Boys League Recap, Week 4

Next Big Thing 78, Team 518 73

A young & undermanned Next Big Thing squad was able to do what no team had previously done in 20 attempts - defeat Team 518. At 6-0 on the season headed into the night - and with 3 returning players from a 2015 team that went 14-0 en route to a league championship - the target was clearly on their backs. Next Big Thing was able to take advantage of the 518 squad that was also undermanned. They led nearly wire-to-wire, and a 16-5 1st half run gave them a lead of as much as 14 at 36-22. 518 was able to respond by reeling off 19 of the final 26 of the half, cutting the deficit to 43-41 at halftime. They tied it on multiple occasions, but in the end, big games from numerous players in red proved to be too much. 6'8" budding star Jake Cook (Shaker 2019) had another huge game to piggyback off his second game of the previous week, pumping in a team and season high 24 points. He added game highs of 12 rebounds and 3 blocks. Stillwater teammates Jared D'Aloia and Zack Travis, both rising seniors, added 18 apiece for Next Big Thing. The 18 was a season and new EST career high for Travis; he added 7 rebounds. D'Aloia filled the stat line with 6 rebounds and 9 assists to with his 18. Jacob Lydon (Pine Plains 2018) added 14 points, and Louden Porter (Canton 2017) had 6 rebounds and 9 assists to go with his 4 points. For Team 518, Adam Anderson (Saratoga Springs 2017) dropped a game and EST career high 26 points - 20 in the first half - with 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Matt Bernhard (Voorheesville 2017) added 19 points, also a season high for him.

Next Big Thing (3-4): Jared D'Aloia 18, Louden Porter 4, Jacob Lydon 14, Zack Travis 18, Jake Cook 24. Totals: 31-8-78.

Team 518 (6-1): AJ Lawton 7, Jeff Coulter 12, Matt Bernhard 19, Adam Anderson 26, Andrew Post 2, Joe Werner 7. Totals: 29-10-73.

Field Goals: Next Big Thing 31/62 (D'Aloia 6/18, Porter 2/5, Lydon 5/9, Travis 9/13, Cook 9/17), Team 518 29/67 (Lawton 2/8, Coulter 5/9, Bernhard 8/10, Anderson 10/22, Post 1/10, Werner 3/6, Newman 0/2).

3-Point Field Goals: Next Big Thing 8/17 (D'Aloia 4/9, Lydon 3/5, Cook 1/1, Porter 0/1, Travis 0/1), Team 518 5/20 (Coulter 2/4, Bernhard 1/3, Lawton 1/5, Anderson 1/6, Post 0/1, Werner 0/1).

Free Throws: Next Big Thing 8/12 (Cook 5/6, D'Aloia 2/4, Lydon 1/1, Porter 0/1), Team 518 10/14 (Anderson 5/6, Lawton 2/2, Bernhard 2/4, Werner 1/2).

Rebounds: Next Big Thing 37 (Cook 12), Team 518 32 (Werner 10).

Assists: Next Big Thing 23 (D'Aloia, Porter 9), Team 518 13 (Werner 6).


Bellevue 49, Young Guns 43

Although Bellevue's 49 point total was their lowest of the season, a strong team defensive effort from wire to wire drove them to a momentum-shifting win to start the night. After a rough 3rd week, the team effort quickly turned their morale upward. They jumped out to a double digit lead at halftime by holding a Young Guns squad known for putting the ball in the basket to 18 points in the first 20 minutes. 6'3" G Kevin Murray (Seton Catholic 2017) led the way for Bellevue with 13 points, and 6'6" F Jarrett Benjamin (Laurens 2017) added 12 in the victory. For Young Guns, 6'6" F Darren Brown (Fair Haven (VT) 2017) led all scorers with 15, including 11 in the 2nd half. 6'2" G Dylan Trombley (Moriah 2018) added 12 in defeat.

Bellevue (3-4): Colby Fancher 2-5, Dom Parker 4-8, Kevin Murray 6-1-13, Drew Patnode 2-4, Mason Weir 3-7, Jarrett Benjamin 5-1-12. Totals: 22-2-49.

Young Guns (4-3): Jalani Abdul-Aziz 2-4, Brett Mosier 1-3, Shane O'Dell 0-1-1, Darren Brown 4-7-15, Todd Hubbell 2-4, Dylan Trombley 5-12, Cameron Jett 2-4. Totals: 16-8-43.

3-Point Field Goals: Bellevue 3 (Fancher, Weir, Benjamin), Young Guns 3 (Trombley 2, Mosier).

Free Throws: Bellevue 2/6 (Murray 1/2, Benjamin 1/2, Fancher 0/2), Young Guns 8/14 (Brown 7/12, O'Dell 1/2).


The Growth 59, All Day 43

Despite only having the services of 5 players, The Growth was able to break it open in the 2nd half using a steady dose of balance and pick up their 5th win of the year. Every player in a black jersey took between 7 and 12 shots during the game, and their shooting percentage of 55.6% (25/45) reflected the ball movement, player movement, and balance that they possessed. All Day, still looking for their first win, was able to keep it close throughout the first half, where they trailed 28-25 at intermission. The Growth started the 2nd on a 14-1 run to extend the lead to 16 for the first time at 42-26, and they were able to keep it steady for the remainder of the game. Jack Spencer (Rhinebeck 2017) had another strong game, leading his team with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Lou Fedullo (Amsterdam 2018) and Kevin Townes Jr. (Our Lady of Lourdes 2017) each added 13 points, and Corey Burke (New Paltz 2017) chipped in with 12. Townes also had 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks; Burke added 8 boards and 6 assists. Fedullo had a team high 3 steals. Ray Evans (La Salle 2018) paced All Day with 11 points and was the only player to hit more than 1/3 of his shots on an ice-cold night for the team. They went 16/54 for the game, including just 6/26 in the 2nd half.

All Day (0-7): Jackson Atty 2, Derek Newman 9, Ray Evans 11, Caleb Scrime 7, Mike Henderson 7, Andrew Mason 7. Totals: 16-8-43.

The Growth (5-2): Daniel Duffy 6, Lou Fedullo 13, Kevin Townes Jr. 13, Corey Burke 12, Jack Spencer 15. Totals: 25-6-59.

Field Goals: All Day 16/54 (Atty 1/8, Newman 3/11, Evans 4/8, Scrime 3/9, Luther 0/3, Henderson 3/9, Mason 2/6), The Growth 25/45 (Duffy 3/8, Fedullo 6/9, Townes Jr. 5/9, Burke 5/7, Spencer 6/12).

3-Point Field Goals: All Day 3/19 (Scrime 1/2, Evans 1/3, Henderson 1/4, Newman 0/4, Atty 0/6), The Growth 3/8 (Burke 2/3, Townes Jr. 1/4, Duffy 0/1).

Free Throws: All Day 8/12 (Newman 3/4, Mason 3/5, Evans 2/2, Henderson 0/1), The Growth 6/17 (Spencer 3/7, Townes Jr. 2/4, Fedullo 1/4, Duffy 0/2).

Rebounds: All Day 26 (Scrime, Mason 6), The Growth 37 (Spencer 11).

Assists: All Day 8 (Luther 3), The Growth 15 (Burke 6).


Team 518 85, Young Guns 58

After taking their 1st loss ever in EST, Team 518 had to take it out on someone. It wasn't a good day to be a Young Gun. 518 went on a tear for the ages to start the game, knocking down 10 threes in the first half en route to a 47-23 halftime lead. They were able to coast to the finish line, but still shot at a high clip in the final 20 to finish with the high scoring total of the night. 6'4" G Jeff Coulter (Oneida 2017) got hot and stayed hot, scoring 15 of his game high 24 - including 4 threes - in the first half. 6'2" G Adam Anderson (Saratoga Springs 2017) pumped in 19 of his own, with 12 coming in the opening stanza. 6'6" F Darren Brown (Fair Haven (VT) 2017) had another strong performance in defeat for Young Guns, leading his squad with 19 points.

Team 518 (7-1): AJ Lawton 3-9, Jeff Coulter 8-4-24, Matt Bernhard 4-10, Adam Anderson 8-19, Andrew Post 4-8, Joe Werner 3-7, Josh Newman 4-8. Totals: 34-4-85.

Young Guns (4-4): Brett Mosier 2-6, Shane O'Dell 0-2-2, Cameron Jett 4-1-10, Darren Brown 7-5-19, Todd Hubbell 2-4-9, Jalani Abdul-Aziz 3-6, Dylan Trombley 2-6. Totals: 20-12-58.

3-Point Field Goals: Team 518 13 (Coulter 4, Lawton 3, Anderson 3, Bernhard 2, Werner), Young Guns 6 (Mosier 2, Trombley 2, Jett, Hubbell).

Free Throws: Team 518 4/6 (Coulter 4/5, Werner 0/1), Young Guns 12/16 (Brown 5/8, Hubbell 4/4, O'Dell 2/2, Jett 1/2).


Next Big Thing 67, The Growth 53

The start of the 8:30 game between two teams playing their 2nd game with no subs went just how one would expect - slow & sluggish. Next Big Thing was eventually able to break out of their funk though, and The Growth was never able to recover. Their first field goal didn't come until nearly 6 minutes into the game, but it was able to put them up 4-2. Next Big Thing quickly went on a 9-0 spurt after that, which turned into a 16-4 run and their first double digit lead. Once that came with 8:20 left in the first half, they only momentarily let the lead go below 10 for the remainder of the game. With the lead at 31-20 late in the half, a Jacob Lydon (Pine Plains 2018) three and Jake Cook (Shaker 2019) layup in the final 30 seconds bumped NBT's lead to 16 at the break. A basket out of the huddle gave them their largest lead of 18, which they'd hit again numerous times, the last being at 55-37 with 8:49 left. The Growth tried to climb back into it from there, but could never get closer than 11 late. All 5 in uniform for NBT scored at least 9 points - Jared D'Aloia (Stillwater 2017) led them with 17 points, along with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Louden Porter (Canton 2017), Jake Cook, and Zack Travis (Stillwater 2017) joined him in double digits with 15, 14, and 12 points respectively. All three of them had double-doubles - Porter had a game high 11 rebounds, and Cook & Travis had 10 boards apiece. Jack Spencer (Rhinebeck 2017) had a game high 20 points in defeat for The Growth and added 6 rebounds, and Lou Fedullo (Amsterdam 2018) added 13 and 6 along with 3 steals & 2 blocks. A frigid 1st half featuring 7/33 shooting from the field proved to be their undoing.

Next Big Thing (4-4): Jared D'Aloia 17, Louden Porter 15, Jacob Lydon 9, Zack Travis 12, Jake Cook 14. Totals: 29-3-67.

The Growth (5-3): Daniel Duffy 3, Lou Fedullo 13, Kevin Townes Jr. 7, Corey Burke 10, Jack Spencer 20. Totals: 22-8-53.

Field Goals: Next Big Thing 29/53 (D'Aloia 6/13, Porter 6/10, Lydon 4/7, Travis 6/12, Cook 7/11), The Growth 22/66 (Duffy 1/11, Fedullo 6/17, Townes Jr. 2/9, Burke 4/9, Spencer 9/20).

3-Point Field Goals: Next Big Thing 6/13 (D'Aloia 3/7, Porter 2/4, Lydon 1/2), The Growth 1/11 (Townes Jr. 1/5, Duffy 0/3, Burke 0/3).

Free Throws: Next Big Thing 3/6 (D'Aloia 2/2, Porter 1/2, Cook 0/2), The Growth 8/16 (Townes Jr. 2/2, Burke 2/2, Spencer 2/6, Fedullo 1/2, Duffy 1/4).

Rebounds: Next Big Thing 41 (Porter 11), The Growth 26 (Fedullo, Townes Jr., Spencer 6).

Assists: Next Big Thing 17 (Lydon 5), The Growth 13 (Duffy 4).


Bellevue 67, All Day 65 (3 OT)

Empire State Takeover's first multi-overtime game was a nailbiter from start to finish, and with many of the game's participants coming from out of the area and a finish time just short of 10:00, surely made for some cranky Thursday mornings at work. 6'6" F Jarrett Benjamin (Laurens 2017) had a monster game for Bellevue in the win, topping all scorers with 24 points, but it was teammate Kevin Murray (Seton Catholic 2017) who was finally able to end it with a game-winning bucket in the paint. The 6'3" G closed the book on Bellevue's W with the final 2 of his 17 points after working his way in the paint against a smaller matchup. Colby Fancher (Stamford 2017) and fellow Stamford native Dom Parker (La Salle 2017) added 11 and 10 points for Bellevue, respectively. Caleb Scrime (Lake George 2018) pumped in a team high 23 points for an All Day squad that was just inches away from finally getting their first win. They can point to the charity stripe as a reason for falling short, as they finished just 10/25 from the line.

