Opening Week Top Performers

The high school season is underway! Already have hit 15 games this week, tracking those who participated in the 2015 installment of Empire State Takeover and looking for fresh talent for 2016's run. Games trickled in starting Monday directly before Thanksgiving, but it really picked up on Friday. Let's highlight a handful of the top performers who participated in EST!

Boys

Matt Higgins (South Glens Falls 2016), pictured in the Empire State Takeover 2015 fall exposure event held at Union College, had 32 points in a season opening win on Friday evening

- South Glens Falls senior and EST all-league 2nd team pick Matt Higgins started his season with a bang for the box score, dropping 32 points in a 65-52 victory over Saratoga Catholic. He did so in impressive fashion, considering it wasn't an impressive shooting night by his standards. His usually-pure jumper wasn't falling, so he kept moving without the ball & got bucket after bucket by making the right cut and freeing himself up around the rim, along with getting to the line constantly, where he made 12 free throws. He had 19 points in the 2nd half alone - and he didn't play the last 4 minutes of the game. Big start from one of Section II's hottest D3 prospects right now.

- Berne-Knox-Westerlo got a head start on their season, already having 3 games in the books after a 63-36 W over Salem on Saturday. They split a pair of games at Rensselaer's tipoff tournament before the Coaches vs. Cancer victory. Junior wing Zach Hilton dropped 27 points on Saturday, and senior point guard Justin Houck added 17 to the cause. These are right around their early season averages - Hilton is filling it up, averaging 26 per game so far with Houck just below 18.

- Two blowout wins for perennial Section VII Class D powerhouse Moriah to start the season, and as usual, Adam Jaquish & Taylor Slattery were the catalysts. They each put up solid numbers in limited action, as each game got out of hand quickly with them involved. 6'5" 2016 wing Slattery scored 17 points on Saturday in a 78-50 W over Plattsburgh, and he followed it up with 21 in a 62-54 W over AuSable Valley Sunday - a game that they led 57-27 when they were removed from the game late in the 3rd quarter. Jaquish, a 6'7" 2016 post that earned all-league honorable mention this summer, had 14 points & 11 rebounds on Saturday and 16 points & 8 rebounds on Sunday.

- Northville junior standout Danny Reidell got his season started on the right foot. The 6'1" combo guard nearly matched the opposing team's output on his own Saturday, scoring 31 points in a 57-35 victory over Sharon Springs.

- Zac O'Dell put up big numbers in a losing effort on Saturday afternoon. Schalmont ventured into the land where I'm from, and lost 82-76 at New Hartford, which is a team that is expected to be in the mix in Section III Class A this winter. O'Dell, an all-league 1st team selection, hung a team high 26 points in the high-scoring affair.

- Saratoga Catholic senior Evan Pescetti shook off a rough season opener with a big individual showing Saturday in the consolation game of their own tournament. The 6'4" tweener netted 27 points for Class C Spa Catholic in their 66-53 defeat at the hands of Class A Gloversville.

- Another big showing in a losing effort, this one coming from 6'6" Cobleskill-Richmondville standout guard Keenan Loder. One of the buzz names in Section II among college coaches, he started off his senior campaign by hanging 25 points in a 57-48 L to Delhi.

Girls

Lucy Tougas (Glens Falls 2017), pictured in the Empire State Takeover 2015 fall event held at Skidmore College, earned all-tournament team honors at Watervliet this weekend, averaging 9 PPG & 9.5 APG. Defending is Sam Dayter (Cohoes 2018), who scored 17 points Saturday in a 52-44 W over Lake George in the consolation game of their own tournament.

- This weekend's tournament in Watervliet saw 3 EST league all-stars take all-tournament team nods. Glens Falls won the tournament with a pair of comfortable victories over Ballston Spa and Watervliet, and the Tougas sisters left a little more decorated than they arrived. Sophie Tougas, a 6'0" freshman wing and EST all-league 2nd team pick, won tournament MVP behind a 24 point performance in their Friday W. She added 9 in a balanced effort on Saturday. Older sister Lucy, a 5'10" junior point guard and EST all-league 1st team pick, received all-tournament team honors as well. She finished the tournament averaging a fraction short of a double-double, with 18 points (9 PPG) and 19 assists (9.5 APG).

- The third who received an all-tournament selection was Ballston Spa senior standout Liv Allrich. The 5'11" G/F, who was an all-league honorable mention selection, came back Saturday with a 24 point showing in their 54-38 victory over Stillwater in the consolation game.

- Columbia freshman Grace Heeps was also given an all-tournament team nod, this one as Columbia brought home the championship of Averill Park's inaugural Thanksgiving tournament. The 5'10" point guard, who was an all-league 2nd team pick this summer, earned the all-tourney pick off the strength of her 1st half against Scotia on Friday. She set the tone with 16 quick points in what eventually became a 61-16 blowout victory.

- Middleburgh junior Lyndsey McCoy had a big outing on Saturday in the championship game of their own tournament, powering her into an all-tournament team selection. She had her hand in most of the scoring, dropping a game high 23 points and adding 6 rebounds & 11 assists in their 55-42 W over Margaretville. McCoy is starting off the season with a flurry for 3-0 Middleburgh, averaging 15.7 PPG in the process.

- Cohoes shook off a rough (understatement) start to the season with a 52-44 bounceback win over Lake George in the consolation game of their own tournament. A pair of EST players came back strong in the win, with 5'9" sophomore PG Sam Dayter leading the way w/ 18 points. Nerea Brajac, a 5'7" junior wing who earned an all-league honorable mention selection, chipped in with 10 points in the win.


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