CBA Basketball Celebrates Senior Night Against Troy High.
11:15 A.M.; February 13th, 2020
By: Nolan Field
By: Nolan Field
On Tuesday, February 11th, Christian Brothers Academy hosted Troy High’s Flying Horses for their senior night ceremonies. Prior to the varsity contest, JV finished business as usual against Troy’s junior varsity squad. Then the senior night ceremonies commenced, where 5 Senior basketball players and cheerleaders were honored. Flowers were handed out, and lots of hugs and best wishes were exchanged for those who will be graduating in May. The game was a hot contest from the start, with the biggest CBA student section turnout of the season so far , the early moments were propelled by the students who gave energy to the players. The game was dominated early by junior and class of ‘21 center, Jordan Hubbard, whose post moves continued to leave Troy defenders with nothing to do but watch. He finished with 10 in the first two quarters of play, accounting for nearly half of the Brothers scoring contributions for that portion of play. The refs also had an early impact on this matchup, they decided to call a looser style of play which allowed for more physically dominant players such as Hubbard and Kelly to control the flow of play on the blocks. CBA continued to use the post effectively as they have to run their offense and found themselves with a lead at the end of every quarter. With only the fourth to play, both teams were in a good position to make a run and win the game. However, Troy’s ability to push the tempo and leave CBA with little time on the clock to tie their score, and the Flying Horses won the Suburban Council matchup 51-50.
CBA Basketball Rounds Into Shape as Sectionals Draw Near
9:40 A.M.; February 11th, 2020
By: Nolan Field
By: Nolan Field
It's happened almost every one of the 3 years that I've watched Coach Doemel's basketball teams at Christian Brothers Academy. Through hard work and lots of practice time the squad looks completely different at the end of the year than it did in the start of the season. This year the Brothers struggled to find their identity early into the season with losses to Green Tech, Colonie and LaSalle. A Brothers squad was clearly trying to find their identity after the loss of some key seniors last year that led the squad in King, Signor and O'Toole. The Brothers season took a turn for the worse during their matchup at LaSalle, already being a rival school, the gym was packed and presented a rough environment for CBA. During an opening play of the game, starting center Ayden Harrison went down hard after hitting his head on the backboard while blocking a shot, while also injuring his ankle, an injury that will most likely have him out for the rest of the season. CBA lost 63-52 to their rival school and took a major blow to the team attitude and their teams health, as they finished the game with 6 active players. In a short basketball season, the Brothers knew that it was time to turn it around or they would be faced with an incredibly difficult first round match-up in this years sectional play. The biggest adjustment I've seen in the Brothers play has been their attack in the paint, they've effectively used their big men on the block to keep their offense flowing against zone coverages. The centers have been finding open shooters who've found open driving lanes. It's mostly been Kelly and Hubbard who have stepped into Harrison's shoes and taken up larger roles in the Brothers offense. The Brothers have had to work hard to find themselves back at .500 as sectionals draw closer, winning 3 in a row @Bethlehem, vs Schenectady and @ Shaker. Hagen Foley has been the leading scoring charge for this push, averaging 26 ppg over that 3 game stretch. CBA has become dominated by a solid Doemel offensive system that flows through the post against zone coverages and works through screens against a team that dares to play man-to-man. It will be interesting to see how the Brothers close out the season and if they can make a push in sectional play.
CBA Football wins their home opener against Schenectady 42-12 led by Jones’ 3 touchdown performance.
