2023/2024 CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE NCAA TOURNAMENT

 

THURSDAY, FEB. 29

Quarter Final Round

No. 1 Seed (CTK Team Walsh) receives a bye

No. 2 Seed (Clifton Park Hawks) 48, No. 7 Seed (Bethlehem Eagles) 46

No. 3 Seed (Clifton Park Crickets) 89, No. 6 Seed (CTK Team Wright) 61

No. 4 Seed (Albany JCC) 63, No. 5 Seed (Hudson Valley Rocks) 48

 

SATURDAY, MARCH 2

Semifinal Round

No. 3 Seed (Clifton Park Crickets) 58, No. 2 Seed (Clifton Park Hawks) 43

No. 1 Seed (CTK Team Walsh) 48, No. 4 Seed (Albany JCC) 43

SUNDAY, MARCH 3

2023/2024 CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP

No. 1 Seed (CTK Team Walsh) 66, No. 3 Seed (Clifton Park Crickets) 61 

 

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE RETURNS WITH 8 AREA TEAMS TO BATTLE IN SMALLER, BUT HIGHLY COMPETITIVE LEAGUE

 

THE CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR BASKETBALL LEAGUE IS RETURNING FOR THE 2021-2022 SEASON WITH A TOTAL OF 8 TEAMS.

THE LEAGUE HAS TWO TEAMS FROM CLIFTON PARK, TWO FROM THE GREATER TROY AREA, TWO FROM AVERILL PARK, A TEAM FROM ST. CLEMENTS IN SARATOGA AND A TEAM FROM BETHLEHEM.

THE MAJORITY OF GAMES WILL BE PLAYED AT A CENTRALIZED SITE, ONE THAT IS FAMILIAR TO ALL SENIOR LEAGUE PLAYERS -- SHEN HIGH SCHOOL EAST. SHEN HIGH SCHOOL EAST HAS HOSTED MANY A SENIOR GAME OVER THE LAST DOZEN OR SO SEASONS. THIS YEAR, IT WILL SERVE AS A CENTRALIZED HUB FOR GAMES ON SUNDAY NIGHTS FOR THE CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE.

OTHER VENUES THAT WILL HOST GAMES INCLUDE ST. CLEMENTS IN SARATOGA AND ALGONQUIN MIDDLE SCHOOL IN AVERALL PARK.

THE REGULAR SEASON STARTS ON THE WEEKEND OF DEC. 4-5. EACH TEAM WILL PLAY THE OTHER 7 TEAMS TWICE FOR A 14 REGULAR-SEASON.

PLANS ARE ALSO IN THE MAKING FOR POST-SEASON PLAYOFFS. AS ALWAYS, ALL CAPITAL DISTRCIT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE TEAMS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR POST-SEASON PLAY.

 

 

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE NCCA TOURNAMENT

SUNDAY, FEB. 27

FIRST ROUND

No. 1 Seed Clifton Park Jelly Boys 97, No. 8 Seed Troy Prep 39

No. 2 Seed St. Clement's 42, No. 7 Seed Averill Park Demons 17

No. 3 Seed Bethlehem Eagles 50, No. 6 Seed NY Hardknocks 47

No. 4 Seed Clifton Park Heat 69, vs. No. 5 Seed Averill Park Goldn Boyz 43

 

SATURDAY, MARCH 5

SEMIFINALS

No. 1 Seed Clifton Park Jelly Boys 47, No. 4 Seed Clifton Park Heat 45

No. 2 Seed St. Clement's 41, No. 3 Seed Bethlehem Eagles 21

 

SUNDAY, MARCH 6

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

No. 1 Seed Clifton Park Jelly Boys 49, No. 2 Seed St. Clement's 48

 

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: The Clifton Park Pink Panthers defeated the Bethlehem Eagles 56-48 Sunday, March 1, at Shen High School East to capture the Capital District 11-12 Senior League Championship. The Clifton Park Pink Panthers were coached by Randy Zielinski.

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 NIT CHAMPIONS: Albany JCC defeated the Delmar Dawgs, 52-49, on Sunday, March 1, in the Capital District 11-12 NIT championship game that was held at Shen High School East. Pictured, back row, left to right, Jabbar Davis, Myles Rosenzwieg, Sean O'Neill, Lawrence Matutina, Head Coach Brian Hampson and Nick Dugan. Front row, left to right, Owen Hampson, Godfrey Garzon, and Bryan Cruz. Kneeling, Christan Stafford. Albany JCC finished the season with an 11-8 record.

 

 

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE NCAA TOURNAMENT

 

SUNDAY, FEB. 24

First Round

No. 1 Seed (St. Clement’s Flying V’s) 54, No. 8 Seed (Troy Boys Club) 46

No. 2 Seed (Clifton Park Hoosier Daddies) 70, No. 7 Seed (Averill Park Mazzeo) 52

No. 4 Seed (Clifton Park Tropics) 46, No. 5 Seed (Averill Park Toomey) 35

No. 6 Seed (Bethlehem Orange) 51, No. 3 Seed (Clifton Park Wolves) 49

 

SATURDAY, MARCH 2

Semifinals

No. 2 Seed (Clifton Park Daddies) 75, No. 6 Seed (Bethlehem Orange) 66

No. 4 Seed (Clifton Park Tropics) 53, No. 1 Seed (St. Clement's Flying V's) 41

 

SUNDAY, MARCH 3

Championship

No. 4 Seed (Clifton Park Tropics) 53, No. 2 Seed (Clifton Park Daddies) 48

 

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE NIT TOURNAMENT

SUNDAY, FEB. 24

Play-In Game

No. 5 Seed (Averill Park Durocher) elected not to enter playoffs.

SATURDAY, MARCH 2

Semifinals

No. 2 Seed (East Greenbush Blue Devils) 61, No. 3 Seed (Averill Park Enforcers) 54

No. 1 Seed (Bethlehem Eagles) 57, No. 4 Seed (St. Clement’s Comets) 51 (OT)

 

SUNDAY, MARCH 3

Championship

No. 2 Seed (East Greenbush Blue Devils) 51, No. 1 Seed (Bethlehem Eagles) 48

 

NIT CHAMPIONS -- The East Greenbush Blue Devils defeated the Bethlehem Eagles, 51-48, in the championship game of the Capital District 11-12 Senior League NIT Tournament that was played Sunday, March 3, at Shen High School East. The East Greenbush Blue Devils are coached by Head Coach Bob Blake, far left, and Assistant Coach Pat Flanagan, far right. Players on the team (left to right) are Jalen Antonetti, Ben Cook, Alex Blake, Sahil Patel, Marc Perreault, Jack Guzek, Ryan Flanagan, Justin O’Dell, Andrew Brunner and Connor Alaxanian. (Photo courtesy of East Greenbush Blue Devils).

 

 

 

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE NIT DIVISION PLAYOFFS

FIRST ROUND

SATURDAY, FEB. 21

No. 1 Seed Averill Park Gold (9-7) receives a bye

No. 2 Seed Albany JCC (8-8) receives a bye

No. 5 Clifton Park Tropics 59, No. 4 Averill Park Warrior Nation 40

No. 6 Clifton Park YMCA 48, No. 3 East Greenbush Blue 44

 

SEMIFINALS

SATURDAY, FEB. 28

Averill Park Gold 46, Clifton Park Tropics 44

Clifton Park YMCA 48, Albany JCC 47

 

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE NIT DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP

SUNDAY, MARCH 1

Averill Park Gold 67, Clifton Park YMCA 45

 

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE NCAA DIVISION PLAYOFFS

FIRST ROUND

SATURDAY, FEB. 21

No. 1 Seed Clifton Park Enforcers (14-1) receives a bye

No. 4 Seed Troy Thunder 57, No. 5 Seed East Greenbush Devils 43

SUNDAY, FEB. 22

No. 7 Seed St. Paul’s 76, No. 2 Seed Troy Storm 62

No. 3 Seed Clifton Park Lightning 64, No. 6 Seed Guilderland YMCA 47

 

SEMIFINALS

SATURDAY, FEB. 28

Clifton Park Lightning 57, St. Paul’s 56

Clifton Park Enforcers 62, Troy Thunder 48

 

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE NCAA DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP

SUNDAY, MARCH 1
Clifton Park Lightning 52, Clifton Park Enforcers 45

Albany JCC Red -- Donald Gekonge, 17 points.

 

SUNDAY, DEC. 18

Tri City Titans 52, St. John's 49

Tri City Titans -- Connor Sicko, 27 points.

 

Clifton Park Kings 58, Averill Park Green 48

Clifton Park Kings – Carpenter, 19 points; Paul, 15 points; Amin, 10 points.

 

Albany JCC Blue 60, AlbanyJCC Red 56
Albany JCC Blue -- Isiah Williams, 18 points.
Albany JCC Red -- Kapone Scott, 21 points.

 

Averill Park Gold 50, Averill Park Ruff Dogs 39

Averill Park Gold -- Premo, 17 points; Gelder,  13 points; Keneally, 8 points.

Averill Park Ruff Dogs -- Hicks, 16 points; Paris, 12 points; Wait, 8 points.

 

 

SATURDAY, DEC. 17
Mater Christi 45, Clifton Park Kings 32
Clifton Park Kings – Michaud, 10 points; Crozzoli, 9 points; Carpenter, 8 points.

 

Clifton Park Takeover 66, St. Clement's Saints 64
Clifton Park Takeover -- Johnny Valada, 15 points.
St. Clement's Saints -- Lahm, 30 points.

SUNDAY, DEC. 11

St. Clements 60, Troy Trojans 35
St. Clement’s – Haynes, 17 points.

Albany JCC Red 65,Tri City Titans 55
Albany JCC -- Donald Gekonge, 30 points,

St. Madeline Sophie 48, Albany JCC Blue 35
Albany JCC Blue -- Jack Rosenzweig, 10 points.

Averill Park Green 52, Averill Park Ruff Dogs 47
Averill Park Green -- Luke Pascarella, 15 points.
Averill Park Ruff Dogs -- Waite, 15 points; Hicks, 13 points; Paris, 8 points. 

SATURDAY, DEC. 10
Bethlehem 48, Albany JCC Blue 40
Albany JCC Blue -- Jack Rosenzweig, 11 points.

Mater Christi 57, Albany JCC Red 50

Albany JCC -- Kapri Scott, 15 points. 

St. Clement’s Saints 66, Averill Park Green 55
St. Clement’s Saints – Swann, 22 points.
Averill Park Green – James, 18 points.

SUNDAY, DEC. 4

Troy Tigers 65, St. Clement’s Sains 35

St. Clement’s Saints – Lahm, 16 points.

 

St. Madeline Sophie 52, Albany JCC Red 48
Albany JCC Red -- Nick Wallace,16 points; Kapri Scott, 11 points. 

Mater Christi 56, Tri City Titans 36

Tri City Titans – Conway Vumbacco and Matt Minor, 13 points each.

 

Clifton Park Raptors 70, Averill Park Ruff Dogs 40

Averill Park Ruff Dogs -- Connor Hicks, 7 points; Nick Ferlito, 5 points.

Clifton Park Takeover 59, Averill Park Green 38
Averill Park Green -- James Rubino, 17 points.

 

SATURDAY, DEC. 3

Albany JCC Blue 61, Averill Park Green 31
Albany JCC Blue -- Nasi Brown, 26 points.

 

St. Clement’s Saints 45, Averill Park Gold 44

St. Clement’s Saints – Demetri Swann, 12 points.

 

Clifton Park Kings 57, Albany JCC Red 47
Albany JCC Red --Donald Gekonge,15 points. 

Tri City Titans 62, Bethlehem 60

Tri City Titans – Conway Vumbacco, 23 points; Connor Sico, 18 points.

 

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE NCAA TOURNAMENT

SATURDAY, FEB. 25

PLAY-IN GAMES

St. Madeliene Sophie 79, Mater Christi 45

St. John’s 52, Tri City Titans 51

SUNDAY, FEB. 26

QUARTER FINAL ROUND GAMES

Troy Tigers 59, Bethlehem 49

St. Clement’s 71, St. Madeliene Sophie 50

Clifton Park Takeover defeated St. John's

MONDAY, FEB. 27

Hudson Valley Rocks 57, Clifton Park Raptors 49

SATURDAY, MARCH 4

SEMIFINAL ROUND GAMES

St. Clement's 82, Hudson Valley Rocks 80

Clifton Park Takeover 67, Troy Tigers 53

SUNDAY, MARCH 5

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE NCAA TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Clifton Park Takeover 65, St. Clement's 62

 

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE NIT TOURNAMENT

SUNDAY, FEB. 26

QUARTERFINAL ROUND GAMES

Albany JCC Blue 81, Averill Park Ruff Dogs 76

Averill Park Gold 85, Albany JCC Red 82

Clifton Park Kings 75, Ichabod Crane 46

Troy Trojans 49, Averill Park Green 38

SATURDAY, MARCH 4

SEMIFINAL ROUND GAMES

Albany JCC Blue 61, Troy Trojans 53

Clifton Park Kings 53, Averill Park Gold 49

SUNDAY, MARCH 5

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE NIT TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Albany JCC Blue 62, Clifton Park Kings 45

 

St. Clement’s (Kumlander) 58, Albany JCC (Edwards) 44
St. Clement’s (Kumlander) – Kislowski, 14 points.
Albany JCC (Edwards) -- Matt Coons, 16 points. 

