting report – No. 11 and No. 32 were their best players, and basically they said they can win the game for them,” said Hood, referring to Panebianco and Lee Yaw. “We weren’t losing. We had to come out winners and do what we had to do and shut them down. They made their runs, it happens to the best of us, but we just had to come out winners.”

Green Tech will represent the NYSPHSAA in next weekend’s Federation Tournament of Champions in Albany, where it will take on the champions of the state’s independent association (Long Island Lutheran) in one semifinal while New York City Public Schools Athletic League winner Cardozo will face state Catholic champion Christ The King.

Once Jamestown tied the game heading to the fourth, Green Tech used two steals and stifling man-to-man defense to gain a 45-37 lead. The score stayed that way until Jamestown scored its first points of the period with just over two minutes to play. Two Panebianco transition baskets cut the lead to 45-41 with 1:05 left.

Panebianco and junior Ben Larson both hit threes in the final minute to make it a one-possession game, but Green Tech responded by making free throws. Panebianco’s three brought Jamestown to within 51-49 with 11.7 seconds left, but Isiah Dobere, in his first trip to the line all game, went 2 for 2 for a 53-49 lead.

As Panebianco came upcourt, Hood knocked the ball away from behind and was fouled with 2.2 seconds left, leading to the start of a Green Tech celebration, drums and all.

“It was just another case of the mental toughness that we demonstrated — we didn’t get rattled, we didn’t get down even when we got off to a tough start,” Drake said. “We had a chance, right at the end. It was a great run. I’m just so proud of these guys and how far we came this year.”

email: kmcshea@buffnews.com

The Cardinal O’Hara girls basketball team has already made history. Now they’re looking to make some more.

The Hawks became the first team in 43 years of Cardinal O’Hara girls basketball to win the Monsignor Martin Association championship. Then O’Hara became the first Monsignor Martin Association team to win the New York State Catholic High School Athletic Association Class A girls title when it won two games downstate two weekends ago.

This weekend, O’Hara heads to the Federation Tournament of Champions in Albany, where it will try to become the first Western New York girls team to win an overall state title since 1997.

The Federation tournament determines a true overall state champion as it includes the champions from the state’s public, Catholic and independent associations as well as New York City’s Public Schools Athletic League.

Five local girls schools have won Federation championships, with only one of those coming in a large-school division. Holy Angels won the Class B title in 1997 when there were only four state-wide classes (A, B, C and D).

“It’s certainly something we’ve talked about at the last couple of days at practice,” O’Hara coach Dan McDermott said of the challenge of joining that short list of champions. “We need to be as totally prepared to have a chance for this to happen, to perform at the highest level to come out of this weekend the way we want – which would be groundbreaking. There’s a lot at stake.”

O’Hara’s opponent in Friday’s semifinal is Section V (Rochester area) champion Pittsford-Sutherland (24-1), which routed Williamsville South, 58-36, in the Far West Regionals before winning two games to claim the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class A championship in Troy.

O’Hara was able to watch Pitt-Sutherland’s 57-41 NYSPHSAA championship victory over Section III (Syracuse area) winner Jamesville-Dewitt because the game was televised on Time Warner Cable.

“We watched on TV — we all watched from different houses and got a first-hand look,” said McDermott, whose team was upgraded to large-school Class A status after winning the NYSCHSAA Class B title the last two years and responded by holding the No. 1 spot in The News large school poll all season long. “We were all very impressed. Obviously to make it to where they are, and with only one loss, they are obviously a very good team. In a lot of ways they are very similar to us – a couple of really good players on the perimeter, a really good post player, and they play really good man-to-man defense. We know that we definitely have our hands full.”

Sutherland is led by senior 5-11 guard Liz Greendyke, who has scored more than 1,200 points, while 6-1 junior Santita Ebangwese is strong in the post. Senior 5-10 forward Abby Judd is a top rebounder and the daughter of Knights coach Dan Judd.

Sutherland’s only loss was to Webster Thomas, 51-45, on Feb. 4. All three of Cardinal O’Hara’s losses are to out-of-area teams, with two to Section V Class AA powers Penfield and eventual Section V champion Gates-Chili (which beat Jamestown to advance to the state semifinals, where it lost to eventual NYSPHSAA champion Ossining). Sutherland played a handful of Section V Class AA teams, including Thomas, but it and O’Hara had no common opponents.

