Sunday, March 17, 2013: Sec. 2 reels in three boys basketball championships

   Section 2 had won a total of three NYSPHSAA basketball championships over the previous 12 years, wasting virtually every bit of its home-court advantage at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

   This weekend, three Section 2 boys squads earned championships -- and that was without the benefit of the region's best team (Albany Academy) even taking the court.

   The building was nothing less than electric Saturday evening as Argyle (Class D) and Lake George (C) earned championships, and then Watervliet (B) capped off the 3-for-3 night -- with the last two games being settled in overtime. Arena staff at the doors could be described as giddy in announcing to spectators before the start of the tripleheader that the session was sold out and only standing-room tickets were being sold.

   Of the three, only Watervliet continues on to the Federation tournament next weekend in Albany. There, the Cannoneers will be joined by Albany Academy, which once again this year opted to enter the Federation tournament in Class A by going through the AIS route.

   Had Albany Academy gone the NYSPHSAA route, is there any disputing the team would have been a major force in Class A (or AA, for that matter) this weekend? Here are the highlights of the regular-season resume:

   Wins over state Class AA quarterfinalist Syracuse Henninger and quarterfinalist Kingston, Class A finalist Burke Catholic and semifinalist Bishop Ludden, Class B champ Watervliet, CHSAA state Class A champ Nazareth (rematch coming Friday in the Federation semifinals), five-time defending Federation champion Collegiate. And, oh yeah, throw in wins against Section 2 Class AA finalist Green Tech and St. Mary's, Long Island's CHSAA Long Island regular-season champ.

   The losses: NYSPHSAA Class AA champ Bishop Kearney, Federation Class AA rep Long Island Lutheran and Green Tech.

   That, friends, is what we in the business like to call a resume.

   By the way, the boys Federation schedule is at the end of the complete postseason results/schedule page that the NYSSWA's Steve Grandin has been faithfully updating throughout the month.

   More basketball Monday: I have a lot of catching up to do, having pretty much neglected news gathering and blogging the past 48 hours in order to keep my focus on the induction ceremony for the BCANY Basketball Hall of Fame.

   I was most grateful to be selected and inducted and would like to say thank you to the many people who have passed along congratulations.

   I have a bunch of stuff to catch up on at home Monday but will get back to business on the blog late in the day

More N.Y. postseason coverage All sports • NYSSWA site for brackets of tournaments from the past and present seasons. Boys basketball • Status of the 11 sectional tournaments • Road to Glens Falls for scores and stats. • NYSPHSAA tourney brackets • Current state rankings. Girls basketball • Road to Troy for scores and stats. • NYSPHSAA tourney brackets • Current state rankings. Ice hockey • NYSSWA site for tournament brackets. • Current state rankings. Wrestling • 2013 state meet results: D-I | D-II • Final state rankings.

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to follow up on more basketball, including New York City triumphs by the Abraham Lincoln boys and Murry Bergtraum girls.

   Two convicted in Ohio: Two members of a storied Ohio high school football program were found guilty Sunday of raping a drunken 16-year-old girl in an emotionally charged case that captured national attention throughout the past six months.

   Steubenville students Trent Mays, 17, and Ma'Lik Richmond, 16, face a possible sentence of detention in juvenile jail until they turn 21, likely concluding a case that came to light through bawdy text messages and photos shared through social media sites.

   The case tore apart the community at times amid allegations that the power of the football program -- real or perceived -- kept more players from being charged and contributed to the delay of charges against Mays and Richmond. Three youths initially linked to the case in the early stages weren't charged, accepting immunity to testify at the trial last week.

   Media outlets reported that protesters stood outside the courthouse Sunday morning awaiting the verdict, some wearing masks.

   Evidence at the trial included graphic text messages sent by numerous students after the night of the party in an area park, including by the accuser, containing descriptions of sex acts and obscene language. A computer forensic expert documented tens of thousands of texts found on 17 phones seized during the investigation.