 

SATURDAY, DEC. 2
St. Clement’s (Kumlander) 63, Averill Park 33
St. Clement’s (Kumlander) – Kislowski, 12 points.

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 POST-SEASON PLAYOFFS

SATURDAY, MARCH 3

NCAA TOURNAMENT

No. 1 Seed Bethlehem Scrappers 85, No. 8 Seed Bethlehem Eagles 62

No. 2 Seed St. Clement’s (Swann) 71,  No. 7 Seed Clifton Park Magic 58

No. 6 Clifton Park Purple Royalty 76, No. 3 Seed Clifton Park Buckeyes 69

No. 5 Seed Clifton Park Parkers 65, No. 4 Seed St. Clement’s (Kumlander) 57

 

NIT TOURNAMENT

No. 1 Seed Troy Titans 59, No. 8 Seed St. Mary’s Ballston Spa Lightning 23

No. 2 Seed Albany JCC (Edwards) 61, No. 7 Seed Averill Park (Williams) 44

No. 3 Seed Troy Trojans 45, No. 6 Seed Averill Park Last Hurrah 32

No. 4 Seed Averill Park (Toomey) 46, No. 5 Seed East Greenbush Blue Devils 34

 

SUNDAY, MARCH 4

NCAA TOURNAMENT

No. 1 Seed Bethlehem Scrappers 56, No. 5 Seed Clifton Park Parkers 45

No. 2 Seed St. Clement’s (Swann) 70, No. 6 Clifton Park Purple Royalty 59

NIT TOURNAMENT

No. 1 Seed Troy Titans 52, No. 4 Seed Averill Park (Toomey) 42

No. 2 Seed Albany JCC (Edwards) 69, No. 3 Seed Troy Trojans 61

 

MONDAY, MARCH 5

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE NIT TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

No. 2 Seed Albany JCC (Edwards) 52, No. 1 Seed Troy Titans 40

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE NCAA TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

No. 2 Seed St. Clement's (Swann) 50, No. 1 Seed Bethlehem Scrappers 35 

 

 

SUNDAY, JAN. 10

St. Clement’s Saints 58, East Greenbush Devil Cats 56

St. Clement's Saints – Caine, 19 points; Beck, 15 points; Baxter, 12 points.

East Greenbush Devil Cats -- Eric Beberwyck, 18 points; Rob De Benedetti, 16 points.

 

Albany JCC, 54, St. Clare’s Grizzlies 40
St. Clare’s Grizzlies -- Chris Flood, 13 points; Jeffrey Canastra, 8 points; Nick Blaauboer, 6 points.

TBGC 44, Averill Park Warrior Nation 36

Averill Park Warrior Nation -- Liam Geller, 8 points.

 

Averill Park Warrior Nation 46, Clifton Park Takeover 33 

Averill Park Warrior Nation -- Kevin Kelly, 19 points; Tim Vermilya, 10 points; Isaiah Thomas, 8 points.

 

SATURDAY, JAN. 9

Averill Park Warrior Nation 57, Troy Lightning 47

Averill Park Warrior Nation -- Ryan Wood, 23 points; Tim Vermilya, 10 points.

 

St. Clement’s Saints 62, TBGC 52

St. Clement’s Saints – Caine, 19 points; Gell and Beck, 11 points each.

 

East Greenbush White 44, St. Clare’s Grizzlies 41

East Greenbush White – Kendrick, 15 points; Carman, 7 points; Preston, 6 points.

St. Clare’s Grizzlies -- Chris Flood, 17 points; AJ Mazzone, 11 points; Peter Close, 6 points.

 

East Greenbush Devil Cats 67, Clifton Park YMCA 62
East Greenbush Devil Cats -- Eli Haita, 18 points; James Rubino, 15 points. 

SUNDAY, JAN. 3

St Clement's Saints 61, Albany JCC 37
St. Clement's Saints -- Baxter 14 and  Lahm, 14 points. each.

East Greenbush Devil Cats 52, Stillwater Raiders 30
East Greenbush Devil Cats -- DeBenedetti, 13 points; Hill, 9 points.

East Greenbush Devil Cats 60,  Mater Christi 30
East Greenbush Devil Cats -- Rubino, 14 points; Rosen, 8 points.

East Greenbush White 44, Albany JCC 34
East Greenbush White -- Wright, 12 points.

SUNDAY, DEC. 27

East Greenbush White 71, Stillwater Rebels  37 
East Greenbush White -- Will Hebert, 23 points; Jack Field, 13 points; Collin Catman, 12 points; Jake Preston, 10 points.

 

SUNDAY, DEC. 20

East Greenbush Blue Devils 46, Ichabod Crane 38

East Greenbush Blue Devils – Beberwyck, 18 points; Rosen, 7 points.

Troy Tigers 88. Mater Christi 34
Troy Tigers -- Nyjier Pugh, 28 points; Kobe Nelson, 16 points. 

St. Clement's 54, St. Clare's Grizzlies 40
St Clement's -- Hart, 14 points.
St. Clare's Grizzlies -- Chris Flood, 19 points; AJ Mazzone, 10 points.

SATURDAY, DEC. 19

East Greenbush Blue Devils 60, East Greenbush White 51

East Greenbush Blue Devils – DeBenedetti,19 points; Hall and Beberwyck,17 points each.

East Greenbush White – Hebert, 16 points.

 

Troy Tigers 77, Clifton Park YMCA, 35

Troy Tigers -- Nyjier Pugh, 25 points; Misson Watts, 14 points.

 

 

SUNDAY, DEC 13

East Greenbush Devil Cats 72, Niskayuna Dream Team 54

East Greenbush Devil Cats – Beberwyck,  24 points; Rubino, 12 points.

 

Troy Tigers 44, St. Clare’s Grizzlies 27
St. Clare’s Grizzlies -- Chris Flood and Jeffrey Canastra, 6 points each.

 

 

SATURDAY, DEC. 12

 

Troy Lightning 70, Clifton Park YMCA 56

Troy Lightning -- Conway Vumbaco, 19 points; Christian Alvarez, 16 points.

 

Troy Tigers 64, East Greenbush Devil Cats 43

East Greenbush Devil Cats – Rosen, 8 points; Haita, 6 points.

Clifton Park Lightning 71, St. Clare’s Grizzlies 31
St. Clare’s Grizzlies -- AJ Mazzone, 8 points.

 

Albany JCC 58, Clifton Park YMCA 48

Albany JCC -- Drew Nicoletta, 25 points.

 

 

SUNDAY, DEC. 6

Guilderland YMCA 45, East Greenbush White 42
East Greenbush White -- Kendrick, 14 points.

St. Clare's Grizzlies 54, Stillwater Rebels 39
St. Clare's Grizzlies -- AJ Mazzone, 18 points; Chris Flood, 10 points; Peter Close, 6 points.

SATURDAY, DEC. 5

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

NCAA TOURNAMENT

SUNDAY, FEB. 23

No. 5 seed (Rotterdam Storm) 82, No. 4 seed (Guilderland YMCA) 71 

No. 3 seed (Clifton Park Tropics) 68, No. 6 seed (Mater Christi Red) 59

No. 2 seed (Clifton Park Knights) 64, No. 7 seed (Troy CYO Storm) 59 (OT)

No. 1 seed (Troy YMCA) 82, No. 8 seed (LaSalle Blue) 64

SATURDAY, MARCH 1

No. 1 seed (Troy YMCA) 75, No. 5 seed (Rotterdam Storm) 57

No. 3 seed (Clifton Park Tropics) 65, No. 2 seed (Clifton Park Knights) 45

SUNDAY, MARCH 2
CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 1 seed (Troy YMCA) vs. No. 3 seed (Clifton Park Tropics)

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
NIT TOURNAMENT

SUNDAY, FEB. 23
No. 1 seed Albany JCC receives bye.
No. 2 seed Glenville YMCA receives a bye.
No. 3 seed (LaSalle White) 54, No. 6 seed (Clifton Park Panthers) 37
No. 5 seed (Averill Park Green) 47, No. 4 seed (Averill Park Gold) 44

SATURDAY, MARCH 1
No. 1 seed (Albany JCC) 68, No. 5 seed (Averill Park Green) 47
No. 3 seed (LaSalle White) 40, No. 2 seed (Glenville YMCA) 37

SUNDAY, MARCH 2
CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE NIT CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 1 seed (Albany JCC) 58, No. 3 seed (LaSalle White) 49

 

 

 

The Big Man Saves The Day With A Good Block!

THE 2015-2016 CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE POST-SEASON PLAYOFFS

SUNDAY, FEB. 21

NCAA TOURNAMENT

FIRST ROUND

No. 1 Seed Troy Tigers 52, No. 8 Seed East Greenbush White 42

No. 2 Seed Clifton Park Lightning 85, No. 7 Seed Albany JCC 32

No. 3 Seed St. Clement’s Saints 71, No. 6 Seed Clifton Park Takeover 68

No. 4 Seed East Greenbush Devil Cats 47, No. 5 Seed Guilderland YMCA 42

 

NIT TOURNAMENT

FIRST ROUND

No. 1 Seed TBGC 65, No. 8 Seed Ichabod Crane 19

No. 2 Seed Troy Lightning 57, No. 7 Seed Stillwater Rebels 46

No. 3 Seed Clifton Park Raiders 46, No. 6 Seed St. Clare’s Grizzlies 39

No. 5 Seed Mater Christi 54, No. 4 Seed Averill Park Warrior Nation 52

 

SATURDAY, FEB. 27

NCAA TOURNAMENT

SEMIFINAL ROUND

No. 1 Seed Troy Tigers 55, No. 4 Seed East Greenbush Devil Cats 46

No. 2 Seed Clifton Park Lightning 67, No. 3 Seed St. Clement's 40

 

NIT TOURNAMENT

SEMIFINAL ROUND

No. 1 Seed TBGC 69, No. 5 Seed Mater Christi 36

No. 3 Seed Clifton Park Raiders 51, No. 2 Seed Troy Lightning 39

 

SUNDAY, FEB. 28

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE NIT TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP 

No. 1 Seed TBGC 66, No. 3 Seed Clifton Park Raiders 55

ENIOR LEAGUE NCAA TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP

No. 1 Seed Troy Tigers 81, No. 2 Seed Clifton Park Lightning 59

 

League’s big guns, St. Paul’s, East Greenbush C, as well as Clifton Park Cardinals and Clifton Park YMCA, roll into action as playoffs heat up

The Troy CYO Storm and the Clifton Park Tropics will be out to keep their Cinderella playoff seasons going, and four teams that advanced via forfeits and didn’t even break a sweat in the first round will finally take to the court on Saturday as the Capital District 11-12 Senior League playoffs continue.

The Troy CYO Storm and the Clifton Park Tropics posted surprising upsets, dispatching, respectively, the Clifton Park Orange and the Clifton Park Hoop Dawgz in last Sunday’s first-round action that was played at Shen High School East.

The Troy CYO Storm, seeded No. 6 in the South Division after going only 7-11 during the regular season, showed remarkable poise when the pressure was on and upended the Clifton Park Orange, 73-67. The win allowed the Troy CYO Storm to advance to Saturday’s South Division semifinals where the Troy team will take on the Clifton Park Cardinals in a game that will be played at Russell Sage College Robison Gym at 8:40 p.m.

The Clifton Park Cardinals, seeded No. 2 in the South Division, were one of four teams that advanced in the first round via a forfeit. The Cardinals moved on to the South Division semifinals when Guilderland YMCA could not field a team Saturday night. The Clifton Park Cardinals, who barely beat the Troy CYO Storm twice during the regular season (44-40 and 52-50), come into the game with a 13-6 record.

In the other South Division first-round game that was played Sunday, No. 4 seeded St. John’s Valatie turned back No. 5 seeded Albany JCC, 52-41, to advance to Saturday’s other South Division semifinal round game. Valatie, now 10-9 this season, gets another shot at No. 1 seeded East Greenbush C when the two teams meet Saturday night at Spa Catholic at 8:20 p.m.