O’Hara’s starting lineup includes Monsignor Martin all-time leading scorer Jontay Walton (2,010 career points), who committed to Division I UMass-Lowell last week, as well as fellow senior and returning first-team All-Western New Yorker Keyonte Edwards (1,113 career points) and senior center Kelsey McCarthy (1,031).

In the CHSAA tournament in New York City, O’Hara scored a 72-55 semifinal victory over a Cardinal Spellman team which included 6-2 University of Michigan signee Maria Backman (O’Hara held her to seven points). In the final, O’Hara grinded out a 62-59 victory over Kellenberg, which included 6-2 Saint Joseph’s signee Candace Belvedere. Edwards had 10 of her 15 points against Kellenberg in the fourth quarter while McCarthy came back from an ankle injury early on to score 10 of her 12 in the second half. McDermott also credited senior Jailyn Dickson and freshman Anndea Zeigler for their defense downstate as well as the shooting of freshman Cori Dickson (27 points and five three-pointers in the two games), which was critical as Aisha Shabazz was unable to make the trip.

“We’re just looking at it like kind of another step in the ladder,” said McDermott. “It’s just a credit to the work ethic that the girls have shown the last couple of years. They’re an unbelievable group of girls, always stepping up when needed and putting work and time and effort and sweat in … it’s a talented group, but they’ve worked very hard to achieve what they have achieved. It’s an honor and privilege to be their coach. We’re just going to go out there and try and play our game and let the chips fall where they may.” Mercy returns to Fed
Mount Mercy will also head to Albany in Class B after winning one game to claim its first CHSAA title since 2009.

On that team, current head coach John Glose was an assistant while current assistant Melissa Graham was a senior (she later starred at Geneseo).

“We feel good, we’re working very hard to get better every day, which has been our goal all year,” said Glose, whose Magic will take on state independent representative Staten Island Academy at 11:45 a.m. Saturday. “Our girls love to compete and they’er not intimidated or scared of anybody. If we go out and compete and work our butts off and I’ll be happy.” Around the Federation
• There can be somewhat of a letdown for NYSPHSAA champions at the Federation tournament. I’ve seen it several times, including with McKinley last year — the Macks played excellent basketball to win the Class A championship before sizable crowds in Glens Falls, then did not play as well in a Federation semifinal with a much different atmosphere. Pitt-Sutherland, for example, will go from playing before big crowds in Troy to a 10 a.m. Friday game against O’Hara played before likely a couple hundred people in a largely empty Times-Union Center.

• The schedule for the Class A girls bracket received double-takes by many, including me. The winner of the first game of the weekend event at 10 a.m. Friday will advance to a championship game at noon on Sunday. Unfortunately for Friday’s winner, they will have to wait two days (and their school will have to pay for an extra night of hotel rooms) to play in Sunday’s final, where PSAL champion Martin Luther King is waiting. Because the state’s independent association did not field a Class A team, the PSAL champion received a bye to the final.

• Aside from Holy Angels’ 1997 crown, all of the other Federation titles won by Western New York schools came in small-school divisions: Nichols (Class D in 1997 as a member of the Alliance of Independence Schools), Sacred Heart (D in 1992), Holy Angels (C in 1991) and Salamanca (C in 1998). There was a four-class CHSAA – and Federation – format until the Federation rightly went to three classes (AA, A and B) in 2004.

• There have been 15 Federation champions from Western New York on the boys side, with only five coming in large-school divisions: Nichols (A in 2010), Niagara Falls (AA in 2005), Turner-Carroll (B in 1999), La Salle (B in 1998) and Bennett (B in 1984).

• The News will have gameday capsule Federation previews for Cardinal O’Hara (Friday) and Mount Mercy (Saturday).

email: kmcshea@buffnews.com

What: The New York State Federation of Secondary School Athletic Associations Tournament of Champions includes the winners of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (of which Section VI is one of 11 member sections), the New York State Catholic High School Athletic Association (of which the Monsignor Martin is a member), the Association of Independent Schools Athletic Association and New York City’s Public Schools Athletic League.

Where: Times Union Center, Albany.

Today’s semifinal: CHSAA-Cardinal O’Hara Hawks (25-3) vs. NYSPHSAA-Pittsford-Sutherland Knights (24-1), 10 a.m.

Sunday’s final: PSAL-Martin Luther King Knights (19-3) vs. O’Hara/Pitt-Sutherland winner, noon.

