The Haldane boys’ basketball team will play in the Class C state title game for the second year in a row.
The Blue Devils defeated Moriah, 67-59, on Friday (March 15) in the semifinal game at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls. Haldane will play Moravia (22-3) tonight for the championship. Moravia, also nicknamed the Blue Devils, the Section IV champs, defeated Lyons, 56-45, in the other semifinal.
The title game begins at 8:45 p.m. and will be broadcast at nfhsnetwork.com.
“These guys earned it,” said Coach Joe Virgadamo, who has taken teams to the final game three times. “They are a special group and it just feels better and better every time you get back.”
The Blue Devils, ranked this week as the best Class C team in the state by the New York State Sportswriters Association, reached the championship game last season before falling to Randolph, 58-55.
The Blue Devils opened the game on a 7-0 run, and Moriah didn’t score until the 4:47 mark of the first quarter. But after Cooper Allen and Chase McGinness hit back-to-back 3-pointers for the Vikings, Moriah took an 18-14 lead.
Haldane’s Luke Bozsik came off the bench to score five points in the last minute, including a three at the buzzer, to give the Blue Devils a one-point lead. Bozsik, a sophomore who earlier in the season was brought up from the junior varsity, scored eight points in the first quarter, and finished with 13.
The Vikings took a five-point lead with 4:14 left in the first half, but Matt Nachamkin scored seven points down the stretch and Haldane took a 33-32 lead into halftime.
The Blue Devils went on an 11-3 run in the third quarter to give themselves a 44-35. Moriah scored six in a row to cut the lead to five, but Ryan Van Tassel, coming off the bench, scored on two layups in 16 seconds to close out the third quarter and take the lead back to seven.
Photos by Joey LaFranca
With 3:55 left in the game, the Blue Devils were up 60-50, but a corner three and a three-point play by the Vikings brought them back to within four with 2:45 left before Nachamkin hit four free throws to ice the game. He finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Allen scored 19 for Moriah, but was limited to five in the second half.
The Blue Devils have nine seniors. Winning a title “would mean the world, considering we made it here last year and came up short,” said Michael Murray. “I know for all of our seniors going out with one state championship would be a blessing. So that’s what we’re going for.”