East Greenbush C, which defeated St. John’s Valatie twice during the regular season in hard-fought battles, comes into the game as the South Division regular-season champion and now sports a 15-4 record. East Greenbush advanced via forfeit when LaSalle could not field a team for the first round of the playoffs.

Tropics suddenly came alive to kick the Dawgz out of playoffs

Over in the North Division, the Clifton Park Tropics hope to keep a good thing going after knocking off the No. 2 seeded Clifton Park Hoop Dawgz. The Tropics, who came into the game as the No. 7 seed with only a 5-9 league record, weren’t given much hope against the Hoop Dawgz, who had soundly beaten them just one week ago by a 79-54 score. But down the stretch, the Tropics were the team that found a way to win this time.

Next up for the Tropics, is No. 6 seeded Clifton Park YMCA. The Tropics and Clifton Park YMCA will do battle on Saturday in a North Division semifinal round game at Spa Catholic at 6:00 p.m.

The Clifton Park YMCA advanced to the semifinals via a forfeit win over the Troy CYO Thunder. The Clifton Park YMCA comes into that game with an 11-8 record. During the regular season, the Clifton Park Tropics and Clifton Park YMCA met only once with the Clifton Park YMCA coming out victorious.

In the other North Division semifinal round game, top-seeded St. Paul’s, the team with the league’s best regular-season record, gets into action, taking on No. 4 seeded Mater Christi at Spa Catholic at 7:10 p.m.

St. Paul’s won the North Division regular-season title, going a league best 16-2. St. Paul’s advanced to the semifinals via a forfeit victory over St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa and comes into Saturday’s game with a 17-2 mark.

Mater Christi got to Saturday’s semifinals by turning away the Troy YMCA Trojians, 61-54, on Sunday in the first round at Shen East. That victory was Mater Christi’s seventh in a row and upped the team’s record to 12-7.

During the regular season, St. Paul’s and Mater Christi engaged in two hard-fought battles. St. Paul’s won the first contest, 54-42, early in the season but Mater Christi got revenge, winning on a buzzer-beater three-point shot, 63-60, just two weekends ago.

The four survivors from Saturday’s action play for their respective divisional titles on Sunday night at Shen High School East. Those two games set the stage for the Capital District 11-12 Senior League championship game that will be hosted by the Guilderland YMCA on Monday, Feb. 27, at 8:15 p.m.

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

NCAA TOURNAMENT

SUNDAY, FEB. 17

PLAY IN GAMES

No. 1 seed (Clifton Park Bomb Squad) receives a bye

No. 2 seed (Troy YMCA Trojans) receives a bye

No. 3 seed (Clifton Park Squad) 65, No. 6 seed (East Greenbush Green) 54

No. 5 seed (St. Paul’s) 76, No. 4 seed  Troy CYO Lightning 57

 

NCAA TOURNAMENT

SATURDAY, FEB. 23

SEMIFINALS

No. 3 seed (Clifton Park Squad) 59, No. 2 seed (Troy YMCA) 57 

No. 5 seed (St. Paul’s) 55, No. 1 seed (Clifton Park Bomb Squad) 47

 

NCAA TOURNAMENT

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHP GAME

SUNDAY, FEB. 24

No. 3 seed (Clifton Park Squad) 51, No. 5 seed (St. Paul’s) 50

 

 

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

NIT TOURNAMENT

SATURDAY, FEB. 16
PLAY IN GAMES

No. 1 seed (Clifton Park YMCA) receives a bye

No. 2 seed (Glenville YMCA) receives a bye

No. 3 seed (Rotterdam Storm) receives a bye

No. 4 seed (Stillwater Rebels) 52, No. 13 seed (LaSalle Blue) 40

No. 6 seed (Albany JCC) 68, No. 11 seed East Greenbush Gold) 50

No. 9 seed (Mater Christi Gold) 40, No. 8 seed (Averill Park) 30

No. 10 seed (Mater Christi Green) 52, No. 7 seed (Guilderland YMCA) 49

No. 12 seed (St. John’s Valatie) 43, No. 5 seed (Clifton Park Spartans) 36

.

NIT TOURNAMENT

QUARTER FINALS

SUNDAY, FEB. 17
No. 1 seed (Clifton Park YMCA) 79, No. 9 seed (Mater Christi Gold) 45

No. 2 seed (Glenville YMCA) 42, No. 10 seed (Mater Christi Green) 36

No. 6 seed (Albany JCC) 80, No. 3 seed (Rotterdam Storm) 55

No. 12 seed (St. John’s Valatie) 59, No. 4 seed (Stillwater Rebels) 54  

 

NIT TOURNAMENT

SEMIFINALS

SATURDAY, FEB. 23

No. 1 seed (Clifton Park YMCA) 74, No. 12 seed (St. John's Valatie) 73 

No. 2 seed (Glenville YMCA) 62, No. 6 seed (Albany JCC) 58

 

 

CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHP GAME

NIT TOURNAMENT

SUNDAY, FEB. 24

No. 1 seed (Clifton Park YMCA) 67, No. 2 seed (Glenville YMCA) 63 (2OT)

Divisional winners will face plenty of competition come playoff time as rest of the league tries to deny them a spot in title game

St. Paul’s and East Greenbush C, who both recently wrapped up their respective divisional titles and the No. 1 seed for the playoffs, would appear, at least on paper, as being the odds on favorites to meet in the championship game of the Capital District 11-12 Senior League on Monday, Feb. 27.

That said, taking into consideration the fact that the league has been extremely competitive all season long in both divisions, being the so-called odds on favorite is worth about the paper it is written on.

At least 10 teams in the 16-team league can legitimately make a case that they could win it all or at least advance to the championship game. Their cases can be made and bolstered simply by the fact that each and every one of them has a winning record in this year’s league where close games, win or lose, have been the norm.

Your can’t even count out the Troy CYO Storm, the Guilderland YMCA, the Clifton Park Tropics or Albany JCC, the other four teams that don’t have winning records. Upsets have happened in the past, and post-season tournaments have been known to bring out the best in underdogs.

For the record, the two other remaining teams in the league, LaSalle and St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa, have opted not to take part in the playoffs.

St. Paul’s finished up with a league-best 16-2 record

St. Paul’s would seem to be more of a favorite than East Greenbush C to get to the championship game having won the North Division with an impressive 16-2 record. However, the North Division would appear to be the stronger of the two divisions, overall from top to bottom, and St. Paul’s will have to fight its way through the playoffs as there are five other teams just in the North Division with winning records that won’t go down to defeat without a struggle.

St. Paul’s is battle-tested, having won 11 in a row this season before a recent loss to Mater Christi on a three-point buzzer beater shot. The only other loss St. Paul’s has suffered came early in the season when the Troy CYO Thunder found a way to defeat St. Paul’s. St. Paul’s returned that favor, easily defeating the Troy CYO Thunder the second time the two teams met.

The Troy CYO Thunder is currently second in the North Division standings with a solid 12-4 mark to date with two league games remaining, one Friday at the Clifton Park YMCA, and a pivotal Saturday meeting with the Clifton Park Hoop Dawgz. The Thunder needs at least one win in those two league games to wrap up second place in the division.

During the season, the Thunder lost only in the division to Mater Christi (twice), St. Paul’s and the Clifton Park Hoop Dawgz. Impressively, the Thunder swept the top three teams in the South Division, beating South Division champion East Greenbush C, the Clifton Park Orange and the Clifton Park Cardinals in cross over games.

The previously mentioned Clifton Park Hoop Dawgz are in third place in the North Division with an 11-6 mark. The team still has a shot at catching the Troy CYO Thunder for third place should the Troy CYO Thunder lose to the Clifton Park YMCA and then the Hoop Dawgz knock off the Thunder on Saturday.

Mater Christi is in fourth place in the North Division at 10-7 and is certainly one of those teams capable of keeping St. Paul’s from advancing in the playoffs. Mater Christi has been a giant killer of late as witnessed by recent wins over the Troy CYO Thunder (twice), the Hoop Dawgz and St. Paul’s.

Mater Christi was 5-7 at one point in the season before ripping off five straight victories. Mater Christi has one game vs. the Clifton Park Tropics remaining on the schedule.

The Troy YMCA Trojians, who almost knocked off St. Paul’s on Thursday night in their regular-season finale, finished in fifth place at 10-8. The Trojians had won five of their last seven games in impressive fashion prior to Thursday night’s 71-67 loss to St. Paul’s.

The Clifton Park YMCA is another team capable of posting an upset win in the playoffs. The Clifton Park YMCA was as hot as any team in the league in the middle of the season, winning seven straight before falling off a bit and losing its last three to settle in at 9-8 with one game left against the Thunder.

The Clifton Park Tropics, who moved up into the Capital District 11-12 Senior League after the season started, are next in the North Division at 5-12, but four of those losses were inherited by the team when it took over a spot in the league from a team that dropped out. The Tropics are actually 5-8 in league play.

East Greenbush faces plenty of competition from two Clifton Park teams

Over in the South Division, the balance in the division is at the top where the first four teams have winning records. East Greenbush C, which has one game remaining against St. John’s Valatie, is 13-4 and has already won the division by virtue of having the tiebreaker over the second-place Clifton Park Orange.

East Greenbush won its first eight games to start the season, and then lost four of five before getting back on track to win its last four.
Despite being hot of late, East Greenbush will get plenty of competition from the rest of the division in the post-season playoffs.

Clifton Park Orange, 12-5 and currently in second place, and the third-place (11-6) Clifton Park Cardinals are both capable of knocking East Greenbush off. Ironically, CP Orange and the CP Cardinals meet head on Saturday to decide who finishes second and third in the division.

Clifton Park Orange and the Clifton Park Cardinals have both been hot of late, gearing up for the playoffs and a shot at East Greenbush C by posting impressive win streaks. CP Orange got off to only a 5-4 start but has since won seven of its last eight. Much the same, the CP Cardinals were only 6-5 at one point, but have since claimed victory in five of its last six outings.

Next in line is St. John’s Valatie, in fourth place in the South Division with a 9-8 record. Valatie has one league game remaining and it is potentially a big one as Valatie hosts East Greenbush in a rare home game on Saturday at Ichabod Crane High School. A win by Valatie, especially over the division champion, could signal Valatie is ready to make some serious noise in the post-season playoffs.

The rest of the South Division teams have struggled at times while at other times during the season have played as if they deserved to be at or near the top of the division.

The Troy CYO Storm is 6-11 and in fifth place, followed closely by the Guilderland YMCA (5-12), Albany JCC (6-12) and LaSalle (3-15).

 

SUNDAY, DEC. 16

STILLWATER REBELS 59, GLENVILLE YMCA 55 (OT)
Stillwater Rebels: Dan Benoit -- 19 points; David Giallonardo -- 17 points; Johnny Danison -- 15 points.
Glenville YMCA: Greg Rumney -- 19 points; Mitch Forshay -- 16 points; Dave Renko -- 7 assists and 3 steals.

TROY YMCA TROJANS 64, ST. JOHN'S VALATIE 25
Troy YMCA Trojans: Jah-Siere Graham -- 15 points; Jaywuan Conyers -- 12 points; Xavier Prater and Desmond Wilson -- 11 points each.
St. John's Valatie: Travis Burke -- 7 points; Luke Vanalstyne -- 6 points.

CLIFTON PARK SQUAD 65, EAST GREENBUSH GOLD 42
Clifton Park Squad: Nikhit Bhatia -- 20 pointsl Matt Konarski -- 11 rebounds.
East Greenbush Gold: Nick Cashman -- 11 points.

TROY CYO LIGHTNING 82, CLIFTON PARK SQUAD 38
Troy CYO Lightning: Mike Yamin -- 18 points; Jallah Jackson and Khalif Coleman -- 16 points; Dominick Banks -- 10 points.

ALBANY JCC 68, GUILDERLAND YMCA 54
Guilderland YMCA: Andrew Kemp -- 31 points.

CLIFTON PARK BOMB SQUAD 59, EAST GREENBUSH GREEN 56
Clifton Park Bomb Squad: Dillon Tocco -- 18 points; Dylan Mulvihill -- 16 points.
East Greenbush Green: Zack Kits -- 12 points.

ST. PAUL'S 74, LASALLE WHITE 35
LaSalle White: Mark Uhlig -- 13 points.

CLIFTON PARK YMCA 63, LASALLE BLUE 46
LaSalle Blue: Justin Sportman -- 11 points.