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CBA opened up their season defending their home ground against Suburban Council condenders Schenectady. The Brothers started the game strong with an early touchdown connection between Tyler Fort and Dylan Jones to start the game. CBA led 7-0 only a minute into play. Following that CBA marched all over the field and came up with a second touchdown, this one was also to Jones who once again was being used on all sides of the ball. He punted, received, returned and played defense. A run into the endzone by Andrew Pemrick followed that sequence and the Brothers went up three touchdowns on the Patriots. Following that was a great snag by Jones which sparked controversy between the Schenectady coaching staff and the game officials. The coaches proceeded to argue about their belief of Jones being out of play for multiple minutes before being calmed down. This photo says that Dylan was clearly inbounds and caught the ball. His plays on this drive didn’t stop there though, after being isolated near the goal line Jones would catch an over the shoulder ball for another score and his third touchdown of the day. The only bright spots of the Patriots trip to Christian Brothers Academy was a kickoff return and a throwing touchdown, they only had 2 on the day. After the Patriots second score, Mike Barber began to control the tempo of the game. He scored after breaking and spinning through multiple tackles to punch the ball into the endzone. On the return kickoff following that touchdown Schenectady struggled with a deep kick and the returner went into the endzone to try and gain some space to work, but he was swallowed up by the Brothers defense and a safety was awarded to the Brothers. Having the ball back and in their possession, there was one more score by CBA, Jameer Austin ran the ball and broke the plane for another score which put the brothers up substantially. At this point we began garbage time of the matchup as both teams cleared out their benches in what was a feel-good win for CBA.
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It was this catch by CBA class of 2021 Dylan Jones that sparked controversy. Jones clearly caught the ball as shown on the image above.
This image displays Tyler Fort '19 under center taking a snap from Dayne Degregory '19 during CBA's win against Schenectady.
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Cap City Scrappers 16/17u wipe the 518 bracket challenge
Nolan Field, 4/22/19; 8:48pm
The Cap City Scrappers 17U team is pictured holding the 'Finals Qualified' Adidas banner after winning the 518 Bracket Challenge in Lansingburgh, NY.
The Cap City Scrappers had the best of their teams from all age groups show out this Saturday at Zero Gravity's 518 Bracket Challenge. For the older ages only the 'royal' teams competed. The 17U and 16U teams did not even trail in score until the championship games of their respective divisions. There was a lot of good basketball being played and displayed as the 17U boys held off Hudson's comeback bid thanks to CJ Bianchino's late game stretch and the 16U were able to battle through a tough a gritty game. On a side note, everyone was taking notes and looking at Dayshaun Watson. The kid is in the class of 2022, and he has a great game built around the guard position. He's athletic, and has a decent jumper. However, out of all his attributes, I love his ability to drive and create chances for himself and his teammates. Watson showed out in 16U and 17U, and was an impact player for both teams.
Teams that impressed and DISAPPOINTED in the round of 64
Nolan Field, 3/23/19; 11:17am
The round of 64 was so much fun to watch, this year sustained many upsets and double digit seeds hung with the higher seeds and most of them even had leads at one point. There were a lot of teams that disappointed me the last two days, and some other teams that rose above what I had them for and have gained my respect, here they are:
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13 UC Irvine upsetting 4 Kansas State
UC Irvine upset Kansas state in what was the biggest upset of the first round by seeds. They didn't do it in the way I thought they would've, in out rebounding KState with their missing of Wade, but they shot the lights out. UC Irvine made one more 3 in 4 less attempts than K-State, and the Wildcats were stuck without their big man Wade as he usually poses a presence inside. I expect the next round of UC Irvine vs Oregon to be a good one. |
Max Hazzard pictured after hitting a huge late 3-point shot to help the Anteaters upset Kansas State.
Picture Credits: The Patriot Ledger |
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12 Oregon destroying 5 Wisconsin
Wow. Oregon truly is the hottest team in college basketball right now, maybe tied with Wofford. After running through the Pac 12 tournament, they come into the first round as a 12 seed and grab a huge win over Ethan Happ and Wisconsin. Allow me to mention that all of this has been without top scorer and rebounder Bol Bol for the Ducks. Oregon and Wisconsin both played at a slow pace and in the end of the day the Ducks simply knocked down more shots than the Badgers, Happ struggled from the field to find his place and Oregon took advantage with a big second half. Wisconsin shot double (30) the amount of 3-point attempts than Oregon and the Ducks made one more than the Badgers, nothing was falling for Wisconsin. |
Payton Pritchard pictured driving through Wisconsin defenders on Oregon's way to a 72-54 upset over the Badgers.