New York State Sportswriters Association Class A poll: 1. Cardinal O’Hara (last week: 2); 2. V-Pittsford-Sutherland (3); 3. Kellenberg (4; lost to O’Hara in CHSAA final); 4. III-Jamesville-Dewitt (5; lost to Pitt-Sutherland in PHSAA final); 5. IV-Maine-Endwell (6; lost to Pitt-Sutherland in PHSAA semifinal); 7. XI-Harborfields (1, lost to Jamesville-Dewitt in PHSAA semifinal); 10. Cardinal Spellman (10, lost to O’Hara in CHSAA semifinal); 11. Martin Luther King (11); 15. Port Richmond (15; lost to MLK in PSAL final); 16. Williamsville South (16; Section VI champion lost to Pittsford-Sutherland in PHSAA Far West Regionals).

Federation history: This is the third straight trip to the Federation for the Hawks, but it is the first for any Monsignor Martin girls team in Class A. The Hawks made their last two trips as the state Catholic champions in Class B but were elevated to Class A this season due to the strength of their program. Two seasons ago, O’Hara lost to eventual Federation champion Irvington; last season it beat PSAL champion Scholars Academy before losing to Irvington in the final.

Cardinal O’Hara players: 5-6 sr. Jontay Walton (UMass-Lowell committed), 2,010 career points, 17.5 ppg, 4.4 apg, 5.5 spg, 4.8 rpg, 37 three-pointers, 75.0 FT%); 5-7 sr. Keyonte Edwards (1,113 career points; 14.9 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.8 apg, 4.6 spg); 6-2 sr. Kelsey McCarthy (1,031 career points; 14.3 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 3.1 bpg); 5-6 sr. Aisha Shabazz (7.3 ppg, 21 three-pointers, 2.4 spg); 5-7 sr. Jailyn Dickson (4.3 ppg, 2.5 spg); 5-2 fr. Cori Dickson (5.7 ppg, 28 three-pointers; 27 points, five 3-pointers in CHSAA final four); 5-7 fr. Anndea Zeigler (6.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.9 spg in 12 games since returning from knee injury; 14 points in CHSAA final four); 5-5 jr. Gina Draksic; 5-4 so. Lizzy Edwards; 5-5 jr. Jocelyn Velardi; 5-7 jr. Leah Coleman; 5-3 fr. Shilah Parker; 5-11 fr. Diamond Robinson; 5-5 fr. Dabria Scott. Coach: Dan McDermott (16th season).

Pittsford-Sutherland key players: 5-11 sr. G Liz Greendyke (20 ppg, more than 1,200 career points); 6-1 jr. F Santita Ebangwese (9 ppg); 5-3 jr. Bayley Axelrod (7 ppg); 5-4 jr. G Allie Panara (7 ppg); 5-10 sr. F Abby Judd (2 ppg, top rebounder). Coach Dan Judd.

How Cardinal O’Hara got here: The Hawks beat Nardin for the Monsignor Martin Association championship (70-43), then won two CHSAA tournament games two weeks ago at Holy Trinity in Hicksville, Long Island. O’Hara beat Cardinal Spellman of the Bronx (72-55) in the semifinal and Long Island’s Kellenberg (62-59) in the final.

How Pittsford-Sutherland got here: The champions of neighboring Section V (Rochester area) won that championship by beating Wayne (55-46), then the regionals against Williamsville South (58-36), before beating Section IV (Binghamton area) champion Maine-Endwell (43-39) in the state semifinals and Section III (Syracuse area) Jamesville-Dewitt (57-41) in the championship. Its only loss is to Class AA’s Webster Thomas (51-45 on Feb. 4).

Mount Mercy plays Saturday: Mount Mercy, the CHSAA champion in Class B, plays AIS-Staten Island Academy (20-7) in the Federation Class B semifinals at 11:45 a.m. Saturday at the Times Union Center. The first semi has PHSAA champion Utica Notre Dame (22-3) meeting PSAL champion East Harlem (20-1) at 10 a.m. Sunday’s final is 1:45 p.m.

At BuffaloNews.com: There will be a #PrepTalkLive blog with play-by-play coverage for all Western New York games in Albany.

– Keith McShea

TROY — Gas up the fire trucks; there’s going to be a parade.

There was great cause for celebration on Sunday when the Chautauqua Lake girls basketball team ended its school’s wait to crown a New York State champion after it beat Hoosic Valley, 47-36. The Class C title game was played before an estimated 800 at Hudson Valley Community College.