SATURDAY, DEC. 15

ST. PAUL'S 52, ST. JOHN'S VALATIE 44
St. John's Valatie: Luke Vanalstyne -- 15 points; Wally Werner -- 11 points.

CLIFTON PARK SQUAD 70, AVERILL PARK 40
Clifton Park Squad: D.J. Edick -- 12 points; Nikhit Bhatia -- 11 points; Matt Konarski -- 7 rebounds.

CLIFTON PARK BOMB SQUAD 54, LASALLE WHITE 40
Clifton Park Bomb Squad: Dillon Tocco -- 16 points; Brian Guiry and Mike Bucca -- 11 rebounds each.
LaSalle White: C. Apicella -- 18 points.

TROY CYO LIGHTNING 85, EAST GREENBUSH GOLD 45
Troy CYO Lightning; Jallah Jackson -- 20 points; Mike Yamin -- 19 points.
East Greenbush: Nick Cashman -- 14 points.

GLENVILLE YMCA 62, CLIFTON PARK YMCA 52
Glenville YMCA: Greg Rumney -- 22 points; Aiden Burns -- 19 points.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 12

TROY YMCA TROJANS 74, LASALLE WHITE 39
Troy YMCA Trojans: Jah-Siere Graham -- 14 points; Jaywuan Conyers -- 13 points.
LaSalle White: Mark Uhlig -- 11 points.

TUESDAY, DEC. 11

CLIFTON PARK YMCA 84, CLIFTON PARK SQUAD 81
Clifton Park YMCA: Jordan Kirkem -- 43 points; Javier Delmasi -- 23 points.
Clifton Park Squad: Matt Konarski -- 19 points.

GLENVILLE YMCA 62, MATER CHRISTI 52
Glenville YMCA: Mitch Forshay -- 24 points; Greg Rumney -- 14 points.

SUNDAY, DEC. 9

MATER CHRISTI GREEN 48, GUILDERLAND YMCA 41
Guilderland YMCA: Andrew Kemp -- 20 points; Erick Sarrion -- 7 points.

CLIFTON PARK BOMB SQUAD 50, ST. PAUL'S 37
Clifton Park Bomb Squad: Dylan Mulvihill -- 26 points; Ryan Hare -- 8 points and 11 rebounds.

EAST GREENBUSH GOLD 55, CLIFTON PARK SPARTANS 50
East Greenbush Gold: Nick Cashman -- 21 points.
Clifton Park Spartans: Kyle Glasheen -- 8 points; Michael Champagne -- 7 points.

ALBANY JCC 56, EAST GREENBUSH 50 (OT)
Albany JCC: Paris Williams -- 19 points; Trey Thomas -- 17 points; Tim Rooney -- 15 points.

TROY CYO LIGHTNING 72, LASALLE BLUE 41
Troy CYO Lightning: Khalif Colenan -- 19 points; Jallah Jackson -- 18 points; Mike Yamin -- 17 points.
LaSalle Blue: Jack Masseroni -- 14 points.

AVERILL PARK 74, CLIFTON PARK YMCA 73
Averill Park: Cody Martucci -- 27 points.

STILLWATER 63, MATER CHRISTI GOLD 41
Stillwater: David Giallonando -- 20 points; Alex Stewart -- 13 points.

CLIFTON PARK SQUAD 67, GLENVILLE YMCA 24
Clifton Park Squad: D.J. Edick -- 12 points; Nilchix Bhatia and Corey Acker -- 11 points each.

ST. JOHN'S VALATIE 53, ROTTERDAM 52
St. John's Valatie: Travis Burke -- 25 points; Wally Werner -- 13 points; Austin Hover -- 8 points.

SATURDAY, DEC. 8

ALBANY JCC 51, ST. JOHN'S VALATIE 41
St. John's Valatie: Travis Burke -- 16 points; Wally Werner -- 15 points; Austin Hover -- 6 points.

TROY CYO LIGHTNING 69, AVERILL PARK 44
Troy CYO Lightning: Mike Yamin -- 21 points; Jallah Jackson -- 20 points.

EAST GREENBUSH GOLD 51, STILLWATER 40
Stillwater: David Giallonando -- 16 points; Johnny Danison -- 14 points; Andrew Travis -- 12 rebounds.

ROTTERDAM STORM 61, EAST GREENBUSH GREEN 60
Rotterdam Storm: Jim Hamilton -- 24 points; Greg Musk -- 9 points; Tyler Mattick -- 8 points.

 

League’s cross over games producing some of the most competitive matchups of the season

It’s mid-season showdown time in the Capital District 11-12 Senior Basketball League as the two divisional leaders meet head on Sunday, Jan. 22. The game between North Division leader St. Paul’s and South Division leader East Greenbush C with be played at Shen High School East at 7:20 p.m.
The game is one of a slew of cross over games between the North and South divisions that has produced some of the most competitive games of the season in the Capital District 11-12 Senior League.

Under the cross over set up, the top four teams in the North cross over and play the top four teams in the South Division during a four-week period. The same format holds true for the bottom four teams in the North crossing over to play the bottom four teams in the South.

Cream has risen to the top in both the North and South divisions

Clearly Sunday’s matchup between St. Paul’s and East Greenbush C is a case of the cream rising to the top so far in the two divisions of the 16-team league for the 2011-12 campaign.

With machine-like precision, St. Paul’s has risen to the top in the North Division and now sports the league’s best record (going into weekend play), with a 9-1 mark.

St. Paul’s broke out of the gate quickly by winning four straight, then stumbled once and lost to the Troy CYO Thunder in a game that went down to the wire. Since then, it has been all positive for St. Paul’s as the team has won five in a row (including a three-game sweep of the three 11-12 Clifton Park teams) to produce its 9-1 record.

On Saturday, St. Paul’s takes on the Troy CYO Storm at Russell Sage College Robison Gym in an interesting cross over contest before its showdown meeting with East Greenbush C on Sunday.

One-point loss only blemish on East Greenbush C’s record

East Greenbush C has muscled its way to the top in the South Division and owns an 8-1 mark and a three-game cushion in the standings over its nearest competitor in the divisional race.

East Greenbush racked up eight straight wins before losing by a point to the Clifton Park Hoop Dawgz in a rousing affair at Shen High School East in another one of the league’s better cross over matchups.

East Greenbush C takes on a talented Troy CYO Thunder team in yet another key cross over game on Saturday prior to its Sunday showdown meeting with St. Paul’s.

Behind East Greenbush in the South Division race is a tightly bunched group of teams. St. John’s Valatie, winners of two straight, holds down second place going into this weekend’s action with a 6-4 mark. The Clifton Park Cardinals and Clifton Park Orange are also right there in the mix, tied for third place with 5-4 records. Next up is the Troy CYO Storm at 4-5, followed by the Guilderland YMCA, Albany JCC and LaSalle.

Over in the North Division race, St. Paul’s may be on top, but there are two teams right on the club’s heels. The Troy CYO Thunder at 7-2 and the Clifton Park Hoop Dawgz at 7-3 are licking their chops waiting to take advantage if St. Paul’s should falter. Mater Christi and the Troy YMCA are next in line, tied for fourth place with identical 5-4 records. Surging Clifton Park YMCA, winners of four in a row, is next with 5-5 mark followed by the Clifton Park Tropics, which has won two of its last three, and St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa.

Area Senior Leagues looking to expand, build off of 2010-2011 season that saw 31 teams take part

The Albany/Troy 9-10 Senior League, the Schenectady 9-10 Senior League and the Capital District 11-12 Senior League provide players who have graduated from CYO programs or any other Capital District Region youth basketball league but are not participating with their respective high school teams an opportunity to continue their hoop careers in a healthy, competitive atmosphere.

During the 2010-2011 season there were 10 teams in the Albany/Troy 9-10 Senior League, nine teams in the Schenectady 9-10 Senior League and 12 teams in the Capital District 11-12 Senior League.

The majority of games in the league are played on weekends on some of the very same gym floors that high school freshmen, JV and varsity teams compete on. League entry fees are determined by the number of teams in each league and the number of games that are scheduled.

Last year, St. Paul’s of Schenectady put together a perfect 19-0 season to win the Schenectady 9-10 Senior League regular season title. St. Paul’s also was crowned the league’s post-season champion, beating St. Helen’s of Niskayuna in the championship game that was played at Shen High School East.

Other teams that took part in that league during the 2010-2011 campaign were two teams from St. Gabriel’s of Rotterdam, two teams from St. Clare’s in Colonie, IC Glenville of Scotia, Guilderland and Our Lady Queen of Peace of Rotterdam.
Over in the Albany/Troy 9-10 Senior Basketball League, the regular-season title was won by Clifton Park Orange which put together a solid 15-3 record. Clifton Park Orange also won the post-season tournament in the Upper Division playoffs, beating out Troy CYO, the Schenectady Basketball Club and Clifton Park Black.

The rest of the league was broken up into two divisions for the post-season play. Albany JCC took home top honors in the Independent Division, beating out St. Catherine’s #2 and Christ The King of Guilderland. In the Lower Division playoffs, St. Catherine’s #1 won out over East Greenbush and Averill Park.

In the Capital District 11-12 Senior Basketball League, Clifton Park #1 and Clifton Park #2 finished first in the North and South Divisions, respectively, during the regular season. But both fell by the way side during the playoffs as Troy CYO #1 prevailed to take home the post-season tournament trophy.

Other teams that took part in the Capital District 11-12 Senior League were Albany JCC, St. John ‘s Valatie, Troy CYO #2, St, Mary’s of Ballston Spa, the Schenectady Basketball Club, The Clifton Park YMCA, St. Paul’s of Schenectady and East Greenbush #1 and East Greenbush #2.

Leagues for the 2011-2012 season will officially form as soon as possible after high school basketball tryouts have concluded in early November. The Senior League season begins in early December and ends in February. The season includes a mid-season tournament and playoffs.

Interested teams or perspective coaches should email Fuzzyjim111@aol.com or contact Senior League Commissioner Jim Fazzone at 281-0809 for more information about joining a Senior League. Informational meetings will be held at the Troy CYO Center and at St. Gabriel’s in Rotterdam in early November. Anyone interested in any of the leagues can also visit the following league web sites:
http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=albtroy
http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=schenectady
http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=cap

NORTH DIVISION
TEAM…………………… ….W……L……..Pct.
Clifton Park Hoop Dawgz….…0...….0………000
Troy CYO Thunder……………0……0………000
St. Paul’s………………………0……0……....000
Troy YMCA……………….….0.……0………000
Clifton Park YMCA ……..……0.……0……...000
St. Mary’s Ballston Spa.………0……0………000
East Greenbush D……………..0……0……....000
Mater Christi………………… ..0……0……....000

SOUTH DIVISION
TEAM…………………… ….W……L……..Pct.
Clifton Park Orange………..…0...….0……..000
Clifton Park Cardinals…….…..0……0….….000
Troy CYO Storm……………...0……0….…..000
Guilderland YMCA.……….….0……0..........000
East Greenbush C..……………0……0……...000
St, John’s Valatie….….………0……0………000
Albany JCC…….……..………0……0….......000
LaSalle………………….…… 0……0….......000
.
Thursday, Dec. 8
Albany JCC vs. Troy CYO Storm at Albany JCC, 8:40 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 10
Troy CYO Thunder vs. Troy YMCA at Russell Sage College Robison Gym Sage, 8:50 p.m.
Clifton Park Cardinals vs. St. John’s Valatie at Spa Catholic, 6:00 p.m.
Clifton Park Hoop Dawgz vs. St. Paul’s at Spa Catholic, 7:15 p.m.
St. Mary’s Ballston Spa vs. Mater Christi at Spa Catholic, 8:30 p.m.
Clifton Park Orange vs. LaSalle at LaSalle, 11:30 a.m.
East Greenbush C vs. Guilderland YMCA at LaSalle, 2:00 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 11
East Greenbush D vs. St. Paul’s at Stillwater Community Center, 5:10 p.m.
Troy CYO Storm vs. St. John’s Valatie at Stillwater Community Center, 6:20 p.m
Clifton Park YMCA vs. Troy YMCA at Spa Catholic, 6:00 p.m.
Troy CYO Thunder vs. St. Mary’s Ballston Spa at Spa Catholic, 7:15 p.m.
Clifton Park Orange vs. East Greenbush C at Shen High School East, 6:15 p.m.
Clifton Park Hoop Dawgz vs. Mater Christi at Shen High School East, 7:30 p.m.
Albany JCC vs. Clifton Park Cardinals at Shen High School East East, 8:45 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 12
Clifton Park YMCA vs. East Greenbush D at Clifton Park YMCA, 7:45 p.m.
LaSalle vs. Guilderland YMCA at Guilderland YMCA, 8:15 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 17
Clifton Park Hoop Dawgz vs. Clifton Park YMCA at Clifton Park YMCA, 5:00 p.m.
East Greenbush C vs. Clifton Park Cardinals at Russell Sage College Robison Gym, 4:10 p.m.
Troy CYO Storm vs. LaSalle at Russell Sage College Robison, 7:40 p.m.
East Greenbush D vs. Troy CYO Thunder at Russell Sage College Robison Gym, 8:50 p.m.
Albany JCC vs. Clifton Park Orange at Spa Catholic, 7:15 p.m.
St. Paul’s vs. St. Mary’s Ballston Spa at Spa Catholic, 8:30 p.m.
Mater Christi vs. Troy YMCA, time, site to be announced.