Bellevue (4-4): Colby Fancher 5-1-11, Dom Parker 4-2-10, Kevin Murray 6-5-17, Drew Patnode 1-1-3, Mason weir 1-2, Jarrett Benjamin 11-2-24. Totals: 28-11-67.

All Day (0-8): Jackson Atty 2-5, Derek Newman 4-9, Ray Evans 3-6, Caleb Scrime 7-6-23, Jimmy Luther 1-3, Mike Henderson 4-4-13, Andrew Mason 3-6. Totals: 24-10-65.

3-Point Field Goals: Bellevue 0, All Day 7 (Scrime 3, Atty, Newman, Luther, Henderson).

Free Throws: Bellevue 11/22 (Murray 5/8, Parker 2/2, Benjamin 2/3, Patnode 1/3, Fancher 1/6), All Day 10/25 (Scrime 6/11, Henderson 4/10, Evans 0/1, Mason 0/1, Luther 0/2).

Boys League Recap, Week 3

Team 518 71, The Growth 58

In a game that was much closer than the final score indicates, an ice cold stretch in the 2nd half & a strong 518 rebounding presence proved to be The Growth's undoing in their bid to knock Team 518 from the ranks of the unbeaten. Both teams came out of the gate strong offensively, with each squad shooting over 50% in the first 20 minutes. The Growth started the 2nd half strong after Team 518's 38-35 halftime lead, and they led by as much as 5 in the 2nd half. Their lead was 52-48 when the drought started. Team 518 went on a 12-2 run as The Growth went 8:46 without a made field goal. Ty'Jon Gilmore (St. Thomas More (CT) 2017) finally broke the slump with a layup - he also had the previous made field goal before that stretch - but they were never able to recover. Team 518 crashed the offensive boards in the 2nd half, especially their guards, and made a living off 2nd chance points. A basket that proved to be instrumental in their run was a Jeff Coulter (Oneida 2017) putback that was on the back end of 4 518 misses and 4 518 offensive rebounds. Altogether, they held a 38-21 rebounding edge with 29 of those rebounds coming from 3 players. Tommy Kelly (Bridgton Academy (ME) 2017) shot 7/9 from the field and led all scorers with 17. Tyler Lamport (South Kortright 2017) had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds; Adam Anderson (Saratoga Springs 2017) joined him with 10 points & had 9 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. The aforementioned Coulter had 9 rebounds to go with his 5 points. Kevin Townes Jr. (Our Lady of Lourdes 2017) had a strong game for The Growth, finishing with a team high 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. Kyle Fairclough (Waterford-Halfmoon 2017) and the aforementioned Gilmore joined him in double digits with 10 points each.

The Growth (3-2): Cole Ackerman 5, Daniel Duffy 5, Ty'Jon Gilmore 10, Kyle Fairclough 10, Kevin Townes Jr. 15, Peyton Olsen 4, Jack Spencer 9. Totals: 21-11-58.

Team 518 (5-0): Tommy Kelly 17, AJ Lawton 2, Beau Smith 6, Tyler Lamport 10, Jeff Coulter 5, Matt Bernhard 5, Adam Anderson 10, Andrew Post 3, Joe Werner 7, Adam Konicki 2, Josh Newman 4. Totals: 27-10-71.

Field Goals: The Growth 21/52 (Loder 0/3, Ackerman 1/5, Duffy 2/7, Gilmore 3/8, Fairclough 5/8, Townes Jr. 5/8, Olsen 1/5, Spencer 5/8), Team 518 27/56 (Kelly 7/9, Paszkowski 0/1, Lawton 1/3, Smith 1/4, Lamport 4/11, Coulter 2/5, Bernhard 2/4, Anderson 3/9, Post 1/2, Werner 3/3, Konicki 1/1, Newman 2/4).

3-Point Field Goals: The Growth 5/14 (Townes Jr. 3/3, Duffy 1/3, Gilmore 1/4, Ackerman 0/1, Olsen 0/3), Team 518 7/16 (Kelly 2/2, Werner 1/1, Smith 1/2, Coulter 1/2, Bernhard 1/2, Anderson 1/3, Lawton 0/1, Newman 0/1, Lamport 0/2).

Free Throws: The Growth 11/15 (Ackerman 3/3, Gilmore 3/6, Townes Jr. 2/2, Olsen 2/2, Spencer 1/2), Team 518 10/15 (Anderson 3/4, Smith 3/5, Lamport 2/2, Kelly 1/1, Post 1/3).

Rebounds: The Growth 21 (Townes Jr., Spencer 5), Team 518 38 (Lamport 11).

Assists: The Growth 13 (Gilmore 4), Team 518 13 (Lamport 3).


Next Big Thing 72, All Day 67

Using an offensive outburst after halftime, a young Next Big Thing squad was able to finally break their hard luck and get their 1st win of the summer. After trailing 32-29 at the break, Next Big Thing - led by Jake Cook (Shaker 2019), Jared D'Aloia (Stillwater 2017), and Isaiah Moll (Colonie 2018) - went off for 43 points in the final 20 minutes. All three scored 11 points apiece in the 2nd. The lead constantly switched hands in the first 25 minutes, but NBT took the lead for good at 37-36 with 15 minutes left on a Cook putback. He had game highs & season highs of 22 points and 13 rebounds; his most active game thus far in what looks to be a great opening summer for the rising sophomore. D'Aloia added 17 points and 8 assists, both season highs for him, and a late-arriving Moll had 11 on 4/5 shooting. Michael Ortale (Bethlehem 2019) added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. All Day was led by Kobe Lufkin (Argyle 2017), who finished with 18 points. Tyrone Jenkins (Schenectady 2018) finished with 14 and 7 rebounds in his EST debut, and Caleb Scrime (Lake George 2018) added 11 and 7.


All Day (0-5): Kobe Lufkin 18, Derek Newman 8, Caleb Scrime 11, Matthew Fuller 6, Marcus Filien 2, Tyrone Jenkins 14, Ray Evans 8. Totals: 25-10-67.

Next Big Thing (1-4): Tommy Bortnick 2, Jared D'Aloia 17, Louden Porter 4, Jacob Lydon 6, Isaiah Moll 11, Michael Ortale 10, Jake Cook 22. Totals: 30-7-72.

Field Goals: All Day 25/62 (Lufkin 6/15, Newman 3/7, Scrime 4/10, Luther 0/3, Fuller 3/8, Filien 1/3, Jenkins 5/10, Evans 3/6), Next Big Thing 30/70 (Bortnick 1/7, Hershey 0/4, D'Aloia 7/19, Porter 2/2, Lydon 2/6, Moll 4/5, Ortale 4/11, Cook 10/16).

3-Point Field Goals: All Day 7/24 (Lufkin 3/7, Jenkins 2/5, Newman 1/2, Scrime 1/4, Luther 0/1, Evans 0/1, Fuller 0/4), Next Big Thing 5/26 (Ortale 2/6, Moll 1/1, Lydon 1/3, D'Aloia 1/9, Hershey 0/2, Bortnick 0/5).

Free Throws: All Day 10/14 (Lufkin 3/3, Scrime 2/2, Jenkins 2/2, Evans 2/2, Newman 1/3, Luther 0/2), Next Big Thing 7/13 (Moll 2/2, D'Aloia 2/4, Cook 2/5, Lydon 1/2).

Rebounds: All Day 36 (Jenkins, Scrime 7), Next Big Thing 41 (Cook 13, Ortale 10).

Assists: All Day 9 (Evans 3), Next Big Thing 18 (D'Aloia 8).


Next Big Thing 70, Bellevue 64

Despite playing with only 5 players for the length of the first half, Bellevue was able to hang tough and put a scare into Next Big Thing, but they ultimately weren't able to fully recover from a couple early NBT runs that helped them seize some control of the game. Next Big Thing, coming off their first win of the summer, went on an 8-0 spurt early to take a 10-3 lead. After maintaining a slim lead for most of the half, they went on an 8-2 run to gain separation heading into the half. A resilient Bellevue group, with a couple additional bodies in the 2nd half, never were out of it and clawed back to within 2 at 57-55 with 4 minutes remaining. Next Big Thing finally delivered the knockout punch, going on a decisive 9-1 run to break the lead open to 66-56 with 1:30 remaining. Although Bellevue took advantage of a couple poorly timed NBT turnovers to go on a last-ditch effort run, it was too little, too late. Michael Ortale (Bethlehem 2019) finished with a game high 15 points for Next Big Thing, along with adding 6 rebounds and 5 assists, which was also a game high. Isaiah Moll (Colonie 2018), the league's leading scorer heading into tonight, added 14 points and 6 rebounds. They had balance in the scoring column, with 5 other players scoring either 6 or 8 points - Jake Cook (Shaker 2019) added a game high 10 rebounds to his 8 points. Bellevue was led by Mason Weir (Laurens 2017) and new face Drew Patnode (Saratoga Springs 2019), who each had 12 points & 5 rebounds. Weir added 3 assists and 3 steals. Weir's high school teammate Jarrett Benjamin (Laurens 2017) had 11 points and 9 rebounds, and Marcus Friend (Green Tech 2017) had 10 2nd half points.


Next Big Thing (2-4): Tommy Bortnick 8, Michael Hershey 8, Jared D'Aloia 8, Louden Porter 6, Jacob Lydon 3, Isaiah Moll 14, Michael Ortale 15, Jake Cook 8. Totals: 27-5-68.

Bellevue (2-3): Dom Parker 7, Max Layden 9, Drew Patnode 12, Mason Weir 12, Darius Wicks 3, Jarrett Benjamin 11, Marcus Friend 10. Totals: 25-11-64.

Field Goals: Next Big Thing 28/65 (Bortnick 3/5, Hershey 2/5, D'Aloia 4/13, Porter 3/10, Lydon 1/5, Moll 5/12, Ortale 6/11, Cook 4/4), Bellevue 25/56 (Parker 3/12, Layden 3/8, Patnode 6/7, Weir 4/9, Wicks 0/1, Benjamin 5/11, Friend 4/8).

3-Point Field Goals: Next Big Thing 9/28 (Bortnick 2/3, Hershey 2/5, Moll 2/5, Ortale 2/5, Lydon 1/5, Porter 0/2, D'Aloia 0/3), Bellevue 3/12 (Friend 1/2, Layden 1/3, Parker 1/4, Benjamin 0/1, Weir 0/2).

Free Throws: Next Big Thing 5/8 (Hershey 2/2, Moll 2/3, Ortale 1/2, Porter 0/1), Bellevue 11/19 (Weir 4/4, Wicks 3/4, Layden 2/2, Friend 1/2, Benjamin 1/5, Patnode 0/2).

Rebounds: Next Big Thing 40 (Cook 10), Bellevue 30 (Benjamin 9).

Assists: Next Big Thing 13 (Ortale 5), Bellevue 12 (Weir, Benjamin 3).


Team 518 74, Young Guns 55

It was a close game early, but a strong 2nd half performance by Team 518 and increasingly poor shot selection in response by Young Guns turned the marquee game of the night on paper into a relative blowout. Balance again was the name of the game on offense for 518, who's been the most efficient team in the league on offense. Adam Anderson (Saratoga Springs 2017) finished with a team high 12 points, and South Kortright 2017 Tyler Lamport (11), Bridgton Academy 2017 Tommy Kelly (10), and Trinity Pawling 2018 Beau Smith (10) all joined him in double figures. For Young Guns, Joseph Girard III (Glens Falls 2019), fresh off his 2nd Division I offer from UAlbany, led all scorers with a rather efficient and hard-fought game high 15 despite receiving the lion's share of 518's defensive attention. Mike Wynn (Cushing Academy 2018) joined him in double figures with 12.

Young Guns (3-2): Joseph Girard III 15, Cameron Jett 8, Mike Wynn 12, Darren Brown 5, Danny Reidell 5, Brendan Mulson 3, Noah Tyson 7. Totals: 18-12-55.

Team 518 (6-0): Tommy Kelly 10, Josh Paszkowski 4, AJ Lawton 8, Beau Smith 10, Tyler Lamport 11, Jeff Coulter 6, Matt Bernhard 3, Adam Anderson 12, Andrew Post 4, Joe Werner 6. Totals: 30-7-74.

3-Point Field Goals: Young Guns 7 (Girard III 2, Jett 2, Wynn, Reidell, Tyson), Team 518 7 (Smith 2, Lamport 2, Anderson 2, Bernhard).

Free Throws: Young Guns 12/20 (Girard III 5/6, Jett 2/2, Tyson 2/3, Mulson 1/2, Wynn 1/3, Brown 1/4), Team 518 7/11 (Lawton 4/4, Paszkowski 2/3, Lamport 1/2, Bernhard 0/2). 