Chautauqua Lake has had a few winners in individual sports, but not a team sport since the school was born from the merger of Chautauqua and Mayville in 1993-1994.

The state title is the 12th for Section VI, and the first since Clymer won Class D in 2009-10. Chautauqua Lake (24-1) ended the season on a 21-game winning streak. It’s been an impressive postseason run for a team that came out of sectionals as the No. 4 seed in Class C-2.

“It’s unbelievable. I keep telling people this hasn’t sunk in yet,” coach Eric Schuster said. “These kids just play so hard and so often. Our kids are state champions and no one can take that away from us.”

Junior forward Jenna Einink was named the Class C Tournament MVP. She cited her teammate Courtney Hewes as being just as deserving after her 19-point showing against Haldane in the semifinals.

“This is amazing, I don’t even know what to say, I’m so proud of them,” said Einink, one of three underclassmen who start. “We defended really well and we attacked the basket. That’s what we do best; it worked the whole season.”

Junior forward Ashton Albanesius grabbed 17 rebounds and led all scorers with 16 points, including 8 of 10 from the free-throw line. She was named to the all-tournament team. Einink finished with 13 points and had 14 boards.

The pair helped the Thunderbirds outrebound Hoosic Valley, 47-26. They were also largely responsible for outscoring the Indians, 26-8, in the paint.

Hoosic Valley of Section II did not resemble the team that 24 hours earlier had eliminated previously undefeated Harpursville, 55-44, in its semifinal. Chautauqua Lake held Hoosic Valley’s leading scorer and co-captain, Lauren Madigan, to 10 points.

The Indians looked out of sync while managing just 14 points in the first half, unable to find the soft spots in the Thunderbirds’ 2-3 zone. Hoosic Valley was just 10 of 46 for the game from the floor.

Chautauqua Lake led by nine points at halftime, and 11 after three, but Hoosic closed the gap. The Indians scored the first five points of the fourth quarter and got as close as 35-29, but the Thunderbirds regained their footing and finished the job.

“We struggled offensively and I ran out of answers almost,” Schuster said. “What we tried to do is spread them out because we like to run a lot of two-man game where we’re screening and rolling. They did a nice job of doubling the basketball and that gave us fits.”

But when the game was on the line in the last four minutes the Thunderbirds responded. Albanesius continued to score and made free throws while Hoosic couldn’t muster the offense to cut into the deficit.

“Our kids are gritty, they hung in there,” said Schuster.

Soon the starters were coming off the floor to warm applause from their many fans.

email: mmonnin@buffnews.com

ALBANY — Cardinal O’Hara coach Dan McDermott likened his team’s mission here at the Federation Tournament of Champions to a test with two parts.

Although McDermott wasn’t thrilled with the overall grade of the team on Friday morning, the Hawks passed their first test, which sets them up for quite the final exam.

If they pass that test, one given on the last day of the high school basketball season in New York State, Cardinal O’Hara will go down at the top of the class not just for this year, but will take its place as one of the best girls basketball teams in Western New York history.

O’Hara used its speed to get a big lead, then used a savvy spurt in the second half to separate itself from Pittsford-Sutherland and beat the Knights, 73-65, in the Federation Tournament of Champions Class A semifinals at the Times Union Center.

“Just being in the game is great,” McDermott said of Sunday’s final, “but this weekend is a two-part exam. We got through the first part and we’ve got to ace the final part on Sunday.”

The Hawks (26-3) will play for the Federation Class A championship at noon Sunday when it faces Martin Luther King (23-0), the champion of New York City’s Public Schools Athletic League. The Federation brings together the state’s public, Catholic and independent title winners along with the PSAL winners to determine an overall state champion.

O’Hara, which went undefeated against Western New York competition this year, will try to become just the sixth team from Western New York to win a Federation title. It will also try to become just the second large school to do so (Holy Angels won Class B in 1997, when there was a four-class format).

“We’ve just got to get our rest and play our hearts out,” said senior Jontay Walton, who had 13 points and six steals. “I’m very thankful for this opportunity and to do it with this team. We can make history. A Federation title is a big deal, and we’re not taking it lightly.”

An estimated crowd of less than 100 fans for the 10 a.m. Friday semifinal saw O’Hara, the New York State Catholic High Schools Association champion, lead by as much as 15 in the first half thanks to its oppressive pressure defense. O’Hara’s quick hands and feet helped it to 20 steals while the Hawks forced 37 turnovers.