Sunday, Dec. 18
St. Paul’s vs. Mater Christi at Albany JCC, 2:15 p.m.
Clifton Park YMCA vs. Troy CYO Thunder at Stillwater Community Center, 5:10 p.m.
LaSalle vs. East Greenbush C at Stillwater Community Center, 6:20 p.m.
East Greenbush D vs. Clifton Park Hoop Dawgz at Spa Catholic, 6:00 p.m.
Troy YMCA vs. St. Mary’s Ballston Spa at Spa Catholic, 7:15 p.m.
St. John’s Valatie vs. Albany JCC at Algonquin Middle School, 6:15 p.m.
Clifton Park Cardinals vs. Troy CYO Storm at Shen High School East, 8:45 p.m.
Guilderland YMCA vs. Clifton Park Orange at Shen High School East, 6:15 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 19
Guilderland YMCA vs. St. John’s Valatie at Guilderland YMCA, 8:15 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 22
St. Mary’s Ballston Spa vs. East Greenbush D at Albany JCC, 7:15 \p.m.
East Greenbush C vs. Albany JCC at Albany JCC, 8:30 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 26
Troy CYO Thunder vs. St. Paul’s at Guilderland YMCA, 7:00 p.m.
Clifton Park Cardinals vs. Guilderland YMCA at Guilerland YMCA, 8:15 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 28
Mater Christi vs. Clifton Park YMCA at Clifton Park YMCA, 7:45 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 29
St. John’s Valatie vs. LaSalle at Albany JCC, 7:15 p.m.
Clifton Park Orange vs. Troy CYO Storm at Albany JCC 8:30 p.m.

Top-seeded Clifton Park #1 cruises past EG #1; Troy CYO #2 squeezes past Schenectady Basketball Club in OT

Saving its biggest effort of the campaign for when it needed it the most, Albany JCC pulled off the shocker of the 2010-2011 season as it stunned top-seeded Clifton Park #2, and sent the team with the league’s best regular-season record home early in the divisional semifinals of the Capital District 11-12 Senior Basketball League playoffs that were played Sunday night at Shen High School East.

With its surprising seven-point victory, Albany JCC advanced to Saturday’s divisional championship games as did three other teams. JCC moved on to the South Division title game along with Troy CYO #1. Troy CYO #1 upended St. Paul’s Sunday night, winning 55-50. Over in the North Division semifinals, Clifton Park #1 rolled past East Greenbush #1, 46-21, and Troy CYO #2 surprised the Schenectady Basketball Club, surviving a buzzer-beating half-court desperation shot in regulation before winning an overtime thriller, 66-64.

It was a case of March Madness rearing its head in mid-February as Albany JCC pulled off its stunning upset that no one would have predicted with even a shred of confidence.

JCC, which won only four games during the regular season and had to register a hard-fought 67-58 first-round upset of higher-seeded East Greenbush #1 on Saturday night just to earn the right to be on the same court with Clifton Park #2, simply outplayed their opponents, plain and simple.

And Albany JCC made key foul shot after key foul shot down the stretch to put the finishing touches on one of the most unlikely upsets in league playoff history.

Clifton Park #2, seeded No. 1 in the South Division, came into the game with the league’s best record having won 15 of 16 regular-season games. The team’s only loss of the season came at the hands of arch-rival Clifton Park #1 back on Jan. 23 when CP #2 dropped a six-point decision, 53-47, to CP #1.

Sandwiched around that lone loss were an impressive nine-game winning streak that started the season and another solid six-game winning run that closed out the regular season. Included in those two winning streaks were a 75-62 victory over JCC on Dec. 9 and an easy 75-52 win by CP #2 over JCC on Jan. 27.

But those two wins quickly became a fleeting memory on Sunday night as JCC was bent on making playoff history with its stunning upset.

JCC, the tournament’s No. 5 seed in the South Division, grew more and more confident as the game continued and it found itself right in the thick of things with CP #2 as the game entered its final stretch. Albany JCC then kept its poise in the hectic final minutes of the game making key foul shots to close the deal while earning the right to play for the South Division title.

The victory upped Albany JCC’s record to 7-11. With the disappointing defeat, Clifton Park #2 ended its season at 15-2.

Troy CYO #1 proves to be too much for St. Paul’s to handle

Albany JCC now finds itself unexpectedly in the South Division championship game where it will take on Troy CYO #1. Troy CYO #1 out-battled St. Paul’s, 55-50, to advance. Troy CYO #1 and St. Paul’s concluded the regular season tied for second place behind Clifton Park #2 in the South Division with identical 11-5 records.

Sunday night’s game between the two clubs was almost a carbon-copy replay of their two regular-season meetings that saw the two teams fight toe to toe with each team winning once.

Troy CYO #1 is now 12-5.

St. Paul’s, which defeated St. John’s Valatie, 50-37, in a first-round playoff game on Saturday to reach Sunday’s divisional semifinals, ended its season at 12-6.

Over in the North Division, top-seeded Clifton Park #1 had little problem moving on to Saturday’s championship game as it rolled past East Greenbush #1. CP #1, which won the North Division regular-season title with a 13-3 mark, stifled the losers in the second half with some stingy defense that kept EG #1 off the scoreboard for long periods of time on the way to registering the victory.

CP #1 is now 14-3 on the season.

East Greenbush #1, the No. 4 seed in the North Division, won its way into Sunday night’s game with Clifton Park #1 by posting a 50-42 win over St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa on Saturday. The win and subsequent loss left East Greenbush #1 win at 8-10 on the season.

See-saw battle between Troy CYO #2, Schenectady Basketball Club decided in OT

In Sunday’s fourth and final semifinal divisional game, Troy CYO #2 and the Schenectady Basketball Club hooked up in a classic post-season tournament battle. Troy CYO #2 seemingly had things locked up at the end
of regulation in the see-saw battle as it held a 57-54 advantage, but watched in disbelief as SBC tossed in a half-court three-pointer as the horn sounded to send the North Division semifinal into overtime.

Somehow, Troy CYO #2 regrouped and carved out a 66-64 victory in OT to advance to Saturday’s North Division title game. Troy CYO #2, the No. 3 seed in the North Division, got to Sunday’s game by out-gunning Clifton Park YMCA, 84-62, in Saturday’s first-round playoff action. The two wins upped Troy CYO #2 to 11-7.

The Schenectady Basketball Club, which had beaten Troy CYO #2 twice during the regular season and came in as the No. 2 seed in the North Division, finished the campaign at 10-7.

Troy CYO #2 and Clifton Park #1 will square off for the North Division championship on Saturday, Feb. 26, at Russell Sage College Robison Gym in downtown Troy at 10:20 a.m. Upstart Albany JCC and Troy CYO #1 will play for the South Division championship on Saturday at Albany JCC at 7:00 p.m.

The two survivors of Saturday’s divisional championship games will move on to play for the Capital District 11-12 Senior Basketball League championship on Sunday, Feb. 27, at Shen High School East at 7:30 p.m.

Troy CYO #2, EG #1, St. Paul’s all advance; Albany JCC pulls off only surprise when it upsets EG #2

Form held true in three of four games in the first round of Saturday’s Capital District 11-12 Senior Basketball League playoffs.

Troy CYO #2, the No. 3 seed, and East Greenbush #1, the No. 4 seed, took home hard-fought victories in the first round of the North Division playoffs. Over in the South Division, No. 3 seed St. Paul’s survived but No. 4 seed East Greenbush #2 did not as No. 5 seed Albany JCC pulled off the only upset of the first round.

Troy CYO #2 and Clifton Park YMCA, the No. 6 seed in the North Division, slugged it out in the first half of their game. Troy CYO #2 held only a 42-36 lead at the half as Clifton Park YMCA stayed close the strength of a number of long three-pointers. In the second half, Troy’s up tempo took control and the winners gradually pulled away to a double-digit lead and ended up winning, 84-62.

The victory improved Troy CYO #2 to 10-7 on the season and earns the team the right to take on the Schenectady Basketball Club, the No. 2 seed in the North Division, on Sunday at Shen High School East at 8:45 p.m. Schenectady, which won two close, hotly contested regular-season meetings with Troy CYO #2, comes into the game with a 10-6 mark.

Clifton Park YMCA ended the campaign with a 4-13 record.

No. 5 seed St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa made things uncomfortable for East Greenbush #1 in the other North Division first-round playoff game. But in the end, EG #1 out-fought the losers and came away with a 50-42 victory.

East Greenbush #1 is now 8-9 on the year and advances to play Clifton Park #1, the regular-season North Division champion, on Sunday at Shen High School East at 7:30 p.m. CP #1, which swept both regular-season meetings with EG #1, comes into that contest with a 13-3 record.

St. Mary’s Ballston Spa ended the season at 4-13.

St. John's Valatie, Albany JCC both were gunning for uspets

In the South Division, upset-minded St. John’s Valatie, which won only one game during the regular season, played like champions in the first half of its first-round playoff game with St. Paul’s. The No. 6 seed St. John’s Valatie even led by as many as five in the first half before St. Paul’s carved out a three-point halftime advantage.

But in the second half, some tough defense and some easy transition baskets were too much for St. John’s Valatie to overcome as St. Paul’s came away with a 50-37 victory.

The win improves St. Paul’s to 12-5 on the season and sends the club into a Sunday showdown with Troy CYO #1, the No.2 seed in the South Division. That game will be played at Shen High School East at 6:15 p.m. St. Paul’s and Troy CYO #1 finished tied for second in the South Division with 11-5 records during the regular season. In the two meetings between the two teams, St. Paul’s won by seven the first time around and Troy CYO #1`was victorious by eight the second time the two teams clashed.

In the other first-round South Division game, No. 5 seed Albany JCC kept its composure down the stretch and upset No. 4 seed East Greenbush #2, 68-57.

The two traded baskets for much of the grueling game until JCC pulled away in the game’s final five minutes. JCC also assured itself of its upset win by making a number of late foul shots when it counted the most.

Albany JCC, now 6-11 on the season, moves on to face Clifton Park #2, the South Division regular-season champion. Clifton Park #2 not only won the South Division in impressive fashion, but posted the league’s best record with an impressive 15-1 mark that included a pair of regular-season wins over JCC. The team’s only loss came at the hands of arch-rival Clifton Park #1.

East Greenbush #2 closed out the campaign with a 6-11 record.

NORTH DIVISION
Teams……………………………… W……L…. Pct.
xy-Clifton Park #1……………………13…….3……813
y-Schenectady Basketball Club………10…….6….…625
Troy CYO #2……………………..…9…….7……563
East Greenbush #1……………..……7…….9……438
St. Mary's Ballston Spa……….…..…4...…12……250
Clifton Park YMCA…………………4……12……250
SOUTH DIVISION
Teams……………………………… W……L…. Pct.
xy-Clifton Park #2………………….15…….1.….938
y-Troy CYO #1…………………… 11….…5..….688
St. Paul's………………………….…11……5……688
East Greenbush #2………………..…6……10……375
Albany JCC…………………………5……11……313
St. John's Valatie……………………1……15……063
x-Clinched divisional title
y-Clinched first round playoff bye


SATURDAY, FEB. 19
FIRST ROUND PLAYOFFS
NORTH DIVISION
No. 1 Seed (Clifton Park #1) receives a bye
No. 2 Seed (Schenectady Basketball Club) receives a bye
No. 3 Seed (Troy CYO #2) 84, No. 6 Seed (Clifton Park YMCA) 62
No. 4 Seed (East Greenbush #1) 50, No. 5 Seed (St. Mary’s Ballston Spa) 42

SOUTH DIVISION
No. 1 seed (Clifton Park #2) receives a bye
No. 2 seed (Troy CYO #1) receives a bye
No. 3 seed (St. Paul’s) 50, No. 6 seed (St. John’s Valatie) 37
No. 5 seed (Albany JCC) 67, No. 4 seed (East Greenbush #2) 58

SUNDAY, FEB. 20
SECOND ROUND PLAYOFFS
NORTH DIVISION
No. 1 seed (Clifton Park #1) 46, No. 4 (East Greenbush #1) 21
No. 3 seed (Troy CYO #2) 66, No. 2 seed (Schenectady Basketball Club) 64 (OT)
SOUTH DIVISION
No. 5 seed (Albany JCC) defeated No. 1 seed (Clifton Park #2)
No. 2 seed (Troy CYO #1) 55, No. 3 (St. Paul’s) 50

SATURDAY, FEB. 26
NORTH DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 1 seed (Clifton Park #1) 43, No. 3 seed (Troy CYO #2) 40
SOUTH DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 2 seed (Troy CYO #1) 78, No. 5 seed (Albany JCC) 47

SUNDAY, FEB. 27
CAPITAL DISTRICT 11-12 SENIOR LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
South Division champion (Troy CYO #1)51, North Division champion (Clifton Park #1) 50

Clifton Park #1 prepares to run its offense against Clifton Park #2 in Sunday's Capital District 11-12 Senior Basketball League championship game that was played at Shen High School East. Clifton Park #2 defeated Clifton Park #1 to win the league championship.

