Saints Clinch Division On Senior Night

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Central Catholic Saints officially clinched the Western Athletic Conference Northern Division with a 57-53 Senior Night win over visiting Fort Plain, Wednesday. And it was two seniors who really helped get the job done. The Saints’ Luke Spicer was a defensive dynamo, especially in the second half, who ended up with seven steals and four assists on the night. Michael Naughton came out of the gates by scoring eight of his team-high 17 points in the first quarter. He also finished with eight rebounds. “Our senior leadership has been great,” said Saints head coach Ken Mantia. “Games we would have lost last year we now have the poise to win.” The Saints (9-0, 12-2) clinch their 26th league championship in school history thanks in part to a clutch fourth quarter that included a three point play by Spa Catholic’s season leading scorer Evan Pescetti, which was assisted by Ryan Czarnecki. Pescetti, a sophomore, and Czarnecki, a junior, have provided depth for a senior laden team all season. Pescetti ended up with 13 points and the three-point play put the Saints up 50-45. Aiden Van Loan scored 13 points for the Hilltoppers (6-4, 8-6) in the loss and was a big reason why Fort Plain held the game to within three points for the first three quarters before Pescetti’s and-one. Van Loan was able to find holes in the Saints’ defense in the first half, but Spa Catholic made the effort to specifically contain him in the second. If Saratoga Central Catholic can end the season with two road wins against St. Johnsville and Mayfield, they will be the first Class C team to go undefeated in their perspective league since Fort Plain (2000). “Our guard play of Spicer, [Brian] Hall and Czarnecki has allowed us to sustain our defensive pressure and wear teams down,” Mantia said. “Pescetti and Naughton give us great inside presence and [Keegan] Murphy has really come on strong down the stretch. His passing is very underrated. JR [Hmura] and Jake [VanPatten] give us a defensive boost off the bench. It has been a very unselfish team and they earned this league title.”