Young Guns 78, All Day 57

In what seemed to be a trend on Wednesday night for teams, an uninspired 2nd half performance by All Day turned a close game into a Young Guns blowout victory. After leading by 2 at the break, Young Guns made sure to break even on the night and keep All Day out of the win column by dropping 49 points in the final 20 minutes. Darren Brown (Fair Haven (VT) 2017), who was held to his season low of 5 just an hour before, made up for it by dropping 21 of his game high 29 points in the 2nd half along with 13 rebounds. The 29 point performance proved to be a league high for this summer. He scored the first 13 points of the 2nd half for Young Guns and 17 of their first 23, helping quickly turn a 29-27 lead into a 52-34 one. Joseph Girard III (Glens Falls 2019) and Mike Wynn (Cushing Academy 2018) joined him in double figures with 12 apiece, and Girard added 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Ray Evans (La Salle 2018) finished with a team high 23 on 9/14 shooting for All Day, and Derek Newman (Herkimer 2017) added 11 with 7 rebounds.

Young Guns (4-2): Jalani Abdul-Aziz 8, Joseph Girard III 12, Cameron Jett 7, Mike Wynn 12, Darren Brown 29, Danny Reidell 2, Dylan Trombley 6, Brett Mosier 2. Totals: 32-10-78.

All Day (0-6): Kobe Lufkin 8, Derek Newman 11, Ray Evans 23, Caleb Scrime 4, Jimmy Luther 2, Marcus Filien 2, Tyrone Jenkins 7. Totals: 23-5-57.

Field Goals: Young Guns 32/71 (Abdul-Aziz 2/8, Girard III 4/13, Jett 3/4, Wynn 5/18, Brown 13/16, Reidell 1/6, Trombley 3/10, Mosier 1/3, Tyson 0/3), All Day 23/69 (Lufkin 3/12, Newman 5/14, Evans 9/14, Scrime 2/9, Luther 1/5, Filien 1/5, Jenkins 2/10).

3-Point Field Goals: Young Guns 4/21 (Girard III 2/6, Jett 1/2, Wynn 1/3, Mosier 0/2, Tyson 0/2, Reidell 0/3, Trombley 0/3), All Day 6 (Evans 3/7, Newman 1/4, Jenkins 1/4, Lufkin 1/5, Scrime 0/1, Luther 0/1, Filien 0/3).

Free Throws: Young Guns 10/14 (Abdul-Aziz 4/5, Brown 3/5, Wynn 1/1, Girard III 1/2), All Day 5/11 (Jenkins 2/4, Evans 2/5, Lufkin 1/2).

Rebounds: Young Guns 53 (Brown 13), All Day 27 (Jenkins 8).

Assists: Young Guns 19 (Reidell 5), All Day 12 (Lufkin, Jenkins 4).

The Growth 70, Bellevue 52

The wheels completely off for Bellevue in the 2nd half, and The Growth took advantage in turning a halftime deficit into a runaway W. After holding a 29-24 lead at the break, poor defensive effort and selfish play reared its ugly head in the final 20 minutes. Bellevue's first 19 possessions of the 2nd half included 2 or fewer passes; in all, only 5 of their 36 possessions in the 2nd half had 3 or more. This turned into a lack of willingness to get back on defense, and The Growth turned what was once a 6 point 2nd half deficit into a lead that ballooned to as much as 21. High-motor Rhinebeck 2017 Jack Spencer was a beneficiary for the energy he brought to the table, finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Capital District standout Ty'Jon Gilmore (St. Thomas More 2017) scored a game high 21 points, with 19 of them coming in the 2nd half. Dom Parker (La Salle 2017) paced Bellevue with 11 points.

Bellevue (2-4): Dom Parker 11, Max Layden 4, Drew Patnode 9, Mason Weir 7, Darius Wicks 8, Jarrett Benjamin 4, Marcus Friend 9. Totals: 20-7-52.

The Growth (4-2): Cole Ackerman 9, Daniel Duffy 7, Ty'Jon Gilmore 21, Kyle Fairclough 2, Brennan Loder 2, Kevin Townes Jr. 6, Peyton Olsen 6, Jack Spencer 17. Totals: 31-4-70.

Field Goals: Bellevue 20/55 (Parker 5/10, Layden 1/6, Patnode 4/9, Weir 2/8, Wicks 2/7, Benjamin 2/3, Friend 4/12), The Growth 31/60 (Ackerman 4/7, Duffy 3/5, Gilmore 9/18, Fairclough 1/4, Loder 1/5, Townes Jr. 3/7, Olsen 3/5, Spencer 7/9).

3-Point Field Goals: Bellevue 5/17 (Wicks 2/3, Weir 1/2, Parker 1/3, Friend 1/5, Patnode 0/1, Benjamin 0/1, Layden 0/2), The Growth 4/16 (Gilmore 3/7, Ackerman 1/4, Duffy 0/1, Townes Jr. 0/1, Olsen 0/1, Loder 0/2).

Free Throws: Bellevue 7/9 (Layden 2/2, Weir 2/2, Wicks 2/4, Patnode 1/1), The Growth 4/9 (Spencer 3/6, Duffy 1/2, Loder 0/1).

Rebounds: Bellevue 28 (Weir 8), The Growth 34 (Spencer 11).

Assists: Bellevue 8 (Friend 5), The Growth 14 (Duffy 4).

Looking Both Ways (Boys League): Back to Week 2, Ahead to Week 3

LOOKING BACK

Lot of fun games to watch last Wednesday. All 3 games on Court 1 went down to the final minute, and Court 2 started off with a great final minute and finished with All Day making things very interesting after falling behind big. We had games with final margins of 2, 3, 4, and 6 points, along with a 12 point game that was tied with 3 minutes remaining. Pretty tough week to top, as far as drama goes.

High Scorer: Isaiah Moll (41 points in 2 games); Darren Brown (25 points single game)
High Rebounder: Darren Brown (20 rebounds in 2 games); Isaiah Moll (13 rebounds single game)
High Assists: Kobe Lufkin (10 assists in 2 games, 6 assists single game)
High Steals: Cameron Jett (7 steals in 2 games); Cameron Jett & Kobe Lufkin (4 steals single game)
High Blocks: Several kids (3 blocks in 2 games); Darren Brown (3 blocks single game)

Top Individual Performance: Calling it a draw. In case you haven't seen their names enough above, tough to vote against the first game of either Darren Brown (Fair Haven (VT) 2017) or Isaiah Moll (Colonie 2018) last week. Brown, a strong & athletic 6'6" lefty post that runs the floor like a guard, went off for 25 points on 10/12 shooting (5/8 FT), 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks in Young Guns' 6:30 game. Moll, a physical specimen for his age at 6'6", approximately 220 pounds and a legitimate wing that can post up his usually smaller matchups, dropped 23 points and had 13 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks for Next Big Thing in their 7:30 outing. Unfortunately, both standout games have an L attached to them - their teams lost those games by a combined 7 points.

Best Game: It may not have been the closest final score, but there's a different feel to a Team 518 game going down to the wire now. The only undefeated team left in the league at 4-0, and with a few players returning from a 14-0 championship team last year, has a target on their backs and they realize it. A guard heavy but quality Bellevue squad withstood punches from 518 that have knocked teams out in the past, and they fought back in a way a team hasn't done yet. After falling behind 8-2 out of the gate, 518 went on an extended run to take a 16 point lead late in the first half. Bellevue went on a quick spurt to cut the halftime deficit down to 5. From there, it was a game worth paying to see. 518 went on a run to extend the lead, Bellevue clawed all the way back and tied it on 2 separate occasions, the last time being at 51 with just over 3 minutes remaining. In the final few minutes, the game took on a seriousness different than what you see in the usual summer league game. 518 was finally able to deliver the knockout blow they so often have, not letting off the gas en route to a 16-2 run that put the game out of reach. That being said, the final score of 67-55 doesn't nearly indicate how good of a game that was.

LOOKING AHEAD

Game of the Week: The aforementioned Team 518 has a pair of tough games on the schedule this week. They start off with The Growth at 6:00, a team they beat by 16 on opening night - but The Growth was without Ty'Jon Gilmore. More on this later. The game I'm really circling, however, is their 2nd matchup at 7:00 vs. Young Guns. This is partially because they've yet to match up with each other. There are plenty of good individual matchups to watch in this one, but the 5 on 5 game as a whole has the potential to be a real battle. Each team will be missing a couple pieces, but the strength of each team is that they've already shown others can pick up the slack when needed. 518 was missing the services of Jeff Coulter last week, one of Section III's top wings, and they got the job done. Young Guns was missing Joseph Girard III & Mike Wynn (both with multiple D1 offers) last week among others, and they took a full The Growth squad down to the final possession and beat a Next Big Thing squad that is much stronger than their record indicates. The starpower in Team 518/Young Guns should be enough to make you watch; the intensity of the game should be enough to keep your eyes glued.

Best Individual Matchup: I'm looking forward to the battle between EST's 2 postgrad standouts in the 6:00. Tommy Kelly, a Niskayuna graduate headed to Bridgton Academy for a postgrad prep year, has been an early standout for Team 518. Ty'Jon Gilmore, a Watervliet graduate headed to St. Thomas More in the fall, made his summer debut with The Growth last week and made an instant impact. Both point guards have been names that Capital District hoops fans have known for quite a while. It appears as though both will be in the gym Wednesday night; definitely will be worth watching these two go at it.

And Then There Will Be One: It hasn't been a great start for All Day & Next Big Thing. The first two weeks have left them with a combined record of 0-8. That 0 is guaranteed to change this week, as they meet for the first time this summer on Court 2 at 6:00. All Day has been plagued by important pieces missing early, and a couple will still be away for this Wednesday. Look for the summer debut of 6'3" wing Derek Newman (Herkimer 2017), a 2nd team all-stater in Class C over the winter, to make a difference for them though. For Next Big Thing, it's simply been a matter of not getting over the hump. After a 70-39 loss in their first game, which has stood up as the most lopsided game so far this summer, they've been within a couple possessions of getting a win in each game. Their next 3 losses have been by a combined 12 points - by 6 to The Growth, by 4 to Bellevue, and by 2 to Young Guns. It's a young squad that features the league's leading scorer in Isaiah Moll and another double-digit scorer in 6'8" Jake Cook (Shaker 2019). Michael Ortale (Bethlehem 2019) also showed signs of improving confidence last week and they have a pair of 2nd year EST point guards in Jared D'Aloia (Stillwater 2017) and Louden Porter (Canton 2017) that have proven to get the job done. We'll see who starts Wednesday night on the right foot between these two squads.

Union College tonight, 6:00 start at the Viniar Athletic Center. Don't miss out!

Boys League Rundown - Week 2

Team 518 67, Bellevue 55

Team 518 was able to pull away in the closing 3 minutes in what was a major scare to their undefeated mark by scoring 16 of the game's final 20 points. Bellevue jumped out to an early 8-2 lead behind strong play from Kevin Murray (Seton Catholic 2017), a member of last year's Team 518 championship squad. After an early timeout, 518 was able to regroup and quickly erase that deficit & take a double digit lead of their own, holding a 15 point margin late in the half. Bellevue then became the team to show resilience, as increased pressure on the defensive end and execution on offense helped them chip away at the lead until they tied it on two separate occasions - at 47 and at 51 - late in the 2nd half. However, a huge late spurt from 518, where they went on a 16-2 run to extend their lead to 14 with just under a minute to play, secured another victory. 518 had 3 players finish in double figures, led by the early hot shooting of AJ Lawton (Saratoga Springs 2018), who shot 6/8 en route to a game high 15 points. His high school teammate Adam Anderson (Saratoga Springs 2017) added 13 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals, and Tyler Lamport (South Kortright 2017) finished with 12 points and 6 rebounds. For Bellevue, Mike Wine (Guilderland 2017) led the way with 13 points, and Colby Fancher (Stamford 2017) and Jarrett Benjamin (Laurens 2017) added 8 apiece.

Bellevue (1-2): Colby Fancher 8, Dom Parker 2, Kevin Murray 6, Mike Wine 13, Drew Patnode 4, Mason Weir 4, Sean Nolan 7, Jarrett Benjamin 8, Quinn Ryan 3. Totals: 21-10-55.

Team 518 (3-0): Tommy Kelly 5, Josh Paszkowski 2, AJ Lawton 15, Beau Smith 2, Tyler Lamport 12, Matt Bernhard 8, Adam Anderson 13, Andrew Post 4, Josh Newman 6. Totals: 28-7-67.

