HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL: Troy and La Salle win big in sectional quarterfinals

TROY, N.Y.

The turnaround started over this past summer by washing away the negative history and looking toward a bright future.New, first-year head coach Jamil Hood was determined to rebuild the Troy High School varsity boys basketball team back into a contender when he took over the program this past summer.

The group had finished 4-17 a year ago, coming off a Section 2 Class A Championship victory in 2022-23.On Saturday afternoon, at Hudson Valley Community College, the three-seed Flying Horses announced their return to playoff action loudly, with a dominant, 74-52 win over No.11-seed Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake in the Section 2 Class AA Quarterfinals.Its great for the school.

Its great for the community.

Its great for the young men that actually came out here and performed, Hood, formerly the eight-year leader of Green Tech, said postgame.

Its a good feeling to see as a coach, to see these guys work so long and then know what they do is right.

They showed it right there on the court.Sophomore guard Stetson Merritt had a game-high 32 points on Saturday, including 17 in the first half, even with Troy coming off of an 11-day layoff between games.Stetson is kind of from a different zone.

Hes just a little bit different, but I say that in a good way because hes put the extra work in, Hood said.

On top of the extra work, he does a little bit more.

That type of hard work pays off, and you can see it.

So, he plays with a lot of confidence, and hes a good teammate.Merritt is the only player a part of this years Flying Horses who was along for the programs 2022-23 run to a sectional title at Cool Insuring Arena.

After a 4-16 regular season last year, he left the team ahead of its first-round playoff loss vs.

Bethlehem, 81-59.My first goal when I got the job was to get the community involved, meet with the parents, and just focus on building relationships, Hood explained postgame on Saturday.

Initially, coming in, we were talking about, lets put what happened last year to the side, lets just move on and have a good year.Aside from Merritt, junior guard Kayne Behan had a perfect 4-4 shooting performance from beyond the arc in the first half, finishing the game with 12 points and helping his team out to a 36-21 lead at the break.In the second half, after a scoreless opening 16 minutes, sophomore forward Jerdarius Green chipped in eight points for Troy, including a two-handed slam dunk at the end of the third quarter, putting the group up 60-35.

Junior guard Josiah Acevedo also added 10 points in the runaway quarterfinals victory.We know all the focus is going to be on Stet, but weve had to let his other teammates know that, Hey, listen, we need you to pitch in.

If you want to be successful, its going to have to be a collaborative effort.BHBL was coming off an upset of sixth-seed Averill Park, 40-37 on the road, in the first round, marking only its third playoff win since 2011 and also snapping a 16-game losing streak from the end of the regular season.

BHBL was led on Saturday by sophomore John Klopfers 24 points.The Flying Horses will now head back to Cool Insuring Arena, in Glens Falls, for a semifinals meeting on Thursday, March 6, vs.

La Salle Institute.

In a regular season meeting on Jan.

7, La Salle beat its second-year Colonial Council rival, 75-71, at Troy High School.The La Salle Institute boys varsity basketball team defeated Mohonasen, 90-43, on Saturday, March 1, in the Section 2 Class AA Championship-Quarterfinals, at Hudson Valley Community College, in Troy, N.Y.

(PHOTO BY DREW WEMPLE MEDIANEWS GROUP)The Cadets put up a convincing performance in their following quarterfinals matchup on Saturday afternoon, defeating 10-seed Mohonasen, 90-43.After their lead was only 35-21 at halftime, the Cadets microwave, sophomore scoring duo of Tradell Faison and Davon Maloney combined for 35 of the groups 55 points in the second half, turning away the upset-hungry Warriors with ease.In the first half, I wasnt really scoring as much as I know I could, but just getting my teammates involved is important.

And at this time of the year, thats all that matters is getting the win.Maloney finished with 30 points for La Salle, while Faison had 24.

The group was also coming off an extended 22-day period in between games, having last played on Feb.

7, when they claimed this years Colonial Council title with a win over Catholic Central, 86-57.We definitely didnt overlook them.

We were down at the half at Mohonasen earlier this year (Jan.

28), noted La Salle Institutes second-year head coach, Orlando DiBacco.

Theyve got a bunch of super athletes, so our guys werent overlooking the game.

I just thought we found our rhythm, and we played hard, and we went out and competed so.I think once we took a deep breath and got back into the swing of things, I thought we shared the ball extremely well, and I thought we played great defense, on-ball and off-ball, he added.

I think it was just a thing of getting our legs back under us.The Cadets outscored the Warriors, 55-22 out of halftime, including a 29-5 advantage through the fourth quarter.

Maloney and Faison punctuated the victory with a handful of dunks and alley-oops down the stretch.They play with great energy, and even in the first half, I thought they were super unselfish, moving the ball, finding open guys, DiBacco said.

We have a lot of guys on this team who can go put the ball in the hoop, so if you want to focus all your energy there, were pretty confident.

We have a lot of other places to also put the ball.As the head coach hinted at, La Salles junior big-man Stephen Mulinio also scored 10 points in the game on Saturday, all of which came in the first half.The Cadets went on a deep run a year ago to the Section 2 Class AA Finals, before finishing as the runner-ups with a 70-66 loss vs.

Niskayuna this years top seed.Nobody ever wants to lose in life, so thats just always the motivation for going into practice, Maloney said, postgame.

Youve got to work hard, work hard against each other, and just be intense.La Salle and Troy will play at 5 p.m.

on Thursday, with the winner advancing to Sundays Championship-Final at 2:30 p.m., back at HVCCs McDonough Sports Complex.The La Salle Institute boys varsity basketball team defeated Mohonasen, 90-43, on Saturday, March 1, in the Section 2 Class AA Championship-Quarterfinals, at Hudson Valley Community College, in Troy, N.Y.

(PHOTO BY DREW WEMPLE - MEDIANEWS GROUP)The Troy High School boys varsity basketball team defeated BHBL, 74-52, on Saturday, March 1, 2025, in the Section 2 Class AA Championship-Quarterfinals at Hudson Valley Community College, in Troy, N.Y.

(PHOTO BY DREW WEMPLE - MEDIANEWS GROUP)Show Caption1 of 2The La Salle Institute boys varsity basketball team defeated Mohonasen, 90-43, on Saturday, March 1, in the Section 2 Class AA Championship-Quarterfinals, at Hudson Valley Community College, in Troy, N.Y.

(PHOTO BY DREW WEMPLE - MEDIANEWS GROUP)Expand.

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