Boys’ basketball: Mohonasen spreads Knights thin in 71-48 victory

Mohonasen kept working the ball from side to side and in and out, and Lansingburgh couldn’t keep up in a Section II Class A quarterfinal game Sunday at Hudson Valley Community College.

“We knew they were a tough team. We knew what we had to, and we did it,” senior Killian Tallman said after the Mighty Warriors’ 71-48 victory. “When we spread the ball on offense, it left things wide open.”

Mohonasen took advantage of those holes, and sprinkled in some fast-break baskets, double-digit free throws and a few three-point bombs in an impressive display to open defense of its sectional championship.

Tallman and Grant Massaroni sparked a 22-6 second-quarter run with nine points apiece, and five different Mighty Warriors produced points in a 10-0 spurt to begin the third quarter as their advantage grew to 46-29.

“We didn’t do a good job of keeping the ball in front of us,” said Lansingburgh coach Guy DiBacco, after his Knights were eliminated from the sectionals by Mohonasen for the second year in a row. “We didn’t contain the basketball.”

Of the 27 field goals Mohonasen (No. 2 seed, 12-7) had, 21 of them were generated inside the lane. Tallman led Mohonasen with a career-high 26 points, Mas­saroni scored 18 with nine rebounds, and Billy Manikas totaled 14 point and five of his team’s 16 assists.

“When we spread it out, I thought we could do something off the dribble if we were smart enough with our passes,” said Mohonasen coach Ken Dagostino.

“We practiced taking the ball to the rim,” said Tallman, who was 11-for-15 shooting from the field. “Coach told us to attack the rim. There were holes in their zone, and I tried to take it there.”

Tallman delivered 13 points in each half to top his previous career best by one. After Shane Fennelly stopped Mohonasen’s third-quarter flurry with a three-point basket, Tallman answered with a three-point play to make it, 49-32, and the senior dropped in four layups in a put-away fourth quarter.

“Killian is your stereotype sophomore, junior, senior,” said Dagostino. “Every year, he’s stepped up a little more.”

Tallman and the rest of the Mighty Warriors will be looking for more sectional success Wednesday against Scotia-Glenville in a 6:30 semifinal at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The Tartans beat Queensbury earlier Sunday, 54-41, to set up a rematch from the 2011 title game.

“Their zone is tough. They play good defense, but so do we,” Dagostino said. “It could be one of those games in the 30s.”

Mohonasen went beyond that with its second-quarter push that included a four-point play by Manikas, and turned a 16-14 deficit into a

36-22 advantage. A three-point basket by Dante Carr and layups by Raheem Felder and Josh Scott gave Lansingburgh some halftime momentum before Mohonasen quickly snatched it back.

“In the third quarter, we went 0-for-4 to start and they went 4-for-4, and then we were chasing,” said DiBacco.

Tallman opened the third quarter with a drive, Manikas turned a steal into a three-point play, and, after Massaroni and Josh Giordano sliced inside for baskets, Jake Ritz sank a foul shot.

“We wanted to pinch on three guys, and sag on the others,” said DiBacco. “They spread the floor, and found holes.”

Carr led Lansingburgh (No. 10, 12-8) with 11 points, and Fennelly and Carlos Grillo both netted nine.

“We lost focus a little bit in the second half and gave them some good looks on threes, but overall, I thought we did a good job on defense,” said Dagostino. “It was a good performance, and we trans­itioned well out of our defense.”

Manikas and Gioradano both had three steals, as did Grillo and Felder.

Tartans, Knights win

Joe Cremo and Matt Renko both scored five points in the fourth quarter as Scotia-Glenville (No. 3, 15-4) held off Queensbury (No. 6, 12-8) in the rubber match between Foothills Council teams.

The Tartans lost to the Spartans in league play, 58-44, before beating them, 62-59, to set up the third go-round.

“We moved the ball well, battled them on the boards and played defense,” said Tartans coach Jim Giammattei. “That’s where it starts, on defense.”

Scotia-Glenville held Queensbury to its second-lowest point total of the season, and limited scoring leader Ray Bethel to 12. Bethel had 25 points, including a last-second layup, in a 64-62 win over Averill Park Wednesday.

“That’s a very good team,” said Giammattei. “They didn’t look it today.”

Scotia-Glenville held a 46-40 lead when Casey Norton hit a three to begin a put-away 8-0 run with 4:10 left. Renko turned a steal into a layup, Cremo scored on a putback and Alex Sausville added a free throw afterward.

Cremo and Adam Tabbert led the Tartans with 13 and 11 points, respectively, and Sausville had nine.

James Vice scored eight of his 20 points and Pat Caruso scored seven of his 13 in a 23-4 third-quarter burst that propelled Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons past Amsterdam, 61-49.

The Golden Knights (No. 4, 11-9) trailed at the half, 32-24, before rallying for their third win over the Running Rams (No. 12, 4-16) this season.

