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Class C

Avon vs. Oyster Bay
   Avon (Section 5, 25-1) — Vying for its first NYSPHSAA championship . . . Ranked No. 1 by the NYSSWA since the start of the season . . . Starts an all-senior front court that averages 6-4, 215 pounds, with a 6-5 junior usually the first player off the bench. Forward Matt Phillips is hitting 44 percent of his three-pointers . . . Senior guard Dan Banach (21 points and five assists) in the quarterfinals) runs the show . . . Outscored Randolph by 40-24 in the paint on Saturday thanks to a 40-23 rebounding advantage. Held Randolph to 19-for-53 shooting but did not run hard with the rebounds, netting just eight fast-break points . . . Only loss was a non-leaguer to Class B semifinalist Bishop Kearney as coach Rob Fries beefed up the February schedule.

   Oyster Bay (Section 8, 13-8) — Gunning for its first NYSPHSAA trophy on the heels of its first-ever Long Island championship and first sectional title in seven years . . . The Baymen posted a 60-58 win vs. Port Jefferson in the L.I. title game last week, riding a Bryan Van Cott jumper with five seconds left and surviving a running one-hander by John Nielsen that rimmed out at the buzzer . . . C.J. Durrant (18 first-half points, 21 overall) and Brett Restrepo (22) led the offense against Valhalla in the quarterfinals and Kevin Wilva was solid down the stretch in that 68-62 win.

Maple Hill vs. Onondaga
   Maple Hill (Section 2, 25-1) — You're not going to win states without first having won sectionals, which the Wildcats did for the first time since 1958. Their next game was a 60-42 win in a post-sectional state qualifier against Canajoharie, which hadn't won a sectional title since '61 . . . Senior guard Trent Tibbitts averages 15.5 points a game . . . The only loss came to a 7-14 Greenville squad, 54-52, on Feb. 4.

   Onondaga (Section 3, 17-9) — Chasing its first NYSPHSAA championship following a wild postseason that began as a No. 9 seed (11-9 record) in the sectional tournament and included three victories that avenged regular-season losses (Pulaski, Tully and Westmoreland) . . . Features balanced scoring led by Ted Zabel (13.0 ppg), Brad Emerson (9.9), Zach Holbrook (9.8), Chris Cota (9.0) and Taylor Bassett (7.6) . . . The Tigers have five sectional championships since 2001 . . . Lost four of six games during a 12-day stretch in mid-January . . . Broke to a 15-8 lead vs. Oxford in the quarterfinals, survived two rallies and held on for a 44-37 win.

Class D

Greenport vs. Maple Grove
   Greenport (Section 11, 21-2) — Playing for its first state championship . . . Led by Ryan Creighton, Long Island's all-time leading scorer with 2,741 points including half of Greenport's output in a 72-59 victory vs. Coleman Catholic over the weekend. Creighton nailed four first-half three-pointers. For good measure, he also had 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks while playing all 32 minutes . . . The Porters knocked off Section 11 Class C champ Port Jefferson and Class B winner Center Moriches in the Suffolk County tournament before losing to East Hampton in the small-school final . . . Forward Wally Sorenson 16 points and six assists in Greenport's third consecutive win vs. Coleman Catholic . . . The team went just 5-for-14 from the line vs. Coleman . . . Creighton, who hasn't gotten any meaningful college Division I attention thus far, is 44 points behind Sebastian Telfair for No. 2 on the state career list. Lance Stephenson is at 2,908 entering the PSAL final.

   Maple Grove (Section 6, 21-3) — Won Class C for its second hoops title a year ago and also coming off a Class D football championship last fall . . . Ranked No. 1 by the NYSSWA since the start of the season . . . 6-2 junior football QB/basketball guard Chris Secky has 1,532 career points . . . Shot 29-for-58 from the field in the quarterfinals (including 65.5 percent in the first half) against previously

Winter tournament brackets NYSPHSAA boys basketball NYSPHSAA girls basketball NYSPHSAA boys ice hockey

unbeaten C.G. Finney, the state champ in 2006 and '07. Joe Caporale handed out 10 assists in that win . . . The losses were to state A semifinalist Batavia, C quarterfinalist Randolph and Buffalo St. Joe's, which was 14-12 in a rugged large-school league.

Chateaugay vs. South Kortright
   Chateaugay (Section 10, 22-4) — Won Class D last March in Glens Falls after having fallen to C.G. Finney in the '07 small-schools final. Beat Greenport in the semifinals, 61-58, as Ryan Creighton missed a last-second trey . . . Lost a 52-34 decision to Class AA squad Massena in the overall Section 10 title game last week -- the first loss since Dec. 26 . . . Senior Drew Boyea was voted league MVP recently. He's scored 25 points or more nine times and averages 21.2 a game . . . Senior guard Brad Spinner averages 12.4 points a game and 5-11 junior Alex Stalter, the team's tallest player, clocks in at 8.9.

   South Kortright (Section 4, 24-0) — One of just two unbeatens still alive in the NYSPHSAA semifinals and the only school whose boys and girls are both still in the state tourney . . . The Rams has won 20 games by 14 or more points . . . Vying for its first NYSPHSAA championship and making its first trip to Glens Falls under 26th-year coach Bob VanValkenburgh.. . . Set a school record for single-season victories . . . Senior guard Eric Burns (11.3 ppg) and senior forward Kyle Hotaling (10.3 ppg) are the leading scorers in the starting lineup. Junior guard Rashawn Herrington (9.7 ppg) came off the bench to score 21 points vs. Laurens when the Rams won their first Section 4 title since 2000 . . . The core of the team went 18-3-1 and earned a spot in the state soccer quarterfinals in the fall . . . Herrington retuened to the district this season afer a year in North Carolina.

Five educated guesses

   Class AA — At the risk of stating the obvious, there are no weak teams here. Uniondale would seem to have an edge over the Newburgh while the other semifinal is a bit more of a pick 'em game, but no one in this quartet has room for error or can afford an injury to a rotation player. I can't get CBA's victory over Jamesville-DeWitt out of my mind, but I'm taking Niagara Falls to win twice this weekend. I wouldn't be stunned by a Uniondale victory.

   Class A — Four rock-solid teams made it to Glens Falls. I anticipate Jamesville-DeWitt turning back a well-coached but under-sized Batavia team in the semis and being too well-rounded for East Hampton.

   Class B — Bishop Kearney really does have it all. I've seen a couple of teams claw their way back into games after early maulings but the Kings show a lot of composure for a young team. I'll go with BK over Malverne.

   Class C — There's no such thing as a no-brainer in any of the weekend's 15 games, but I make Avon out to be the team that most qualifies as being in the driver's seat even though Oyster Bay has faced some rugged challenges this season. I like the Braves over Maple Hill.

   Class D — It's hard to believe a gem like Maple Grove vs. Greenport is the 10 a.m. game on Friday, but that's the luck of the draw. Similarly, Chateaugay or South Kortright would be obvious favorites to take the trophy if not for the presence of the two other small-school beasts. I'm going with Maple Grove over Chateaugay.

   Summary — That adds up to five upstate teams bringing home the hardware, which is very unlikely to happen. If I had to flip one of my picks to account for something closer to statistical probability, it would be Uniondale in AA.

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