Field Goals: Bellevue 21/55 (Fancher 3/6, Parker 1/5, Layden 0/2, Murray 2/7 Wine 4/11, Patnode 1/3, Weir 2/4, Nolan 3/7, Benjamin 4/5, Ryan 1/5), Team 518 28/66 (Kelly 1/7, Paszkowski 1/2, Lawton 6/8, Smith 1/9, Lamport 6/10, Bernhard 4/6, Anderson 4/11, Post 2/5, Newman 3/8).

3-Point Field Goals: Bellevue 3/17 (Fancher 1/2, Wine 1/4, Ryan 1/4, Benjamin 0/1, Parker 0/2, Layden 0/2, Weir 0/2), Team 518 4/18 (Lawton 3/5, Anderson 1/3, Smith 0/1, Bernhard 0/1, Kelly 0/2, Lamport 0/3, Newman 0/3).

Free Throws: Bellevue 10/15 (Wine 4/4, Murray 2/2, Patnode 2/4, Fancher 1/2, Nolan 1/3), Team 518 7/9 (Anderson 4/5, Kelly 3/4).

Rebounds: Bellevue 32 (Murray, Nolan 6), Team 518 40 (Anderson 11).

Assists: Bellevue 10 (Nolan 4), Team 518 14 (Bernhard, Anderson 4).


The Growth 68, Young Guns 65

The Growth was able to make just enough plays to hold off a strong Young Guns squad in a game that featured a very high scoring first half and both teams buckling down on defense over the last 20 minutes. They enjoyed a nice early cushion, thanks in large part to some hot shooting out of the gates from Daniel Duffy (Arlington 2018). The crafty 6'0" point guard hit all 6 of his attempts in the first half, including 4 threes, en route to 16 quick points. He finished with a team high 18, shooting 7/8 from the field. Balanced 2nd half scoring and increased defensive attention on the 3 point line helped Young Guns crawl back in it, where they remained until the final buzzer. The final shot for Young Guns, a desperation full-court heave off a missed free throw, went begging in the final second. After missing opening night for an unofficial visit to Cleveland State, Ty'Jon Gilmore (St. Thomas More (CT) 2017) added 15 points to Duffy's 18 for The Growth. Darren Brown (Fair Haven (VT) 2017) had a monster game for Young Guns in defeat, leading all scorers with 25 points (10/12 FG), 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Darius Wicks (Saratoga Springs 2017) and Bryce Waterman (Colonie 2018) scored 13 and 12 points, respectively, with 16 of their combined 25 coming after halftime.

The Growth (2-1): Ty'Jon Gilmore 15, Daniel Duffy 18, Peyton Olsen 7, Kevin Townes Jr. 9, Jack Spencer 6, Corey Burke 9, Brennan Loder 4. Totals: 27-7-68.

Young Guns (2-1): Jalani Abdul-Aziz 3, Cameron Jett 3, Bryce Waterman 12, Darren Brown 25, Danny Reidell 2, Dylan Trombley 7, Darius Wicks 13. Totals: 25-11-65.

Field Goals: The Growth 27/62 (Gilmore 6/15, Ackerman 0/3, Duffy 7/8, Fedullo 0/1, Fairclough 0/6, Olsen 3/4, Townes Jr. 4/7, Spencer 2/7, Burke 3/6, Loder 2/5), Young Guns 25/58 (Abdul-Aziz 1/6, Jett 1/4, Waterman 3/10, Brown 10/12, Reidell 1/6, Trombley 3/8, Wicks 6/12).

3-Point Field Goals: The Growth 7/21 (Duffy 4/5, Olsen 1/2, Burke 1/2, Gilmore 1/5, Townes Jr. 0/1, Loder 0/1, Ackerman 0/2, Fairclough 0/3), Young Guns 4/15 (Waterman 2/5, Wicks 1/2, Trombley 1/4, Abdul-Aziz 0/2, Jett 0/2).

Free Throws: The Growth 7/9 (Gilmore 2/2, Spencer 2/2, Burke 2/2, Townes Jr. 1/2, Fedullo 0/1), Young Guns 11/16 (Brown 5/8, Waterman 4/5, Jett 1/1, Abdul-Aziz 1/2).

Rebounds: The Growth 27 (Gilmore, Fedullo, Burke 4), Young Guns 37 (Brown 12).

Assists: The Growth 15 (Duffy 3), Young Guns 16 (Wicks 5).


Bellevue 60, Next Big Thing 56

Thanks to a staunch defensive effort over a stretch in the middle of the 2nd half, Bellevue was able to overcome a double digit deficit and break even on the night. Bellevue trailed by 5 at halftime and was down by as much as 12 at 43-31 before Jarrett Benjamin (Laurens 2017) started their push with a 3 point play. They eventually took the lead on a Dom Parker (La Salle 2017) layup at 50-49 over the game's final few minutes. Although Bellevue experienced late free throw shooting woes, including missing all three front ends of 1-and-1 opportunities, Next Big Thing was never able to get back to at least a game-tying situation. Kevin Murray (Seton Catholic 2017) was big in the comeback stretch for Bellevue, scoring nearly at will over a few minute period and finishing with a team high 20 points. Mike Wine (Guilderland 2017) added 13 points, including 7/9 from the line, and the aforementioned Jarrett Benjamin had 9 points & 10 rebounds. For Next Big Thing, Colonie 2018 standout Isaiah Moll finished with game highs of 23 points & 13 rebounds, and Jake Cook (Shaker 2019) added 14 & 8.

Bellevue (2-2): Colby Fancher 5, Dom Parker 5, Kevin Murray 20, Mike Wine 13, Mason Weir 2, Sean Nolan 4, Jarrett Benjamin 9, Drew Patnode 2. Totals: 20-18-60.

Next Big Thing (0-3): Jared D'Aloia 4, Jacob Lydon 1, Isaiah Moll 23, Mike Ortale 8, Zack Travis 6, Jake Cook 14. Totals: 23-7-56.

Field Goals: Bellevue 20/58 (Fancher 2/2, Parker 2/9, Layden 0/2, Murray 7/13, Wine 3/8, Ryan 0/4, Weir 1/7, Nolan 1/4, Benjamin 3/5, Patnode 1/4), Next Big Thing 23/53 (D'Aloia 2/7, Porter 0/2, Lydon 0/3, Moll 8/17, Ortale 3/9, Travis 3/4, Cook 7/11).

3-Point Field Goals: Bellevue 2/13 (Fancher 1/1, Nolan 1/2, Parker 0/2, Ryan 0/2, Wine 0/3, Weir 0/3), Next Big Thing 3/16 (Ortale 2/5, Moll 1/5, Travis 0/1, D'Aloia 0/2, Lydon 0/3).

Free Throws: Bellevue 18/28 (Wine 7/9, Murray 6/9, Benjamin 3/3, Parker 1/3, Nolan 1/3, Fancher 0/1), Next Big Thing 7/10 (Moll 6/8, Lydon 1/2).

Rebounds: Bellevue 34 (Benjamin 10), Next Big Thing 34 (Moll 13).

Assists: Bellevue 6 (Patnode 3), Next Big Thing 11 (Porter 3).


Team 518 75, All Day 53

Team 518 started off with a 1st half flurry, and when All Day made a big push after halftime to claw back to within striking distance, they delivered the knockout punch to turn it back into a blowout and remain undefeated. They jumped out to a big lead with tough defense, strong defensive rebounding, and turning those rebounds into fast break opportunities. They led by as much as 24 before an All Day 2nd half run, with the final occurrence of a 24 point game being on a Josh Paszkowski (Colonie 2017) layup to make it 51-27. Three players finished in double figures for 518, with Beau Smith (Trinity Pawling 2018) leading all scorers with 17. Tyler Lamport (South Kortright 2017) added 15 points, and Niskayuna graduate Tommy Kelly (Bridgton Academy (ME) 2017) added 14 and 4 assists. The All Day push was spearheaded by Adirondack Leaguers Caleb Scrime (Lake George 2018) and Kobe Lufkin (Argyle 2017); Scrime scored 13 of his team high 16 in the 2nd half, connecting on all 5 shot attempts, and Lufkin added 9 of his 11 after intermission. He also had team highs of 4 assists and 4 steals; Scrime added 5 rebounds, which tied for a team high. 

Team 518 (4-0): Tommy Kelly 14, Josh Paszkowski 8, AJ Lawton 2, Beau Smith 17, Tyler Lamport 15, Matt Bernhard 5, Adam Anderson 6, Andrew Post 4, Josh Newman 4. Totals: 32-4-75.

All Day (0-3): Kobe Lufkin 11, Jackson Atty 3, Caleb Scrime 16, Jimmy Luther 5, Marcus Filien 5, Mike Henderson 7, Andrew Mason 4, Ray Evans 4. Totals: 18-13-53.

Field Goals: Team 518 32/58 (Kelly 6/9, Paszkowski 4/4, Lawton 1/3, Smith 7/8, Lamport 7/15, Bernhard 2/4, Anderson 2/6, Post 2/9, Newman 1/1), All Day 18/49 (Lufkin 3/10, Atty 1/4, Scrime 6/9, Luther 2/5, Filien 2/3, Henderson 1/6, Mason 2/5, Evans 1/7).

3-Point Field Goals: Team 518 7/16 (Smith 3/4, Kelly 2/4, Anderson 1/1, Bernhard 1/2, Lawton 0/2, Lamport 0/4), All Day 6/21 (Scrime 2/4, Luther 1/2, Filien 1/2, Atty 1/3, Henderson 1/4, Lufkin 0/3, Evans 0/3).

Free Throws: Team 518 4/10 (Newman 2/2, Lamport 1/2, Anderson 1/4, Kelly 0/1, Post 0/1), All Day 13/16 (Lufkin 5/6, Henderson 4/6, Scrime 2/2, Evans 2/2).

Rebounds: Team 518 31 (Post 7), All Day 26 (Scrime, Filien 5).

Assists: Team 518 23 (Paszkowski 5), All Day 7 (Lufkin 4).


Young Guns 67, Next Big Thing 65

It was a back-and-forth affair in the nightcap at Court 1, but Young Guns made just enough plays in the home stretch to break even on the day, and in doing so, keeping an on-paper strong Next Big Thing squad from capturing their elusive first win. NBT had a lead for a good portion of the game, including a 36-33 halftime edge, but strong play from Cameron Jett (Hudson Falls 2017), Darren Brown (Fair Haven (VT) 2017), and Dylan Trombley (Moriah 2018) pushed Young Guns over the top to a 3-1 mark. Jett scored 11 of his 14 after halftime, including 3 threes. Brown added 9 of his 11 in the 2nd half, and Trombley scored 8 of his 12 after intermission. Bryce Waterman (Colonie 2018) finished with a team high 15 for Young Guns to go with 7 rebounds, and Brown also contributed a team high 8 rebounds. For Next Big Thing, Isaiah Moll (Colonie 2018) again contributed a game high 18 points. Louden Porter (Canton 2017) and Mike Ortale (Bethlehem 2019) joined him in double figures with 13 and 11. Jake Cook (Shaker 2019) had a game high 10 rebounds to go with his 7 points.

Young Guns (3-1): Jalani Abdul-Aziz 2, Cameron Jett 14, Bryce Waterman 15, Darren Brown 11, Todd Hubbell 2, Danny Reidell 3, Dylan Trombley 12, Darius Wicks 8. Totals: 26-6-67.

Next Big Thing (0-4): Tommy Bortnick 2, Jared D'Aloia 5, Louden Portner 13, Jacob Lydon 5, Isaiah Moll 18, Mike Ortale 11, Zack Travis 4, Jake Cook 7. Totals: 26-8-65.

Field Goals: Young Guns 26/57 (Abdul-Aziz 1/6, Jett 5/8, Waterman 5/10, Brown 5/9, Hubbell 1/4, Reidell 1/3, Trombley 5/10, Wicks 2/6), Next Big Thing 26/60 (Bortnick 0/2, D'Aloia 2/5, Porter 6/9, Lydon 2/4, Moll 7/17, Ortale 5/10, Travis 2/6, Cook 2/7).

3-Point Field Goals: Young Guns 9/19 (Jett 4/5, Waterman 3/6, Reidell 1/2, Trombley 1/4, Abdul-Aziz 0/1, Wicks 0/1), Next Big Thing 5/17 (D'Aloia 1/2, Porter 1/2, Lydon 1/3, Moll 1/3, Ortale 1/4, Bortnick 0/1, Travis 0/1, Cook 0/1).

Free Throws: Young Guns 6/15 (Waterman 2/3, Wicks 2/6, Trombley 1/2, Brown 1/4), Next Big Thing 8/11 (Moll 3/3, Cook 3/4, Bortnick 2/3, Porter 0/1).

Rebounds: Young Guns 34 (Brown 8), Next Big Thing 33 (Cook 10).

Assists: Young Guns 13 (Wicks 4), Next Big Thing 11 (Porter, Ortale 3).


