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GLENS FALLS – After feeling the sting of a close loss in the championship game a year, the Haldane boys basketball team vowed to come back.
It was locker room hyperbole at that point.
The Blue Devils graduated four starters and spent a majority of the season getting a new cast of characters up to speed. No big deal. They won another Section 1 title, advanced through regionals and earned another go at the program’s first NYSPHSAA title with a 67-59 victory over Moriah on Friday at Cool Insuring Arena.
All of the change added to the degree of difficulty.
“It means a lot,” Haldane senior forward Matt Nachamkin said. “We said that last year as a motivator, but with a lot of things switching up we didn’t know where we would be. With great coaching and great teamwork and great dedication we were able to get back and we’re so excited for that final game.”
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Haldane is going up against Moravia in the Class C finale late Saturday.
“This group is special,” Blue Devils coach Joe Virgadamo said. “They wanted it really bad. You saw them playing for each other tonight … it was phenomenal.”
Chemistry is a big part of the equation.
It’s hard to believe so many of the players who made timely contributions down the stretch were sitting on the sideline watching a year ago.
“Last year, I was on the bench and I was cheering on my teammates, but I knew there was a bigger goal,” Haldane senior point guard Ross Esposito said. “I knew that I had to wait my turn and watch the guys who are now playing in college and pick things up from them. I knew this was a possibility and I needed some tools, so when it was my time to go in I would be ready.”
It was a one-possession game in the final minute of the third quarter.
Esposito hit a 3 to extend the lead to 49-44 and Ryan Van Tassel came off the bench for a pair of layups in the final 20 seconds. The Blue Devils played like an experienced team. Esposito hit from behind the arc one last time early in the fourth to make it a 56-46 lead.
The pace slowed for a stretch and the Warriors threatened, but Haldane stopped the rally from the free throw line.
“We rely on each other so much,” Esposito said. “It’s not just our starting five. We have so much chemistry and I think it’s going to help so much in the next game.”
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What it means
Haldane is bursting with confidence. The Blue Devils can play a lot better than they did against Moriah and they know it. Nachamkin, who is playing for Williams at the next level, ranks among the best players in the state and that will allow this group to sleep better ahead of the season’s final game.
Player of the game
Nachamkin filled up the stat sheet, but he also involved teammates and provided counsel whenever tension began to build. And the rebounds he literally hauled in down the stretch put an exclamation point on a good night’s work.
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Box score
Haldane (21-3): Ross Esposito 11P, 5R, 8A; Fallou Faye 4P; Michael Murray 8P; Nate Stickle 1P, 4R, 4A; Matt Nachamkin 22P, 14R, 3A, 2B; Ryan Van Tassel 4P; Luke Bozsik 13P, 4R; Evan Giachinta 4P, 7R.
Moriah (21-3): Cooper Allen 19P, 9R, 3A; Joe Pelkey 13P, 4R; Chase McGuiness 11P; Logan Gilbo 9P, 11R; Dieter Olcott 4P, 5R; Evan Fleury 3P.
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Quotable
“The experience helped a lot,” said Nachamkin, who is the only returning headliner. “When I walked in for warm-ups I was trying to take it all in. It was nice to be back in this building again, but I came back this year with a lot more confidence … and to get that win in such a close game gives us a good feeling going into tomorrow night’s game.”
“We have some dogs,” Esposito said. “I mean, Matthew Nachamkin, he’s just different.”
“Matt is so good,” Virgadamo said. “I don’t know how many points he finished with, but how many shots did he alter, how many guys did he free up, how many big rebounds did he get? And then he trusts his teammates and that’s why we’re playing for a state championship. We’re a team. Hopefully, we bring our A-plus game because that’s what it’s going to take to win a state championship.”
Next
The Blue Devils play Section 6 champion Moravia at 8:45 p.m. Saturday in the Class C finale at Cool Insuring Arena. Haldane is 0-2 in state finals, losing to Randolph 58-55 last season and to Middle Early College in 2016.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Haldane earned another go at the NYSPHSAA Class C title with a win over Moriah
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