(Troy)
In an intense back-and-forth battle, Shaker outlasted Green Tech 58-54 to secure the Class AAA Section 2 championship at Hudson Valley Community College. Shaker now moves into NYSPHSAA regional action. Green Tech had won the previous three large school sectional finals.
Shaker started strong, taking a 14-10 lead after the first quarter and held slim margins after every period ending horn. The Blue Bison opened the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run to give themselves some breathing room after leading by one point at the start of the final frame. They extened their lead to 52-39 with 3:59 left in the game. Green Tech then rattled off an 11-0 run to make the score 52-50 with 1:23 remaining. However, Shaker's Marcelin Mukendi made two baskets in the lane and Bless Demand made two free throws to seal the victory.
Green Tech fought hard, coming from down double digits in the fourth period cutting the deficit to two points but couldn't get any closer after Shaker's run to start the quarter. They were paced Indavier Barnes leading the way with 20 points, U’Mier Graham contributed 16 points and 12 rebounds, Ramere Brown added 16 points as well.
The Soaring Eagles struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just one of nine three-point attempts. Shaker connected on 9 of 20 three point shots.
The Blue Bison were led by Class AAA tournament MVP Bless Demand, who scored 17 points, including three three-pointers, while also dishing out six assists. Marcelin Mukendi added 14 points and two three-pointers, while Tye Mariano contributed 11 points. Shaker’s balanced attack and efficiency from three-point range proved to be the difference. This was the Blue Bison's first sectional championship in boys basketball since 1992.
Despite Green Tech’s strong rebounding presence and a late fourth-quarter push, Shaker’s defensive effort and clutch playmaking in the closing minutes sealed the victory.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
| Class: AAA Final | NYSPHSAA: Section 2 | Date: March 9 | Site: HVCC | ||||||||||||||
| Visitor Blue Bison | Total FG | 3 point | Rebounds | ||||||||||||||
| No. | Shaker | FGM | FGA | FGM | FGA | FT | FTA | OFF | DEF | TOT | PF | Points | S | TO | BLK | A | |
| 0 | Brandon Makoyi | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 1 | Bless Demand (MVP) | 6 | 16 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 17 | 2 | 6 | |||
| 2 | Melvin Brown* | 3 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 2 | |||
| 3 | Tye Mariano | 4 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 11 | ||||||||||
| 4 | Marcelin Mukendi | 5 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 10 | Ryan Church | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 11 | Vince Milano | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 13 | Kwame Boakye | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 22 | Kiernan Casey | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 24 | Anthony Tleiji | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 1 | ||||||||
| 33 | Sam Rayburn | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 55 | Will Hartman | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Team | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 22 | 45 | 9 | 20 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 21 | 58 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Total FG %: 1st Half | 9-17 53 | Game | Deadball | ||||||||||||||
| 3-Pt FG %: 1st Half | 4-6 67 | Game | Rebounds | 1 | |||||||||||||
| FT % : 1st Half | 3-6 50 | Game | |||||||||||||||
| Home: "Soaring Eagles" | Total FG | 3 point | Rebounds | ||||||||||||||
| No. | Green Tech | FGM | FGA | FGM | FGA | FT | FTA | OFF | DEF | TOT | PF | Points | S | TO | BLK | A | |
| 0 | Indavier Barnes* | 6 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 3 | ||||
| 1 | Ayden Taylor | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Ramere Brown | 8 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 1 | ||||||
| 3 | Alexander John | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 4 | Tyler Hemmingway | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 5 | Gregory Sherrills | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |||||||
| 10 | Emeri Hooks | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 11 | Juliez McLean | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 12 | Rayon Baker | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 21 | U'Mier Graham* | 4 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 3 | 16 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| 22 | Olivan Owens | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 23 | Houston Shortell | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 30 | Jayden Mikel | ||||||||||||||||
| 32 | Jakai Arrington | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 18 | 40 | 1 | 9 | 17 | 22 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 21 | 54 | 6 | 11 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Total FG %: 1st Half | 9-21 43 | Game | Deadball | ||||||||||||||
| 3-Pt FG %: 1st Half | 1-6 17 | Game | Rebounds | 4 | |||||||||||||
| FT % : 1st Half | 4-5 80 | Game | |||||||||||||||
| Officials: O'Neil, Fryer, Ortiz | Shaker | 14 | 11 | 9 | 24 | 58 | |||||||||||
| *All Tourney P. Tenney (Colonie) JJ Osinski (CBA) | Green Tech | 10 | 13 | 10 | 21 | 54 | |||||||||||
