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2-21-2007 By ERIC AHLQVIST Editor Tonight (Thursday) at 7 p.m., the top-seeded Redskin boys will play fifth seed Mohawk at Whitesboro High School. Cooperstown defeated Port Byron last Friday, 70- 48, while Mohawk upset fourth seed Sandy Creek, the team that ousted Cooperstown from sectionals last season. "Mohawk has a 6'6" center and two guards who can shoot the ball pretty well," said Cooperstown boys basketball coach Dave Bertram. "They play man-to-man defense pretty well. We're going to have to be ready to play." Friday's game against Port Byron was tougher than the final score might indicate, at least for the first three quarters. The game was tied at 40 with 30 seconds left in the third quarter, but junior Brad Ashford hit a three-pointer and fellow junior Ryan Davine tipped in his own missed shot at the buzzer for a 45-40 lead heading to the final eight minutes. The fourth quarter was all Cooperstown, as they scored the first seven points, including three-pointers from Davine and Ashford, and eventually completed a 22-2 run which saw them take a 62-42 lead midway through the quarter. "Our defense was the difference," said Bertram. "We were getting in the passing lanes and forcing them into turnovers, and forcing them into a lot of bad shots." Junior center Eric Jederlinic had one of the best games of his career, netting 23 points, 11 in the first half and another 11 in the fourth quarter. "Eric was very aggressive and he really played well," Bertram said. Jederlinic hit 13 of 15 foul shots, and even stepped outside and hit a couple of long range jumpers in the fourth quarter. Ashford, despite battling game-long foul trouble, added 15 points, and Davine 11, all seemingly coming at critical moments in the game. If the Redskins, 18-3 overall, win Thursday, they will advance to the C-1 final, which will be played either Tuesday or Wednesday at Rome Free Academy. Onondaga, led by big man Latavius Murray, is the two seed, and they will meet Pulaski in another semifinal contest. Coop girls cruise The Cooperstown girls basketball team looked dominant in a 57- 35 dismantling of Port Byron during a Section Three Class C-1 quarterfinal game in Cooperstown Friday night. The 21-0 Lady Redskins will play Pulaski, which upset third seed Bishop Grimes Saturday, in a semifinal contest either Friday or Saturday at a site to be determined. CCS head coach Mike Niles said the Section Three meeting is scheduled for Thursday morning. "I saw Pulaski's game against Bishop Grimes, and I don't think they'll have an answer for Sam (Fox) or Jen (Wehner) down low," Niles said. "They're kind of a quick team, with one really athletic girl who plays underneath." Niles added that Pulaski's freshman point guard, who scored 18 points Saturday, was taken from the game on a stretcher with what seemed to be a neck injury. Port Byron didn't have much of an answer for Fox or Wehner either, as the pair combined for all of Cooperstown's 13 first quarter points, including the first seven of the game from Fox, Cooperstown's 6'3" center. The Lady Redskins stretched a 13-5 first quarter lead to 25-5 with a 12-0 run to start the second quarter, and led 31-8 at the half. Despite playing a little more than half a game each, Fox and Wehner combined for 35 points and 23 rebounds, while Fox added five blocks and the 6'0 Wehner five steals. Niles credited senior guard Abby Hull with shutting down Panther point guard Shelby Gilbert early in the game. Gilbert scored most of her team-high 16 points after the game was well in hand. If Cooperstown wins this weekend's game, they will likely face fellow unbeaten Little Falls in the C-1 final next week in a highly anticipated game. |
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