Author: Jonathon Norcross

MECHANICVILLE — The Saratoga Racers’ near-Cinderella story collapsed in the second half of a tense March 1 game against the undefeated, top-ranked Buffalo Extreme.

The first quarter was a vicious back-and-forth battle that produced a few fouls, a few turnovers, and a lot of chatter from the Buffalo bench. Obviously intent on preserving their flawless regular season record, Buffalo began widening their lead in the opening stanza until Saratoga nailed a triple, induced a turnover, and then laid in an easy bucket to bring themselves within three points. 

As the final seconds of the first quarter ticked away, the Racers’ RJ Rosa sank another three-pointer, literally at the buzzer, to tie the game at 31-31. The crowd, one of the biggest and most enthusiastic Racers audiences in the team’s two-year history, erupted.

Early in the second quarter, Saratoga pulled ahead by five, thanks to its relentless defense. With a touch under nine minutes left before halftime, the first of at least two on-court altercations broke out. A pair of officials and a coach broke up the dispute before a technical foul was issued.

Despite the distraction, Saratoga fought to maintain an edge, leading by anywhere from three to six points during the second stanza. With just two minutes remaining in the first half, the Racers had a one-point lead. A thunderous dunk from Racer’s star Juwan Malone helped deny a Buffalo comeback. At halftime, Saratoga was ahead 62-59 and on their way to becoming the first American Basketball Association (ABA) team to take down the Extreme.

But then fortunes changed. Buffalo launched into the second half with a 9-0 run until Rosa stopped the bleeding with a jumper. In only a few minutes, however, the Extreme had rocketed to a ten-point lead. That advantage steadily climbed until suddenly Buffalo was up by 20 points and seemed to be manhandling Saratoga with ease.

Saratoga was also the victim of its own errors. A number of missed free throws kept the squad from reducing their disadvantage to single digits. One missed free throw resulted in another technical foul that inspired a Buffalo coach to hurl his clipboard across the corner of the court. As tensions mounted, the Extreme nailed a shot from well behind the arc at the third quarter buzzer, solidifying what would prove to be an insurmountable lead.

The fourth quarter was an ugly one. The game ended at 143-127 after another on-court altercation caused officials to call off the contest with 40-some seconds still on the clock. John Ryals III led all Saratoga scorers with 30 points. Malone added 22 and Donovan Williams contributed 21.

Despite the tough finish to their regular season, the Racers are nonetheless well-positioned for the playoffs. The team has been placed in the ABA East Region Blue Division as the No. 3 seed. They’ll next head to Vermont, to take on the No. 2 seed Coyotes, for a 7 p.m. Sunday night game at Barre Municipal Auditorium.  

Although only one seed apart, the 11-5 Racers have a considerable advantage over the 12-11 Coyotes. They’ve beaten the Vermont squad in three out of four contests this season. 

Now ranked #24 nationally among all ABA teams, Saratoga will hope to make a dent in their second-ever postseason appearance.

The Racers also have two players up for ABA All-Star contention: Ryals and Williams.

Williams, a point guard, averaged 15 points on 57% shooting this year, adding an average of 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2.5 steals per game. He accumulated 3 double-doubles and 1 triple-double this season. 

Ryals averaged 21 points per game on 53% shooting. He also averaged 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals per contest. He scored more than 30 points three times this season, including an impressive 36-point performance against Buffalo. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Hildebrandt’s Ice Cream recently announced that it will sponsor jockey Dylan Davis, who is making his return to horse racing after incurring a host of injuries following a frightening spill at Aqueduct Racetrack late last year.

Davis is a graduate of Saratoga Springs High School and regularly competes at The Spa.

“Hildebrandt’s is honored to support one of horse racing’s most respected riders at such a pivotal moment in his career,” the ice cream maker said in a press release. “This partnership reflects the brand’s commitment to perseverance, excellence, and standing behind individuals who embody resilience both on and off the track.”

“Thank you for the support with me returning back to ride today,” Davis wrote in a Feb. 28 social media post.

On Nov. 14, Davis racked up a slew of injuries, including nine fractured ribs, a collapsed left lung, and a broken right collarbone. His brother Robbie Jr. created a GoFundMe to help pay for medical bills, physical therapy, rehab, and living expenses. The horse racing world responded to this call for aid by contributing $18,190 in just a handful of days, far surpassing the requested $12,000 goal.

Davis, who earned 21 first-place finishes and more than $2.6 million in earnings riding at Saratoga Race Course in 2025, belongs to a family that has been prominent in the New York horse racing scene for decades. He and his sister Katie, a jockey who was featured in the Netflix docuseries “Race for the Crown,” grew up near the Saratoga Race Course, where they fell in love with the sport thanks to their father Robbie, a popular jockey in the 1980s. In addition to Dylan and Katie, the Davis family also includes Jacqueline (aka Jackie, a jockey based in the Finger Lakes) and Edmund (aka Eddie), a rising horse trainer.

AMSTERDAM — Two Saratoga Springs High School teammates with “big potential” have been signed by the Amsterdam Mohawks of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL).

