SCOTIA — No Section II high school basketball team had won a Class A state title since the tournament made the change to five classes back in 2004.
Scotia-Glenville changed all that on March 16 with a 66-44 New York State Public High School Athletic Association final win over Rochester’s East High at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
The program’s first state championship was capped off by a dominant fourth quarter—when the Tartans outscored their opponent 21-2.
“Definitely with all the players who have come through Scotia and to be the first team to ever win a state title at our school means a lot,” said Tartans junior and tournament MVP Joe Cremo. “For this community, especially, they’ve been behind us the entire way. To win it with these guys—I wouldn’t want to do it with any other group of guys.”
The Orientals (19-5), who trailed by three heading into the final quarter, scored their only two points in the waning seconds of the game.
Scotia’s Alex Sausville had a game-high 26 points, highlighted by eight 3-pointers. His eight shots from beyond the arc in the title game tied an overall state record and set a new one for the Class A tournament.
“When he’s on it’s huge,” Cremo said. “We have Dom (Lamorta), Alex, Scotty (Stopera) and Schuyler (Sayles)—our shooters—and when Alex is on, you just have to give him the ball when he’s hot and keep it going.”
In addition to Cremo, Stopera and Sausville were also named to the All-Tournament team.
After taking down Troy in two overtimes for the Section II Class A title, the Tartans breezed through regionals and the rest of the state tournament by an average margin of 27.5 points per game, including a 72-44 win over Bishop Ludden in the regional championship.
Last year, Ludden knocked Scotia out in the regional round. That was the last time the program lost a game.
One of three undefeated teams in New York State (Class B Westhill and PSAL B Brooklyn Community A&M) Scotia (25-0) will now play Albany Academy tonight in the Federation Tournament at the Times Union Center.
Both teams are very familiar with one another, as they play against each other throughout the offseason and scrimmaged before the Tartan’s first sectional game.
Scotia is currently ranked No. 1 in the state, while the independent Cadets are ranked No. 2.
The Cadets (14-4), who do not play in either the sectional or state tournament, have not played a regulation game since defeating John Brown on February 21. The team is led by Matt Knezovic’s 15.6 points per game and John Moutopoulos’s 11.6 points per game.
The winner earns the right to play in the championship game against either Holy Trinity (23-6) or Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School (27-4) on Saturday at 5 p.m. All games are at the TU.
Tip-off for tonight’s game between the top two Class A teams in the state is set for 8:30 p.m.
“We’re going to get ready the same way we always have,” said Cremo on Tuesday. “Our coaches are going to get us ready and we’re going to believe in the system and believe in what our coaches are telling us. We’re just going to keep trusting each other and play Scotia basketball.”
