Friday

Class D semifinals

John A. Coleman Catholic vs (Section 2) Germantown, 10 a.m

(If Coleman wins, it plays the (6)Maple Grove-(3)New York Mills winner for the title at 5:30 p.m., Saturday)

Class B semifinals

John S. Burke Catholic vs. (10)Potsdam, 6:45 p.m.

(If Burke wins, it plays the (3)Westhill-(5)Batavia winner for the the at 9 p.m., Saturday)

Saturday

Class AA

Newburgh Free Academy vs. (2)Christian Brothers Academy, 12:30 p.m

(If Newburgh wins, it plays the (11)Half Hollow Hills West-(5)Rochester East winner for the title at 2:45 p.m., Sunday)

Class A

Red Hook vs. (3)Jamesville-DeWitt, 9 a.m.

(If Red Hook wins, it plays the (8)Westbury-(5)Newark winner for the title at 1 p.m., Saturday)

Mount Vernon loves its man-to-man defense,  but I wonder if we’ll see any zone today – because that has been giving Newburgh problems. A quick poll of some crowd members reveals they think Mount Vernon has “too much pride” to get away from what got it here. I think an up-and-down game totally plays to Newburgh’s strength. We’ll see.

I just heard Coleman Catholic beat Leake & Watts 66-59 in the Class D quarterfinals, so Coleman will join Burke Catholic at Glens Falls.

Newburgh senior guard Damon Cousar, a 2009 Varsity 845 first-team all-star, has been nursing a sore ankle for the last three weeks. He didn’t start Monday because of it, and coach Frank Dinnocenzio hoped Cousar could play about 10 minutes. But when Patrick Johnson got into foul trouble, and Middletown stayed close, Cousar ended up playing 20 hard minutes.

Middletown did a great job limiting Newburgh’s baskets in transition. In fact, the first Newburgh basket of that type was Cousar’s layup off a fast break with 6:13 left in the first half.

Middletown led 23-20 with about four minutes left in the first half. Newburgh then went on a 13-0 run in about 80 seconds. Now in the first two games, Middletown never recovered from the Newburgh run. On Monday, it chipped away and pulled to within 36-32 by halftime – and that was huge.

Newburgh wasn’t scoring in transition, and struggled with Middletown’s zone. But Newburgh’s hands never slump, and they were everywhere, making life difficult for the Middletown ballhandlers – especially the Middletown kids coming off the bench.

I spoke with Newburgh’s Mike McLeod after the game. He told me Newburgh “slept” on Middletown, because they had beaten Middletown twice so handily. Newburgh coach Frank Dinnocenzio wasn’t buying that, saying he reminded his kids that Middletown was tough. Still, if that’s what the players think….. Put in this way, they better not “sleep” on Mount Vernon. McLeod also said he and his teammates never believed they were going to lose, and their body language indicated that was the case. Say what you want about how Newburgh played, you could see they didn’t get caught up in the excitement of the night.

There is a preview of this game on this Web site, as well as in the newspaper. Both schools are looking for their first Section 9 Class C title. Seward won the D title in 2005, its fifth in a six-year span.

Rhinebeck already beat the second and third seeds to get here, so it has to be the story of the boys’ tournaments. But if Seward jumps out to a quick lead, it is going to be tough to beat. If it struggles like it has the last two years early, then we’ll have a ball game. Having said that, I expect a big showing out of Seward.

I did a detailed preview that can be found on the site and in the newspaper, so my thoughts here will be brief:

It is extremely important that Chapel Field stay close in this game early, because Coleman traditionally runs away and hides. Two years ago, Chapel Field had a high-scoring kid named Matt Pooley. Coleman put a kid on his the whole game, with no other responsibilities. Pooley finished with 30-something, but was limited during a crucial part of this game and Coleman won. I can see Coleman trying the same thing tonight on Danny Menendez.

I’m not sure Chapel Field has anybody who can stop Jake Palmer, but I can see them trying to make sure everybody else really works to get theirs. My pre-tournament prediction was Coleman 58, Chapel Field 51. So that’s what I’m sticking with here. Hopefully, this will be a good game.

(3 seed) Minisink Valley at (2) Middletown, 6 p.m., Class AA semifinals

 This should be the best game of the night. It has been three months since these teams played each other. On Dec. 4, Middletown beat Minisink Valley 73-65. Both went on to have nice seasons. Minisink Valley won the OCIAA Division II title, then beat Monroe-Woodbury 55-30 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Middletown has just two losses – both to Newburgh (who I see the winner playing in the final).