The remaining four top seeds in the Capital District 11-12 Senior Basketball League post-season tournament all advanced with semifinal wins Thursday night. For two of the teams, reaching their respective divisional championship games came in relatively easy wins. For the other two clubs, the road to Saturday’s title games was a bit more difficult to travel to say the least.

In the North Division semifinals played Thursday night at the Glenville YMCA, top-seeded and undefeated Clifton Park #1 had an easy time of it, running out to a 15-0 lead in defeating an undermanned Troy CYO Storm.

The victory propelled 17-0 CP #1 into Saturday morning’s North Division championship game that will be played at the Clifton Park YMCA at 11:15 a.m. Clifton Park #1 will take on St. Paul’s.

Carter Roche led the way for Clifton Park #1 with nine points. Taylor Henderson added 8.

The Troy CYO Storm, the No. 4-seeded team in the North Division, finished its season at 8-10.

In the other North Division semifinal-round game played at the Glenville YMCA, No. 2-seeded St. Paul’s found itself in another epic battle with the Glenville YMCA. Just two weeks ago, the two teams hooked up in the second of their two regular-season meetings with the Glenville YMCA prevailing in overtime.

This time, it was St. Paul’s who prevailed in overtime, winning 62-57. The victory upped St. Paul’s record to 11-6. The Glenville YMCA, the No. 3-seeded team in the playoffs, saw its five-game winning streak end with the loss. Glenville concluded its campaign with a 10-8 record.

Albany JCC, East Greenbush fall to CP #2, Troy CYO Thunder

Over in the South Division semifinals that were played Thursday night at Albany JCC, No. 2-seeded Clifton Park #2 had an easy time of it, posting a double-digit win over host Albany JCC. In the other South Division semifinal, top-seeded Troy CYO Thunder made it difficult on itself, missing 22 of 40 foul shots in its game with East Greenbush. Still, the Thunder had just enough to hold off East Greenbush and advance with a 55-49 win to Saturday night’s championship game.

Jeff Bonilla led the way for the Thunder with 15 points. Jedi Lind chipped in with 10 points.

The win by the Thunder was the team’s 11th straight and gives the club a 16-1 record. The Thunder and Clifton Park #2 advance to the South Division championship game that will be played Saturday night at Spa Catholic at 7:30 p.m. CP #2 goes into that game with a 13-4 record.

Albany JCC, the No. 3 seed in the South Division, ended up 11-7 on the year. East Greenbush, the No. 4 seed, finished the season at 8-9.

PLAYOFF POINTS TO PONDER – Clifton Park #1 and the Troy CYO Thunder will be favored, at least on paper, to advance to Sunday night’s Capital District 11-12 Senior Basketball League championship game that will be played at Shen High School East. But by no means are CP #1 and the Thunder “locks” to advance. St. Paul’s made a huge competitive leap when it lost to CP #1 on Feb. 14 by a score of 54-46. Back in December, St. Paul’s lost by 36 to the same team. As for CP #2, its two games with the Thunder have been extremely competitive with CP# 2 losing, 46-40, and 40-36 during the regular season. … What more can you say about the St. Paul’s vs. Glenville YMCA match up this season -- two overtime games, each winning one, and a third contest between the two teams that was decided by just 10 points in the favor of St. Paul’s. … With 11 wins in a row, the Troy CYO Thunder has now put up an impressive 16-1 record. The lone loss came way back on Jan. 17 to the team the Thunder would love to get another shot at in the Capital District 11-12 Senior Basketball League championship game, none other than Clifton Park #1. The score of that one was 45-38 in CP #1’s favor. .. The Glenville YMCA, the Troy CYO Storm, Albany JCC and East Greenbush, which all saw their seasons end in the semifinals Thursday night, have nothing to be ashamed off. All four teams were very competitive and gave the remaining four teams in the post-season fits at times during the regular season. As an example, the Glenville YMCA lost to CP #1 by seven and the Thunder by three points. The Troy CYO Storm lost six games by six or less points and dropped a heart-breaking one-point decision to the Thunder. Four of Albany JCC’s seven losses were by nine points or less and six of East Greenbush’s nine losses were by nine points or less.

Form held true as the four higher seeded teams advanced Sunday night in the four first-round post-season playoff games played in the Capital District 11-12 Senior Basketball League.

As expected, the No. 3-seeded teams, the Glenville YMCA in the North Division and Albany JCC in the South Division, moved on to the next round with relatively easy wins over the No. 6 seeds, St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa and Colonie, respectively.

Somewhat unexpectedly, No. 4-seeded East Greenbush had a somewhat more difficult time with No. 5-seeded St. John’s Valatie in the other opening round game in the South Division but won nonetheless. Totally unexpected was the overtime duel between No. 4-seeded Troy CYO Storm and No. 5-seeded Clifton Park YMCA in the other opening round game in the North Division that was eventually won by the Storm.

The end result was that the top four teams in the North Division will square off Thursday night at the Glenville YMCA and the top four teams in the South Division will do battle Thursday night at Albany JCC.

St. Mary's of Ballston Spa throws scare into Glenville YMCA

St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa, which went into the post-season playoffs with a 2-14 record, played more like a 14-2 team in the first half of its game with the Glenville YMCA. St. Mary’s even led at times in the first half, often matching the Glenville YMCA basket for basket. At the half, Glenville held only a slim 25-22 lead.

But the second half was a different story as a three-quarter court press took its toll on St. Mary’s and allowed Glenville to gradually pull away, winning 52-37.

With the win, Glenville improves to 10-7 on the year. The team has now put together a five-game winning streak. Next up for the Glenville YMCA is a meeting with No. 2 seeded and 10-6 St. Paul’s in the North Division semifinals at the Glenville YMCA on Thursday at 8:45 p.m.

St. Mary’s, a young team that features mostly 10th graders, finished the campaign with a 2-15 mark.

Zeb Gaston's 21 points helps Troy CYO Storm survive to play again

The other North Division semifinal round game will pit No. 1-seeded and undefeated Clifton Park #1 against the Troy CYO Storm after the Storm survived with its overtime win over the Clifton Park YMCA.

The Storm and the Clifton Park YMCA slugged it out through 32 minutes of regulation before the Storm prevailed in overtime, 48-45.

Zeb Gaston poured in 21 points to pace the Troy CYO Storm attack. Kyle Lewandowski backed him with 10 points.

Vonwanye Davis, Khahlee Perry and Evan Draiss combined for 34 of the 45 points scored by the Clifton Park YMCA.

The Storm is now 8-9 on the season going into its meeting with 16-0 Clifton Park #1 on Thursday at the Glenville YMCA at 7:30 p.m.

The Clifton Park YMCA ended up 4-13 on the season.

Albany JCC, East Greenbush play well enough to advance to semifinals

Over in the South Division, Albany JCC shook off a sluggish start and got things in full gear in the second half in defeating an outmanned Colonie team, 75-31.

The win improved Albany JCC to 11-6 on the year and sent the club into the South Division semifinals where they will meet No. 2 seeded and 12-4 Clifton Park #2 on Thursday at Albany JCC at 8:15 p.m.

Colonie finished the season at 1-15.

The other South Division semifinal round game on Thursday at Albany JCC at 7:00 p.m. will have East Greenbush going up against top-seeded Troy CYO Thunder. East Greenbush advanced by holding off a pesky St. John’s Valatie team that refused to go away without a fight in Sunday’s opening round before losing by a score of 51-44.

East Greenbush goes into that semifinal round game with an 8-8 record. The Troy CYO Thunder goes in with the league’s second best record at 15-1.

St. John’s Valatie concluded its season with a 2-15 mark.

POINTS TO PONDER – Thursday night’s semifinal round action should be highly competitive to say the least. On paper, North Division regular-season champion Clifton Park #1 and South Division regular-season champion Troy CYO Thunder appear to be favored, but it wouldn’t be a total surprise if one or both got upset. Both teams had their share of close calls during the regular season, and both the Troy CYO Storm and East Greenbush, their next opponents, have played very well at times against the league’s top teams. … The safest bet in the semifinals is to call the other two semifinal-round games toss ups. In the South Division, Clifton Park #2 has beaten Albany JCC twice but both games have been extremely competitive with CP #2 prevailing, 82-77, and 53-45. In the other North Division game, St. Paul’s won the first regular-season meeting with the Glenville YMCA, 56-46, but just last week, the Glenville YMCA got revenge for that loss, beating St. Paul’s, 56-51 in overtime. … Thursday night’s four survivors will advance to their respective divisional championship games that will be played on Saturday. The North Division championship game will be hosted by the Clifton Park YMCA at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday. The South Division title game will be hosted by St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa and played at Spa Catholic High School on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The two winners clash on Sunday night at Shen High School East to decide the Capital District 11-12 Senior Basketball League championship.

Clifton Park #1 put the finishing touches on an undefeated campaign, beating the Clifton Park YMCA, 59-46, on Saturday, highlighting play on the last day of the regular season for the Capital District 11-12 Senior Basketball League.

Clifton Park #1 goes into the post-season playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the North Division with a perfect 16-0 mark. CP #1 has a first-round bye and will watch from the sidelines when the playoffs kick off on Sunday, Feb. 21, with four games at Shen High School East.

David Wixted scored 18 points and Ross Halpern netted 10 points to pace the attack for Clifton Park #1.

Vonwayne Davis kept the Clifton Park YMCA within striking distance for much of the second half with 11 points. Clifton Park YMCA concluded the regular season with a 4-12 mark.

Over in the South Division, the red-hot Troy CYO Thunder closed out its regular season in impressive fashion, beating its closest divisional rival, Clifton Park #2, on Thursday to clinch the No. 1 seed and a first-round playoff bye, and then defeating St. John’s Valatie on Saturday. In the process, the Thunder ran its current winning streak to 10 victories in a row and gave the team the league’s second best record at 15-1.

Jesse Twiss and Jedi Lind paced the Thunder attack with 12 and 10 points, respectively, in the victory over Clifton Park #2.

In the win over St. John’s Valatie, Justin Schnellbaecher led the way with 11 points for the Troy CYO Thunder.

Glenville YMCA runs winning streak to four victories in a row

Elsewhere in North Division action on the last two play dates for the league, the Glenville YMCA continued it solid play of late, surprising St. Paul’s, 56-51, in overtime on Thursday. Matt Curtin led the winners with 17 points.

Despite the loss, St. Paul’s remained in second place and is the No. 2 seed in the North Division with a 10-6 mark. St. Paul’s also will have a first-round bye.

The win by the Glenville YMCA, the team’s fourth in a row, kept the club in third place in the North Division with a 9-7 record. Glenville is seeded No. 3 in the playoffs and will meet No. 6-seeded St. Mary’s of Ballston in the first round of the post-season tournament Sunday at 5:00 p.m. at Shen High School East.

The Troy CYO Storm, which was upset by St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa on the last night of the regular season, is seeded No. 4 in the tournament with a 7-9 record. The Troy CYO Storm will take on the Clifton Park YMCA, the No. 5 seed in the playoffs, Sunday at Shen High School East at 8:45 p.m.

In other action in the South Division, Clifton Park #2 slipped past East Greenbush on the last night of the regular season, 48-39. Despite the loss to the Troy CYO Thunder on Thursday, Clifton Park #2 still has a first-round bye in the playoffs with its 12-4 record.