Photo Credits: Chris Carlson |
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9 Washington freezes 8 Utah State
The regular season Pac-12 champions came into the tourney and busted a lot of my brackets. The Huskies steller defence down the stretch and throughout the whole game held Aggies Sam Merrill's 2nd lowest scoring game of the season (6 vs Houston is his lowest). Merrill averaged 21 PPG this season and led the Aggies to their wins this season. He really disappointed in this one and was the main reason for the Aggies getting handled in this one. The Huskies forced 21 turnovers from the Aggies and Washington had 10 steals off the Aggies as well. To add onto that, the Huskies shot at a 58% clip from three, and made many down the stretch to put the game away. All Utah State could do was watch as the Huskies perfected the very thing that the Aggies were known for, three balls. |
David Crisp pictured midair trying to finish a layup against two Aggie defenders.
Picture Credits: USA Today |
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Nevada disappoints the world, again.
Nevada; the team that started off as a top contender into losing in the first round of play in the NCAA Tourney. Nevada really confused me with their falloff this year, they had all the pieces in place to potentially upset Michigan and advance further in the bracket, but nothing was clicking on this night for the Wolf Pack. Both teams shot the ball horribly, but Florida's grind it out game out did Nevada's, and that was the key to this game. Nevada made a late run at the Gators, but it wasn't early enough, and Florida advanced to play Michigan.
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A Florida player holds position on a Nevada defender.
Picture Credit: CNHAN.org |
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Wofford can't miss from the field
Fletcher Magee broke the NCAA D-1 career 3 point record on this night against Seton Hall, while at the same time out dueling Seton Hall guard Myles Powell. Magee finished with 24 for the Terriers, and they now hold a 21-game win streak. 4 of their 5 starters hit double digits and Wofford made almost 50% of every shot they were putting up. I like Wofford to upset Kentucky in the next round, but it should be interesting to see how Calipari will prepare for this high octane offense.
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Fletcher Magee celebrates against Seton Hall as the Terriers advance to the round of 32 against Kentucky.
Photo Credit: Chat Sports |
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Iowa stuns Cincinnati as the Big 10 shows out
The Big 10 was 6-1 in the round of 64, with Wisconsin being their one loss. Adding onto that was the Iowa Hawkeyes, who stunned Cincinnati 79-72. Iowa's shooting did it for them, and Cincinnati's shooting is what killed them. Cincinnati was doing everything right on the defencive end for most of the game but they couldn't convert on the other side of the ball. The Bearcats shot a horrible 22% from three and a overall 43% from the floor. Iowa advanced to play Tennessee in the round of 32 on Sunday. I do not think they will be as fortunate against the Volunteers who looked solid in the final stretch to stop Colgate's upset bid. |
Iowa's bench celebrates as the Hawkeyes advanced past Cincinnati in the round of 64.
Photo Credit: Houston Chronicle |
Nolan's upset picks for march madness
Nolan Field, 3/20/19; 8:07pm
It's that time of the year again, yes it's a sports fan's dream with the MLB season starting up, the NBA season coming to a close, the NFL offseason is in its prime and of course, March Madness has begun. With the coming of the NCAA Championship tournament in the future, fans around the world have begun to fill out their brackets. Here's who I would be looking out for to provide an upset when filling out a last minute bracket.
5 Mississippi Bulldogs vs 12 Liberty Flames
The Bulldogs are back with a good seeding, and they have a pretty good squad coming out of the SEC. Quinndary Weatherspoon has carried the load for most of the season for Miss. St. This one is an upset factor for me due to Liberty's defencive poise. To add onto that Mississippi State averages 13.3 TO per game, almost 3 more than Liberty. Combine those two factors and Weatherspoon will have to be careful with the rock to prevent this upset.