“Defense wins games, and offense puts fans in the seats,” said 5-6 senior Aisha Shabazz, who had eight points and eight steals off the bench.

O’Hara got off to a 25-15 start after one quarter and was up, 41-28, at halftime.

“We played well for spurts, but we did not play well for 32 minutes, and it almost really cost us,” said McDermott. “We felt like we should have been up by about 20 at halftime.”

Pitt-Sutherland, the New York State Public High School Athletic Association champion, rallied back to take a one-point lead late in the third quarter, despite playing without one of its key starters, before O’Hara reasserted itself.

Keyonte Edwards, a 5-7 senior and returning All-Western New York first teamer who scored 13 of her 17 points in the first half, scored on a driving layup in the final seconds of the third that concluded a 6-0 quarter-ending run that put O’Hara up, 52-47, heading to the fourth.

“We needed that desperately,” said McDermott. “That’s the way we need to play the whole game.”

Pittsford-Sutherland, playing without starting 6-1 forward Santita Ebangwese, came within four early in the fourth but the Hawks reclaimed the game with a 7-0 run which featured an excellent off-balance drive and a three-pointer by 5-6 senior Walton, another returning All-Western New York first teamer and the Monsignor Martin Association’s all-time leading scorer.

Senior Kelsey McCarthy, the Hawks’ major post presence at 6-2, had nine of her 10 points in the second half, including a pair of baskets off of nice lobs inside from Walton. Five-foot-8 freshman Andrea Zeigler had 12 points, including a three-pointer. Also hitting one three each for O’Hara, which was the season-long No. 1 large school after being elevated from Class B to Class A this season, were Edwards, Walton, Shabazz and 5-4 freshman Corean Dickson (nine points).

In a scheduling quirk, O’Hara will wait until noon Sunday to play the final. With semifinals and finals being held across three classes for both boys and girls, and all-day seven-game lineups at the Times Union Center on Friday and Saturday, the Federation pushed the girls A final to Sunday afternoon, where it is in a three-game lineup with the Class B girls (1:45 p.m.) and boys (3:30) championships.

MLK received a bye to the Class A final because the Association of Independent Schools did not have a Class A representative.

Mount Mercy will attempt to join O’Hara in Sunday’s championship lineup when it plays independent champion Staten Island Academy in the Class B semifinals at 11:45 a.m. today.

email: kmcshea@buffnews.com

There was only one thing missing as the Willie Hutch Jones Educational and Sports Program celebrated its 30th anniversary Sunday evening by roasting its namesake and co-founder in Templeton Landing.

Nobody could find anything bad to say about him.

“If it had been a regular dinner given for another dude, it would have been no problem,” says Kenny Berry, a longtime basketball coach who’s known Jones since his days at Bishop Turner High School in the 1970s.

“But,” he continued, “this is supposed to be a roast. And this is the most honorable dude I’ve ever met. This is my friend. He’s still like a son to me. I love that kid.”

The best Berry could do was rib Jones for his height, for the gold shoes he used to wear and for the way he walked.

“Close your eyes,” he told the crowd of more than 200 in the banquet room, “and put a picture in your mind of a 6-foot-8 ostrich walking in a gym. When I first met him, I remember looking at him and saying they need to teach him how to play.”

He also recounted how the more experienced players would treat Jones when he went to Berry’s “75 League” games.

“I remember the first day he came. He got killed. They dumped on him. They talked about him like a dog,” Berry said. “And that boy would walk out of the park and he’d say, ‘Be back tomorrow.’ And all the players were laughing because they dogged him so bad. They dogged him all summer.”

But, Berry recalled, they stopped dogging him after he started playing college basketball at Vanderbilt.

“He was pumping iron. He was eating all kinds of good food. The guys who dumped on him, they saw all the things they taught him in school,” he said. “Everybody gave him respect. They’re saying, ‘You good now.’ ”

Jones went on to get drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers and played parts of two seasons in the NBA and some pro ball in Europe before coming back to Buffalo to become a teacher and coach in the city schools and the impetus behind what originally was a summer basketball camp.

In 30 years, it has served more than 10,000 youngsters and has expanded from basketball into other sports, as well as mentoring for life skills and academics such as science and math. And it’s all been for free.

Even attorney LeRoy Johnson, singer Rick James’ brother and co-founder of the Willie Hutch Jones Educational and Sports Program, could not find much to roast. He recalled going to a Lakers game in the Forum in Los Angeles and sitting behind the bench.

