Cougars vs. AAA Green Tech: a novel experience

ALBANY | When the North Warren boys basketball team played Green Tech High School Jan. 28 on the Eagles' home court in Albany, they were in for quite a novel experience. While the Cougars knew they were challenging a three-time Class AAA Sectional champion team and reigning state champion, they weren't aware of the NBA atmosphere. Prior to tipoff, the gym went dark, and Green Tech players ran one-by-one through backlit smoke onto the court illuminated with rotating searchlights, as each of their names was announced, prompting deafening cheers from a capacity crowd. However, the Cougars weren't fazed by the theatrics nor the noise on Green Tech's Senior Night — North Warren played their game with the skill and determination that enabled them to win the 2024 state Class D championship. Cougars coach James Cuyler said Feb. 1 that he was pleased that he arranged the matchup, pitting his modest-sized team against a squad with two six-feet-eight players and their talented teammates. The game ended with North Warren getting defeated 55 to 106, but Coach Cuyler said the game wasn't a loss, it was a "gain" for his athletes. "The reason we played Green Tech is that we needed to develop the toughness to succeed in the postseason," he said. "I wanted them to experience the atmosphere of a Division I college game, complete with a hostile crowd," he said. Despite the vast difference in player size and school enrollment, the Cougars surprised Green Tech by staying with them the first quarter, which ended 18-19, Eagles' advantage. Thirty-eight seconds before the quarter ended, North Warren was leading Green Tech 18-17. In that first stanza, Cuyler's son Semaj, a freshman, scored multiple points from around the court, and guard Wyatt Jennings hit two three-pointers. Surprised by the Cougars' resilience, the Eagles double-teamed Semaj and started employing a pressure defense. "For us to score 55 points against a team that played as hard as they did with their elite shooters and elite defenders, it was a real plus to me," coach Cuyler said. The Eagles scored more points in the third quarter — 35 points — than many of the Cougars' opponents scored against them this year. "We were going on a run in the Adirondack League, and we needed to get humbled," coach Cuyler continued, noting his team experiencing Green Tech on their home court, with its "hostile" capacity crowd, would toughen up his players for postseason competition. "I wasn't disappointed by being defeated by a triple-A school; I loved it," the Cougars' coach said. "Now, people in the Capital Region know who we are." Semaj Cuyler led North Warren with 26 points. Following were Elijah Horge with 10 points and Wyatt Jennings with seven. Coleman Swartz and Brodie Rooker both scored three points, while Tyler Hitchcock, A.J. Masiello, and Giovanni Marron each scored two. Next up for the Cougars after a game Feb. 3 against Corinth and a matchup Feb. 5 versus Argyle, is a contest Friday, Feb. 7 against Warrensburg. All three are Adirondack League games, and as of Feb. 2 North Warren was enjoying a 7-0 league record —and the team was seeking to retain that status.

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Cougars vs. AAA Green Tech: a novel experience

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