The Growth 76, All Day 70

A large 1st half deficit again proved to be too much to overcome for All Day, although an offensive explosion after halftime certainly made things interesting. After trailing 41-24 at the break, All Day went off for 46 points in the final 20 minutes, again led by hot shooting from Caleb Scrime (Lake George 2018). Coming off a game where he scored 13 of his 16 in the 2nd half an hour ago, he again had a team high 16 points, but with 14 coming after intermission in this one. However, The Growth didn't exactly slow down with their offensive output, scoring 35 after the break to go 2-0 on the day. Kevin Townes Jr. (Our Lady of Lourdes 2017), the league's leading scorer entering Week 2, had a game high 19 points with 15 coming from behind the arc. Ty'Jon Gilmore (St. Thomas More (CT) 2017) added 13, and a balanced Growth attack had 5 more players scoring either 6 or 8 points. Along with Scrime for All Day, Ray Evans (La Salle 2018) had 15 points, and Kobe Lufkin (Argyle 2017) added another 14 points. Jimmy Luther (Frankfort-Schuyler 2017) rounded their 4 in double digits with 10.

The Growth (3-1): Brennan Loder 3-6, Cole Ackerman 1-2, Daniel Duffy 1-2, Lou Fedullo 4-8, Kyle Fairclough 2-4, Peyton Olsen 4-8, Kevin Townes Jr. 7-19, Ty'Jon Gilmore 5-1-13, Corey Burke 3-6, Jack Spencer 4-8. Totals: 33-1-74.

All Day (0-4): Kobe Lufkin 5-2-14, Jackson Atty 2-6, Caleb Scrime 7-1-16, Jimmy Luther 2-5-10, Marcus Filien 1-2, Mike Henderson 2-1-5, Andrew Mason 1-2, Ray Evans 6-1-15. Totals: 26-10-70.

3-Point Field Goals: The Growth 7 (Townes Jr. 5, Gilmore 2), All Day 8 (Lufkin 2, Atty 2, Evans 2, Scrime, Luther).

Free Throws: The Growth 1/2 (Gilmore), All Day 10/17 (Luther 5/6, Lufkin 2/3, Scrime 1/2, Henderson 1/2, Evans 1/2, Mason 0/2).

Girls League Rundown - Week 2

Dynasty 48, Rising Stars 36

An undersized but deceptively strong Dynasty squad was able to wear down an undermanned Rising Stars team with constant full-court man-to-man pressure en route to a night-opening win. After trailing 23-22 at halftime, Dynasty held Rising Stars to 13 points and just 3 made field goals after halftime. Altogether, Rising Stars went just 10/43 from the field and 2/17 from the 3 point line. Julia DeBeatham (Shaker 2020) had her breakout game of the early summer, leading all scorers with 15 points, including 3 threes. Paige Brinkman (Schalmont 2018), Dynasty's tallest player in uniform at 6'0", had a game high 11 rebounds. Kelsey Wood (Averill Park 2020) paced Rising Stars with 11 points and 8 rebounds.

Dynasty (2-1): Dolly Cairns 8, Gwen Carpenter 2, Julianna Taylor 5, Lexi DeBeatham 5, Julia DeBeatham 15, Paige Brinkman 4, Lauren Obermayer 7, Kaitlyn Bjelko 2. Totals: 19-2-48.

Rising Stars (0-3): Brianna Legacy 4, Ava Fitzmaurice 4, Kelsey Wood 11, Rylee vonWedel 5, Kyra Oeffler 6, Madison Graber 6. Totals: 10-14-36.

Field Goals: Dynasty 19/55 (Cairns 3/7, Carpenter 1/4, Taylor 2/9, L. DeBeatham 2/4, J. DeBeatham 6/12, Brinkman 2/10, Obermayer 3/7, Bjelko 0/2), Rising Stars 10/43 (Legacy 1/6, Fitzmaurice 1/10, Wood 3/5, vonWedel 1/7, Oeffler 2/7, Graber 2/8).

3-Point Field Goals: Dynasty 8/23 (J. DeBeatham 3/7, Cairns 2/5, Obermayer 1/2, L. DeBeatham 1/3, Taylor 1/5, Carpenter 0/1), Rising Stars 2/17 (Oeffler 1/5, Fitzmaurice 1/9, vonWedel 0/1, Legacy 0/2).

Free Throws: Dynasty 2/12 (Bjelko 2/4, Carpenter 0/2, Taylor 0/2, L. DeBeatham 0/2, Brinkman 0/2), Rising Stars 14/23 (Wood 5/7, vonWedel 3/4, Graber 2/2, Legacy 2/6, Fitzmaurice 1/2, Oeffler 1/2).

Rebounds: Dynasty 37 (Brinkman 11), Rising Stars 32 (Wood 8).

Assists: Dynasty 13 (Carpenter, Brinkman 3), Rising Stars 6 (Legacy 3).


Show Stoppers 52, Lockdown 29

Using a big 2nd half push, Show Stoppers were able to turn a competitive game into a blowout late. Although they led from wire-to-wire, Lockdown remained within striking distance until there were under 10 minutes remaining. After Lockdown scored to make it a 34-25 game, Madison Dunlap (Colonie 2019) started a 10-0 run by knocking down a three. Johnstown 2017 Claire Guzielek scored 6 of the other 7 points in that run, hitting a pair of 3 point attempts. Altogether, Show Stoppers locked down Lockdown in the closing minutes, holding them to just 4 points in the final 9+ minutes. Julia Kelner (Jamesville-Dewitt 2017) had game highs of 16 points and 7 rebounds, and Shyla Sanford (Shaker 2018) had a big game for Show Stoppers, scoring 13 points on 5/6 shooting, and adding 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals. For Lockdown, Julie Ford (Cooperstown 2018) led the way with 12 points. Cameron Tooley (Shenendehowa 2018) added 6 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals.

Show Stoppers (2-1): Madison Dunlap 7, Claire Guzielek 6, Emily Frodyma 3, Harmony Philo 2, Shyla Sanford 13, MaryKate Palleschi 5, Julia Kelner 16. Totals: 21-4-52.

Lockdown (2-1): Anna VanRoy 2, Logan Bruce 2, Abi Selfridge 4, Grace VanRoy 1, Cameron Tooley 6, Addy Sackett 2, Julie Ford 12. Totals: 13-3-29.

Field Goals: Show Stoppers 21/52 (Dunlap 3/9, Guzielek 2/5, Fedullo 0/4, Frodyma 1/4, Philo 1/6, Sanford 5/6, Palleschi 2/5, Kelner 7/13), Lockdown 13/37 (A. VanRoy 1/2, Schuermann 0/3, Bruce 1/3, Selfridge 2/3, G. VanRoy 0/2, Tooley 2/3, Sackett 1/5, Ford 6/16).

3-Point Field Goals: Show Stoppers 6/20 (Sanford 3/4, Guzielek 2/4, Dunlap 1/3, Frodyma 0/1, Fedullo 0/2, Palleschi 0/2, Philo 0/4), Lockdown 0/5 (Schuermann 0/1, Bruce 0/1, Ford 0/1, Sackett 0/2).

Free Throws: Show Stoppers 4/7 (Kelner 2/2, Frodyma 1/1, Palleschi 1/2, Philo 0/2), Lockdown 3/7 (Tooley 2/2, G. VanRoy 1/4, Ford 0/1).

Rebounds: Show Stoppers 30 (Kelner 7), Lockdown 20 (Schuermann 5).

Assists: Show Stoppers 12 (Fedullo, Sanford 3), Lockdown 8 (Tooley 5). 


Next Level 62, Too Easy 40

After giving up most of a large early lead, Next Level was able to pull away as the 2nd half went on to get their 2nd win of the season. They knocked down 5 threes in the early going and led by as much as 17 in the 1st half before a perimeter onslaught from Too Easy's Alyssa Waters (Beekmantown 2018) helped bring Too Easy back to within 4 early in the 2nd half. Waters hit 4 threes and led all scorers with 16 points, all coming in the first 25 minutes of the game. 5 of the 7 players in uniform scored 9 or more points for Next Level, led by Sophie Wittenbeck (Waterville 2018), who hit 4 threes and finished with 14 points. Grace Heeps (Columbia 2019) added 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists, and fellow 2019s Allison Moreau (Sauquoit Valley) and Cat Almeida (Shenendehowa) added 12 & 5 and 10 & 8 respectively. Waters scored her game high 16 on 6/11 shooting and also added 7 rebounds.

Too Easy (1-2): Danielle Caivana 4, Petrina DeMarco 3, Julia Ryan 7, Alyssa Waters 16, Kenna Guynup 5, Tara Sager 5. Totals: 14-6-40.

Next Level (2-1): Grace Heeps 13, Katelyn Flanagan 3, Allison Moreau 12, Bre Palmatier 9, Sophie Wittenbeck 14, Ally Crosby 1, Cat Almeida 10. Totals: 22-10-62.

Field Goals: Too Easy 14/52 (Caivana 2/13, DeMarco 1/6, Ryan 2/4, Zeyak 0/4, Waters 6/11, Guynup 1/6, Sager 2/8), Next Level 22/57 (Heeps 3/8, Flanagan 1/4, Moreau 5/9, Palmatier 3/10, Wittenbeck 5/12, Crosby 0/3, Almeida 5/11).

3-Point Field Goals: Too Easy 6/23 (Waters 4/7, Ryan 1/3, DeMarco 1/4, Zeyak 0/1, Caivana 0/8), Next Level 8/22 (Wittenbeck 4/8, Moreau 1/2, Heeps 1/3, Flanagan 1/3, Palmatier 1/5, Crosby 0/1).

Free Throws: Too Easy 6/12 (Guynup 3/4, Ryan 2/4, Sager 1/2, Waters 0/2), Next Level 10/16 (Heeps 6/6, Palmatier 2/4, Moreau 1/2, Crosby 1/4).

Rebounds: Too Easy 30 (Guynup 8), Next Level 38 (Heeps 10).

Assists: Too Easy 9 (DeMarco 4), Next Level 15 (Heeps 6).


Outwork 49, Upstate Select 43

Outwork used a massive rebounding edge and sound free throw shooting to overcome low numbers and a mid-game injury en route to an early W. Despite Canisius commit Lauraine Joensen going down after rolling her ankle late in the 1st half - she would sit out for the rest of the game, but play in the next game - Outwork went on a spurt in the 2nd to gain an 8 point lead and maintain breathing room through the final buzzer. Madison Little (Mount Anthony Union (VT) 2017) had a big game for Outwork, as the 5'9" guard finished with game highs of 19 points and 13 rebounds. She also hit all 4 of her 2nd half free throws - Outwork shot 12/13 as a team and held a 41-18 rebounding advantage over Upstate Select. Chloe Chaffin (Kingston 2018) scored 6 of her 11 points in that 2nd half run, and she also added 8 rebounds. Caitlin Estes (Scotia-Glenville 2017) made her EST debut and finished with a team high 13 on 5/10 shooting for Upstate Select, and EST & AAU teammate Olivia Baumann (Guilderland 2017) added 12 points and 5 rebounds.

Outwork (2-1): Lyndsey McCoy 4, Madison Little 19, Lauraine Joensen 2, Chloe Chaffin 11, Mikyla Mitchell 7, Anna Iannotti 6. Totals: 17-12-49.

Upstate Select (1-2): Allie Pacatte 2, Shiane Irwin 3, Olivia Baumann 12, Haley Steenland 9, Giuliana Pritchard 4, Caitlin Estes 13. Totals: 17-5-43.

Field Goals: Outwork 17/59 (McCoy 1/3, Little 6/19, Joensen 0/6, Chaffin 5/14, Mitchell 3/12, Iannotti 2/5), Upstate Select 17/47 (Pacatte 1/2, Brenon 0/2, Irwin 1/6, Baumann 5/12, Steenland 3/9, Marshall 0/1, Pritchard 2/4, Hill 0/1, Estes 5/10).

3-Point Field Goals: Outwork 3/9 (Little 3/6, McCoy 0/1, Joensen 0/1, Mitchell 0/1), Upstate Select 4/17 (Baumann 2/6, Steenland 1/3, Estes 1/3, Brenon 0/2, Irwin 0/3).

Free Throws: Outwork 12/13 (Little 4/4, McCoy 2/2, Joensen 2/2, Iannotti 2/2, Mitchell 1/1, Chaffin 1/2), Upstate Select 5/7 (Steenland 2/2, Estes 2/2, Irwin 1/1, Baumann 0/2).

Rebounds: Outwork 41 (Little 13), Upstate Select 18 (Pritchard 6).

Assists: Outwork 5 (Chaffin, Mitchell 2), Upstate Select 7 (Irwin, Steenland 2).