“I’m wondering when Hutch is going to play,” he said. “I walk up behind [coach] Pat Riley and say, ‘When’s my boy going to play? I’ve got $20, when’s my boy going to play?’ ” Jones never got into the game that day.

“Later Hutch comes to me about starting this camp and he says, ‘You’ve got to be serious about it. You’ve got to work. I didn’t know that for 30 years, I’d be doing all the work. Hutch goes, ‘I’m the director. I’m the executive. Get out there and roll some balls.’ ”

For the most part, however, it was more love than levity.

“I remember when he got drafted,” said Ozzie Lumpkin, who played with Jones in his high school days. “There was a party at Mr. and Mrs. Jones’ house. We lost our minds, but he was so cool about it. He was so humble. That’s who he is.”

Dave Thomas, athletic director in the Buffalo schools, recalled how he reassigned Jones from McKinley High School to Burgard Vocational High School.

“I told him, I’ve got a garden spot for you – Burgard,” Thomas said. “You take these kids, a lot of them are down and out, they’re in trouble, and there won’t be any talent on the team. But he got 150 percent out of those kids. How can you roast a guy like that?”

Jones still is coaching at Burgard.

email: danderson@buffnews.com

ALBANY — Mount Mercy used its press to gain a double-digit lead in the second quarter and a nine-point lead at halftime of its state Federation Class B semifinal Saturday afternoon.

Staten Island Academy held off using its press in the first half, and it was for a very good reason: It was afraid it would run out of players.

Staten Island Academy and its undermanned, seven-player squad used its press to take the lead with a 16-6 third quarter, then it kept pushing – and hitting its free throws – to beat Mount Mercy, 57-53, before an estimated 400 at the Times Union Center.

A deep, hustling Mount Mercy team that had 10 players see action was always within two possessions in the fourth quarter, but the best it could do was tie the game twice as its 10-game win streak ended on the next-to-last day of New York’s high school basketball season.

“In the beginning of the year, I knew we had to get better,” said coach John Glose, who led Mount Mercy to its trip to the Federation Tournament of Champions with the school’s first New York State Catholic High School Athletic Association title since 2006. “But I knew they’d work for it, and they did, and they got better every single game. It just shows the character of these girls and the hard work they put in.”

Staten Island Academy (17-7), the representative of the Association of Independent Schools, will play for the Federation title today against Utica Notre Dame. The Jugglers (23-3), champions of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, beat New York City Public Schools Athletic League winner East Harlem, 66-37, in Saturday’s first semifinal.

When Staten Island takes the court today, it will be even more short-handed because starting forward Sade Dinkins, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out in the final minute, is headed to a soccer camp. She is also a Division I soccer prospect.

Mount Mercy had five steals and forced 13 turnovers in the first half, with an 18-7 second quarter and took a 27-18 lead at halftime.

Staten Island Academy coach Rose Bruno said that was OK with her. There were 17 players on the Knights’ roster in the game program, but only seven were truly available. Several players, including two starters (junior point guard Samantha Spadaro and senior captain Deirdre O’Hara), were part of a school trip to Italy that was scheduled prior to the team knowing it would be vying for a Federation berth. Another starter, 5-9 sophomore and leading scorer Corinn Baggs, was on the bench with her foot in a cast due to a stress fracture.

“We came out very conservative,” said Bruno, who was also concerned about her team playing with a three-man officiating crew for the first time. “I was basically restricted to sitting in a zone in the first half — I felt like I was coaching a summer league game. I told the players, ‘Get through the first half with low fouls and then I’ll coach you in the second half,’ and that’s what’s exactly what we did.

“As soon as we came out in beginning of the third quarter, we went to our full-court trapping press and we were able to change defenses and we were able to push it a little more. In the third quarter, we played our game.”

Mount Mercy did beat the press several times, but there were several times — as was the case with Staten Island in the first half -- that when the hurried pace led to failed conversions at the basket.

“They started pressing us and it was effective,” said Glose. “They turned us over and they did a great job of knocking down their foul shots.”

Mount Mercy was 14 of 27 at the foul line (51.9 percent), including 5 of 15 in the second half, while Staten Island was 32 of 43, including 22 of 29 in the second half.

Staten Island took a 34-33 lead entering the fourth quarter. Mount Mercy tied it at 40-all and 42-all, but could never get the lead again although it twice closed to within a point.