 I think a lot of people think Middletown is going to blow Minisink Valley off the court, but I don’t see it that way. I’ve had Minisink Valley no worse than No. 7 in my sectional rankings for most of the year, and I think these guys are underrated. I also think – but do not know for sure – that Minisink Valley will be looking at this game as its “game of the year,” and will come out very strong. Middletown will be looking to get another crack at Newburgh, which would be Middletown’s “game of the year.” Middletown is ranked 25th in the state.

 I expect a big crowd at Middletown, which received a quarterfinal bye – so this is the city’s first taste of playoff basketball this year. I do think Minisink Valley, which is just seven miles away, will be well represented. I wrote and said on video that I expect Middletown to win this game, but I can see meaningful basketball still being played with three minutes left.

(4) Kingston at (1) Newburgh Free Academy, 6 p.m., Class AA semifinals

 Defending state champion Newburgh, now ranked third in the state, already has beaten Kingston twice this season. On Feb. 5, Newburgh beat Kingston 91-52 at Newburgh.

(4) Rondout Valley at (1) Cornwall, 6:45 p.m., Class A semifinals

 These teams have not played this season. Cornwall, ranked fifth in the state, beat Port Jervis 55-33 Monday in the quarterfinals. Rondout Valley beat Wallkill 53-41 Monday in the quarterfinals. Rondout Valley had a nice late-season run to make the tournament, but I think it ends tonight. Cornwall is a little deeper, and will have the best player on the floor in Kyle Bradley

(3) Saugerties at (2) Red Hook, 6 p.m, Class A semifinals

 These teams met Feb. 17 in the MHAL semifinals and Red Hook won 93-47. Red Hook is ranked second in the state. Each team won quarterfinal matchups on Monday. Saugerties beat Monticello 80-74. Red Hook beat New Paltz 74-47.

 This is more of a dangerous spot for the home team than it appears.

 Spackenkill is coming off a dominating 67-42 quarterfinal victory Monday at fourth-seed Onteora. Stephen Gugumuck scored 20 points for Spackenkill. Andrew Michos added 13 points and Jimmy Kruk also scored 11.

 Last year, Spackenkill lost in overtime to Burke Catholic for the title. So as good as Burke is – ranked fourth in the state as of Wednesday morning – I can see that not meaning a whole heck of a lot to Spackenkill. The teams have not met this year.

 Burke Catholic received an opening-round bye, but can’t afford to come out rusty. I’ve loved Burke Catholic’s depth all year, and believe it remains the favorite to win the section.

(3) James I. O’Neill at (2) Marlboro, 6 p.m., Class B semifinals

 One of the most highly anticipated early-round games of the tournament. Both received an opening-round bye and finished second on its division. They haven’t played each other this year, which adds to the intrigue.

 Marlboro’s Maxx Faircloth (21.5 ppg) will be the best player on the floor, but O’Neill has five players averaging between 8.6-11.9 ppg (Chris Outing, Tre Bolden, Derek Dalition, Jordan Lusco and Mitch McKearn).

 I can see the home crowd being a big help here, as Marlboro usually gets behind its teams in this spot. It would help if a couple of other kids score in double-digits, to support Faircloth.

 I won’t be surprised either way in this one, but I’ve already said on video and written that I think Marlboro reaches the final.

(4) Chester at (1) S.S. Seward, 6 p.m., Class C semifinals

 Seward received an opening-round bye, and as of Wednesday morning, is ranked 14^th in the state. Seward beat Chester twice in OCIAA Division V play, winning 77-45 on Jan. 11 and 70-43 on Feb. 5.

 Chester is playing its best ball of the season, and beat Fallsburg 56-42 in the quarterfinals on Monday. Four players scored in double figures for Chester (Matt Balzano, James Ognibene, Shawn Thomas and Josh Feldman).

 Look for a good crowd here, as the districts are neighboring and this can be a pretty good rivalry. I don’t Seward winning by the same margin as the first two games, but I do see the Spartans in the final.

(7) Rhinebeck at (3) Millbrook, 6 p.m., Class C semifinals

 Both won quarterfinal games. Millbrook is the two-time defending champion and winner of five of the last six titles. I had Millbrook in the final before the tournament started and I’m sticking with that.