Outwork 72, Rising Stars 62

In a game that was marked with fatigue, with both teams playing their 2nd of a back-to-back with limited bodies to utilize, Outwork was able to score early & often and lead wire-to-wire en route to a 2nd straight victory. It was a game of runs that Rising Stars was able to cut close into on two separate occasions, but Outwork had the answer when needed. After jumping out to a 20-5 lead in the 1st half, Rising Stars cut it to within 37-34 late in the 1st half. Outwork responded by scoring the next 14 points, including a 12-0 run to start the 2nd half, to bump their lead to 17. A three from Kyra Oeffler (Heatly 2018) stopped the run and was Rising Stars' first points of the 2nd half over 5 minutes in, but it proved to start a 12-2 run that Oeffler ended with another jumper to make it 53-46. Out of an ensuing timeout, Outwork went on a 10-0 run to push the lead back to 17 and effectively put the game out of reach. Madison Little (Mount Anthony Union (VT) 2017) continued with her strong day, scoring a team high 21 points and adding 6 rebounds. Three others scored in double figures for Outwork; Kingston 2018 Chloe Chaffin (13 pts, 7 rebs, 5 asts), Northampton (MA) 2017 and Canisius commit Lauraine Joensen (12 pts, 9 rebs), and Mekeel 2018 Rebekkah Dean (11 pts, 7 rebs). Ava Fitzmaurice (Greenville 2018) had a breakout 2nd game, scoring a game and night-high 24 points, which also proved to be an EST career high for the 2 year veteran. One of last year's top 3 point shooters showed the range again, as 15 of her 24 came off 5 threes. The aforementioned Kyra Oeffler added 13 points with 9 coming from beyond the arc, and Brianna Legacy (Mount Anthony Union (VT) 2017) finished with a night-high 9 assists.

Outwork (3-1): Rebekkah Dean 11, Lyndsey McCoy 4, Madison Little 21, Lauraine Joensen 12, Chloe Chaffin 13, Mikyla Mitchell 8, Anna Iannotti 3. Totals: 31-6-72.

Rising Stars (0-4): Brianna Legacy 5, Ava Fitzmaurice 24, Kelsey Wood 8, Rylee vonWedel 3, Kyra Oeffler 13, Madison Graber 9. Totals: 18-16-61.

Field Goals: Outwork 31/65 (Dean 5/10, McCoy 2/5, Little 10/18, Joensen 4/10, Chaffin 6/11, Mitchell 3/8, Iannotti 1/3), Rising Stars 18/45 (Legacy 1/6, Fitzmaurice 8/16, Wood 1/3, vonWedel 1/4, Oeffler 4/6, Graber 3/10).

3-Point Field Goals: Outwork 4/15 (Mitchell 2/4, Little 1/3, Dean 1/4, McCoy 0/1, Joensen 0/3), Rising Stars 10/22 (Fitzmaurice 5/13, Oeffler 3/4, Wood 1/1, Legacy 1/3, Graber 0/3). 

Free Throws: Outwork 6/11 (Joensen 4/6, Iannotti 1/1, Chaffin 1/2, Mitchell 0/2), Rising Stars 16/20 (Wood 5/6, Graber 3/3, Fitzmaurice 3/5, Legacy 2/2, Oeffler 2/2, vonWedel 1/2).

Rebounds: Outwork 35 (Joensen 9), Rising Stars 25 (vonWedel 7).

Assists: Outwork 13 (Chaffin 5), Rising Stars 16 (Legacy 9). 


Dynasty 48, Upstate Select 37

Another game that Upstate Select was within striking distance throughout, but never able to close the gap. Dynasty took an early lead and held on throughout, slowly wearing Select down throughout the game using what's becoming their trademark full court man-to-man defense. The lead was single digits for Dynasty most of the way, but a late collection of easy buckets around the rim helped their lead swell to 15 late. Julianna Taylor (Fonda-Fultonville 2017) had a strong outing for the winners, shooting 6/9 from the field and finishing with a game high 13 points. Lexi DeBeatham (Shaker 2018) and Lauren Obermayer (Columbia 2019) added 9 points apiece, and Kaitlyn Bjelko (Beekmantown 2018) contributed a game high 10 rebounds. For Upstate Select, Olivia Marshall (Stockbridge Valley 2017) had team highs of 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Olivia Baumann (Guilderland 2017) added 8 points, and Giuliana Pritchard (Amsterdam 2018) had 7 with 6 rebounds.

Dynasty (3-1): Dolly Cairns 2, Gwen Carpenter 1, Julianna Taylor 13, Julia DeBeatham 5, Lexi DeBeatham 9, Lauren Obermayer 9, Paige Brinkman 5, Kaitlyn Bjelko 4. Totals: 20-5-48.

Upstate Select (1-3): Allie Pacatte 2, Shiane Irwin 3, Olivia Baumann 8, Haley Steenland 2, Olivia Marshall 9, Giuliana Pritchard 7, Lauren Hill 2, Caitlin Estes 4. Totals: 15-2-37.

Field Goals: Dynasty 20/59 (Cairns 1/6, Carpenter 0/2, Taylor 6/9, J. DeBeatham 2/6, L. DeBeatham 3/12, Obermayer 4/11, Brinkman 2/7, Bjelko 2/6), Upstate Select 15/48 (Pacatte 1/2, Brenon 0/5, Irwin 1/6, Baumann 3/6, Steenland 1/3, Marshall 4/8, Pritchard 3/10, Hill 1/4, Estes 1/4).

3-Point Field Goals: Dynasty 3/13 (Taylor 1/2, J. DeBeatham 1/2, Brinkman 1/3, Cairns 0/1, Carpenter 0/1, Obermayer 0/1, L. DeBeatham 0/3), Upstate Select 5/21 (Baumann 2/4, Marshall 1/2, Pritchard 1/2, Irwin 1/5, Pacatte 0/1, Hill 0/1, Steenland 0/2, Brenon 0/4).

Free Throws: Dynasty 5/10 (L. DeBeatham 3/4, Carpenter 1/2, Obermayer 1/2, Brinkman 0/2), Upstate Select 2/6 (Estes 2/2, Pacatte 0/2, Marshall 0/2).

Rebounds: Dynasty 35 (Bjelko 10), Upstate Select 29 (Marshall 7).

Assists: Dynasty 11 (Cairns 6), Upstate Select 10 (Irwin 5).


Lockdown 60, Next Level 35

It was a role reversal at Court 2 for the 8:00 game, as Lockdown - who lost by 20+ earlier in the night - won by 20+ over a Next Level squad coming off a 20+ point win in the previous game. It was an early onslaught of missed defensive assignments and inability to get back for Next Level that turned into easy Lockdown buckets in the first half. They jumped out to a 15-5 lead early in the game, which worked its way up to 32-14 at halftime. Addy Sackett (Delaware Academy 2017) led all scorers with 17 points off 6/10 shooting from the field, and Julie Ford (Cooperstown 2018) had her best game of the summer thus far, contributing 16 points and a game high 15 rebounds. Anna VanRoy (Saugerties 2019) contributed 8 points, and heady point guard Logan Bruce (Delaware Academy 2018) had a game high 6 assists to go with her 5 points & 5 rebounds. Grace Heeps (Columbia 2019) had a team high 9 points to go with 7 rebounds, and Ally Crosby (Hammond 2018) had team highs of 11 rebounds & 4 blocks to go with 6 points. Next Level shot just over 20% from the field for the game, at 10/49.

Lockdown (3-1): Anna VanRoy 8, Logan Bruce 5, Abi Selfridge 7, Grace VanRoy 2, Cameron Tooley 5, Addy Sackett 17, Julie Ford 16. Totals: 24-7-60.

Next Level (2-2): Grace Heeps 9, Katelyn Flanagan 3, Allison Moreau 2, Bre Palmatier 5, Sophie Wittenbeck 8, Ally Crosby 6, Cat Almeida 2. Totals: 10-11-35.

Field Goals: Lockdown 24/51 (A. VanRoy 4/6, Schuermann 0/2, Bruce 2/7, Selfridge 3/3, G. VanRoy 0/4, Tooley 2/5, Sackett 6/10, Ford 7/14), Next Level 10/49 (Heeps 2/7, Flanagan 1/7, Moreau 0/3, Palmatier 2/9, Wittenbeck 2/8, Crosby 2/7, Almeida 1/8).

3-Point Field Goals: Lockdown 5/7 (Sackett 3/4, Selfridge 1/1, Tooley 1/1, Ford 0/1), Next Level 4/18 (Heeps 1/2, Flanagan 1/4, Palmatier 1/5, Wittenbeck 1/5, Moreau 0/1, Almeida 0/1).

Free Throws: Lockdown 7/12 (G. VanRoy 2/2, Sackett 2/3, Ford 2/3, Bruce 1/2, Selfridge 0/2), Next Level 11/24 (Heeps 4/6, Wittenbeck 3/5, Moreau 2/2, Crosby 2/4, Flanagan 0/2, Almeida 0/2, Palmatier 0/3).

Rebounds: Lockdown 40 (Ford 15), Next Level 29 (Crosby 11).

Assists: Lockdown 13 (Bruce 6), Next Level 5 (Heeps 3).


Show Stoppers 47, Too Easy 27

It was a nightmare game shooting from the start for Too Easy, and by the time shots started to fall, it was far too little, too late. A 4/27 performance from the field in Game 2 of a back-to-back pushed them down double digits in the 1st half, and although Show Stoppers' shooting performance wasn't their finest, the defensive effort was able to carry them to a 2nd straight 20 point win. After leading 25-11 at halftime, Show Stoppers quickly scored 9 out of the first 11 in the 2nd half, pushing the lead to 34-13 with under 15 minutes remaining, and Too Easy remained scoreless for an over 9 minute 2nd half stretch before Kenna Guynup (Beekmantown 2017) hit a three to end the drought. Show Stoppers' margin remained 20+ until a late barrage of threes from Too Easy slimmed the deficit to 16. In her EST debut, Emily Frodyma (Catholic Central 2018) earned her spot on Show Stoppers for the remainder of the season by finishing with a game high 13 points. The scrappy guard also tallied 9 rebounds and helped Show Stoppers to a 53-30 rebounding edge. Shyla Sanford (Shaker 2018) contributed 11 points, 3 boards, 3 assists, and 5 steals, and they also received solid statistical contributions from Amsterdam 2017 Nina Fedullo (8 pts, 10 rebs) and Jamesville-Dewitt 2017 Julia Kelner (6 pts, 15 rebs). Tara Sager (Ichabod Crane 2017) led Too Easy with 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks, and the aforementioned Kenna Guynup had 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals.

Too Easy (1-3): Danielle Caivana 4, Julia Ryan 3, Emily Zeyak 3, Kenna Guynup 8, Tara Sager 9. Totals: 9-4-27.

Show Stoppers (3-1): Madison Dunlap 2, Nina Fedullo 8, Emily Frodyma 13, Harmony Philo 4, Shyla Sanford 11, MaryKate Palleshi 3, Julia Kelner 6. Totals: 16-14-47.

Field Goals: Too Easy 9/51 (Caivana 1/10, DeMarco 0/10, Ryan 1/4, Zeyak 1/6, Waters 0/6, Guynup 2/10, Sager 4/5), Show Stoppers 16/65 (Dunlap 1/7, Fedullo 3/12, Frodyma 6/14, Philo 0/6, Sanford 3/9, Palleschi 1/9, Kelner 2/8).

3-Point Field Goals: Too Easy 5/23 (Guynup 2/6, Ryan 1/3, Zeyak 1/3, Caivana 1/6, Waters 0/2, DeMarco 0/3), Show Stoppers 1/16 (Sanford 1/5, Dunlap 0/1, Palleschi 0/1, Frodyma 0/2, Fedullo 0/3, Philo 0/4).

Free Throws: Too Easy 4/9 (Guynup 2/6, Sager 1/1, Caivana 1/2), Show Stoppers 14/21 (Philo 4/4, Sanford 4/8, Kelner 2/2, Fedullo 2/3, Frodyma 1/1, Palleschi 1/3).

Rebounds: Too Easy 30 (Guynup, Sager 8), Show Stoppers 53 (Kelner 15).

Assists: Too Easy 7 (Waters 3), Show Stoppers 10 (Sanford, Palleschi 3).

Big Names, Tough Games, and The Youth Movement: Reflections From Opening Night

Alright, so now that everyone - including myself - had a couple days of a cooldown period after what was the craziest night EST has seen thus far, time to mention some things noticed by myself and others on opening night.

Boys

- Hameir Wright. Mike Wynn. Joseph Girard III. Will Bennett. Mike Wine. Tommy Kelly. Beau Smith. Tyler Bertram. Tyler Lamport. Isaiah Moll. Jake Cook. Mike Ortale. Just a few names of the best of the present & the future who were on the court Wednesday. If you passed up on playing in EST... why?