6 Maryland vs 11 Belmont
Maryland is back in the tourney, they've always been a questionable team and I've never known what to make of them. For anyone who watched last night's first four matchup between Belmont and Temple knows that this team scores the ball in loads. Dylan Windler is a great scorer, and although he only scored 5 points in last night's win, he grabbed 14 boards as a guard, a 6" 8' guard could be a problem alone for Maryland. To add some stats, Belmont beats Maryland in both offensive and defensive efficiency as well as being a more disciplined squad. Look out for the Bruins to bust a bracket.
3 LSU vs 14 Yale
LSU is in the middle of chaos, their coach has been suspended due to the FBI NCAA probe in the payment of prospects. Yale comes in after defeating Harvard for the Ivy League championship. Yale's main factor so success on the court will be how they get out on the break, this season Yale put in 13 fast points per game this season, LSU has 5. When you cut off the fast break, Yale can shoot out the lights, having a 37% 3PT percentage to LSU's 32% from the arc. LSU's key will be to play with discipline and close out on the shooters, because they have the athletes inside to clog the blocks.
4 Kansas State vs 13 UC Irvine
Kansas State enters the NCAA tournament as the co-Big 12 champions. Unfortunately they will most likely be playing in their second strait NCAA tournament game without Dean Wade, the Wildcats leading rebounder. To throw some stats out there UC Irvine is has a better offensive efficiency by 5, fast break points per game, points per game, second chance points*, and 3pt percentage. Wade being out should provide a great opportunity for the Anteaters to slip into a upset bid.
5 Auburn vs 12 New Mexico State
New Mexico State ran through conference play this season and have been seeded against Auburn, who also ran through their conference play. Both of these teams rely on the three point shot, so if it fails and doesn't fall for any reason it could be catastrophic for either squad. I personally favor Auburn in this one, but it's going to be a track meet out there between these two sharp shooting teams.
4 Kansas vs 13 Northeastern
Kansas is by far one of the weakest Kansas teams that we've seen this season, losing two top players in a season will do that to you. Northeastern comes in with another top offencive game against a Kansas offense that hasn't been subpar this season. The Huskies throw almost 3 less turnovers per game compared to the Jayhawks. Kansas will have to balance out their offencive game more if they want to prevent a upset bid from Northeastern. However, I'm sure Coach Bill Self will have a gameplan coming into the matchup.
7 Wofford vs 10 Seton Hall
Wofford has the NCAA's best 20 game winning streak moving into the tourney. This is a game that will be dictated by Wofford's offencive power. They have incredible shooting from the arc (41.6%) and they only throw the ball away 10 times per game. However, Seton Hall also has a pretty good offencive game, and I believe that Wofford's defencive game is also ready for that, with a 93.7 defensive efficiency.
5 Marquette vs 12 Murray State
This one's pretty simple for most, Murray State's Ja Morant was just announced to be in the top 4 in Naismith Award voting. He's an elite guard, averaging 10 APG. He will be matching up against another top guard in Markus Howard for Marquette. Overall, the Golden Eagles play a much sloppier brand of basketball, and Ja Morant has a much better shot selection than Markus Howard. The Racers have much more discipline and move out on the break much better than Marquette. Marquette's advantage in this one is that they have more scoring options than Murray State, Ja Morant will have to play most of the game to keep this upset bid alive.
Here's my full bracket for this upcoming March Madness. I'm not one to pick all of the higher seeds, I like a lot of the double digit seeds in this tournament and I feel they're more talented than usual double digit squads.
5 Mississippi Bulldogs vs 12 Liberty Flames
The Bulldogs are back with a good seeding, and they have a pretty good squad coming out of the SEC. Quinndary Weatherspoon has carried the load for most of the season for Miss. St. This one is an upset factor for me due to Liberty's defencive poise. To add onto that Mississippi State averages 13.3 TO per game, almost 3 more than Liberty. Combine those two factors and Weatherspoon will have to be careful with the rock to prevent this upset.
6 Maryland vs 11 Belmont
Maryland is back in the tourney, they've always been a questionable team and I've never known what to make of them. For anyone who watched last night's first four matchup between Belmont and Temple knows that this team scores the ball in loads. Dylan Windler is a great scorer, and although he only scored 5 points in last night's win, he grabbed 14 boards as a guard, a 6" 8' guard could be a problem alone for Maryland. To add some stats, Belmont beats Maryland in both offensive and defensive efficiency as well as being a more disciplined squad. Look out for the Bruins to bust a bracket.
