Maine-Endwell and Windsor took far different paths to Section 4 boys basketball championships Sunday, March 8 at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton.
Top-seeded Maine-Endwell rolled to a 68-42 victory over second-seeded Oneonta in the Class A championship game.
Earlier in the day, third-seeded Windsor used a late surge to top fourth-seeded Watkins Glen, 58-56, in the Class B final.
Konrad, Ocker led way for Spartans
Maine-Endwell’s second sectional title in the past three seasons and ninth overall was led by a combined 56 points from Marco Konrad and Preston Ocker.
Konrad scored 34, including four 3-pointers in six tries. He had 25 points in the opening half.
Ocker added 22 points and also nailed four 3-pointers.
“It was a good (effort). You want to have that game in this situation,” M-E coach Bill Ocker said. “One of the best we’ve played, if not the best we’ve played.”
Declan Grace added 10 rebounds for M-E (15-6), which used a 31-point second quarter to build a 47-21 halftime lead.
Brady Carr paced Oneonta (16-5) with 16 points.
Up next: Maine-Endwell (15-6) will play Section 8’s Friends Academy in a sub-regional at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 at Johnson City High School.
Windsor rallied for Class B title
Windsor overcame a nine-point deficit through three quarters to beat Watkins Glen for its first sectional title since 1999 and fifth overall.
After Watkins Glen’s Christopher Simiele hit a 3-pointer with 1:19 remaining for a 56-52 lead, Windsor’s Nico Soriano cut the deficit to one with a 3-pointer. Soriano put the Black Knights up seconds later with a layup following a steal.
Jack Wharton hit one of two foul shots for Windsor with 32 seconds left. Watkins Glen had a chance to win after Windsor missed two foul shots, but the Black Knights forced a turnover and ran out the clock.
Soriano finished with 19 points for Windsor, including 11 in the fourth quarter. Brayden Moran scored 15 and Patrick Finn 10.
Watkins Glen (15-7) was seeking the first sectional championship in program history.
Simiele paced the Lake Hawks with 29 points. Jude Santos added 25 points and 10 rebounds.
“Congratulations to Windsor for battling throughout and getting the win,” Watkins Glen coach Scott Morse said.
“That was a heartbreaking loss to be sure. We never really got our rhythm as a team, and it got us in the fourth quarter. We looked a bit tentative throughout, and that hasn’t been our style when we have played well down the final stretch of the season.”
Up next: Windsor (13-10) will face Section 8’s Cold Spring Harbor in a regional semifinal at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 at Johnson City.
This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: A tale of two titles for Maine-Endwell and Windsor in boys basketball
Reporting by Andrew Legare, Elmira Star-Gazette / Elmira Star-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
