North Warren boys rally to win Section II championship

GLENS FALLS | In their most consequential game of the season, the North Warren Boys Basketball team kept their fans in suspense March 7, as they rallied from trailing Fort Ann in the first half to win the Section II Class D championship, their third in four years, by a score of 53-41. After the Cougars' cold shooting and slack defense resulted in an 11-6 point deficit over the first quarter and a 20-16 disadvantage by halftime, North Warren staged a comeback in the second half with the vocal support of their hundreds of loyal fans watching them battle the Cardinals in Glens Falls' Harding-Mazzotti Arena. "Winning this fourth championship in seven years — we really worked hard for this," coach James Cuyler said of the dramatic recovery from losing six talented seniors to graduation last June — and the departure of his high-scoring son Semaj Cuyler to a renowned basketball prep school in Arizona. The victory over Fort Ann advances North Warren to a regional semifinal against Section IX champion Chapel Field Christian. The game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 10 at Shenendehowa High School in Clifton Park. As of March 9, North Warren had a 19-4 record, while Chapel Field Christian's tally was 7-9. North Warren and Chapel Hill last met up in 2023 in a battle in the state semifinals. The Cougars' comeback in the Fort Ann game was dramatic — midway in the third quarter, they finally caught up with the Cardinals, taking over the lead 26-25. By the end of the stanza, North Warren had amassed 21 points to Fort Ann's 12, then in the final quarter, North Warren increased their lead with a 16-9 point advantage. Cuyler said that his players may have been nervous at first, but when they started sinking their shots, they regained their traditional confidence, leading to their scoring streak. "We just needed to see the ball go through the hoop, and we took it from there," he said. Cuyler also said that Fort Ann's defense was stifling, but his team — with its personnel depth, which allowed players to rotate from the bench into the game — gave his team a substantial advantage in the last half of the battle. North Warren's depth of talented players was evident in the game's scoring statistics. Senior point guard Coleman Swartz, who was named the tournament's MVP, scored 12 points, accompanied by 12 rebounds and a half-dozen assists. Sophomore forward Chase Scheidegger scored nine points, followed by eight points scored by sophomore forward Brodie Rooker, who sank a late-game three-pointer that launched the Cougars' final 9-1 streak that sealed the victory. Senior center A.J. Masiello and sophomore guard Beckett Kelly each scored six points: Kelly's tally featured two treys. Rotated into the game, junior guard George Hilton and senior forward Will Lindsley both scored five points, while senior forward Connor Clench-Matteo scored two points. "Those 12 points off the bench were a really big help," Cuyler said. Following the game, the Cougars returned to Chestertown, escorted up Route 28 by a half-dozen local firetrucks and several emergency vehicles, while Cougar fans lined the roadway. "Our guys really earned this championship," Cuyler said, adding that support of the North Warren community was important to the Cougars' success.

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North Warren boys rally to win Section II championship

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