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What to know for Waterville boys, Hamilton and Notre Dame girls in basketball regionals

Jon Rathbun, Herkimer Times Telegram
·6 min read

SYRACUSE - The winter sports season is over for Section III competition, and the remaining basketball teams move on to state tournament play with regional games this weekend.

With Wednesday's regional semifinals in the book, 11 teams will represent the section at playoff games in Syracuse, Troy, Binghamton and Watertown.

Locally, the Hamilton girls and Waterville boys play back-to-back in Class C at the SRC Arena on the Onondaga Community College campus Saturday, and the Class B Notre Dame girls travel to Binghamton for a Sunday game at the Visions Veterans Memorial Arena.

The section's Class A champions played semifinals Wednesday. The Westhill boys defeated Section X's Massena 81-47 and advanced to play at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy Saturday. The Indian River girls were beaten 50-45 by Section II Catholic Central from Troy to end their season.

Waterville's Jackson Ruane dribbles the ball against Tully at Whitesboro High School during a Feb. 27 Section III semifinal. Ruane was named the tournament's most valuable player after helping the Eagles win a Class C title.
Waterville's Jackson Ruane dribbles the ball against Tully at Whitesboro High School during a Feb. 27 Section III semifinal. Ruane was named the tournament's most valuable player after helping the Eagles win a Class C title.

The C's are the second and third of three games in Syracuse: Liverpool plays Section II Colonie first in the Class AAA girls game at noon; Hamilton plays the Moravia girls at 2 p.m.; and Waterville plays the Moravia boys at 4 p.m.

The B's play a doubleheader Sunday in Binghamton: Notre Dame plays first at noon against Chenango Forks; and Marcellus follows in the boys game against Waverly.

Sections II and III tangle in four games at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, and the D's play a Sunday doubleheader at Watertown's Jefferson Community College. The Class A girls from sections II and VII meet at Saranac High School on Friday.

C Girls: Hamilton vs. Moravia, Saturday, 2 p.m.

More: Late surge propels Moravia girls past Watkins Glen for Section 4 Class C title

The Hamilton Emerald Knights (22-2) enter regional play as the No. 1 team in New York State Sportswriters Association's Class C rankings and meet No. 4 Moravia (20-3) in Saturday's second game at SRC Arena.

The Emerald Knights moved to the top of the poll this week, jumping two spots by beating West Canada Valley, previously undefeated and ranked No. 2, the same weekend Greenwich, the state's other remaining unbeaten, lost to Duanesburg in Section II. Greenwich had been No. 1 for eight weeks since the start of play in the new year.

Hamilton's Logan Langel passes the ball against West Canada Valley during Section III's Class C champioship game inside Allyn Hall March 1.
Hamilton's Logan Langel passes the ball against West Canada Valley during Section III's Class C champioship game inside Allyn Hall March 1.

Senior Lindsey Speer returned to action after hurting her knee and had 11 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and six blocked shots against West Canada Valley in Hamilton's 55-50 win while classmate Colleen Kelley scored a season-high 19 points with five steals. Sophomore Logan Langel has topped 20 points in each postseason game, averaging 23.8 while hitting 18 3-pointers in four games to earn sectional tournament most valuable player honors.

Moravia jumped from ninth to fourth in the state rankings after beating Watkins Glen 50-42 in the Section IV title game.

Saturday's winner travels to Troy for semifinal play Thursday against Section I Tuckahoe, a 65-63 regional winner over Section IX Millbrook. Thursday's semifinal doubleheader feeds into a 5:15 p.m. championship game at Hudson Valley Community College Friday; the other regional playoff teams are Section II Duanesburg, Section VII Moriah, Section V Dundee/Bradford and Section VI Frewsburg.

C Boys: Waterville vs. Moravia, Saturday, 4 p.m.

Section III runs up against Moravia again one year after Section IV's Blue Devils beat the Dolgeville Blue Devils in regional play on the way to a state semifinal appearance and season-ending loss to eventual champion Randolph.

Waterville (18-6) went through Section III as a No. 1 seed, and enters regionals with a six-game winning streak that includes a 69-59 victory in the sectional final over a Hamilton team that had been ranked second in the state. The Eagles are currently ranked eighth, four spots behind Moravia (20-3).

Junior Jackson Ruane, the Section III tournament most valuable player, is averaging 22.5 points in the postsason and 17.6 overall for Waterville, while senior Hayden Dumas has contributed 13.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 3.5 steals per game in four playoff wins.

Seniors Aiden Kelly and Kyler Proper combined with junior Joseph Baylor to score 45 points for Moravia in last year's regional win.

Saturday's winner advances to final four play in Glens Falls next weekend. The Class C semifinals will be played Friday with the Eagles or Blue Devils playing at 8:45 p.m. against Section V Lyons, a 61-44 regional winner Friday over Randolph, the 2023 champion from Section VI. The other semifinal will be contested between Section I Haldane, Section II Maple Hill, Section VII Moriah and Section XI Southold, and the championship game is scheduled for March 16 at 8:45 p.m.

B Girls: Notre Dame vs. Chenango Forks, Sunday, noon

Notre Dame's Ella Trinkaus passes the ball inside Allyn Hall during Section III's Class B championship game against Marcellus March 2.
Notre Dame's Ella Trinkaus passes the ball inside Allyn Hall during Section III's Class B championship game against Marcellus March 2.

Ten years removed from winning a Class B state championship, the Notre Dame Jugglers' pursuit of another takes them to Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton for Sunday's regional playoff against Chenango Forks.

Notre Dame (21-3) enters regionals ranked second in the state as the Section III champion while Section IV Chenango Forks (18-4) is No. 4.

"They're good," said Notre Dame coach John Snyder who traveled south to watch the Section IV final the day after his team had won Section III. "I hope we're better."

The Jugglers lost their final regular-season game but had won eight in a row before that and have won four playoff games, with all but the 63-59 final against Marcellus decided by at least 25 points.

"We know what we need to do," Snyder said. "We have a way that we play; there are not a lot of special things to work on."

Notre Dame overcame a five-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter and came out on top of a series of lead changes in the final two minutes against Marcellus. Tournament most valuable player Ella Trinkaus had a double-double in each Notre Dame playoff win, averaging 25.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.5 blocked shots. Twin sister Erin Trinkaus is averaging 13.5 points in the playoffs, up from 9.6 overall this season, and older sister Maggie Trinkaus is averaging 9.5 points and 10.3 rebounds while playing through a leg issue. Senior Vita Waters chipped in with 10 points, six rebounds and six assists in the Marcellus game.

Chenango Forks defeated Newark Valley, the No. 1 team in the state at the time, 46-35, to claim its first Section IV title. Senior Lexi Scott led the scoring with 18 points.

The Class B semifinals are Friday at Hudson Valley Community College, with Sunday's winner playing at 10:45 a.m. against either Section VIII Carle Place or Section I Putnam Valley. The other regional teams are Section II Albany Academy, Section V Hornell, Section VI Southwestern and Section X Gouverneur, and the championship game is March 16 at 5:15 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Utica-area NYSPHSAA high school basketball regional preview