Sunday, March 23, 2014: Christ the King repeats in Class AA

   Leading off today: Christ the King clawed back from an early deficit and defeated Long Island Lutheran 58-52 in the Class AA final of the New York State Federation Tournament of Champions. boys basketball tournament Saturday in Albany.

   Ralwe Alkins scored six of his nine points in the fourth quarter for the Royals, who took the lead midway through the period after being held to just four points in the first quarter. Christ the King trailed by as many as 14 in the second quarter.

   "It goes to their resiliency," winning coach Joe Arbitello told The Daily News. "It goes to their mind-set."

   Tournament MVP Andrew Walker went 7-for-10 from the field and led Christ the King with 25 points, including 13 in the third quarter. LuHi's Chris Atkinson scored 16 points.

   Christ the King, the defending champion, had defeated Cardozo 54-51 in overtime in the semifinals.

   In the Class A final, Scotia-Glenville senior forward and tournament MVP Joe Cremo finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and four assists to lead the way past Holy Trinity 68-52.

   Cremo tallied 46 points and 21 rebounds in two weekend games as Scotia-Glenville capped a 27-0 season.

   "We weren't thinking being 27-0. We just wanted the win," Scotia junior guard Scott Stopera told The Times Union. "This is so sweet."

   Said junior center Mike Palleschi: "We had the challenge again of being the favorite. The key was not to let up after the win over (defending champ Albany Academy) Friday. We did not let up and we won as a team -- everyone does their part."

   Scotia led 38-31 at halftime. After Holy Trinity closed to within 49-44, Stopera ended the third quarter with a baseline 3-pointer and the Tartans went on a 14-1 run.

   Federation girls: Erin Storck's 3-pointer from the corner began a 7-0 run to close out the game as Long Island Lutheran downed Ossining 63-57 in the Class AA title game in Albany.

   LuHi's Lauren "Boogie" Brozoski finished with 18 points and was named tournament MVP, and the Crusaders got 15 points and 15 rebounds from Taylor Byrne. Ossining got 12 points apiece from The 25-3 Pride were led by Shadeen Samuels, Jalay Knowles and Madison Strippoli.

   The Crusaders outrebounded Ossining 28-16 in the first half and led 32-24 at halftime.

   Semifinals tidbits: Westhill dominated Dwight School 80-52 in Class B boys action, racing to a 25-2 lead in the first quarter and making 11 of 17 3-pointers. The Warriors will meet Regis in the final on Sunday.

   In girls Class B, Utica Notre Dame dominated East Harlem Pride 66-37 as senior guard Emily Durr went 12-for-15 and scored 29 points in 20 minutes. The Jugglers, who shot 76.5 percent in the first half, will play Staten Island Academy in the championship game.

   The tournament scores and schedule can be found here.

   Coach arrested: First-year Colonie boys basketball coach James Boland has been charged with possessing crack cocaine in Albany, The Times Union reported.

   Boland, 55, a Colonie social studies teacher since 1996, was placed on paid administrative leave Friday, South Colonie school district officials said. He was stopped about 8:30 p.m. Thursday and found with about a gram of crack,

More N.Y. postseason coverage All sports • NYSSWA site for brackets of tournaments from the past and present seasons. Boys basketball • Road to Glens Falls for scores and stats. • NYSPHSAA tourney brackets • Current state rankings. Girls basketball • Road to Troy for scores and stats. • NYSPHSAA tourney brackets • Current state rankings. Ice hockey • NYSSWA site for tournament brackets. • Current state rankings. Wrestling • NYSPHSAA Div. I | Div. II

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which has an estimated street value of $100, the paper reported.

   Albany police charged Boland with fifth-degree drug possession, a felony carrying up to 2½ years in prison. Boland was arraigned in city court early Friday and pleaded not guilty. Bail was set bail at $3,500.

   League change: Amsterdam and Schuylerville have been accepted as members of the Foothills Council, changing the look of Section 2 sports beginning next fall.

   The additions will allow the league to split into a pair of five-team divisions based on geography for most sports, cutting travel time in many cases. Amsterdam, Broadalbin-Perth, Gloversville, Johnstown and Scotia-Glenville would form the south division; Hudson Falls, Queensbury, Glens Falls, South Glens Falls and Schuylerville would form the north division.

   "It's always great to add teams that want to come into the league," Johnstown AD James Robare told The Leader-Herald. "Both Amsterdam and Schuylerville are excited about the move, and we're happy to have them as part of the league."    With the move, Schuylerville goes from the largest school in the Wasaren League to the smallest (though reasonably close to four other members) in the Foothill Council. Amsterdam goes from one of the larger Big 10 members to the largest in the Foothills.

   "We're very excited to have the opportunity to join the Foothills Council," Amsterdam AD Randy Hutto told the paper. "It certainly helps our programs and it's a great fit for us."

   Amsterdam previously applied for Foothills membership in 2012 but fell one vote short of approval. Having Schuylerville also come in to keep the number of teams even in most sports alleviated misgivings that some members had.

   "We believe our district is better aligned with schools in the Foothills Council," Amsterdam Superintendent Thomas Perillo said in a statement on the district website. "We believe this move would help us ensure our athletes can make the most of their high school sports experience by having as many games or competitions as possible in a season."

   Extra points The Federation basketball tournament will need a temporary new home in 2015 as the Times Union Center in Albany is unavailable March 28-31 because the building is hosting an NCAA women's basketball regional.