3 LSU vs 14 Yale
LSU is in the middle of chaos, their coach has been suspended due to the FBI NCAA probe in the payment of prospects. Yale comes in after defeating Harvard for the Ivy League championship. Yale's main factor so success on the court will be how they get out on the break, this season Yale put in 13 fast points per game this season, LSU has 5. When you cut off the fast break, Yale can shoot out the lights, having a 37% 3PT percentage to LSU's 32% from the arc. LSU's key will be to play with discipline and close out on the shooters, because they have the athletes inside to clog the blocks.
4 Kansas State vs 13 UC Irvine
Kansas State enters the NCAA tournament as the co-Big 12 champions. Unfortunately they will most likely be playing in their second strait NCAA tournament game without Dean Wade, the Wildcats leading rebounder. To throw some stats out there UC Irvine is has a better offensive efficiency by 5, fast break points per game, points per game, second chance points*, and 3pt percentage. Wade being out should provide a great opportunity for the Anteaters to slip into a upset bid.
5 Auburn vs 12 New Mexico State
New Mexico State ran through conference play this season and have been seeded against Auburn, who also ran through their conference play. Both of these teams rely on the three point shot, so if it fails and doesn't fall for any reason it could be catastrophic for either squad. I personally favor Auburn in this one, but it's going to be a track meet out there between these two sharp shooting teams.
4 Kansas vs 13 Northeastern
Kansas is by far one of the weakest Kansas teams that we've seen this season, losing two top players in a season will do that to you. Northeastern comes in with another top offencive game against a Kansas offense that hasn't been subpar this season. The Huskies throw almost 3 less turnovers per game compared to the Jayhawks. Kansas will have to balance out their offencive game more if they want to prevent a upset bid from Northeastern. However, I'm sure Coach Bill Self will have a gameplan coming into the matchup.
7 Wofford vs 10 Seton Hall
Wofford has the NCAA's best 20 game winning streak moving into the tourney. This is a game that will be dictated by Wofford's offencive power. They have incredible shooting from the arc (41.6%) and they only throw the ball away 10 times per game. However, Seton Hall also has a pretty good offencive game, and I believe that Wofford's defencive game is also ready for that, with a 93.7 defensive efficiency.
5 Marquette vs 12 Murray State
This one's pretty simple for most, Murray State's Ja Morant was just announced to be in the top 4 in Naismith Award voting. He's an elite guard, averaging 10 APG. He will be matching up against another top guard in Markus Howard for Marquette. Overall, the Golden Eagles play a much sloppier brand of basketball, and Ja Morant has a much better shot selection than Markus Howard. The Racers have much more discipline and move out on the break much better than Marquette. Marquette's advantage in this one is that they have more scoring options than Murray State, Ja Morant will have to play most of the game to keep this upset bid alive.
Here's my full bracket for this upcoming March Madness. I'm not one to pick all of the higher seeds, I like a lot of the double digit seeds in this tournament and I feel they're more talented than usual double digit squads.