Colin Mack, a right-handed pitcher committed to Division 1 Northeastern University, and Brady Mills, a catcher committed to the College of William & Mary, will both join the 13-time PGCBL champs this summer. 

Mack is 6’4” with a fastball that clocked in at 92 mph last year (the Mohawks said it’s reached as high as 94 mph). In their signing announcement, the Mohawks also said that Mack is “expected to garner some MLB draft interest.” As a sophomore two seasons ago, he finished with a 1.45 ERA, striking out 18 batters in just 9.2 innings.

The Mohawks described Mills as “a big, physical catcher with plus defensive skills and a big-time arm” who “shows big power potential at the plate” and is “another player projected to gain pro interest at some point.” As a junior last season at the plate, Mills earned a .792 OPS, recording 5 doubles and 27 RBI. Behind the plate, he finished with a .985 fielding percentage.

As Blue Streaks last season, both Mack and Mills helped their team capture its first-ever Section 2 Class AAA state title.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Born in France, raised on classical music, reborn amongst rockers in New York City, and now settled into the soulful life of a singer-songwriter, Stephen Thirolle is far from your average tennis coach.

“They’re both ways for me to play, intellectually [and] physically,” Thirolle told Saratoga TODAY about his twin endeavors: playing tennis and playing guitars. “Cooperative play lives in both worlds and has freedom in both of these worlds. It’s a cool thing. I’ve only come to appreciate that in my adult life. As a kid, I didn’t really see them as two bridges to the same place. But now I kind of do.”

Thirolle is an assistant tennis coach at Skidmore College, where he serves as “the on-court guy,” playing and traveling with the team. He also has private clientele and runs summer tennis camps on Skidmore’s campus.

He was the recipient of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Assistant Coach of the Year Award in 2018, and he won the United States Professional Tennis Association’s College Coach of the Year Award in 2019. Before all that, he was captain and MVP of his high school tennis squad, achievements that allowed him to continue playing the sport at Middlebury College. 

But music reigns supreme as his greatest passion.

“I’m sure I’ll drop my tennis racket before I drop my guitar,” Thirolle said.

The tennis guru began studying classical piano at the tender age of five. An early teacher was Stanley Hummell, a revered concert pianist who lived most of his life in the Capital Region and performed at both Carnegie Hall and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

“He was 6’8’ with a shock of white hair, a real gentleman,” Thirolle recalled. “That was an amazing experience, having a Gandalf-like figure being my musical mentor.”

While he was learning to tickle the keys, Thirolle’s house was filled with the varied sounds of world music. Russian folk, Swiss yodeling, samba, Charlie Byrd, Stan Getz, Beethoven, and Bach were all part of the budding musician’s sonic diet. But he also engaged in a covert operation inside his bedroom, listening to pop music on the radio at a low volume, lest his superiors should hear. During this clandestine activity, Thirolle would be introduced to the cerebral folk-rock of Bob Dylan and the psychedelic, orchestral sounds of The Beatles. He eventually became hungry to add more instruments to his repertoire.

“I learned all those band instruments on my own after I was raised with classical piano,” he said. “It was easy for me to learn guitar. It was easy for me to play the drums. I was very fluid and learning super-fast.”

After college, Thirolle embarked on a 20-plus-year sojourn to New York City, where he said his adult self began to emerge. He fell in with some rockers, played in bands, and experimented with songwriting.

“In New York, I tried to write really hard rock,” Thirolle said. “I was very impressed with all my friends who were down at Don Hill’s and Brownies and CBGB. They were playing that hard rock, and I was like, ‘Oh, I can do that too.’ But that was never necessarily my bag. I think I wanted to write songs that could stand on their own and not have to have a band behind it. I think that everything I write now is a standalone song that has bones, structure. I can play it on my own. It satisfies. It hits.”

A journey from classical to pop to rock has resulted in the acoustic-driven, singer-songwriter sound of Thirolle’s latest EP, “The Waters and the Wild,” released in May 2025. With shades perhaps of John Lennon and Dave Matthews, the album’s vibe feels like it’s somewhere between breezy and pensive. Some of the tracks draw inspiration from sources as varied as the poet W.B. Yeats and the cities of London and Barcelona. Other songs, such as “In New York City” and “Darling Luna,” are directly inspired by Thirolle’s own life.

Although Thirolle has bounced around from France to the Capital Region to New York City to Europe, he ultimately chose to settle here in Saratoga Springs. The Skidmore tennis coach and moonlighting musician moved here with his wife to begin his “family phase.” His wife founded a local hair salon. His father-in-law plays bass in his band. His daughter probably isn’t old enough yet to play an instrument, but perhaps one day she will.

In the meantime, Thirolle is eager to keep recording, writing, and performing. He played at the Grateful Den in Glens Falls last month and is already booked for two more shows at Saratoga Winery later this year.

“The Waters and the Wild” is available on streaming platforms such as Spotify and Bandcamp. 

For more info, visit Stephen’s website: stephenthirolle.com.