Border Country Sports Blog-February 24th
Good Morning! With the Border Country Sports Blog, I'm Keith Harrington.
Tanagers Outlast Fort Edward in Class D Opener
Hartford blew open a close game in the second quarter and fought off a Fort Edward comeback attempt as they outlasted the Flying Forts 72-57 in a Section II Class D playoff opening round contest between Adirondack League foes.
The #6 Tanagers advance to meet another ADK oppoent, #3 North Warren Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Stillwater HIgh School.
Ray Harrington led the Tanagers with 30 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, but the key to the game was the dominance in the paint of post players JP Lavin and Austin Wells.
"When you've got a six-five and six-four kid in the paint who have really developed their skills, part of our game plan is to feed our big guys and let them got to work, and that really paid off," Hartford coach Jason Harrington explained.
The game was nip and tuck early on. There were eight lead changes in the first quarter with Hartford twice leading by five. The Tanagers led 16-14 after the opening stanza.
In the second Hartford led 25-15 with 5:40 to go, but the Flying Forts inched back to within 27-22. The Tanagers closed the half on an 8-0 run with a bucket from Nate Fiske and a pair of Harrington treys to lead 35-22 at the intermission.
Hartford led 53-35 after three quarters and took their biggest lead of the night at 55-35 early in the fourth. Fort Edward was not done however as they ripped off an 8-0 spurt to pull within 55-43. The Flying Forts got as close as 60-51, but a putback by Lavin and nine points from Harrington including a dunk after a steal helped Tanagers salt the game away.
"We talked about how even with big leads against this group (Fort Edward) they are not out of any game," Harrington said. "They're quick and they shoot well. The Sullivan kid and the Tyler kid have the ability to score."
Lavin recorded a double-double for Hartford with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Wells added nine points and eight rebounds. Harrington had eight steals, while Fiske and Caleb Boucher had three assists apiece.
Ash Sullivan had an oustanding game for Fort Edward with 34 points.
Hartford is now 11-10 on the season.
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Corinth Holds Off Maple Hill to Remain Perfect
The Adirondack League champion Corinth girls basketball team remained unbeaten on the season as they fought off a dangerous Maple Hill team 46-37 to advance to the Class C semifinals.
The Wildcats led 12-10 after the first quarter and 21-20 at the break.
The Tomahawks used a 10-5 third quarter to take a 30-26 lead heading to the fourth.
Maple Hill pulled within 34-33 in the fourth, but an 8-2 run by Corinth gave them some breathing room down the stretch. Maddie DeLisle hit a key 3-pointer during the segment and Emily Dingmon made clutch free throws down the for the Tomahawks.
Dingmon continued her recent hot streak with 23 points for Corinth. DeLisle added 14.
The 22-0 #4 seed Tomahawks now meet #1 Duanesburg in the semifinals. Duanesburg is ranked #2 in the state .
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Westside Advances in Division IV
The West Rutland girls basketball team advanced to the Division IV quarterfinals with a decisive 70-25 win over Craftsbury in the Vermont State Tournament playdowns.
The Golden Horde led 27-3 after a quarter and were never challenged.
Peyton Guay led the Westside with 22 points. Arianna Coombs added 11 and Isabell Lanfear eight.
Ella Gillespie had 12 points to lead Craftsbury.
#2 West Rutland advances to meet local rival MSJ in the quarterfinals.
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Fort Ann Defeats Generals
Fort Ann pulled way in the fourth quarter to defeat ADK opponent Salem 68-50 in the Section II Class D opening round. The win was career victory 199 for Cardinal's coach Kevin Nassivera.
Fort Ann led 15-14 after a quarter and 29-28 at halftime.
The Generals used a 16-14 third quarter advantage to take a one point lead heading to the fourth.
In the the final stanza the Cardinals outscored Salem 25-6 to capture the win.
Jack Dornan had a double-double for Fort Ann with 28 points and 12 boards. Dylan Brown chipped in 16 points.
Connor Chilson led Salem with 19 points. Josh Harrington added 11 points, nine of them coming from behind the 3-point arc.
Fort Ann is now 9-12 and advances to meet #2 Northville in the quarerfinals Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at Stillwater.
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For more scores go to the Border Country Sports Scorestream Scoreboard: https://www.bordercountrysports.com/scores
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With the Border Country Sports Blog, I'm Keith Harrington.
Photo Credit: Corinth Central School