Eagles soar to the sectional finals
2/27/19; 12:15am; Nolan Field
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The Bethlehem Eagles advanced to the Section 2 Class AA Finals on Tuesday, February 26th. A cold night outside Cool Insuring Arena had no effect on this game, the game started with an early pair of threes from Ortale, and Bethlehem dominated most of the start of the 1st quarter of action. CBA made a run late in the 1st to keep it close. Bethlehem led the Brothers by a score of 17-12 at the end of the 1st quarter of play. In the 2nd quarter things clicked for CBA, my standout player for CBA this game was Vinn Tirino, the sophomore shined when his team needed him the most, and played more than other rotation players such as Grimes and Pelissier due to his play. Tirino finished with 2 points and 4 rebounds, and looked like an experienced senior out on the floor, he moved the ball well and played excellent defence. By the end of the 3rd quarter CBA gained a 5 point advantage and had momentum heading into the half, leading 28-23. Senior '19 Drew Signor turned it on in the third, and so did Jordan King. Signor had a monsterous 17 rebounds at the end of regulation, along with a clutch steal and full court pass to King when CBA needed it in the fourth. As for King he looked unstoppable in the 3rd, King was hitting everything put in front of him, something Bethlehem had previously seen in CBA's 65-54 victory just two weeks ago. King had multiple and-ones in the 3rd and hit a huge step-back. All momentum seemed to be shifting towards CBA, but all in the meanwhile Bethlehem was still scoring, and although they were not highlight plays, a bucket is a bucket. The Eagles came out of their shell in the 4th, and blew back into the lead, through many lead changes in the 4th, CBA was faced with a 4 point deficit as LeClair finished a layup. CBA didn't score on their next possession, and the next time Bethlehem came down the floor, Pete O'Toole forced a tipped ball, which was recovered by Signor and thrown to King for a layup. Then came the controversial calls, after a missed shot, Hagen Foley and a Bethlehem guard scrambled to the corner for a loose ball. From my corner I couldn't see the play but from the reactions around the people who could see the play, it appeared as if the official may have been at a bad angle on this play. The call was a saved basketball thrown in by Bethlehem had hit Foley, and fallen out of bounds. Before this there was another call in which I feel as though the officials may have been in a bad position to see, a double dribble was missed badly, which would have given CBA the ball with plenty of time to tie or win. In the end however, Bethlehem held up strong on defense and stopped CBA the first inbound by fouling Murray, and then a pass from King flew into Signor, where there was a general scramble for the ball again, and the ball popped out to O'Toole who missed a mid-range jumper as time expired. They had 3 officials at the game tonight, and I thought they didn't do that bad considering the level of play, not sure weather to question the officiating or if I should be more asking for an adjustment in the positioning of officials so that they can best see the play. Neither of these teams deserved to walk off the hardwood as losers on Tuesday however, both teams fought hard. I think most would agree that if they were to play again it would be a toss up. Bethlehem moves on to face Saratoga who defeated Shen in their semi-final match. That game is set for this Saturday, March 2nd in the Cool Insuring Arena at 6pm.
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Jordan King '19 pivots to survey the floor in the 1st quarter against Bethlehem
Pete O' Toole '19 shoots a free throw in CBA's warm up routine before they took on Bethlehem
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bethlehem vs cba pre-game keys
2/26/19; 4:20pm; Nolan Field
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KEYS to Bethlehem vs CBA Section 2 Class AA Semi-Finals:
For CBA: - Must play the best defensive game of the year, O'Toole must be an the anchor and keep down the momentum train that Bethlehem needs to go on massive runs like the one we saw for Bethlehem in the first match-up, and for CBA in the most recent match-up. - CBA has to play at their pace, and not be rushed and pushed by the crowd. CBA's offense requires patience, the Brothers play their best ball when they are executing their offense to perfection, and when they are patient and work the ball inside first, then outside, that's when you see them win most of their games. - CBA's role players; CBA has a lot of role players that are young into their varsity career. The most frequent players you will see enter the game from Coach Doemel's side is Tyler Grimes (Junior) and Vinn Tirino (Sophomore). You may also see a common tactic of Doemel's which is to switch out Murray and Pelissier for defencive and offencive needs. Tirino and Grimes were held to a combined 2 points in CBA's win against Bethlehem, a number that I believe will have to rise for the Brothers to advance. For Bethlehem: - Bethlehem was simply sloppy on the offensive side of the ball in their loss to CBA, and didn't run too many of their sets well, as said by their own Coach Irons. Bethlehem will be going up against the CBA man-to-man, which involves a lot of help defense and scrambling to help teammates once one gets beat. If Bethlehem can move the ball well and fast after beating one and catch CBA in a scramble Bethlehem should be able to put up some open shots. - Be careful! Bethlehem has a great inside/outside attack, which has been the emphasis behind their great season. However CBA is probably the best team in Class AA in taking charges. It's preached and the players execute them very well. This can lead to foul trouble at an accelerated pace for any of the Brothers opponents. 3 players that are crucial to Bethlehem's play down the stretch were in foul trouble in the season closer. Barnes, Salo, and Zonca all finished with 4 fouls, all 3 of those players are personnel that touch the floor every quarter for Bethlehem. - Use Salo. Personally love Salo's game, it almost mirrors the game of Drew Signor's of CBA. Salo is great at taking advantage of players who try and use the baseline as a defender with his reverse roll hook. Signor vs Salo will most likely dictate the game tonight. |
Vinn Tirino '21 takes a three-point jumper after getting his defender to jump on a pump-fake.
