GLENS FALLS — South Kortright hit the bull's-eye on the back of Chateaugay as the Rams knocked off the defending NYSPHSAA Class D champions, 48-38, in the Final Four semifinals at the Glens Falls Civic Center Friday.

The Bulldogs, which had two come-from-behind victories in regional play, started out strong. Chateaugay, however, collapsed in the second half.

Chateaugay (22-5) held a 24-18 halftime lead, only to have South Kortright (25-0) outscore the Bulldogs, 30-14, in the second half for the 10-point victory.

Kyle Hotaling and Eric Burns helped the Rams push past Chateaugay in the third quarter.

"Hotaling and Rashawn Herrington were strong on the boards for us in the second half," South Kortright head coach Bob VanValkenburgh said. "Burns also helped slow the game down."

Hotaling was a force inside and on the glass for South Kortright in the final two quarters. He finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Burns, meanwhile, added 11 points and five rebounds.

"Hotaling has just been playing inspired basketball over the last three games," VanValkenburgh stated. "He rebounded well and kept the ball alive for us."

"We got killed on the boards late," Chateaugay head coach Ron Boyea said. "They were big inside."

South Kortright, down six at the half, rallied in the third to take a 32-31 lead after three.

The Rams then came out and went on a 6-1 run in the early moments of the fourth quarter and never looked back.

The closest the Bulldogs would get was 38-33 after Alex Stalter went 1-of-2 from the line. Stalter would later foul out in the closing minutes of the contest.

"He is the only kid with some size for us inside," Boyea said. "Losing him definitely changed some things.

"We also missed a lot of free throws in the game which hurt us."

Chateaugay was 9-of-20 from the free throw line and South Kortright, 10-of-20.

"We didn't get to the weakside rebounds," Boyea said. "They did a great job penetrating and dishing the ball off for the basket."

The first half was a completely different story for Chateaugay as it came out strong and took a 10-6 lead after the end of the first quarter.

"We came out timid and knew we had to watch (Drew) Boyea and (Brad) Spinner," VanValkenburgh said. "We just gave them too much space early."

Spinner was a hot shooter in the first half, scoring 13 of his game-high 18 points. The Bulldogs continued to dominate the perimeter and shot the ball well from the 3-point arc.

Spinner hit all four of his 3-point baskets in the first half. Drew Boyea, who had quiet starts for Chateaugay in regional play, had nine points in the first half and finished with 11 points. Stalter finished the game with five points and seven rebounds.

"I thought we moved the ball better in the first half," Boyea said. "We had the legs in the first half."

The Bulldogs' defense, which had been poor in the first half during regionals, stifled and confused South Kortright early.

"We couldn't get in our offense and set up," VanValkenburgh said. "They put a lot of pressure on the ball."

South Kortright will face Greenport in the championship game today at 5:30 p.m. at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

Greenport 73,


Maple Grove 68, 2 OT

Greenport outlasted Maple Grove in the first semifinal game.

Section VI's Maple Grove was ahead much of the first half and held a 29-23 halftime lead. Section I's Greenport just wouldn't go away and outscored the Red Dragons, 26-20, in the second half to tie the game at 61-all.

Greenport was led by Dantre Langhorne with 28 points and seven rebounds, and Ryan Creighton with 27 points and 10 rebounds.

Maple Grove was powered by Chris Secky with 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Joe Caporale with 17 points and Matt Fox with 12 points.

—

South Kortright 48, Chateaugay 38

Chateaugay (38)

Layton 0-0-0, Spinner 6-2-18, Matthews 0-2-2, Dwyer 0-2-2, Stalter 2-1-5, Franze 0-0-0, D. Boyea 4-2-11, Gadway 0-0-0, Dominic 0-0-0, Henderson 0-0-0, M. Boyea 0-0-0, A. Lamica 0-0-0. Totals: 12-9-38.

South Kortright (48)

Burns 3-4-11, Mretzko 1-3-5, Palmatier 2-0-4, Herrington 3-0-7, Darling 1-2-4, Many 1-1-3, Hotaling 7-0-14.

Chateaugay 10 14 7 7 — 38

South Kortright 6 12 14 16 — 48

3-point goals: Chateaugay (5) Spinner 4, Boyea. South Kortright (2) Burns, Herrington.

—

Greenport 73, Maple Grove 68, OT

Maple Grove (68)

Rivas 1-3-5, Secky 9-1-23, Aronson 3-1-8, Caporale 6-5-17, Kibbe 0-1-1, Fox 6-0-12, McElrath 1-0-2. Totals: 26-11-68.

Greenport (73)

Stevens 1-0-2, T. Mangham 1-1-3, Sorenson 2-5-9, H. Mangham 2-0-4, Langhorne 7-13-28, Creighton 10-6-27, Mims 0-0-0. Totals: 23-25-73.

Maple Grove 15 14 12 10 9 8 — 68

Greenport 14 9 12 16 9 13 — 73

3-point goals: Maple Grove (5) Secky 4, Aronson. Greenport (2) Langhorne, Creighton.