Sectional Thoughts: Day 8

First ...
From Merriam-Webster:

speculation

noun spec·u·la·tion \ˌspe-kyə-ˈlā-shən\

: ideas or guesses about something that is not known

: activity in which someone buys and sells things (such as stocks or pieces of property) in the hope of making a large profit but with the risk of a large loss

Yeah.  Alliteration doesn't work with Sectional Speculations.  Soundings also sounds good, but that doesn't work either.

Second ...
Calling Tuesday "Day 1" is like stating the NCAA Tournament starts on Thursday with the Round of 64.  Traditionalists will feel that way, but the tournament starts with the four games played on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The same applies to Sectionals.  The tournament began last Friday, making yesterday ... Day #8

Now onto the games...
1. Colonialists
The Colonial Conference is showing their power in Class B with three of four teams playing in the Semifinals this Tuesday at the Glens Falls Civic Center.  Ravena continued their hot streak by dispatching of Mekeel Christian Academy in an overtime thriller.  By the accounts on Twitter, it was a see-saw match that ultimately ended with Sky Rebeor scoring 20 and David Warnken scoring 19 for the Indians.

Meanwhile, Broadalbin-Perth couldn't get revenge as the Voorheesville Blackbirds upset the #2 seed with a 61-59 overtime win over the Patriots.  The Patriots went 6-for-17 from the line while the Blackbirds made 15 of their 19 free throws.  Shane Perry scored 15 for Voorheesville in the win.

And finally, we already knew there would be a member of the Colonial Conference coming to the Glens Falls Civic Center when conference rivals Schalmont and Cohoes met at Shenendehowa.  Down 27-25, the Schalmont Sabres took advantage of a 16-11 third quarter to pull ahead, and kept them at bay by outscoring them 18-12 in the final quarter for a 59-50 win.  Zac O'Dell scored 22 for the Sabres in the win.

Schalmont will face their conference-mate Voorheesville in the semifinals.  Schalmont swept both games against the Blackbirds, winning 59-53 and 78-53 during the regular season.

2. Separation
The Schuylerville Black Horses met up with the Hoosick Falls Panthers for the first time since the Black Horses departed the Wasaren League for the Foothills Council.  There, Schuylerville was test well against bigger schools to the tune of Scotia, Amsterdam and Queensbury.

Schuylerville got a #8 seed for their efforts, and many eyes were looking at the potential for these two former league rivals to get together in the Quarterfinals.  Well, they got their wish, and saw it in action on Friday Night.

It was a good strong effort for a team that has only one Senior on the roster, but Hoosick Falls overcame poor shooting at the line to defeat the Black Horses 58-51.

The Panthers now move on to the Glens Falls Civic Center, where upset-minded Ravena awaits them in the 8PM nightcap on Tuesday.

3. Battle of the Falls ... 40 miles down river
The early game at Averill Park featured the Hudson Falls Lady Tigers trying to knock down the Foothills Council Champions, the Glens Falls Indians.  The early game seemed rusty, as the Indians two week gap between the Foothills Council Championship and this game could have led to some off-target shooting.

But the Indians bounced ahead to a lead that the Lady Tigers would frequently try to chip away at. Ultimately the Indians pulled away, and set up a semifinal match against Averill Park with their 37-30 win over the Lady Tigers.

4. Score (and eight years ago)
Our fathers brought forth to this planet a .... wait.

Joel Wincowski added to his Section 2 record another 37 points as the Lake George Warriors defeated St. Johnsville 68-46.  His 37 points now puts him at 2,455 career points, good for 12th in New York State, 5th in the NYSPHSAA.

He needs 32 points to join the State's all-time Top 10 list, which would place him ahead of Rice's (CHSAA) Felipe Lopez, who scored 2,486 points during his career in the early 90's.

He'll be closer to home on Wednesday when he, and the Lake George Warriors, play Hoosic Valley at the Glens Falls Civic Center at 8PM in the Class C Semifinals.  The reigning state champions pulled through at the end to win 68-56 with the help of John Rooney's 21 points.

5. Ladies, Please?
Meanwhile, the Lake George Lady Warriors punched their ticket for the Class C Semifinals when they knocked off the #3 seeded Maple Hill Warriors 44-38.  Lake George took the early lead, only to see Maple Hill come back on several occasions.

The Lady Warriors will take on the Greenwich Witches Tuesday night at Cohoes High.  The Witches made it look easy in their 73-46 win over the Canajoharie Cougars.

Now we turn our attention to the Saturday Quarterfinals, and some more great games lined up.  We'll be up at Warrensburg for the girls Class D doubleheader featuring the Argyle Scots taking on the Fort Ann Cardinals and the Hartford Tanagers taking on the host Warrensburg Burghers.

We'll be on the air live beginning at 5:50PM for three hours of basketball coverage.