Southside boys hoops team advances to finals which will be held at Broome County Veterns Memorial Arena Thursady Feb 5 2009
The Southside boys threatened to put Maine-Endwell away early Saturday night, but the Spartans scrapped back before the top-seeded Green Hornets won 67-56 in a Section 4 Class A semifinal at Southside.
The win sets up a rematch of the Southern Tier Athletic Conference semifinals, when Norwich beat Southside 66-55 at Norwich. The second-seeded Purple Tornado, a 70-41 winner over Elmira Free Academy in the other semifinal, will take on the Hornets at 7:45 p.m. Thursday at Broome Country Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton.
Top-seeded Southside (15-6) played harassing half-court defense and stepped into the passing lanes for several steals. But the Hornets were inconsistent in converting the fast-break attempts and the Spartans, led by Joe Powell's 18 points, worked double-digit leads back to within two points before foul trouble caught up to them late in the game.
"I thought we were sloppy with the ball, but it wasn't because of lack of effort," Southside coach John Fesetch said. "Maybe the kids were a little too pumped up. But we guarded very well on defense and did a great job of helping each other out, so I'm quite pleased. Maine-Endwell are a bunch of tough kids and Powell is a heck of a player."
Isaac Yorro opened the scoring with a 3-pointer and had five points as Southside never trailed and led by as much as 15-4 before M-E (14-6) came back to 15-7 on a 3-pointer by Brian Ruby. In the second quarter, the Hornets led 23-12 before the Spartans fought back to 31-24 at halftime. Mike Backer came alive for seven of his game-high 20 points to lead Southside in the second quarter. Powell, who didn't score in the opening period, had six points before the half.
"Our kids have a ton of heart," Maine-Endwell coach Bill Ocker said. "We feel like we can win any game right up until the final buzzer, no matter what the situation. But we're aggressive and we do pick up a lot of fouls. That's been a problem for us a few times this year and it hurt tonight."
The score was 46-41 to start the fourth period, but by the time John Connolly fouled out, with about three minutes to go, the Southside lead was back to 60-50. Down the stretch, Backer went 6-for-8 from the foul line.
"We just kept working hard and moving the ball around until things started falling," Backer said. "But the defense was setting a lot of it up. I thought the way Bryan Gilbert played Powell was a key.
"Now we'll try to get ready for Norwich. That should be a good game."
The win sets up a rematch of the Southern Tier Athletic Conference semifinals, when Norwich beat Southside 66-55 at Norwich. The second-seeded Purple Tornado, a 70-41 winner over Elmira Free Academy in the other semifinal, will take on the Hornets at 7:45 p.m. Thursday at Broome Country Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton.
Top-seeded Southside (15-6) played harassing half-court defense and stepped into the passing lanes for several steals. But the Hornets were inconsistent in converting the fast-break attempts and the Spartans, led by Joe Powell's 18 points, worked double-digit leads back to within two points before foul trouble caught up to them late in the game.
"I thought we were sloppy with the ball, but it wasn't because of lack of effort," Southside coach John Fesetch said. "Maybe the kids were a little too pumped up. But we guarded very well on defense and did a great job of helping each other out, so I'm quite pleased. Maine-Endwell are a bunch of tough kids and Powell is a heck of a player."
Isaac Yorro opened the scoring with a 3-pointer and had five points as Southside never trailed and led by as much as 15-4 before M-E (14-6) came back to 15-7 on a 3-pointer by Brian Ruby. In the second quarter, the Hornets led 23-12 before the Spartans fought back to 31-24 at halftime. Mike Backer came alive for seven of his game-high 20 points to lead Southside in the second quarter. Powell, who didn't score in the opening period, had six points before the half.
"Our kids have a ton of heart," Maine-Endwell coach Bill Ocker said. "We feel like we can win any game right up until the final buzzer, no matter what the situation. But we're aggressive and we do pick up a lot of fouls. That's been a problem for us a few times this year and it hurt tonight."
The score was 46-41 to start the fourth period, but by the time John Connolly fouled out, with about three minutes to go, the Southside lead was back to 60-50. Down the stretch, Backer went 6-for-8 from the foul line.
"We just kept working hard and moving the ball around until things started falling," Backer said. "But the defense was setting a lot of it up. I thought the way Bryan Gilbert played Powell was a key.
"Now we'll try to get ready for Norwich. That should be a good game."
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