Albany JCC concluded its regular season on Thursday, prepping for the playoffs with a win over St. John’s Valatie. The victory upped Albany JCC’s record to 10-6 on the year. JCC will be the No. 3 seed in the South Division and will take on 1-14 Colonie, the No. 6 seed, in the first round of the playoffs on Sunday at Shen High School East at 6:15 p.m.

East Greenbush, 7-8 after losing to Clifton Park #2 in Saturday night’s regular-season finale, is seeded No 4 in the post-season tournament and take on No. 5-seeded St. John’s Valatie Sunday at Shen High School East at 7:30 p.m. With its two losses, St. John’s Valatie ended up 2-14 during the regular season.

Clifton Park #1 wrapped up the North Division title and is close to putting the finishing touches on an undefeated regular season after rolling up three more victories over the last three play dates in the Capital District 11-12 Senior Basketball League.

Clifton Park #1 defeated the Troy CYO Storm on Saturday and then played a twin bill on Sunday due to a scheduling conflict. The doubleheader didn’t seem to bother CP #1 a bit. In the first game on Sunday, Clifton Park #1 ran past St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa and then still had plenty of gas left in the tank to hold off its closest rival in the North Division, beating second-place St. Paul’s in a closely contested game.

David Wixted scored 20 points to lead Clifton Park #1 in its win over the Troy CYO Storm. Marcel Nadeau led Troy with 14 points. C.J. Kownack added 12 points and Mike Keenen had 11 points.

In the victory over St. Mary’s, Taylor Henderson scored 12 points and Ross Halpern and Will Fitzgerald had 11 each for Clifton Park #1.

In Sunday’s second game against St. Paul’s, Andrew Kalish scored seven of his 16 points in the opening moments of the second half to send Clifton Park #1 on its way to victory. Steve Loscalzo hit six key free throws in the last minute of the game to help hold off a late surge by St Paul’s. Wixted chipped in 16 for CP #1.

The three victories clinched the North Division title, the No. 1 seed in the division and a first-round playoff bye for Clifton Park #1. The wins also put the team one victory away from an undefeated regular season as the team now sports a 15-0 record. The only thing left standing in the way of a perfect regular season for Clifton Park #1 is the team’s regular-season finale, a 4:45 p.m. Saturday game with the Clifton Park YMCA that will be played on Clifton Park YMCA’s home court.

St. Paul’s clinches bye; Glenville preps for playoffs by winning twice

Despite the loss to Clifton Park #1, St. Paul’s clinched the No. 2 seed and a first-round playoff bye in the division, partly on the strength of a win over the Clifton Park YMCA on Saturday. The two-game split left St. Paul’s at 10-5 on the year.

Meanwhile, the Glenville YMCA began gearing up for the post-season playoffs and broke over the .500 mark by winning twice. Glenville squeezed past the Troy CYO Storm on Thursday and then defeated St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa on Saturday to up its record to 8-7.

Zack Carlton scored 13 points and Nate Bell collected 11 points to lead the way for Glenville in its win over the Troy CYO Storm. Anthony Ragasta had a game-high 18 points and Marcel Nadeau chipped in with 11 points for the Storm which is now 7-8 on the season.

In other North Division action, the Clifton Park YMCA defeated St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa before losing to St. Paul’s. The two-game split left the Clifton Park YMCA at 4-11 on the season, three games ahead of St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa which lost all three of its most recent outings.

Victories keep coming for Troy CYO Thunder, Clifton Park #2

Over in the South Division, the Troy CYO Thunder and second-place Clifton Park #2 kept pace with each other as both clubs won twice.

The Troy CYO Thunder trimmed St. John’s Valatie on Saturday and then held off Albany JCC on Sunday to improve to 13-1 on the season.

Jeff Bonilla tallied 14 points and Jedi Lind scored 12 points in the win over Valatie. On Sunday, Justin Schnellbaecher led the Troy Thunder attack with 15 points and Lind added 10 and center Billy Schnellbaecher blocked five shots.

Kasheem Ward led Albany JCC with nine points.

Clifton Park #2 also picked up a pair of wins, battling its way past East Greenbush and then getting credit for a forfeit win over Colonie on Sunday. The two victories kept CP #2 in second place in the division with an 11-3 record.

The best Albany JCC and East Greenbush could do over the league’s last three play dates was a split as each team won one and lost one.

Albany JCC defeated Colonie on Thursday, prior to its loss to the Troy CYO Thunder. The split left Albany JCC in third place in the division at 9-6.

East Greenbush bounced back from its lost to Clifton Park #2 by beating St. John’s Valaite on Sunday. The split left East Greenbush in fourth place in the division at 7-7.

St. John’s Valaite is next in the standings with a 2-12 mark after its two losses. Colonie follows at 1-14 after its twin defeats.

POINTS TO PONDER – The first round pairings for the upcoming post-season playoffs which begin on Sunday, Feb. 21, at Shen High School East are just about complete. Regular-season games on Thursday, Feb. 18, and Saturday, Feb. 20, will put the finishing touches on the order of seeds, but it is certain that Clifton Park #1 and St. Paul’s have first round byes in the North Division and that Troy CYO Thunder and Clifton Park #2 have first round byes in the South Division. …. Clifton Park #1 would appear to be a solid favorite, at least on paper, to get win No. 16 and its undefeated regular season when it takes on the Clifton Park YMCA on Saturday, but the Clifton Park YMCA is one of those pesky teams that hangs around in a game for the longest time and gives you the feeling that if you aren’t at your best, they could beat you. … . Four first-round playoff games will be played on Sunday, Feb. 21, at Shen High School East. The North Division probably has the most intriguing game of the four as the Troy CYO Storm, the No. 4 seed, meets the Clifton Park YMCA, the No. 5 seed Sunday at 8:45 p.m. at Shen East. The Storm won both regular-season meetings with the Clifton Park YMCA but by no means in convincing fashion as the scores were 46-41 and 48-44. The other first-round North Division playoff game pits No. 3-seeded Glenville YMCA against No. 6-seeded St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa Sunday at 5:00 p.m. Over in the South Division, the first round on Sunday, Feb. 21, at Shen High School East features the No. 3 seed, Albany JCC, taking on the No. 6 seed, Colonie, at 6:15 p.m. and the No. 4 seed, East Greenbush, going up against the No. 5 seed, St. John Valatie at 7:30 p.m. … Center Billy Schnellbaecher had eight more blocks in his last two games and continues to give the Troy CYO Thunder something that no other team in the league has with his defensive presence in the middle. It’s something worth watching when the Thunder, Clifton Park #2 as well as Clifton Park #1 and St. Paul’s swing into action in the divisional semifinals on Thursday when they take on the four first-round survivors. The semifinals will be hosted by the Glenville YMCA and Albany JCC. … Looking ahead, the North Division championship game as well as the South Division championship game will be decided on Saturday, Feb. 27, at Spa Catholic in Saratoga Springs. On Sunday, Feb. 28, the Capital District 11-12 Senior Basketball League will crown its champion on Senior Championship Sunday at Shen High School East. The Schenectady 9-10 Senior Basketball League and the Albany/Troy 9-10 Senior Basketball League also will crown their champions on Senior Championship Sunday.

Like cream slowly rising to the top, the top two teams in each division of the Capital District 11-12 Senior Basketball League are slowly putting some distance between themselves and the rest of the league.

Clifton Park #1 and St. Paul’s, 1-2 in the North Division race, both went undefeated in action over the league’s last three play dates. Meanwhile, the four other teams in the North Division all lost at least once leaving Clifton Park #1 and St. Paul’s comfortably on top with just two weeks remaining in the regular season.

The same held true over in the South Division as the top two teams there, the Troy CYO Thunder and Clifton Park #2, both won twice. And, in almost identical fashion as the North Division, the other four remaining teams in the South Division all lost at least once, leaving the Thunder and CP #2 in the driver’s seat.

Clifton Park runs winning streak to 12 straight

Clifton Park #1 won its only outing to stay unbeaten in league play at 12-0 and remain solidly atop the North Division. The win didn’t come easy for CP #1 as the Glenville YMCA battled the winners on even terms for much of the game before bowing, 63-56.

Clifton Park #1 was led by Carter Roche and David Wixted who each scored 15 points. Bobby Culkin chipped in with 11 for the winners.

Following the tough loss to Clifton Park #1, the Glenville YMCA bounced back to trim the Clifton Park YMCA and now sports a 6-7 record.

Meanwhile, St. Paul’s outworked two opponents to up its record to 9-4 in league play. St. Paul’s solidified its hold on second place in the North Division by beating a game St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa team, 48-39, and then taking home a hard-earned 53-50 victory over the Troy CYO Storm.

In the win over the Troy CYO Storm, Joe Picci led the way for St. Paul’s with 13 points and Adam Magnone had 11.

Mike Nichols had 17 points to top the Troy CYO Storm. Marcel Nadeau, on the strength of four three-points, tallied 16 points for the Storm.

In the Storm’s other outing in the league’s last three play dates, the team defeated the Clifton Park YMCA, 48-44, to improve to 7-6 on the season. The victory also allowed the Storm to remain alone in third place in the North Division a game ahead of the Glenville YMCA.

Zeb Gaston pumped in 15 points for the Troy CYO Storm and Marcel Nadeau had 12.

Von Davis scored 14 points and Evan Draiss added 11 for the Clifton Park YMCA. The Clifton Park YMCA is now 3-10, a game and a half ahead of St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa which is 1-11.

Thunder, CP #2 each collect two wins to stay on top of division

Over in the South Division, the Troy CYO Thunder and Clifton Park #2 continued their winning ways as each won twice.

The Troy CYO Thunder posted two relatively easy victories, first besting Colonie and then pulling away in the second half to defeat East Greenbush. The twin wins upped the Troy CYO Thunder’s record to 11-1.

In the win over Colonie, Jedi Lind scored 15 points, Justin Schnellbeacher added 12 points and center Billy Schnellbeacher tallied 11 points and blocked nine shots.

Will Huderbeck led Colonie with10 points and Kyle Frasier had 8.

In the victory over East Greenbush, the Schnellbeachers again were the story for the Troy CYO Thunder. Justin Schnellbeacher scored 11 points and Billy Schnellbeacher had 10 points and an eye-popping 10 more blocks. Jedi Lind also scored 10 points for the winners.

Billy Schnellbeacher has now blocked an amazing 29 shots in his last three games and 42 in his last six games.

Meanwhile, second-place Clifton Park #2 was winning twice to keep pace with the Troy CYO Thunder. CP #2 had little trouble with Colonie, but then got all it could handle from the Albany JCC and had to work hard right until the final buzzer to come away with a 53-45 victory.

The two wins improved CP #2’s record to 9-3 on the season.

Albany JCC wins overtime thriller; Valatie picks up another victory

Earlier in the week, Albany JCC stormed from behind and beat East Greenbush in overtime, 65-61. JCC rallied from as many as 14 points down in the second half to tie the score at the end of regulation and then won the game with a quick burst in overtime.

Matt Green dumped in 16 points and Gilad Malka added 14 points for the winners who are now 8-5 and in third place in the South Division.

Bobby D took home game honors with 23 points for East Greenbush. Coupled with the loss to the Troy CYO Storm, East Greenbush settled back into fourth place in the South Division at 6-6.

In other action, St. John’s Valatie picked up its second win of the season at the expense of Colonie. The victory ups St. John’s Valatie’s record to 2-10 and kept the club ahead of 1-12 Colonie the standings.

Not much changed for Capital District 11-12 Senior Basketball League divisional leaders Clifton Park #1 and Troy CYO Thunder in the three most recent play dates for the league, but there was plenty of shuffling and reshuffling as their closest contenders aligned themselves in the standings in an effort to position themselves for a late-season challenge for divisional honors.

Clifton Park #1 collected three victories to maintain its first place standing in the North Division. CP #1also remained the league’s only undefeated team at 11-0 overall.

Over in the South Division, Troy CYO Thunder won both of its outings to improve to 9-1 and remain in first place.

But in both cases, all the wins didn’t necessarily come easy for Clifton Park #1 and the Troy CYO Thunder as their opponents battled every inch of the way.

Clifton Park #1 found itself in dogfights in two of its three wins as first Albany JCC pushed CP #1 to the limit before losing 74-61, and then later when East Greenbush battled down to the wire before succumbing in the final minutes. In between those two games, CP #1 had an easier time of things, running past Colonie.

Steve Loscalzo led Clifton Park #1 in its win over Albany JCC by scoring 14 points. The majority of those points came at crunch time when Loscalzo made nine free throws in the game’s final minutes to seal the victory. Andrew Kalish added 11 and Carter Roche had 10 for the winners who had to hold off a determined JCC team that trimmed an 18-point halftime deficit to just six points late in the game.

