Binghamton Seton Catholic Central battled back throughout its Class AA boys basketball state semifinal against Penfield before falling short in overtime, 69-66, on Friday, March 20, at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena.
Ryan Savino’s 3-pointer with 1:32 remaining gave Section 5 champ Penfield the lead for good, 66-64. Jackson Green added a 3-pointer with 40 seconds remaining for a five-point cushion.
Seton gave itself one final chance, but a desperation 3-point try at the buzzer off an in-bounds pass came up short, and Penfield (24-1) earned a berth into the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AA final against Amsterdam, a 63-54 winner over Rye in Friday’s second semifinal.
The final is set for 6 p.m. Saturday, March 21, at Visions Arena.
The second-ranked Saints finished with a 21-2 record, losing a clash with New York’s top-ranked Class AA team.
Seton trailed by nine multiple times in the first half before closing within 36-34 at the intermission, setting up a back-and-forth second half in which players from both teams made big plays.
Saints head coach Tommy Dempsey replied, “Wow,” when asked about the level of play, adding it was as good a high school basketball game as he’s seen since being in the area.
“What a game,” said Dempsey, who wiped away a tear or two as he spoke of his team’s effort. “It’s a tough locker room now. Obviously I’m a little emotional because the kids are so emotional.
“Unbelievable fight. It was probably the two best teams in the state. We put on a great performance, and we were down and out a couple of times and showed so much heart and grit and toughness. Just a group that I’m really proud of.”
Seton stars of the game
Allan Eagles closed his Seton career with a 29-point effort that included some acrobatic buckets and an 11-for-20 shooting performance from the field. He had 10 of Seton’s 13 steals, seven rebounds and four assists.
Coach Dempsey said Eagles “laid it on the line,” particularly given the size disadvantage he and his teammates faced.
“He’s certainly going to go down as one of the best ever to play at Seton,” Dempsey said. “He was fortunate to be here at a time when there were a lot of other good players.”
Brian Dempsey, son of the coach, added nine points for the Saints. Malik Wimberly scored eight and Liam Kozel seven. Kozel’s layup with nine seconds left in regulation following an Eagles steal sent the game to overtime. He added five points in overtime to give his team a shot at the win.
Penfield led 59-54 after hitting two foul shots after Seton was hit with a technical foul for calling a timeout with none remaining. A steal led to a 3-pointer from Angelo O’Connor that cut Penfield’s lead to 59-57 with 31 seconds left.
“We were scrambling. I made a mistake and called a timeout,” Tommy Dempsey said. “It looked like it was going to cost us the game, but the players bailed me out.
“That’s one thing I’ll never forget about this team is we’re always there for each other. That was a time where I needed them to be there for me, and they were.”
Penfield stars of the game
CJ Johnson paced the Patriots with 24 points on 10-for-20 shooting.
Green scored 19 points, and Jake McCarthy had 12 points to go with six rebounds.
Savino’s go-ahead 3-pointer was his second field goal of the day.
“Who we are as a program was definitely on display, especially in that last minute of regulation where we were just refusing to die,” Tommy Dempsey said. “And you’ve got to give Penfield credit. They had two kids make threes in the last minute who are not shooters, per the scouting report.”
Special season came to a close for Saints
Dempsey, men’s coach at Binghamton University from 2012-13 until 2020-21 before taking over at Seton in 2023, spoke with significant pride about his team.
“We didn’t get the ultimate reward, but we won our division, we won STAC, we won section, we won regionals,” he said.
“We’re playing in AA as the smallest school in the area. It’s just a tribute to all the time that we put in as a group and the belief we have in each other.”
Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today
This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Seton season ends with OT loss in NYSPHSAA AA boys basketball semis
Reporting by Andrew Legare, Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin / Elmira Star-Gazette
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