Holidays...I'm Off! But The Games Go On.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas to all. So what have we learned this last week? Well, for one, West Canada Valley is the real deal. Just ask RCH and Oriskany. Both teams are good and were dominated by the Indians. The are beating teams by an average of OVER 30 points per game.
What else have we learned? How about that Proctor hasn't missed a beat so far. Lead by Deandre Preaster, the Raiders smacked F-M last week. They will host their own tournament later this week. VVS remained unbeaten but the story in the Trivalley was rival Oneida who beat New Hartford in double overtime. Spartan fans had to shake that off quickly. Good thing to as they went into Whitesboro the next night and beat the Warriors on their home court. Two nights later they beat Notre Dame. I think coach Randall will take that anytime.
Another team without a loss in area play is Cooperstown. Dave Bertram has his team playing well despite a scare by Sauquoit this past week. Who do you think is the team to watch the next couple of weeks?

How about the ladies? In the Trivalley, New Hartford is not playing their best basketball but it IS playing winning basketball. Ask anyone, if they put together four strong quarters consistantly they will crush teams. Will anyone beat Little Falls this season. They handled a solid West Canada last week. The Lady Mounties are on a mission. Cooperstown town has yet to lose as well. To see those two teams clash would be a blast! A few other teams to watch for are RCH led by Madison Slagle and NY Mills with all world player Sam Szkotak.

Better Late Than Never

So sorry I haven't posted. 'Tis the season to be busy. I'm back and ready to babble. First off, how about West Canada Valley. This team appears to be better that last years squad that didn't lose until the playoffs. They are averaging 20 plus point wins this season. No joke! Steve Porter has this team in unbelievable shape and clicking.
Congrats go out to Proctor's Deandre Preaster. He scored his 1000th career point the other night. They'll have a ceremony on Friday at their home game against F-M. Former Hamilton head coach Tom Blackford brings his team to town. Should be a good game, you should check it out.
Another big game this week, New Hartford and Whitesboro. It was rescheduled for this Wednesday night at Whitesboro. Warriors as of Monday are unbeaten in the Trivalley.
Another team unbeaten is VVS. This could be Al Knapp's best team in years. They have nice inside outside balance along with strong defense. There's a reason he's a Hall of Fame coach.
One team thats unbeaten and has quietly gone unbeaten is Oriskany. Guess who they host on Tuesday? Unbeaten West Canada. Should be a dandy. I'll be there for sure. What do you all think about that one? Who will win? Post your thoughts.
Did anyone catch NY Mills losing their first league game in 38 tries? Can they bounce back?
One the ladies side, New Hartford overcame a nine point deficit last Friday night to beat Whitesboro. The Lady Spartans are unbeaten in the Trivalley.
Little Falls is picking up where they left off last regular season rolling along to a perfect record thus far as is Cooperstown. West Canada, RCH and NY Mills all looking strong again this year.
I want to see your thoughts. See you at the games!

Hoops Get Underway Big Time This Week

While the weather outside is frightful, the basketball looks to be delightful this season. CSC got underway last week while the Tri Valley tips off this week. Plenty of good action lies ahead. We've seen so far that Cooperstown's boys and girls will be a force. West Canada is looking to continue from last season success, but then again, aren't both their teams always good? Mt. Markham is unbeaten early this season as is Proctor. However the Raiders lost a ton to graduation. The young kids will have to step up and support Deandre Preaster this season. In the Trivalley, New Hartford and Notre Dame lost key players to graduation. However both programs know how to win so expect them to be back. Watch out for VVS. Hall of fame coach Al Knapp is excited about this bunch. On the ladies side of things, New Hartford and Whitesboro will come to play no question.
What do you think? Just because I didn't mention your team doesn't mean they aren't on radar. Give us your thoughts. We'll blog once a week but I'll answer posts every day.
See you on the court!

Welcome to the 2007 Season!

Hello everyone and welcome back to the High School Basketball Blog on WKTV.com. Once again, throughout the 2007 season, NEWSChannel 2's Sports Director, Jason Powles, will blog the latest news and events taking place at area basketball courts.

We invite you to always post your predictions and comments on local area teams.

Up on the docket tonight are many girls basketball games including:
> New York Mills at Rome Catholic
> Adirondack at Mohawk
> Holland Patent at Ilion
> Corcoran at RFA

FINAL New Hartford 69 Massena 44

Fast-breaking New Hartford is continuing their excellent play with layups by Ronnie Evans and Mike Kelly.

Massena can't seem to find the hoop, missing short jumpers and open layups.

With 4:40 remaining in the quarter, Ronnie Evans hit a jumper from the elbow to push the Spartans to a 62-38 lead.

New Hartford's face painted student section is passing their time during a time-out cheering along with the Spartan Cheerleaders.

With 3:15 left, New Hartford spreads the court and starts running down the shot-clock, sitting on their comfortable 62-40 lead.

Nothing seems to be going right for Massena when they throw the ball out-of-bounds during a three-on-one fast break opportunity.

Under 2 minutes now and New Hartford Coach John Randall begins to clear his bench, resting his starters for their game in less than 24 hours.

A Ronnie Evans fast-break layup with 1:38 remaining in the game all but seals the deal for the Spartans who coast to a huge Sectional victory. Final score 69-44.

New Hartford will play Glens Falls High Saturday March 10, 2007 (TOMORROW) at Manley Field House in Syracuse at 7:30 PM. The winner of this game will advance to the State Championship in Glens Falls next weekend.


High Scorers:
New Hartford - Alex Prue 16
Massena - Tyler Condlin 16

High Rebounders:
New Hartford - Mike Kelly 11
Massena - Garrett Sharlow 8

Assists:
New Hartford - Alex Prue 6
Massena - Patrick Moncibaiz 1 Shawn Hatch 1

End of 3rd Quarter New Hartford 54 Massena 31

2nd half action began similar to the 1st half ended. New Hartford jumped on Massena with back-to-back hoops by Andy Roemer and Alex Prue. Tough defense by New Hartford is causing a number of turnovers by Massena and New Hartford is taking advantage of them.

Some great passing by New Hartford got open layups for Alex Prue and Mike Clifford pushing New Hartford's lead to 50-24 with 4:02 remaining in the quarter.

After that hoop, New Hartford is on a 35-12 run.

Sloppy play from both teams slowed down the scoring to end the quarter with New Hartford in the lead 54-31.

End of 2nd Quarter New Hartford 40 Massena 22

New Hartford came out firing on all cylinders in the 2nd quarter continuing their run. Layups by Mike Kelly and Ronnie Evans were followed by a three-pointer by Andrew Steates.

Steates then went coast-to-coast with a steal and a layup to push New Hartford to a 19-0 run continuing from the 1st quarter.

Massena got their first points of the quarter on two free throws with 5:07 left in the quarter.

Jeff Dunn of New Hartford then banked in a long two-pointer to push New Hartford's lead to 38-18.

New Hartford's Mike Clifford made two free-throws and Massena made two layups to end the action putting New Hartford in the lead with a score of 40-22.


High Scorers:
New Hartford - Andy Roemer 10
Massena - Tyler Condlin 8

High Rebounders:
New Hartford - Mike Kelly 5
Massena - Garrett Sharlow 4

Assists:
New Hartford - Alex Prue 4 Mike Kelly 4
Massena - Patrick Moncibaiz 1 Shawn Hatch 1