- 518's not leaving from the top anytime soon. Last year's undefeated champion, led by players such as Andrew Sischo (Daemen 2020), Zac O'Dell (Swarthmore 2020), and Alex Skaine (St. John Fisher 2020), came into Union with only 2 returning faces in 2015 All-EST 2nd Team Tyler Lamport (South Kortright 2017) and 2015 All-EST Honorable Mention Adam Anderson (Saratoga Springs 2017). That didn't matter. A host of talented new players, led on opening night by Tommy Kelly (Bridgton Academy 2017) and Beau Smith (Trinity Pawling 2018), picked up right where the old squad left off, winning 2 games by a combined 47 points by playing defense and running the floor. Another strong squad that is taking pride on winning games over individual wealth (6 players averaging over 5 PPG). Look out, rest of league.


- Other teams won't roll over and play dead to them this summer, though. The Growth put forth a strong effort, despite being a bit undermanned on opening night. They trailed by 5 at halftime and kept it close until 518 was able to slowly separate and get a 16 point win. The Growth did this without the services of Capital District standout Ty'Jon Gilmore (St. Thomas More 2017), who was en route to an unofficial visit at Cleveland State. They picked up great contributions from EST returner Kevin Townes Jr. (Our Lady of Lourdes 2017), who got into the open court time & time again and heads into Week 2 being the league's leading scorer at 21 PPG. The team from opening night, plus Ty'Jon and fellow teammates Jack Spencer & Logan O'Donnell... they could be knocking on the door.

- At full strength - or close to full strength - Young Guns have the talent to run with anyone. They won a close game at 6:30 over a Hameir Wright led All Day squad, and you could see their offense starting to come together in the 2nd game against Bellevue. They have players that are no secret to anyone in the gym; Joseph Girard III (Glens Falls 2019) and Mike Wynn (Cushing Academy 2018), both with Division I offers on the table, spearheaded their backcourt effort. It was far from the Girard & Wynn show though, as they picked up solid guard contributions from Danny Reidell (Northville 2017) and strong play from Brendan Mulson (Colonie 2017) and Dylan Trombley (Moriah 2018). Add a great EST debut from their lone post player, athletic 6'6" lefty Darren Brown (Fair Haven (VT) 2017), who averaged 16 PPG over 2 games, and although heavy on the guards, they could cause issues for everyone.

- Post players - or at least people with good size and athleticism that are willing to play 15' & in and go for everything that comes off the rim - are a rare commodity nowadays. If you fit that niche, there's a spot for you to be successful in this league. The aforementioned Brown had a monster showing, including 22 points in the final game, by doing just that. He didn't have his number called lots of times, but he worked his way into good position and was a problem for the opposition on the boards. When he got the ball in the blocks, he made good with it, and he ran the floor and finished hard - way above the rim - in transition. Add Jarrett Benjamin (Laurens 2017) and Jake Cook (Shaker 2019) to that list. Cook also has the ability to step outside, handle it, and shoot it, but the 6'8" local rising standout made a living attacking the weak-side glass on opening night. He also cut to the basket at the right time and was on the dunking end of a couple lobs in the nightcap. Benjamin, a 6'6" bull with a strong build, was a terror on the boards when in the game. In Bellevue's first game, he worked his way to 17 points. Be willing to do the work that many don't want to do, and you instantly make yourself noticed at Union on Wednesdays.

- The ultimate individual matchup nightmare in the boys' league could be Isaiah Moll. A 6'6", well over 200 pound rising junior at Colonie, has the body of a college junior. He can handle it, has quickness getting to the rim, and will knock it down from the perimeter if given a little time. If you throw a big on him, he blows by them. If you throw a smaller guard on him, it can be as easy as taking candy from a baby in the low blocks. After a 9 point opener where he received plenty of Team 518's defensive attention, he picked it up in Game 2, dropping a night high 28. After digging a large hole for themselves in the first half, Isaiah dropped 21 in the 2nd half to help make it a tight game late. In an 0-2 week for Next Big Thing, his performance as the night went on was certainly a silver lining.


Girls

- Saeeda Abdul-Aziz. CeCe Mayo. Sydney Brown. Nina Fedullo. Lucy Tougas. Sophie Tougas. Julia Kelner. Shyla Sanford. Chloe Chaffin. Lauraine Joensen. Grace Heeps. Cameron Tooley. Julie Ford. Alex Tudor. Dolly Cairns. Kerry Flaherty. Bruh, I'm just name dropping people who were hooping at Union on Wednesday night right now. I never do this, but I feel the need to now. If you could've played in EST this summer and passed up on it... not to sound mean... but what were you thinking?

- A couple players that I didn't mention above certainly made their cases to be brought up amongst the elite of the elite, and perhaps no one made a stronger case than Brianna Rozzi. The standout rising sophomore at Highland - just the latest installment in a family that produces really good girls basketball players like Dunkin Donuts produces coffee, might as well call her Rozzi 5.0 - turned more heads than any other new face. After her two strong performances for an already strong Outwork team, I've received a dozen inquiries on her in two days. Rozzi is a strong guard who doesn't have a noticeable on-court weakness - can handle it, shoot it, create for others, plays defense, not afraid of any matchup - and is mentally maturing from someone that had a 'hothead' tag from people into someone that just has a killer competitive edge. Look out. Rozzi 5.0 came to put some people on notice.

- At full strength, the Lockdown squad will be really tough. The combination of skill and length across the board made for a formidable opponent on Wednesday. Shenendehowa teammates Sydney Brown and Alexandra Tudor led them in scoring on opening night - Brown, a 6 footer who can play the 4 and also give valuable wing minutes, averaged 12 PPG, and 5'11" wing Tudor added 11 PPG. They added significant contributions from 6'2" post Julie Ford (Cooperstown 2018) and a pair of point guards, Cameron Tooley (Shenendehowa 2018) and Logan Bruce (Delaware Academy 2018). If there wasn't enough length from Brown, Tudor, and Ford, add the contributions they got from 5'11" PF Kelly Pine (Hoosick Falls 2017) and 5'10" twins Anna VanRoy & Grace VanRoy (Saugerties 2019). Scary. And if THAT wasn't enough, Abi Selfridge (Bainbridge-Guilford 2019) showed flashes of what you can get from her with her 11 points in the first game. The 5'7" wing can play like she's a few inches taller due to explosive athleticism. Their overall athleticism meant they could run the floor, finish in transition, get second chances, and disrupt the play on defense. They really flexed Wednesday, especially in an eye-opening 52-43 W over Outwork.

- Speaking of Outwork... they may have lost their nightcap game, but they'll be fine. The Outwork squad, with 6 players returning from 2015's Outwork squad, picked up right where they left off last August in what was perhaps the most dominant stretch of play ever seen in an EST game to start the season. In what on paper looked to be the marquee game of the night, they took all the suspense out of their 6:30 game against Show Stoppers by dropping an incredible 39 points in the first 12 minutes of the game. When I initially saw the score and asked someone (in so many words) what was going on, they said 'this team hasn't missed yet'. Seconds after, someone else watching followed with 'no, seriously, they really haven't missed'. Three of the returning players - Chloe Chaffin (Kingston 2018), Lauraine Joensen (Northampton (MA) 2017, Canisius commit), and Rebecca Townes (Our Lady of Lourdes 2018) - along with the aforementioned Brianna Rozzi pumped in 38 points combined in the first half. Two more returners, Lyndsey McCoy (Middleburgh 2017) and Rebekkah Dean (Mekeel Christian Academy 2018), added 8 and 7 for the game. This team has built a sort of camaraderie not seen in typical summer league or even AAU play. It may be safe to say that any team beating them is a mild upset.

- Grace Heeps (Columbia 2019), in case you didn't know, is a killer. The 5'11" combo guard who usually plays point for the teams she's on, after months of becoming much more of a distributor, decided at some point opening night to put her scoring hat back on for a little while. Red Velvet had double digits in a pair of close games and was the spoken and unspoken leader of a talented, but young team with all new EST faces except for her. She already has an offer and is receiving attention from a couple dozen Division I programs, including a few high majors, and that's no fluke. Grace produces, no matter where you put her, who you put her with, who you put her against, and that's the mark of a player.

- The contributions of Stephanie Jankovic (Averill Park 2018) didn't go unnoticed. Her Rising Stars team went 0-2 Wednesday, falling just short against Show Stoppers and being the victim of a staunch 2nd half defensive effort against Lockdown, but she proved her worth and made a case for being perhaps the most underrated rising player in the area. The strong 5'7" lefty guard is quick enough to get by defenders, strong enough to draw contact and finish through bigger players at the rim, and is also a knockdown shooter from the perimeter. She scored in double digits in both games, 1 of just 5 girls to do that on opening night, and did so in a variety of ways. Look for Steph to continue to expand as the summer goes on, and even more so into the upcoming winter season.

- Finally, about Julia Kelner. There may not be anyone in upstate NY that has improved as much as she has over the last year (ok, Cat Almeida has a case there too, but we'll save that for another week). Still a relative neophyte in the basketball world, only having played for a few years as a rising senior and deciding to make it #1 over the last couple years, the 6'2" post from NYSPHSAA Class A state champion Jamesville-Dewitt has come into her own over the last few months. She runs the floor faster than almost any post she encounters, catches & finishes well around the rim, and has a quickly blossoming post game with her back to the basket and facing up. She can also knock down a mid-range jumper now and has always shown prowess in finishing with either hand. Kelner certainly made an impact at Union for her Show Stoppers squad on Wednesday, and look for her to take it to even further levels in upcoming weeks.

- Putting out an APB to the offense! Perhaps it was a bit of opening night blues, as players were trying to figure their teammates out and get to know each other. That could be a big reason why Outwork, and all their crew who had chemistry from last year and some from this AAU season coming in, dropped 39 in 12 minutes. But outside of Outwork's 68 point blastoff, there was only one other team who scored 50 points in a game in Week 1. That was 2-0 Lockdown, who went for 62 and 52 in back-to-back games. Court 2 was a defensive battle for 4 hours, where the highest combined game score was 93 (a 47-46 Next Level victory over Dynasty). Look for teams to break out of the offensive doldrums in Week 2, with scoring numbers taking a spike upward.


So, there's a few thoughts. I didn't get to see everything - in fact, I didn't get to see a lot. That will change in future weeks though, starting with the boys who are back in action on Wednesday, 7/6 at Union College. The girls follow the next day, 7/7, also at Union. Boys tip at 6:30, girls at 5:30. What are you waiting for?
 

Girls League Recap - Opening Night!

The 2nd annual Empire State Takeover Summer Showcase League tipped off on Wednesday night, and what a night it was. 75 girls spanning 8 teams - a vast increase from the 5 teams in 2015 - took the courts at Union College, spanning 7 sections of the NYSPHSAA along with Massachusetts and Vermont. Results and box scores:

Show Stoppers 42, Rising Stars 38

In a game that was close throughout, the Show Stoppers squad was able to hold off a pesky Rising Stars bunch that wouldn't go away. Despite making only 5 shots from inside the arc the entire game, they were able to keep it close by knocking down 8 from beyond the arc - three coming from Stephanie Jankovic (Averill Park 2018), who made her EST debut by scoring a game high 13 in defeat. It was a balanced effort in the win for Show Stoppers, with 9 different players scoring and only 2 scoring more than 5. Julia Kelner (Jamesville-Dewitt 2017) had a strong first outing and finished with a team high 11, and Sophie Tougas (Glens Falls 2019) added 7.

Rising Stars (0-1): Brianna Legacy 1-3, Sam Dayter 3-7, Brooke Curtin 0-1-1, Stephanie Jankovic 4-2-13, Ava Fitzmaurice 2-6, Mallory Wood 1-1-3, Rylee vonWedel 1-2, Kyra Oeffler 1-3. Totals: 13-4-38.

Show Stoppers (1-0): Madison Dunlap 2-5, Claire Guzielek 1-3, Alaina Holmes 2-4, Nina Fedullo 0-3-3, Sophie Tougas 2-2-7, Lucy Tougas 2-1-5, Shyla Sanford 0-1-1, MaryKate Palleschi 1-1-3, Julia Kelner 5-1-11. Totals: 15-9-42.

Free Throws: Rising Stars 4/9 (Jankovic 2/3, Curtin 1/2, M. Wood 1/3, Dayter 0/1), Show Stoppers 9/21 (Fedullo 3/4, S. Tougas 2/2, Sanford 1/2, Palleschi 1/3, Kelner 1/3, L. Tougas 1/5, Guzielek 0/2).

