CORTLAND - It couldn't play the same role that the New York Giants did, but the Union Springs boys basketball team came real close.
Glenn Gaston / Special to The Citizen
Union Springs senior forward Julius McClary blocks a shot during the first half of Saturday night's state quarterfinal basketball game at SUNY Cortland.
Union Springs senior forward Julius McClary blocks a shot during the first half of Saturday night's state quarterfinal basketball game at SUNY Cortland.
Even with what looked like the entire town of Union Springs behind them in the stands, with signs such as “Giants beat Patriots, Wolves beat Indians” raised, the Wolves never held the mindset of spoiler against the undefeated, No.1 team in the state.
“I had great confidence going into this game that we could win,” Wolves senior Devon Brady said.
That was clear in the first half, as Union Springs took a fast lead over Section III's West Canada Valley in the NYSPHSAA, Class C quarterfinals at SUNY Cortland on Saturday.
With domination that gave them the lead for nearly total 30, the Wolves (20-4) had all the skills to come away with a remarkable, but not unbelievable win. That was never more obvious than when the Indians (25-0) got in line after winning 51-46, preparing to shake the hands of their gracious opponents in the postgame ritual. As members of their community stormed to fill the court afterwards, several Indians players looked shocked at a win for the first time this season - some even voicing their disbelief in line.
“This feels awesome,” Indians sophomore Jared Suderly said. “I can't believe we got this win.”
It was Suderly who led the Indians to the dramatic win. The score was tied 45-45 late in the game and the sophomore got a rare open look from outside the arc, sinking a 3-pointer to give the Indians a permanent lead. The Indians were just 4-for-15 from 3-point range.
“They wanted me and Jeff (Yaworski) to run quick and low and when I picked my guy, he gave me a lot of room,” Suderly said. “I took the shot, it went in and it felt good.”
He added two more points in the game's final minute to stretch the lead to four and Robert Maxwell sank two free throws for the team's final points.
Brady made a free throw with under a second left for the game's final point.
“I'm at a loss for words,” Brady said. “I really didn't expect our season to end this way. The game was there, but we fell short. I don't have any regrets, though.”
The Wolves did just about everything right in the first half, while the Indians had trouble even making a free throw. Class C MVP Yaworski was held scoreless in the first 16 minutes for the Indians, mostly by Julius McClary, who blocked three of his shots.
McClary dominated just about every aspect of the game, scoring 14 points (eight in the first half), putting up eight blocks, grabbing 12 rebounds and picking up two steals. Yaworski only put up eight points, four rebounds and one steal in the game.
“(Julius) was battling guys all by himself a lot of the time out there,” Union Springs coach Tim Darnell said. “He did a great job. But that's what he's done all year.”
With a 22-17 halftime lead, Brady sat out most of the third quarter because of foul trouble. With 2:08 left in the third, the Indians took the lead for the first time on a Maxwell jumper.
As Brady re-entered the game in the fourth, the Wolves regained the lead with 6:13 left on a McClary layup. In the final eight minutes, McClary put up eight points and two rebounds. He finished with 12 points and three rebounds.
“I had to do something to get us going,” Brady said. “I did what I could.”
Mike Howell added eight points and six boards for the Wolves.
Offensively, the Wolves simply couldn't keep up with the Indians down the stretch, but defensively, they played nearly the perfect game. Before Saturday night, the Indians averaged 79.4 points a game.
“This is by far, the best defensive team we've seen all year,” Suderly said. “They didn't score many points when we watched the tape on them, but we knew they could play. We didn't take them lightly like we took all the other teams this year. We worked out butts off tonight.”
The Indians advance to the states final four at Glens Falls on Friday. The Wolves' loss was the first to a team not named Lansing all season.
“We knew West Canada was a great team, they played like it tonight,” Darnell said. “I'm proud of our kids. When we hold a team that averages 80 to 51 points - I couldn't have asked more from our kids. We went toe-to-toe with the number one team in the state and had a chance to win. That's pretty good.”
“I had great confidence going into this game that we could win,” Wolves senior Devon Brady said.
That was clear in the first half, as Union Springs took a fast lead over Section III's West Canada Valley in the NYSPHSAA, Class C quarterfinals at SUNY Cortland on Saturday.
With domination that gave them the lead for nearly total 30, the Wolves (20-4) had all the skills to come away with a remarkable, but not unbelievable win. That was never more obvious than when the Indians (25-0) got in line after winning 51-46, preparing to shake the hands of their gracious opponents in the postgame ritual. As members of their community stormed to fill the court afterwards, several Indians players looked shocked at a win for the first time this season - some even voicing their disbelief in line.
“This feels awesome,” Indians sophomore Jared Suderly said. “I can't believe we got this win.”
It was Suderly who led the Indians to the dramatic win. The score was tied 45-45 late in the game and the sophomore got a rare open look from outside the arc, sinking a 3-pointer to give the Indians a permanent lead. The Indians were just 4-for-15 from 3-point range.
“They wanted me and Jeff (Yaworski) to run quick and low and when I picked my guy, he gave me a lot of room,” Suderly said. “I took the shot, it went in and it felt good.”
He added two more points in the game's final minute to stretch the lead to four and Robert Maxwell sank two free throws for the team's final points.
Brady made a free throw with under a second left for the game's final point.
“I'm at a loss for words,” Brady said. “I really didn't expect our season to end this way. The game was there, but we fell short. I don't have any regrets, though.”
The Wolves did just about everything right in the first half, while the Indians had trouble even making a free throw. Class C MVP Yaworski was held scoreless in the first 16 minutes for the Indians, mostly by Julius McClary, who blocked three of his shots.
McClary dominated just about every aspect of the game, scoring 14 points (eight in the first half), putting up eight blocks, grabbing 12 rebounds and picking up two steals. Yaworski only put up eight points, four rebounds and one steal in the game.
“(Julius) was battling guys all by himself a lot of the time out there,” Union Springs coach Tim Darnell said. “He did a great job. But that's what he's done all year.”
With a 22-17 halftime lead, Brady sat out most of the third quarter because of foul trouble. With 2:08 left in the third, the Indians took the lead for the first time on a Maxwell jumper.
As Brady re-entered the game in the fourth, the Wolves regained the lead with 6:13 left on a McClary layup. In the final eight minutes, McClary put up eight points and two rebounds. He finished with 12 points and three rebounds.
“I had to do something to get us going,” Brady said. “I did what I could.”
Mike Howell added eight points and six boards for the Wolves.
Offensively, the Wolves simply couldn't keep up with the Indians down the stretch, but defensively, they played nearly the perfect game. Before Saturday night, the Indians averaged 79.4 points a game.
“This is by far, the best defensive team we've seen all year,” Suderly said. “They didn't score many points when we watched the tape on them, but we knew they could play. We didn't take them lightly like we took all the other teams this year. We worked out butts off tonight.”
The Indians advance to the states final four at Glens Falls on Friday. The Wolves' loss was the first to a team not named Lansing all season.
“We knew West Canada was a great team, they played like it tonight,” Darnell said. “I'm proud of our kids. When we hold a team that averages 80 to 51 points - I couldn't have asked more from our kids. We went toe-to-toe with the number one team in the state and had a chance to win. That's pretty good.”
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