Sunday, March 26, 2017: Lincoln, South Shore snare 'AA' championships

   Leading off today: Donald Cannon-Flores scored a game-high 21 points as Abraham Lincoln secured its fifth Federation basketball championship with an 80-63 victory Saturday over Long Island Lutheran in the boys Class AA final at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

   Seniors Michael Reid and Klay Brown scored 13 points and 12 points, respectively, and center Othello Smith came off the bench to chip in with 10. Cannon-Flores went 11-for-13 from the free-throw line as the Railsplitters took home the hardware for the first time since 2008.

   Lincoln went on a 26-3 run spanning portions of the second and third quarters. Cannon-Flores, a senior point guard who holds several Division I offers but has not yet committed, scored 13 consecutive Lincoln points and capped an 11-0 run with a 3-pointer with six seconds remaining in the first half for a 39-29 lead.

   "If my shot is falling, I'm going to keep shooting it," he told News12Varsity. "Ain't nobody going to stop me from getting my shot off so I just got to keep knocking it down."

   South Shore girls romp: South Shore dominated from the start and overwhelmed The Mary Louis Academy 59-31 in Class AA for its first Federation championship.

   Seton Hall recruit Selena Philoxy scored 19 points for the winners. Destiny Philoxy and Earlette Scott each had 11 points, and Diamond Shavis added 10.

   South Shore's 2-3 zone repeatedly disrupted TMLA's offense. A 12-0 run beginning in the first quarter carried the Vikings to a commanding 29-10 lead at the half.

   A first for LaSalle Academy: Junior guard James Bouknight scored 19 of his 27 points in the first half, leading the charge as LaSalle Academy beat Westhill 80-67 for the boys Class B championship.

   LaSalle ended the second quarter on a 19-3 run to take a 40-27 lead into the half.

   Bouknight finished 9-for-13 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3-point range. He also grabbed 10 rebounds as the Cardinals earned their first Federation championship.

   LaSalle's alums include Ron Artest and God Shammgod, who went on to college and pro careers in the sport.

   "Me and my teammates did something really special," guard Bryce Council said. "Ron Artest and God Shammgod, we had greats who walked through that hallway. No disrespect or anything, but they didn't do this. We did it. They set the path for us and encouraging us."

   Girls Class A semifinals: Megan McEwan stole the ball and set up Elizabeth Althoff for a go-ahead layup with :14 to go, then broke up another James Madison possession in the waning moments as Staten Island Academy pulled out a 57-55 win.

   James Madison led 55-52 with :38.1 to play. After Madison missed two free throws, SIA's Sophia DeMauro drove and drew a foul, then made her free throws. That led up to McEwan's key defensive plays.

   After Althoff's layup, Madison lost possession and SIA's Emily LaPointe was fouled with :08.9 to go and put her team up 57-55.

   McEwan then poked a Madison pass away, triggering a scramble and a desperation 3-pointer by Madison's Melinda Feratovic. The shot was short and the ball fell into the hands of teammate Sarah James, whose easy layup was waved off as the shot left her grip half a second after the buzzer.

   Cameron Corbett led Staten Island Academy with 13 points, followed by Althoff with 12 and Claire Mitchell with 10.

    • SIA's reward for winning is a rematch of the 2016 championship game won by the Tigers 68-65. That's because Jamesville-DeWitt downed Kellenberg 62-31 in the other semifinal.

   Jamie Boeheim scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Red Rams. Julia Kelner scored 13 points and eighth-grader Momoka LaClair scored 11 points in the rematch of J-D's 37-point rout of Kellenberg during the regular season.

2017 Federation schedule/results 2017 NYSPHSAA boys basketball brackets 2017 NYSPHSAA girls basketball brackets 2017 NYSPHSAA boys hockey brackets N.Y. indoor track championships: Boys | Girls 2017 N.Y. boys swim championships (PDF) 2017 N.Y. wrestling results (PDF)

   Boys Class A semifinals: Walton Campus rallied from nine points down at the half to defeat Monsignor Farrell 46-42.

   Andres Rivera scored 11 of his team-high 13 points in the second half and Arturo Sealy also erased a slow start to score 12 points for the Wildcats.

   Rivera made down two free throws as part of a 9-0 run to tie the game at 24 with 5:32 remaining in the third quarter. In one pivotal sequence, Walton grabbed six offensive rebounds off misses and Derek Smith earned a putback layup.

   The lead changed four times in the fourth quarter but two free throws by Rivera with 1:12 left gave Walton the lead for good at 43-42.

    • Hameir Wright scored seven points and assisted on a basket during a decisive 11-2 spurt beginning late in the third quarter, carrying defending champion Albany Academy past Irondequoit 54-45.

   The senior's three-point play early in the fourth quarter en route to 22 points for the game gave the Cadets a 42-33 lead before Irondequoit made a final run.

   Wright was also a factor on defense with eight rebounds. He took over the duty of guarding Gerald Drumgoole (23 points), who had 14 points at halftime, and held the sophomore to just two in the third quarter.

   "He's long," Academy coach Brian Fruscio said of Wright. "He had zero fouls, C.J. (Mulvey) had two, so it's not like it was a coaching mastermind. We didn't want CJ to get that third (foul) early in the third quarter, so we made the switch, and Hameir was up for the challenge."

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Audio from Albany Academy coach Brian Fruscio and star Hameir Wright, one of the most highly rated unsigned seniors in the country:

Fruscio: A tip of the cap to Irondequoit

Fruscio: What a potential Federation repeat would mean

Wright: Why he delayed the recruiting process

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