Jordan King '19 is introduced at HVCC before his 22 point outing against Green Tech, CBA won 62-56.
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CBA wins in upset fashion in bethlehem
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On Wednesday night, the Brothers came into Bethlehem and pulled off a huge upset over the now 19-1 (15-1 League) Bethlehem Eagles. Mike Ortale despite having a couple of momentum plays was held to a total of 5 FGs, and only had 12 points on the night. He was guarded by CBA’s Pete O’Toole for most of the night, who held the Eagle’s top scorer to one of his lowest scoring performances of the year. For the other side of the ball, CBA’s Jordan King notched his 10th strait game of scoring 20+ points and his 27 points on Wednesday pushed CBA over the top. 3 of King’s top scoring games came against the two top teams in the Suburban, Troy (29) and Bethlehem twice (36 and 27). The season for the Brothers started shaky, but as the season continued, the team and Head Coach Doemel worked out the kinks. The Brothers lost early games to Shen (14-6), and Ballston Spa (7-13) who started a string of 3 losses in a row, followed by losses to Saratoga (17-3) and Bethlehem in January. The Brothers ended up winning a pivotal turnaround game in Niskayuna, and never looked back, from there the Brothers won 8 of their next nine. Their final record of 14-5 (12-5 League) was good enough for 4th in the Suburban Council Blue Division, trailing only powerhouses in Bethlehem, Saratoga, and Shen. The Brothers only loss in that stretch was to Troy, who stayed in Class A for sectionals. For the Brothers schedule, they were the best team to not get a bye, just the same as last year. This year the Brothers have been matched up against a Guilderland squad that to win a game this season, at a stunning 0-20. CBA should get an easy win at home to open up sectional play on next Wednesday, but as Coach Doemel will say, “Respect all, fear none”. That motto has served the 2010 state champions CBA well. For the Brothers future sectional hopes, that same Wednesday a young team in Green Tech (9-7) will host Shaker (5-15) who’s had an odd year, but finished the season with 2 wins against Guilderland and Albany on the road. I expect Green Tech’s sophomore phenom Joshua Rodriguez to roll over Shaker. Either way CBA’s next match-up if they defeat Guilderland will be at the Hudson Valley Community College, and will be the opening Class AA game at 2:00pm on Saturday 2/23. The stage has been set for a CBA-Bethlehem rematch to come in the future, Bethlehem should handle the winner of LaSalle vs Schenectady easily and advance to the Class AA semifinals quite easily.
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Jordan King '19 knocks down a free throw with the game still close. King made 6/6 free throws to finish the game.
Drew Signor '19 finishes a layup through contact from Erik Salo.
