Moriah rallies for 61-60 win over Cougars

SCHROON LAKE | A basketball battle between two state-ranked teams Jan. 27 ended up the way coaches and fans thought it might — with a one-point score differential at the final buzzer. Moriah Central, the No. 4-ranked Class C team in the state defeated North Warren, ranked No. 10 in New York for smaller Class D schools, by a score of 61-60. "I knew it would come down to the last shot," North Warren coach James Cuyler said. "The lead went back and forth throughout the game." With just a few minutes left, North Warren was ahead by a half-dozen points, but Moriah players forced several turnovers, and sank the shots they needed to win, Cuyler said. "Moriah is really good," Cuyler said. "They produce some really talented kids." Moriah established a 15-11 lead by the end of the first quarter, but North Warren responded in the next eight minutes with a 21-14 advantage, taking a three-point edge into halftime. Moriah shaved the Courgars' lead to two points in the next stanza, then outscored North Warren in the final quarter 16-13. With the Cougars' defensive standout Elijah Horge containing Moriah's top scorer Cooper Allen to eight points, the remainder of the Vikings stepped up, sinking their shots consistently: Logan Gilbo scored 15 points and Joe Pelkey followed with 14, Evan Fleury was next with 10 points, Charles McGuinness contributed seven points while Dieter Olcott added four and Wyatt Whitman chipped in three. For the Cougars, Semaj Cuyler led his team with 29 points followed by Derrick Tyrell with 16 points and double-digit rebounds. Wyatt Jennings followed with 7 points and a considerable number of rebounds. Horge contributed five points, while Killian Weyant added three. Moriah is 9-0 for the season, while North Warren is 11-3 overall and 9-0 in the Adirondack League. Coach Cuyler said that despite the loss, he was pleased with how his athletes competed against Moriah High, which has a 55 percent greater enrollment. "I'm very proud of the way we played," he said. "We learn from from games like this." NORTH WARREN 77, SALEM 38 Fifteen hours earlier, the Cougars defeated Salem 77-38, while giving their starters considerable rest through much of the game's second half. Cuyler said he was "very excited" about getting double-digit scoring off his bench. His son Semaj Cuyler tallied 31 points, eight assists and eight steals; Derrick Tyrell followed with 18 points, 12 rebounds, two steals, three assists and one block; Wyatt Jennings contributed eight points, 10 rebounds, three assists and one steal, and Horge tallied seven points, three steals, two rebounds and one assist. Moving into the spotlight due to substitutions were: Isiah Tyrell with four points, three rebounds and an assist; Tyler Hitchcock producing three points, two rebounds, three assists and one steal; Killian Weyant adding three points and one rebound; Zachary Kramer with two points; Hunter Conger with one point, four rebounds and one steal; Giovanni Marrion with two rebounds and an assist, Joshua Colon with two rebounds; Coleman Swartz with one each steal, assist and rebound; and Austin Simione with one steal. The Cougars face Argyle on Friday Feb. 2 after two more games: their Jan. 29 meetup with Crown Point, ranked 11 for Class D in the state; and a a competition with Corinth on Jan. 30.

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Moriah rallies for 61-60 win over Cougars

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