3-Point Field Goals: Rising Stars 8 (Jankovic 3, Fitzmaurice 2, Legacy, Dayter, Oeffler), Show Stoppers 3 (Dunlap, Guzielek, S. Tougas).


Outwork 68, Show Stoppers 46

Last year, Outwork went 8-2 in the regular season and steamrolled their way to the finals before falling just short in one of the games of the summer. With 6 players back from that team, they showed right from the jump that it was business as usual. An early onslaught led to a remarkable 39 points scored in the first 12 minutes of the game, and it was a coast to the finish line from there. Outwork kept their trademark balance, with 6 players tallying between 7 and 14 points on the night. Four finished in double digits, and they were the driving forces behind the early scoring outburst. Chloe Chaffin (Kingston 2018) had a team high 14, and fellow Section IX rep Brianna Rozzi (Highland 2019) added 12 in a strong EST debut, with both tallying 10 in the first half. Canisius commit Lauraine Joensen (Northampton (MA) 2017) and Rebecca Townes (Our Lady of Lourdes 2018) added 11 and 10 points respectively, and Lyndsey McCoy (Middleburgh 2017) & Rebekkah Dean (Mekeel Christian Academy 2018) finished with 8 and 7. In defeat, Nina Fedullo (Amsterdam 2017) - who arrived late in the first game upon returning from an unofficial visit at Fordham - led all scorers with 16, and MaryKate Palleschi (Scotia-Glenville 2018) scored 11 of her 12 after halftime.


Outwork (1-0): Brianna Rozzi 5-12, Rebekkah Dean 3-1-7, Lyndsey McCoy 2-3-8, Madison Little 1-2, Lauraine Joensen 5-11, Chloe Chaffin 7-14, Mikyla Mitchell 1-2, Maggie Malone 1-2, Rebecca Townes 3-2-10. Totals: 28-6-68.

Show Stoppers (1-1): Nina Fedullo 6-1-16, Sophie Tougas 2-5, Lucy Tougas 1-4-6, MaryKate Palleschi 4-4-12, Julia Kelner 2-3-7. Totals: 15-12-46.

Free Throws: Outwork 6/11 (McCoy 3/4, Townes 2/3, Dean 1/2, Chaffin 0/2), Show Stoppers 12/20 (L. Tougas 4/6, Palleschi 4/7, Kelner 3/4, Fedullo 1/3).

3-Point Field Goals: Outwork 6 (Rozzi 2, Townes 2, McCoy, Joensen), Show Stoppers 4 (Fedullo 3, S. Tougas).


Lockdown 62, Rising Stars 42

A very strong Lockdown team stayed true to their namesake coming out of intermission, turning a close game into a relative blowout by holding their opponents to 14 points in the 2nd half. Much of that had to do with keeping Rising Stars off the free throw line, where they had 14 attempts from in the first half. Lockdown had balanced scoring, which was led mainly by newcomers to EST. Alexandra Tudor (Shenendehowa 2018) finished with a game high 13 points, followed closely by Abi Selfridge (Bainbridge-Guilford 2019) and her 11 points. Sydney Brown (Shenendehowa 2017) and Cameron Tooley (Shenendehowa 2018) added 9 and 8 points. In defeat, Stephanie Jankovic (Averill Park 2018) led her team in scoring for the 2nd consecutive game, finishing with 10 points.


Rising Stars (0-2): Sam Dayter 2-1-6, Brooke Curtin 2-6, Stephanie Jankovic 3-3-10, Ava Fitzmaurice 2-5, Kelsey Wood 1-4-6, Mallory Wood 2-4, Rylee vonWedel 0-2-2, Kyra Oeffler 1-3. Totals: 13-10-42.

Lockdown (1-0): Anna VanRoy 1-2, Maggie Schuermann 1-2, Logan Bruce 2-4, Abi Selfridge 5-11, Alexandra Tudor 6-13, Cameron Tooley 4-8, Addy Sackett 1-2-5, Julie Ford 3-6, Sydney Brown 2-5-9, Grace VanRoy 1-2. Totals: 26-7-62.

Free Throws: Rising Stars 10/18 (K. Wood 4/6, Jankovic 3/6, vonWedel 2/4, Dayter 1/2), Lockdown 7/13 (Brown 5/6, Sackett 2/2, Bruce 0/2, Ford 0/2, Tudor 0/1).

3-Point Field Goals: Rising Stars 6 (Curtin 2, Dayter, Jankovic, Fitzmaurice, Oeffler), Lockdown 3 (Selfridge, Tudor, Sackett).


Lockdown 52, Outwork 43

Lockdown finished the 2nd half of their back-to-back by taking down an Outwork team that was fresh off of an extremely impressive first showing, again thanks to a strong 2nd half defensive effort. After holding a slim 27-26 halftime lead, Lockdown held their opponents to 17 points after halftime to seal the deal. Offensively, it was Sydney Brown's time to shine. The standout rising senior at Shenendehowa, who has a handful of Division I offers in her pocket, had a consistent effort and paced her team with 15 points. Shen teammate Alexandra Tudor added 9 points to the cause. On the other end, Brianna Rozzi (Highland 2019) added to a stellar first night in EST by leading all scorers with 16 points, and Rebecca Townes (Our Lady of Lourdes 2018) hit 3 of her team's 5 threes and finished with 12.


Outwork (1-1): Brianna Rozzi 7-16, Rebekkah Dean 2-4, Madison Little 1-2, Lauraine Joensen 1-2, Chloe Chaffin 0-1-1, Maggie Malone 3-6, Rebecca Townes 4-1-12. Totals: 18-2-43.

Lockdown (2-0): Maggie Schuermann 1-2, Logan Bruce 3-1-7, Abi Selfridge 0-1-1, Alexandra Tudor 4-9, Cameron Tooley 3-1-7, Addy Sackett 1-2, Kelly Pine 0-2-2, Julie Ford 2-2-7, Sydney Brown 7-1-15. Totals: 21-8-52.

Free Throws: Outwork 2/8 (Chaffin 1/2, Townes 1/2, Mitchell 0/2, Rozzi 0/2), Lockdown 8/10 (Pine 2/2, Ford 2/2, Brown 1/1, Tooley 1/1, Bruce 1/2, Selfridge 1/2).

3-Point Field Goals: Outwork 5 (Townes 3, Rozzi 2), Lockdown 2 (Tudor, Ford).


Dynasty 45, Too Easy 31

An undersized but skilled Dynasty squad turned it up on the defensive end in their opener and came away with a double digit victory. Their youth proved to not be much of a factor - only one rising senior out of 9 in uniform - as the wealth was spread around offensively. Lauren Obermayer (Columbia 2019) topped all scorers with 11 points in the win, and Dolly Cairns (Saratoga Springs 2020) added 8. Frankfort-Schuyler 2017 Danielle Caivana paced Too Easy with 7.

Too Easy (0-1): Danielle Caivana 3-7, Madison McCabe 1-2, Petrina DeMarco 1-3, Julia Ryan 1-3, Emily Zeyak 1-2, Alyssa Waters 1-2, Kenna Guynup 2-2-6, Tara Sager 2-2-6. Totals: 12-4-31.

Dynasty (1-0): Gwen Carpenter 0-2-2, Dolly Cairns 3-1-8, Lexi DeBeatham 3-6, Julia DeBeatham 2-1-7, Julianna Taylor 1-3, Paige Brinkman 1-2, Lauren Obermayer 4-2-11, Kerry Flaherty 3-6. Totals: 17-6-45.

Free Throws: Too Easy 4/6 (Guynup 2/2, Sager 2/4), Dynasty 6/7 (Carpenter 2/2, Obermayer 2/2, Cairns 1/1, J. DeBeatham 1/2).

3-Point Field Goals: Too Easy 3 (Caivana, DeMarco, Ryan), Dynasty 5 (J. DeBeatham 2, Cairns, Taylor, Obermayer).


Next Level 47, Dynasty 46

Dynasty overcame a 1st half deficit against a strong, but very new Next Level team, but came up just short as an offensive rebound and free throw sealed their fate. After a Lexi DeBeatham (Shaker 2018) three tied the game at 46 in the closing seconds, Next Level took it the length of the court out of a timeout and off a missed shot, the ball caromed into the hands of Ally Crosby (Hammond 2018), who was fouled going up with a putback attempt. She split a pair of free throws with 1 second left, and Dynasty was unable to get a shot off before the buzzer. Grace Heeps (Columbia 2019), the only returner to EST in uniform for Next Level, led all scorers with 13 points. The aforementioned Crosby finished her EST debut with 8. Julianna Taylor (Fonda-Fultonville 2017) led Dynasty with 8 points, and Kerry Flaherty (Saratoga Springs 2019) added 7.

Next Level (1-0): Lexi VanVorst 2-5, Grace Heeps 5-2-13, Katelyn Flanagan 1-1-3, Allison Moreau 1-2-4, Bre Palmatier 2-4, Sophie Wittenbeck 1-1-4, Ally Crosby 2-4-8, Cat Almeida 2-2-6. Totals: 16-12-47.

Dynasty (1-1): Dolly Cairns 4-9, Gwen Carpenter 1-2, Julianna Taylor 3-8, Julia DeBeatham 2-5, Lexi DeBeatham 2-1-6, Kerry Flaherty 3-7, Lauren Obermayer 1-2, Paige Brinkman 2-5, Kaitlyn Bjelko 2-1-5. Totals: 19-2-46.

Free Throws: Next Level 12/18 (Crosby 4/6, Heeps 2/2, Moreau 2/2, Almeida 2/2, Wittenbeck 1/2, Flanagan 1/4), Dynasty 2/4 (L. DeBeatham 1/2, Bjelko 1/2).

3-Point Field Goals: Next Level 3 (VanVorst, Heeps, Wittenbeck), Dynasty 6 (Taylor 2, J. DeBeatham, L. DeBeatham, Flaherty, Brinkman).


Too Easy 40, Upstate Select 38

The offense dried up on both sides after halftime, but a guard-heavy Too Easy team with players representing areas all across the NYS map was able to hold off a strong Select team to break even on the night. The teams combined for only 27 points after halftime, but a couple late free throws from Madison McCabe (AuSable Valley 2017) sealed the win for Too Easy. They were led in scoring by Emily Zeyak (Columbia 2018) and Danielle Caivana (Frankfort-Schuyler 2017), who finished with 9 and 7 points. Shaker 2017 standout and Army commit CeCe Mayo spearheaded the offense for Select, leading all scorers with 15 points. Olivia Baumann (Guilderland 2017) and Saeeda Abdul-Aziz (Mohonasen 2017) added 9 and 8 points respectively.

Too Easy (1-1): Danielle Caivana 2-1-7, Brianna Laing 2-1-6, Madison McCabe 0-4-4, Petrina DeMarco 2-1-6, Emily Zeyak 3-2-9, Alyssa Waters 1-2, Kenna Guynup 1-2-4, Tara Sager 1-2. Totals: 12-11-40.

Upstate Select (0-1): Olivia Baumann 3-3-9, Olivia Marshall 1-2, Giuliana Pritchard 2-4, CeCe Mayo 6-1-15, Saeeda Abdul-Aziz 3-1-8. Totals: 15-5-38.

Free Throws: Too Easy 11/14 (McCabe 4/4, Zeyak 2/2, Guynup 2/2, Caivana 1/2, Laing 1/2, DeMarco 1/2), Upstate Select 5/8 (Baumann 3/4, Mayo 1/2, Abdul-Aziz 1/2).

3-Point Field Goals: Too Easy 5 (Caivana 2, Laing, DeMarco, Zeyak), Upstate Select 3 (Mayo 2, Abdul-Aziz).


Upstate Select 37, Next Level 32

Upstate Select kept the defensive effort strong for the 2nd game in their back-to-back, and despite not cracking the 40 point barrier, they were able to hold off a solid Next Level squad. Again, it was Capital District standouts Saeeda Abdul-Aziz and CeCe Mayo leading the way offensively. Abdul-Aziz, a rising senior at Mohonasen who just picked up her 19th and 20th Division I offers from Towson and Columbia earlier in the week, pumped in a game high 13 points, with Army commit Mayo adding 11. In defeat, Columbia 2019 standout Grace Heeps - who herself already has a Division I offer from Lafayette - led the way with 12 points.


Next Level (1-1): Belle Kranbuhl 1-2, Grace Heeps 5-12, Allison Moreau 1-2, Bre Palmatier 1-2, Sophie Wittenbeck 0-1-1, Alyson Crosby 3-4-10, Cat Almeida 1-1-3. Totals: 12-6-32.

Upstate Select (1-1): Shiane Irwin 1-3, Olivia Baumann 3-6, Haley Steenland 1-2, Giuliana Pritchard 1-2, CeCe Mayo 4-2-11, Saeeda Abdul-Aziz 4-3-13. Totals: 14-5-37.