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CBA Loses A Scrappy Suburban Game to Troy
Nolan Field, 2/2/19
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On Friday night CBA played a suburban conference game against Troy High, who was 12-0 on the season entering the match-up, with CBA standing at 8-4. The game started with a Senior Night ceremony, honoring CBA seniors Mike Hicks, Jordan King, Drew Signor, Pete O’Toole, Drew Trobridge, and Mike Murray. The game was a hard fought battle from the beginning, King and CBA lit it up early, but a quick Troy run to end the 1st quarter left it at 21-14 in Troy’s favor. CBA played a great 2nd quarter and went into the half tied at 37. Troy came out fast in the 3rd quarter, and CBA struggled on the glass and in the points category trying to keep up with Troy’s fast pace system. Jordan King despite the loss led the game in points, with 29 points. For the victors, Troy’s Latyce Faison finished with 28 points, including 2 threes on a Brothers defense that was struggling with some defensive rotations in the 3rd. The crowd was loud and into the game from the tip, the Troy parents were able to match the CBA fan section, which was impressive. The 4th quarter showed more push from CBA, but at that point it was too late. Troy was ranked the 14th team in the state among class A schools, they are now 13-0 in conference play, and 13-2 overall out of conference, they are 0-2 when out of the Suburban. Troy plays again tomorrow afternoon at 6:45 against Schalmont, another top ranked team in the state (Class B) in what should be a great out of conference game for both sides. As for CBA this puts an end to their 4 game win streak, and pushes them back a full game behind Shenendehowa for the 3rd spot in the Suburban Council Blue division. CBA is now 8-5 in Suburban Council play, and 9-5 overall. CBA plays again next Tuesday night against Guilderland, game at 7:00 at Guilderland. Guilderland still has yet to win a game this season, with a whopping 0-17 record after losing to a 3-13 Shaker team Friday night.
This loss for CBA means that wins in the coming weeks contests against Guilderland and Schenectady this week are crucial to seeding, CBA’s final game at Bethlehem will not be an easy game to win. If the Brothers finish 10-5, assuming that Shen wins at Nisky and Colonie, both of which could be upsets. As well as Saratoga winning at Colonie, Averill Park, and Nisky. CBA would stand at the 4 or 5 seed for sectionals, depending on the results of Averill Park’s games, of which they should at least lose to Saratoga. With the 4 seed they would be playing Shaker if the season were to end today, who they just soundly defeated. With the 5 seed CBA would match up against Niskayuna, who they also defeated about 2 weeks ago. This could all be changed based on teams such as Averill Park moving down to Class A for the sectionals. |
Pete O'Toole '19 lays the ball off the glass after being found on a backdoor cut.
Jordan King '19 after receiving his Senior Night gift
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CBA win big over shaker
Nolan Field, 1/31/19
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The Brothers were victorious 79-48 on Wednesday night against the Shaker Bison as Jordan King continued his tear through the Suburban Council, finishing with 24 points. The win puts CBA at 8-4 (9-4 overall) and the Bison at 1-10 (2-13 overall). In terms of positioning in the Suburban this win was huge because as we near the end of the season the Brothers are heating up, and with Saratoga grabbing a win against Shen last night 48-44, the Brothers are tied for the 3rd spot in the Blue Division.
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Pete O'Toole '19 shoots a free throw in the 1st quarter in a win against Shaker. Pete finished with 12 points in the win for the Brothers.
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Coach Doemel Breaks 335 Win Mark
Nolan Field, 1/26/19
Coach Doemel ‘71 receives the game ball from his 335th win from CBA’s head of school, Dr. Schlegel.
Coach Dave Doemel has been the coach of many respective CBA athletic teams over the past years, including runs with the CBA baseball, freshman, JV and now Varsity basketball squads. Coach has surpassed the 100, 200, and 300 landmarks, and as odd of a number 335 may be to celebrate, it’s for good reason. On Friday night he passed Bill Telasky for the most wins in CBA varsity basketball history. CBA defeated Columbia at home 66-48, led by Jordan King who continues to show out with 22 points in the win (23.5 PPG is 1st in the Suburban). This win put CBA at 7-4 in Suburban Council play, good for 4th in the Blue Division and stand 1.5 games behind Shenendehowa for the 3rd slot. However, that was not the main point behind Friday’s win. Coach Doemel was given a short and sweet ceremony for earning the first spot. In a post game interview Coach gave thanks to many who helped along his journey, which included the likes of Telasky and his past players. One of Coach Doemel's famous quotes is "Losers walk, winners run, decide what you want to be." Coach Doemel has held the great tradition of CBA basketball and continues the legacy further moving forward. Congratulations Coach.
