Photo by Jill Lobdell
Willsboro’s Cody Ahrent goes to the air to collect a loose ball against Elizabethtown-Lewis in the Section VII/Class D quarterfinal round Saturday.
WILLSBORO | Playoffs end in a win for only one team.
For Elizabethtown-Lewis, the season came to an end Feb. 23, as the seventh seed Lions fell, 78-28, to the second seed Willsboro Warriors Saturday, bringing and end to Lions basketball as they merge with Westport Central School July 1.
“It’s tough to go out like this and see the end of the Lion’s legacy, but Willsboro is a very good team,” Lions head coach Colby Pulsifer said. “They will hopefully have some success especially with their next opponent, whoever they play. We knew that Willsboro was going to be a really tough team. I expressed to them that this could be the last game they would ever play as Lions, and they needed to play as hard as they could.”
“It’s kind of bittersweet,” added Warriors coach Jim Spring. “It’s a nice win, but it’s sad to say that this is the last time we will play against Elizabethtown-Lewis. I played them when I was in school and to coach against them for many years — it’s just bittersweet.”
Jared Joslyn led the Warriors with 18 points, while Regan Arnold added 16 points and six steals, Oliver Lee 11, Trevor Bigelow 11, Ben Jackson eight, Stephen Leibeck seven points and five steals, Cody Ahrent three, Jared Ball two points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Jon Schier two.
“It’s a good win,” Bigelow said. “We have to keep working. I have to play my role in practice, work hard and show up to play in the game.”
“It’s fun to see all 10 of us to put in the hard work and get the win,” said Joslyn. “We all contributed as a team. I’m looking forward to the next game.”
For the Lions, Brandon Tromblee scored 12 points , while Brayden Drew scored eight, Chris Jones four, Ethan Graham two and Lucas Spilling two.
The Warriors will face sixth seed Bolton in the semifinal round, set to take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, at AuSable Valley High School.
“It’s not preparing for the other team, it’s doing what we do,” Spring said. “We work hard in practice. I expect a lot out of my captains Jared and Trevor. They work hard every day in practice and gets the team going.”
EAGLES UPSET PANTHERS
The Bolton Eagles outscored Crown Point 41-27 in the second half as the sixth seed pulled off a 57-44 upset of the third seed Panthers Saturday.
“We really had a tough time getting it going,” said Panthers coach John Swinton. “Too many three point attempts and silly turnovers to win a sectional game. Bolton did a good job of being aggressive offensively and getting to the free throw line. Ultimately, we just didn’t have the effort necessary to win tonight.”
In all, the Eagles connected on 16 free throws.
Kevin Neacy scored 23 points to lead the Eagles, while Garrick Morrow added 16, Adam Seamans nine and Craig Wholey seven.
Zach Spaulding scored 17 points for the Panthers, finishing his career with 1,042 points, placing him 76th on the Section VII boys all time scoring list.
Cody Crammond added nine points, while Jake LaDeau had eight, Reese Celotti four, Noah Spaulding four and Ross Thomas two.
WILDCATS ADVANCE
After the first half ended with fourth seed Schroon Lake and fifth seed Chazy tied, 22-22, The Wildcats outscored the Eagles 30-19 in the second half for a 52-41 win Saturday.
“We got off to a slow start and didn’t have our best performance but we were able to grind out a win and move on — at this point in the season that’s all that matters,” said Schroon Lake coach Lee Silvernail. “It was a physical game from the beginning we expected them to give us their best shot. I was proud of the way they fought through the adversity and played together.”
Andrew Pelkey led the Wildcats with 27 points, while Cian Bresnahan added 17, Gabe Gratto two, Oliver Higgens two and Colin Bresnahan one.
Alex Chapman led the Eagles with 11 points, with Gabe Huchro scoring 10, Brice Panetta nine, Devin Therrian six, Ben Norcross three and Bruce Juneau two.
The Wildcats will face top seed Wells Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Class D semifinals at AVCS.
“We look forward to a rematch Wednesday night,” Silvernail said.
