State champs! Avoca/Prattsburgh completes perfect season with New York state title

What better way to end a perfect season than with a state championship?

Just ask Avoca/Prattsburgh, the two-time Section V champion which completed another unbeaten season Saturday, this time with an New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D title.

After a slow start in the semifinals, tournament MVP Macoy Putnam and his Avoca/Prattsburgh Vikings made quick work of Heuvelton, holding off a late surge to win the state championship 70-58 Saturday at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls.

Macoy Putnam was named MVP after dropping 39 points across the Class D tournament. His 28-point, five-steals performance in Friday's semifinal sparked a come-from-behind victory over Section II's Oppenheim-Ephratah-St. Johnsville.

Putnam, a sophomore guard, scored eight of his 11 points in the first quarter of Saturday's final, helping the Vikings (27-0) end the season on a 38-game winning streak.

Senior Pacey Hopkins made the all-tournament team after a team-high 24 points in the state final. Junior Sawyer Devoe, the sportsmanship award winner who had 10 points and 13 rebounds in the final, finished the final four with 23 points, 21 rebounds, eight assists and five steals.

Junior Haden Abbott scored 13 points in the title game, ending the tourney with 23 points.

What it means

Avoca/Prattsburgh debuted in the state final in just its second season of the merger, winning the second state title for both programs.

Avoca won the 1989 title during a three-year final four run that featured a semifinal loss in 1988 and a loss in the 1990 final.

In 1991, current Vikings coaches Brian Putnam and Zach Devoe made the all-tournament team on Prattsburgh coach Jim Burke's 29-0 state championship squad.

The Avoca/Prattsburgh coaches celebrated its 2022 state championship with their own custom dances.

Coach Josh McCallister guided Heuvelton to a 23-5 record. Nate Mashaw and Tristan Lovely made the all-tournament team, scoring 16 and 13 points, respectively, for the Section X champion Bulldogs.

Key plays

Avoca/Prattsburgh, NYSSWA's No. 1-ranked Class D team since Jan. 4, led Heuvelton 13-12 after a back-and-forth first five minutes.

The seesaw battle didn't last long.

The Vikings took off on a 26-9 run over the next 12 minutes of action, leading 39-21 after a pair of Abbott free throws 34 seconds into the third. Five minutes later, Putnam assisted Abbott from half court for a 49-29 advantage.

The Bulldogs didn't bow down. Jededia Crayford's corner 3-pointer put Heuvelton within seven points with 2:11 remaining. Mashaw's free throws cut into A/P's lead, 63-56, with 1:29 left.

Email Marquel Slaughter at mslaughter1@gannett.com and follow his Twitter @MarquelSports. Sign up for our high school sports newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Avoca/Prattsburgh caps perfect season with boys basketball state title