Senior Carolyn Grandits (11 points) hit one of three Mercy threes in the final minute, cutting the lead to 46-45 with 2:30 left, but the biggest basket of the game came when 5-10 junior Madison Bulger (eight points) turned a putback into a three-point play for a 52-47 Staten Island lead with :51.7 left.

Grandits it another three to make it 54-50 with :29.7 to play, and sophomore Olivia Balys (12 points) hit a three to make it 54-53, but there was only 2.3 seconds left. Mount Mercy fouled Megan McEwan (16 points) with 1.2 seconds left, but any possibility of some last-second magic for the Magic was removed when McEwan hit the first free throw, then rebounded her own miss on the second and put it in at the buzzer for the final five-point margin.

“Liv scored that three right at the end and we thought we still had it,” said Allison Balys, older sister of Olivia and one of six seniors on the team. “We’ve been in so many games, being down five points with a minute left, so we didn’t think anything of it.”

“I feel like everyone looks at Mercy as not a star basketball school, but we won the championship, we won the states, and as much as it hurts, we got this far,” said senior Jessica Alvira, who had two threes among her 10 points and was named to the all-tournament team. “We showed anything’s possible.”

“We’ve spent the last five months together, on and off the court every single day,” said Mount Mercy senior Kerry McGough, who had eight rebounds. “There are so many memories.”

“Best group of girls anyone could ask for,” Glose said. “They’re outstanding human beings. They work extremely hard and deserved everything they got this year. I’m very lucky to be their coach.”

...

Today at noon, Cardinal O’Hara will try to become the first Western New York girls team since 1997 to win a Federation title. They play PSAL champion Martin Luther King (23-0) in the Class A final (Time Warner Cable Sportschannel Ch. 87 and twcsportschannel.com). The Hawks advanced to the final by defeating PHSAA champion Pittsford Sutherland, 73-65, in a semifinal on Friday. The CHSAA champion Hawks (26-3) won their semifinal on Friday, 73-65, over PHSAA champion Pittsford-Sutherland.

email: kmcshea@buffnews.com

ALBANY — As they did throughout this landmark season, the Cardinal O’Hara Hawks wore down their opponent Sunday afternoon.

Then they fast-breaked through the finish line, right into history.

The Hawks completed one of the finest seasons ever for a Western New York girls basketball team with a 22-4 fourth quarter and a 76-47 victory over Martin Luther King, the New York City Public Schools champion in the Class A championship game at the Federation Tournament of Champions at the Times Union Center.

Cardinal O’Hara’s first Federation title is the first for a Western New York girls team since 1997, just the second local title in a large-school classification, and WNY’s sixth girls Federation title overall.

“Amazing. Unexplainable,” said senior Keyonte Edwards, who earned tournament MVP honors with 16 points, 16 rebounds and four steals. “We made history.”

This season, Cardinal O’Hara was promoted from Class B — where it had won the last two New York State Catholic High School Athletic Association titles — to Class A after returning several key players and welcoming senior standout Jontay Walton from Holy Angels after that school closed.

The Hawks (27-3) went undefeated against local teams, held the No. 1 spot in The News large school poll all year, won the school’s first Monsignor Martin Association championship, then earned a third straight Federation trip by becoming the first Monsignor Martin team to win the NYSCHSAA title in Class A.

At the Federation, which determines an overall state champion by bringing together the winners of up to four state associations, O’Hara beat New York State Public High School Athletic Association champion Pittsford-Sutherland in Friday’s semifinals before dominating the second half against MLK on Sunday.

“Five, six, seven years ago, you wouldn’t have thought this was even possible,” said O’Hara coach Dan McDermott, who took over as coach in 1999. “When you start coaching, many many years ago, this is in your dreams. This is the ultimate. For this group, the girls, the support we got from parents and everything else, it’s just been unreal. It’s been like a dream come true.”

On Sunday, the Hawks had four double-figure scorers as they steadily increased their lead. O’Hara went on a 6-0 run to end the second quarter for a 34-26 halftime advantage against MLK (23-1), which went undefeated in the New York City PSAL, which included winning a 32-team playoff bracket.

The Hawks’ pressure defense and balanced scoring were on display throughout the second half. Freshman Anddea Zeigler (14 points off the bench) scored seven points while the Hawks had several steals during a 10-0 third-quarter run that put them up, 49-32.

