Monday, March 2, 2015: McQuaid edges Fairport in Section 5 hockey final

   Leading off today: Lucien Rosedale and Ryan Talty scored 25 seconds apart in the second period to start McQuaid to a 3-2 win over Fairport for the Section 5 Class A hockey championship Sunday at RIT.

   In 2013, McQuaid defeated Fairport in overtime in the sectional semifinals. Last year, it took triple overtime before the Red Raiders prevailed.

   "We lost to Fairport last year (in the semifinals) so for 16 seniors this feels pretty good," senior defenseman Brian Tyndall told the Democrat and Chronicle.

   McQuaid is ranked second and Fairport sixth by the New York State Sportswriters Association. The Knights advance to Saturday's NYSPHSAA Division I quarterfinals against the Section 6 champion.

   "You gotta start here though and work your way up," senior forward Joe Pasko said. "We're going to work hard all week and get ready for the next one."

   Ludden wins in OT: Down nine points with 2:22 to play, Bishop Ludden pulled out a 60-51 win in overtime over Syracuse Nottingham in the Section 3 boys Class AA basketball semifinals at Onondaga Community College.

   Ludden is ranked 17th and Nottingham 25th in the state in Class AA. The Gaelic Knights will meet No. 13 Henninger in the sectional final.

   Ludden tied on an in-bounds basket by Zach Walser to force overtime, then won it going away in the extra period.

   Freshman Mika Adams-Woods scored 27 points including nine in the fourth quarter, to lead the Gaelic Knights.

   "That was crazy, man. That was crazy," Adams-Woods told Syracuse.com. "I didn't think we were going to come back, but we did. We did what we had to do, and we got it done."

   Mount Vernon rallies: Senior Marlon Taylor scored 12 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench to rally Mount Vernon past Clarkstown South 78-67 for the Section 1 Class AA basketball championship.

   Marco Morency added 19 points and six rebounds.

   It was the 16th title in 21 years under coach Bob Cimmino for the Knights, ranked eighth in the state. The Knights start three sophomores and have five more freshmen or sophomores on the bench.

   The game was tied at 51 after three quarters and Justin Rivera (16 points) gave Clarkstown South the lead with 6:45 remaining. Noah Morgan (11 points, 10 assists) and Demetre Roberts answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to regain the lead and then Taylor scored nine straight points for Mount Vernon.

   "Everything was going to plan," Clarkstown South coach Matt Backs told The Journal News. "When they went to that 1-2-2, we had a couple quick turnovers. They made a couple quick jumpers. When they figured it out, we couldn't keep up."

2015 NYSPHSAA boys basketball brackets 2015 NYSPHSAA girls basketball brackets 2015 NYSPHSAA boys hockey brackets

   Knockout blow: Scotia-Glenville extended its winning streak to 47 games with stunning precision in an 88-35 win over Glens Falls in the Section 2 Class A quarterfinals.

   Coming off a 17-day layoff, the Tartans raced to a 28-5 lead after one quarter by making 11 of 13 shots, including six 3-pointers. Scotia took its lead up to 45-5 on a 3-pointer by Joe Cremo and finished the first half leading 50-8.

   "We were really moving really great and it seemed every trip, we were getting a score," said point guard Scott Stopera, who finished with 12 points and eight assists. "We were all finding the open guys. It was fun to play like that."

   Up next for Scotia (20-0) is a semifinal vs. Amsterdam, which went two OTs to eliminate Queensbury 77-74. Andrew Druziak led Amsterdam with 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.

   Kicked out: A California girls basketball team has been kicked out of the local playoffs and ruled ineligible for the state tournament for wearing illegal uniforms in its City Section Open Division semifinal victory Saturday.

   Harbor City, Calif., Narbonne wore uniforms with pink around the numbers in violation of City Section rules during a 57-52 win vs. Los Angeles View Park. The uniforms were allowed during breast cancer awareness month in the fall but the school had not requested a color change to wear them at another point in the season.

   "Breast cancer awareness is in October, and there's a process for people to request color change," City Section Commissioner John Aguirre said. "If they're going to blatantly disregard these rules and regulations, they're going to affect kids."

   The Los Angeles Times reported Narbonne was already on probation for an earlier violation -- a player who received two technical fouls in last year's playoffs failed to serve a one-game suspension -- and that played a role in the punishment.