Will face Moriah on Friday in Glens Falls
Entering its most recent state tournament game on March 9, the mission for the Haldane boys’ basketball team was simple: Win and go to the Final Four. The Blue Devils did just that, cruising to a 73-39 win over Section XI champs Southold for a second straight Class C regional title.
The Blue Devils (20-3) will travel to Glens Falls on Friday (Mar. 15), where at 7 p.m. they face the Moriah Vikings (21-2) from Essex County. The winner will advance to the title game on Saturday at 8:45 p.m. The NFHS Network will stream both games.
Last season, the Blue Devils came within three points of winning the state championship against Randolph; this year they’ll have the chance to finish what they started in Glens Falls.
Against Southold, the Blue Devils followed a formula that has worked all season: They get off to a hot start and never look back. Haldane scored more than 70 points for just the fifth time this season while giving up only 39, the team’s second-best defensive effort.
Photos by Skip Pearlman
The Long Island team led for only 21 seconds, when the score was 3-2. With the score tied at 10 with 3:14 left in the first quarter, the Blue Devils went on a 13-0 run. That extended into the second quarter and turned into a 21-0 run that ended with Haldane up 31-10.
Although Southold hung around for the rest of the quarter, the Blue Devils led at halftime, 37-21. A key contributor in the first half was senior Evan Giachinta, who scored eight points off the bench and finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
The Settlers began the second half by cutting the lead to 13, but that was the closest they got. Haldane went on a 16-3 run to close out the quarter and led 55-29 going into the fourth.
The reserves played the last three minutes of the game, and senior Erik Stubblefield hit a three and sophomore Zane del Pozo scored on a layup. Matt Nachamkin led the team with 16 points, but 11 players scored.
“It’s been emotional for me because I don’t want the season to end with these kids,” Coach Joe Virgadamo said after the game. “They’re special; I treat them like they’re my own.
“We got two more games to go,” he said. “We’re going up there on a mission. We’re going up there to win the state championship.”
HALL OF FAME — The Haldane Athletic Hall of Fame is accepting nominations through April 1 for its 2023 class of inductees. See bit.ly/haldane-hall or call 845-265-9254, ext. 179, for forms to nominate athletes who graduated before 2019, teams from before 2019, coaches and administrators. The site also contains the list of inductees from 2017 to the present.
