by Ryan Mosher
Panthers
On the heels of their WASAREN League Championship season, the Hoosick Falls Panthers boys basketball team was awarded the #3 seed for the 2009 Class CC Sectional Tournament. The Panthers finished their season 11-3 in the WASAREN and 15-5 overall. Their seed gives them the benefit of a bye in the first round, setting up a quarterfinal matchup next Friday night, February 27, at 7 pm at the College of St. Rose against the winner of the #6 Corinth and #11 Berne-Knox game. The Panthers opened their season with a 55-47 win over Berne-Knox.
The Lady Panthers have endured a rough season, going 2-12 in the league and 4-14 overall. They are seeded #12 in the Class CC Tournament and will travel to Berne-Knox to play at 6 pm on Wednesday.
Mountaineers
The Mountaineers finished tied with Waterford for fourth in the CHVL, at 10-6, and had a 10-10 overall record. Berlin managed to edge out their CHVL foe Waterford for the #3 spot, despite the Fordians finishing the season with an 11-9 overall record. Berlin won both of the games between these teams this year. With only eight teams opting to take part in the Class C Tournament this year, every team received a bye into the quarterfinal round. Berlin will take on the #6 seed Warrensburg at the College of St. Rose next Saturday, February 28, at 1:30 pm.
The Lady Mountaineers were given the #7 seed in a tough Class C. They will play host to #10 Warrensburg on Wednesday at 6 pm. Berlin finished second in the CHVL with a 13-3 record and have a 14-5 record overall.
Tigers
And now that our coverage area has expanded, we can welcome the New Lebanon sports community to our paper. The Tigers boys basketball team had a very successful season this year in spite of their record. The Tigers will take part in the Class D Tournament, where they have received the #11 seed. New Lebanon has been matched up with #6 Loudonville Christian, another CHVL team. Loudonville, the second place finisher in the league, won both the regular season match-ups but not before New Lebanon gave them all they could handle. In the first game the Tigers led 23-22 going into the final quarter, but a big Eagle surge helped them pull out the 42-29 win. In the final game of the regular season, Loudonville managed to sneak a 54-47 victory out on their home floor. The Tigers finished 5-11 in the CHVL and 6-12 overall.
The New Lebanon girls basketball team is seeded #8 in the Class D Tournament. They will host #9 seed North Warren in an opening round game on Tuesday at 6 pm. The Lady Tigers finished 5-11 in the league and 7-15 overall.