After a relatively easy win over Colonie on Saturday, Clifton Park #1 found itself pushed to the limit again on Sunday, this time by East Greenbush. Clifton Park #1 managed to hold off East Greenbush, winning 57-51. Carter Roche led Clifton Park #1 with 11 points and Taylor Henderson and Dan Lenney chipped in with 9 each.

St. Paul’s, Troy CYO Storm battle for position

Meanwhile, St. Paul’s kept pace with Clifton Park #1, posting three wins of its own to move into second place in the North Division. St. Paul’s had two relatively easy wins, dispatching St. John’s Valatie and Colonie, but had to pull out all the stops to turn back Albany JCC, 64-51.

With the three victories, St. Paul’s improved to 7-4 on the year.

The Troy CYO Storm repositioned itself into third place in the North Division, winning twice and losing once to go to 6-5 on the season. The Storm easily turned back Colonie, but then lost a hard-fought 57-51 decision to East Greenbush. On Sunday, the Storm bounced back in impressive fashion and out battled Clifton Park #2 for a 60-54 win.

In the win over Colonie, C.J. Kownack scored 20 points to lead the way for the Troy CYO Storm. Zeb Gaston added 16 and Marcel Nadeau netted 11 points for the winners,

Ryan Nolte scored 12 and Kyle Fraiser had 10 for Colonie.

In the East Greenbush/Troy CYO Storm game, Troy CYO’s Mike Nicholas led all scorers with 25 points.

In the Troy CYO Storm win over Clifton Park #2, Troy CYO used a balanced attack to subdue its opponent. Zeb Gaston scored 14 points, C.J. Kownack netted 13 and Anthony Ragasta tallied 10 for the winners.

Jim Urbanski led Clifton Park #2 with 13 points. Stephon Roli added 12 and Jason Smith had 11.

The Glenville YMCA, facing three of the top four teams in the South Division, had a disappointing outcome, going 0-3. The Glenville YMCA was in every game, losing by seven to East Greenbush, 11 to Clifton Park #2, and by only three in a heart-breaking 42-39 loss to South Division leader the Troy CYO Thunder.

The three losses dropped the Glenville YMCA below the .500 mark and left the club in fourth place in the North Division at 5-6.

Elsewhere, the Clifton Park YMCA split its two games, beating St. John’s Valatie and then losing a tough two-point decision, 67-65, to Albany JCC. The split left Clifton Park YMCA at 3-8 on the year, two games ahead of 1-10 St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa which lost twice in its two most recent outings.

Schnellbaechers provide offense, defense in Troy CYO Thunder wins

Over in the South Division, the Troy CYO Thunder stayed on top of the standings with two wins, running past St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa and then barely holding off the Glenville YMCA, 42-39.

In the win over St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa, Justin Schnellbaecher broke loose for 17 points to lead the way for the 9-1 winners. Jedi Lind chipped in with 12 points.

In the close call against the Glenville YMCA, Jeff Bonilla tallied 14 points and Jesse Twiss netted 10 points to lead the way for the Thunder. On the defensive side of things, center Billy Schnellbaecher blocked an eye-popping 10 shots to keep the Glenville YMCA from finding a comfort zone and the momentum needed to post an upset.

Despite difficult losses, Clifton Park #2, Albany JCC and East Greenbush stayed right on the heels of the Thunder in the South Division race.

CP #2 split a pair of games, beating the Glenville YMCA before losing to the Troy CYO Storm. That left Clifton Park #2 in second place in the South Division with a 7-3 record.

Albany JCC lost two tough games, bowing to the top two teams in the North Division as it lost to Clifton Park #1 and St. Paul’s. Albany JCC then got a much-needed win over the Clifton Park YMCA. That left Albany JCC in third place in the South Division with a 7-4 mark.

East Greenbush impressive; Hammond propels St. John’s Valatie to first win
East Greenbush won twice and lost once to up its record to 6-4, one half game behind Albany JCC. East Greenbush slipped past the Glenville YMCA, 38-31, and outmuscled the Troy CYO Storm, 57-51. Then East Greenbush almost pulled off an impressive win trifecta when it threw a major scare into Clifton Park #1 on Sunday, bowing by only six, 57-51.

Elsewhere, St. John’s Valatie moved out of last place and into fifth place in the division by picking up its first win of the season, beating St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa, 35-34. Randy Hammond’s three-pointer with about a minute to play proved to be the game-winning points for St. John’s Valatie.

Derek Wright led the way for St. John’s Valatie with 10 points. Hammond finished with 9, all in the second.

St. John’s Valatie lost its other two games, and is now 1-9, a half game ahead of Colonie which lost three times to fall to 1-10 on the season,.

POINTS TO PONDER – Over the last six weeks, the two divisions have battled each other to the tune of 36 games. Which division is better? Was it the North? Was it the South? How about neither. Over 36 games, the two divisions went 18-18! …. Clifton Park #1 represented the North in fine fashion, going a perfect 6-0 against the South. St. Paul’s was the only other North Division team with a winning record against the South, going 4-2. … The Troy CYO Thunder lost only to Clifton Park #1 and posted a 5-1 mark to lead the South against the North. Clifton Park #2, Albany JCC and East Greenbush also all fared well against the North as each posted 4-2 efforts. … Action on Thursday, Feb. 4, marked the resumption of play within each division as does games on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 6-7.

Just a gentle reminder to all parents and fans, players and coaches: It is a privilege, not a right, to be able to play in the facilities that host the Capital District 11-12 Senior Basketball League as well as the Albany/Troy 9-10 Senior Basketball League and Schenectady 9-10 Senior Basketball League. We all must be on our best behavior at all times. The three senior leagues do not stand for nor condone any unsportsmanlike actions whether it is by players, coaches or parents and fans. Please enjoy the rest of the season and remember that these leagues are for the players first and foremost and it is not just about winning and losing.

Clifton Park #1 and Troy CYO Thunder are finding that life at the top of their respective divisions in the Capital District 11-12 Senior Basketball League is enjoyable but you can’t blame the two teams if they are enjoying it in distinctly different ways.

Clifton Park #1 probably has a little more care free attitude about things, sitting atop the North Division with a perfect 8-0 record after beating St. John’s Valatie on Sunday. That game was CP #1’s only outing during the league’s last three play dates.

Clifton Park #1 probably isn’t feeling much pressure either as its next closest rival in the standings is a full three games behind the Clifton Park team. That rival is the Glenville YMCA, now 5-3 on the year. Glenville split a pair of games, losing to Albany JCC last Thursday before bouncing back to defeat Colonie on Saturday.

St. Paul’s and Troy CYO Storm are next in the North Division standings, looming as outside threats to Clifton Park #1’s first-place standing. St. Paul’s is 4-4 to date, beating East Greenbush and then losing to Troy CYO Thunder in its latest outings. The Storm is also 4-4 after dropping a tough four-point decision to Albany JCC.

In the Albany JCC vs. Troy CYO Storm game, Gilad Malka led the way for JCC with 16 points. Lee Setzen chipped in with 12 points for the winners.

The Clifton Park YMCA and St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa, which both lost twice, follow next in the standings behind St. Paul’s and the Storm at 2-7 and 1-8, respectively.

Troy CYO Thunder can’t seem to shake loose from the pack

Over in the South Division, Troy CYO Thunder is happy to be on top and enjoying things, but is anything but care free about it. In fact, the Thunder is feeling plenty of pressure from not one but two teams.

The Thunder maintained its first place standing, defeating St. Paul’s and then the Clifton Park YMCA to improve to 7-1.

In the St. Paul’s win, Jeff Bonilla scored 20 points to lead the way for the Thunder. Justin Schnellbaecher added 10 points for the winners and center Billy Schnellbaecher blocked five shots.

St. Paul’s was led by Joe Pecci and Adam Magone who had 12 and 10 points, respectively.

In the victory over the Clifton Park YMCA, Bonilla again led the way with 16 points. Jedi Lind added 13 points and Jesse Twiss scored 12 points for the winners and Billy Schnellbaecher blocked five more shots.

Calixe Deronceoby and Nick Cutler led Clifton Park YMCA with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

But the twin wins did little to shake the Thunder free of the pack as Albany JCC and Clifton Park #2 each picked up two wins of their own. The twin wins by those two teams kept them deadlocked for second place with 6-2 records in the South Division and kept the pressure squarely on the Troy CYO Thunder.

The rest of the South Division did not fare quite as well. East Greenbush split its two games, and Colonie and St. John's Valatie both lost their games.

East Greenbush lost to St. Paul’s and defeated St. Mary's of Ballston Spa to settle in at 4-3; Colonie lost its only outing, losing to the Glenville YMCA to fall to 1-7; and St. John’s Valatie dropped its only tilt, losing to Clifton Park #1 to remain winless at 0-7.

POINTS TO PONDER – The South Division got the best of the North Division in the most recent three play dates, winning six of nine meetings between the two divisions. For the season, the South Division holds a slim 10-9 advantage in games between the two divisions. … Albany JCC and Clifton Park #2 have been the hottest teams of late in the South Division. JCC has won three in a row and five of its last six and CP #2 has won three in a row and four of its last five. … Over in the North Division, obviously you can’t get any hotter than winning eight of eight as Clifton Park #1 has. St. Paul’s has sizzled lately, winning three in a row and four of six as has Glenville which has been victorious in three of its last four. On the downside, Colonie and St. John’s Valatie haven’t had a win in seven straight outings. … Two very interesting match ups highlight the next three play dates for the Capital District 11-12 Senior Basketball League. On Thursday, Jan. 28, Clifton Park #1 travels to Albany JCC to put its unbeaten record on the line in a game with Albany JCC at 8:15 p.m. The other interesting tilt is on tap for Sunday, Jan. 31, when two pretty evenly matched teams in Troy CYO Storm and Clifton Park #2 square off Sunday, Jan. 31, at Shen High School East at 6:15 p.m.

Clifton Park #1 and Troy CYO Thunder have positioned themselves as the divisional leaders to date in the Capital District 11-12 Senior Basketball League, but both teams are finding out that they have plenty of competition after five and a half weeks of the 2009-2010 season.

Clifton Park #1 has established itself as the front runner in the North Division, having swept through its first five games against fellow division rivals unbeaten at 5-0. On top of that, Clifton Park #1 may have established itself as the team to beat in the entire league after it crossed over and played two of the top teams in the South Division and came away with victories over Troy CYO Thunder and Clifton Park #2.

That impressive winning streak left Clifton Park #1 as the league’s only undefeated team at 7-0.

Glenville YMCA, St. Paul’s, Troy CYO Storm tightly bunched

The Glenville YMCA, St. Paul’s and Troy CYO Storm follow, respectively, in the North Division standings behind Clifton Park #1 and are far from conceding the divisional title to CP #1.

The Glenville YMCA was on a win one-lose one roller coaster before posting victories in its two most recent outings to settle in second place behind Clifton Park #1 at 4-2 prior to Thursday’s game against Albany JCC.

Meanwhile, St. Paul’s dropped its first two games of the season, but then reeled off four wins in its next five games to make a statement and improve to 4-3 on the season, good for a tie for third place in the North Division.

The Troy CYO Storm took a slightly different track rolling out of the gate to win three of its first four contests. Since then, the Storm has dropped two of three to stand at 4-3.

The Clifton Park YMCA is next in the North Division standings at 2-5, followed by St. Mary’s of Ballston Spa, which is 1-6 to date.

Troy CYO Thunder rumbles to four straight wins

Over in the South Division, Troy CYO Thunder rolled to four straight wins over divisional rivals and appeared ready to run away with things. Since then, the Thunder survived a scare, escaping with a one-point decision over arch-rival Troy CYO Storm, and then losing in a hard-fought showdown battle of divisional leaders in a meeting with Clifton Park #1.

All of that left Troy CYO Thunder at 5-1 and atop the South Division standings.

Right behind the Thunder in the South Division standings are surprising Albany JCC, Clifton Park #2 and upstart East Greenbush. The three teams are all well within striking distance of the Thunder.

Prior to Thursday night’s action, Albany JCC and Clifton Park #2 were tied for second place behind the Troy CYO Thunder in the South Division with identical 4-2 records. Albany JCC started off strong, winning three of its first four games as did Clifton Park #2.

East Greenbush has been another team stuck in that win one-lose one mode, and now stands at 3-3 prior to a game Thursday night but is well within striking distance of the division leaders.

Injury-plagued Colonie is next in the standings at 1-6. St. John’s Valatie, which has yet to taste victory, follows at 0-6.