“We knew we had to still push it, we saw that they were running out of gas in the third and fourth quarter, and that’s how we beat teams,” said Walton. “We keep pushing and pushing, and they were getting tired. They just kept getting turnovers, and we capitalized on those plays.”

MLK contained O’Hara’s lead to 11 (54-43) after three quarters, but Walton (20 points, six steals) had six points during an 8-0 run to start the fourth to put O’Hara up, 62-43. Walton went on to add two straight assists on fast-break finishes by 6-foot-2 senior Kelsey McCarthy (15 points, nine rebounds) as O’Hara pushed its lead past 20.

“It’s just the best team you could ever ask for,” said McCarthy.

Senior Jailyn Dickson had four steals and four assists, senior Aisha Shabazz had two steals and four assists, and freshman Corean Dickson had seven points, three assists and two steals for O’Hara, which totaled 24 steals and forced 38 MLK turnovers. Walton, McCarthy and Zeigler were named to the all-tournament team.

“It’s been four, five, six kids in double figures almost every game and this was much the same,” said McDermott, who emphatically shared the credit with assistants Nick O’Neil and son Matt McDermott. “There have been sacrifices made all around, sacrificing for the good of the team. We keep talking about for the good of the team, playing team ball, and that’s what’s it’s all about. This team is the ultimate example of how that works.”

O’Hara is the first local girls team to win a Federation title since the current three-class (AA, A and B) format was adopted in 2004. The only other time a Western New York school won a Federation title in a large-school classification was also the last time that a local team won a Fed title – in 1997, when by Holy Angels won Class B in the state’s four-class setup (A, B, C, D).

“From the beginning of the year, we set our goal: we wanted to win this Federation championship,” said Walton, the Monsignor Martin Association’s all-time leading scorer (2,043 points). “That’s what we said, and we did it. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates, especially the seniors — Kelsey, Aisha, Jailyn, Keyonte, and our two big freshman, Anddea and Cory. And our bench players, without them this wouldn’t have happened. We had fun along the way and we worked really hard. It was a team effort.”

email: kmcshea@buffnews.com

All-Western New York midfielder Grace Gabriel, who scored 45 goals in 2013, picked up right where she left off Monday in Lancaster’s girls lacrosse season opener at Amherst.

Gabriel, a junior, scored seven goals in the defending Section VI Class A champions’ 18-11 win at Amherst, last year’s Class C sectional champion.

Senior Allie Stewart, another returning All-WNY player, had three goals and six assists in the victory while sophomore attack Anna Orlando had four goals.

Amherst senior Grace Lawson matched Gabriel’s output, scoring seven times for the Tigers (1-2).

The Buffalo and Rochester area team rosters have been announced for the 10th Annual Scotty Bowman Showcase next Wednesday at the First Niagara Center.

Three games will be on the schedule.

The first at 6 p.m. will have high school junior all-star teams from the two cities squaring off for the Tim Horton Memorial Cup.

At 7:30 p.m. high school senior teams from the two cities will meet with the winner to be awarded the Scotty Bowman Cup.

The third game will feature players from Buffalo and Rochster who play prep school or junior hockey, locally or elsewhere. They will play for the Rick Martin Memorial Cup at 9 p.m.

Each game will consist of two 22-minute halves.

Tickets for the event are $5. Bowman, winningest coach in NHL history, will be present to award the Bowman Cup to the victorious senior team.

Class AA: Jamestown Red Raiders (18-4) vs. IV-Union Endicott Tigers (17-4)

NYSCHSAA Class B Championship / St. Mary’s Lancers (19-7) vs. Regis Raiders (16-11)

Eckstrom, Schmidt lift Olean into Class B title game

Guard tandem powers Middle Early College

Mayville boards the Chautauqua Lake girls bandwagon

Missed free throws let Jamestown move on

St. Mary’s falls to Regis in Catholic Class B final

Chautauqua Lake overwhelms Haldane in Class C girls semis

Westhill pours it on to deny Olean in state Class B final

Hoosic’s late surge denies Middle Early College in Class C final

Jamestown’s game effort falls short in Class AA state final

O’Hara girls head to Federation aiming for history

Class A Girls Federation: Cardinal O’Hara (25-3) vs. Pitt-Sutherland (24-1)

Chautauqua Lake gives fans a crown to celebrate

O’Hara passes part one of state test

Hutch Jones still giving to community after 30 years

Staten Island team ends Mount Mercy’s season

O’Hara makes history, winning Class A Federation girls basketball title

Gabriel nets seven

Bowman schedule set