SARATOGA SPRINGS — Shooting 7-for-7 from the field with three three-pointers in the first half, Saratoga Central Catholic’s Luke Spicer helped set the tone for the Saints in Wednesday night’s Section II Class C first round rout over Hadley-Luzerne, 93-59.
The No. 3 Saints (16-3) put full court pressure on No. 14 Hadley-Luzerne (10-9) from the opening tip and didn’t hold back. Spa Catholic constantly forced turnovers and kept an up-pace game in transition, as Spicer finished with 19 in the first quarter and 23 for the game.
The Saints offensive onslaught continued in the second half, outscoring the Eagles 35-15 in the third quarter and heading into the fourth with an 85-44 lead.
Sophomore Evan Pescetti was a main reason for the 35-point quarter, pouring in a majority of his game high 25 for the Saints in the third.
Spa Catholic keyed in on Eagles season-leading scorer Jesse DeMarsh, who ended with 20, throughout the game. The Saints’ Keegan Murphy and Ryan Czarnecki, who also hit three shots from beyond the arc, both finished in double digits with 11 points apiece.
The Saints will now play No. 6 Rensselaer, who defeated No. 11 Berne-Knox to advance to the quarterfinal round, Saturday at 11 a.m. at Hudson Valley Community College.
The Rams (13-6) were 10-6 in the Patroon Conference and were paced by Tyler Oliver’s 13.9 points per game this season.
Two Patroon teams have pulled off upsets thus far in the 2014 postseason. Hudson, a No. 15 seed in the Class B tournament, knocked off No. 3 Cohoes (ranked No. 12 in the state at the time) in the first round and No. 10 Maple Hill defeated No. 7 Duanseburg in a convincing 72-46 victory, Wednesday in Class C action.
The winner of Saturday’s game will play the winner of No. 2 Lake George and Maple Hill next Wednesday, February 26, at the Civic Center.
