BALLSTON SPA — All the earmarks were in place Saturday for the Cohoes boys’ basketball team to score a second straight upset in the Section II Class B Tournament.
Sophomore guard Mason Riddick curled around a screen and drained a line-drive 3-pointer from the top with just more than four minutes left as the Tigers – a squad that opened their season with nine consecutive losses – trailed No. 4 seed Fonda by two points in their quarterfinal.
But from that point on, the Braves played their best offense and stifled Cohoes on defense to go on an 11-0 surge to close the game and secure a 40-27 victory at Ballston Spa High School. The victory sends Fonda into semifinal play Tuesday night at Cool Insuring Arena.
Riddick’s 3-pointer trimmed the deficit for the 12th-seeded Tigers (6-15) to 29-27. Fonda (19-3) responded immediately with a 3-pointer from Brady Melious. Following a miss and then a turnover from the Tigers, Brady Whipple (team-high 12 points) scored inside to make it 34-27 Fonda with 3:00 left.
“We just needed to make sure we stay focused,” Fonda senior guard Jackson Cusack said. “When we played Duanesburg (in the Western Athletic Conference tournament final and fell 45-39), we lost it at the end. Their height might have affected us, so during practice we made sure we were strong with guys in our face when we had the ball.”
Cusack certainly helped with his team’s focus Saturday, addressing his team during a timeout late in the game.
“He is legitimately one of the best leaders I’ve had in 23 years,” Fonda coach Eric Wilson said. “He is so unselfish, the things he does do not show up on a stat sheet. The way he encourages his teammates, he is a special kid. In one of our last timeouts, he spoke mostly. You know what? I am not arrogant enough of a coach to say, ‘Shut up, what I have to say is more important than…
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