Johnny Villanueva scored 18 points for ND-BG, which also used a big second half to dispatch South Glens Falls in the opening round. Billy Carr scored 15 for Amsterdam, and Hector Julia added 12.

Bishop Gibbons and Glens Falls (No. 1, 17-2) meet Wednesday at 8. The Indians completed a three-game season sweep of Johnstown (No. 9. 12-8) in Sunday’s last quarterfinal, 47-41.

Devin Zurlo scored five of his 15 points, and Lee Girard and Jake Martin both had four, in a 19-8 fourth-quarter charge that sent the Indians to the semifinals for the first time since their title season in 2007.

Mitch Vdoviak led Johnstown with 12 points, and Anthony Young and Nate Sweetman both had 10.

CLASS A

MOHONASEN 71, LANSINGBURGH 48

LANSINGBURGH

Grillo 4-1-9, Carr 5-0-11, Felder 3-0-6, Fennelly 3-0-9, Burke 0-2-2, Miller 3-1-7, Scott 2-0-4. Totals: 20-4-48.

MOHONASEN

Massaroni 6-6-18, Tallman 11-3-26, Giordano 3-0-7, Cafarelli 2-0-4, Manikas 5-2-14, Ritz 0-2-2. Totals: 27-13-71.

Lansingburgh 13 16  8 11 — 48

Mohonasen 14 22 16 19 — 71

Three-point goals: Carr, Fennelly 3, Tallman, Giordano, Manikas 2.

SCOTIA-GLENVILLE 54, QUEENSBURY 41

QUEENSBURY

Peltz 3-0-6, Kelly 1-1-4, Switzer 2-2-6, Signor 4-5-13, Bethel 6-0-12. Totals: 16-8-41.

SCOTIA-GLENVILLE

Tabbert 4-3-11, Renko 3-0-7, Zanta 3-0-7, Sausville 3-1-9, Cremo 6-1-13, Norton 2-1-7. Totals: 21-6-54.

S-G 16 9 15 14 — 54

Queensbury 14 6 12  9 — 41

Three-point goals: Kelly, Renko, Zanta, Sausville 2, Norton 2.

NOTRE DAME-BISHOP GIBBONS 61, AMSTERDAM 49

AMSTERDAM

Sobkowich 3-2-8, Carr 5-2-15, Julia 5-2-12, LaBoy 3-0-7, McKiver 1-0-2, Dufel 2-0-5. Totals: 19-6-49.

BISHOP GIBBONS

Garrison 2-4-8, Megyeri 1-0-2, Caruso 5-2-13, Villanueva 5-8-18, Vice 5-10-20. Totals: 18-24-61.

Amsterdam 18 14  4 13 — 49

ND-BG 13 11 23 14 — 61

Three-point goals: Carr 3, LaBoy, Dufel.

GLEN FALLS 47, JOHNSTOWN 41

JOHNSTOWN

McCoy 0-1-1, Husain 1-0-3, Vdoviak 5-2-12, Roth 1-3-5, Young 3-2-10, Sweetman 5-0-10. Totals: 15-8-41.

GLENS FALLS

Lanoir 3-3-9, L. Girard 2-2-6, C. Girard 3-1-8, Zurlo 6-1-15, Sax 1-1-3, Martin 2-2-6. Totals: 17-10-47.

Johnstown 13 8 12  8 — 41

Glens Falls 13 7  8 19 — 47

Three-point goals: Husain, Young 2, C. Girard, Zurlo 2.

SATURDAY

CLASS AA

Quarterfinals

TROY 54, BETHLEHEM 44

BETHLEHEM

O’Keefe 2-0-4, Natale 2-6-12, Kane 5-4-19, Baynes 1-0-2, Sica 1-5-7. Totals: 11-15-44.

TROY

Reid 2-1-6, Paul 6-2-15, Burrell 6-3-15, Burton 1-0-2, Dobre 0-2-2, Ogunyemi 2-0-4, Testo 0-2-2, Brown 1-6-8. Totals: 18-16-54.

Bethlehem 10 13  4 17 — 44

Troy 16 19 14  5 — 54

Three-point goals: Natale 2, Kane 5, Reid, Paul.

SHAKER 61, LASALLE 58

LASALLE

Burns 5-4-14, Carnevale 3-0-6, Erickson 5-10-22, Norris 0-2-2, Razzano 2-0-6, Reed 1-2-5, Smith 1-1-3. Totals: 17-19-58.

SHAKER

Abara 2-2-6, Duffey 3-2-8, Hall 8-2-18, Holmes 1-0-3, Landers 2-0-4, Morales 2-0-4, Morrison 4-4-12, Yakel 2-0-6. Totals: 24-10-61.

LaSalle 14 16  9 19 — 58

Shaker 14 19 13 15 — 61

Three-point goals: Erickson 2, Razzano 2, Reed, Holmes, Yakel 2.

Categories: High School Sports, Sports