Border Country Sports Blog-February 21st
Good Morning! With the Border Country Sports Blog, I'm Keith Harrington.
Well, we are done with the Players of the Week and Monday Morning Hot List segments for winter sports, but still, I call this "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!" And I'm not talking about the Christmas song by Andy Williams!
The Section II Tournament in New York is already underway. Vermont State Tournament pairings are about to be announced. And soon college basketball conference tournaments and March Madness will be here. I will be Spartansburg, South Carolina for the first round of the NCAA Tournament this year and can't wait.
If you are a basketball junkie like me it is just a different feeling that comes over you. There is energy running through your veins when the basketball playoffs begin. It goes all the way back to my coaching days. I could not wait for the sectional or state tournament pairings to come out back in the day. It was like waiting for Christmas.
I am on vacation this week from my full time job so there will be plenty of time to get out to the gyms. I am not sure of my exact schedule yet, but I will see many of you out there for sure.
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ADK Teams in Action This Week
After the Class C girls sectionals tipped off on Saturday evening, the games move into full swing this week. I was sad to see that we lost Whitehall, Warrensburg and Hadley-Luzerne who were eliminated this weekend in the opening round. Congrats to them on their seasons. And a shoutout to Corinth who advanced by remaining perfect at 21-0 after a win over Hoosic Valley out of the Wasaren League.
The action really starts to get busy tomorrow evening. On the boys side Granville hosts Saratoga Catholic in Class CC and Whitehall is home to Cambridge in Class C. Hadley-Luzerne will also host a Class C first round game against Galway.
In girls action Tuesday night Hartford hosts a quarterfinal doubleheader. Salem plays Northville in the opener with the #1 seed Tanagers meeting Germantown in the nightcap.
North Warren will also host a pair of quarterfinal contests. Argyle will play Spa Catholic at 6 p.m. withthe Cogars meeting Bishop Gibbons at 7:30 pm.
On Wednesday Hartford will play at home against ADK foe Fort Edward in the opening round. ADK opponents Salem and Fort Ann will also play on the Cardinal's home court.
In girls play on Wednesday Corinth will face Maple Hill at Duanesburg with a spot in the Final Four up for grabs.
Class CC Boys Quarterfinal games will be played Saturday at Saratoga HIgh School. The Class C Quarterfinals will be hosted by Shenendehowa.
On Sunday the boys Class D quarterfinals wil be contested at Stilwater High School.
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Border Country Sports Night with the Bennington Martens
Saturday evening was Border Country Sports Night at the Bennington Martens game. Although the crowd was not what we were hoping for, it was still a fun night. The Martens played one of their better games of the season in pulling out a close win 114-110 win over the Worcester Majors.
I made my debut as the Marten's announcer and was honored to get to recgnize three Marten's players durng the pre-game ceremony. Due to their nice seasons in the ABA with the Martens, Tank Roberson (Castleton University), John Ryals (CSJ) and Jamil Hood Jr. will be leaving in May to play professional basketball in Barcelona, Spain. All three were scouted by Europe Basketball Academy to receive this opportunity are very deserving. It is awesome seeing their hard work pay off and just shows the quality of talent that the Martens bring in.
I would also like to thank Christopher Kidd, Sean Pratt and Regina Mason of the Martens for producing certificates of recognition for all of our Border Country Sports Bennington Martens Players of the Week. I will be distributing them either in-person of by mail in the near future.
I am looking forward to helping to promote Bennington Martens basketball in the future. With thos season winding down I am not quite sure what the futuure holds for the team as it is all still in the works, but I know one thing for sure, as things develop you will hear about it right here on Border Country Sports as I look to deepen my involvment with the team. I really feel the Marten can be a huge addition to the local sports community and hope fans will come out to support them in the future.
Kidd will also be announcing the addition on another couple of teams in the near furture. Teams that will play in the PBA and LPBA, leagues that are a step or two above the ABA. I will be a part of these teams as well. So stay tuned hoop fans! Pro basketball is about to take off on both sides of the Border Country area!
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With the Border Country Sports Blog, I'm Keith Harrington.
