GAME OF THE WEEK: GERMANTOWN WINS REGIONALS
Advance to State Final Four

Greg Dedrick
ccSCOOP Sports

03-14-10 - 10:45 p.m. - The Germantown Clippers boys' basketball team took a step closer to a New York State Class D title by winning their regional round basketball game on Friday in Plattsburgh. After capturing the Section II title last weekend in Glens Falls by defeating Argyle, the Clippers had a week to prepare for Section X champion Chateaugay.  Chateaugay had made four straight trips to the Class D Final Four and took the state title in 2008.

The game got off to a high-scoring start, with the Clippers putting points on the board but finding themselves trailing by 1, 15-14, after the first eight minutes. Germantown kept up their offensive onslaught while tightening up their defense in the second quarter to outscore Chateaugay 12-8 and take a 26-23 lead into the half. Coming out of the locker room, the powerful Chateaugay squad would not be held down putting up 16 points while holding the Clipps to 12 and retaking the lead by 1 heading into the final quarter. In that final quarter, the Clippers put it all together, rallying from behind and outscoring their opponents 18-9 to post a 56-48 come from behind win.

Thomas Griffin led the Clippers with a game-high 22 points, including one three-pointer. Cody Broast and Larry Niebling each hit a three on their way to 9 points, a scoring total matched by Mike Wyant. Dan Thomas and Brandon Jason each added 3, while D.J. Lyons scored 1 in the win.

The victory moves Germantown into the Class D Final Four on Friday. The Clippers will play at the Glens Falls Civic Center at 10 a.m. against Section IX Coleman Catholic. These two teams actually squared off earlier this season in a non-league, non-section matchup in December, with Coleman Catholic coming out on top, 84-65.

In that early season matchup, Germantown gave up big points in the first and third quarters. The key for Germantown will be to slow down a couple key Coleman Catholic stars. Senior guard Jake Palmer leads Coleman with nearly 25 points a game, and in the first meeting, he scored 28, including three shots from deep and eleven of thirteen from the free-throw line. Junior big man Chris Chatelain is the other double-digit scorer on this team, averaging nearly 14 a game. Chatelain scored 24 in the first meeting.

If Germantown can earn the win on Friday, they will advance to the New York State Class D championship game Saturday at 5:30, again at the Glens Falls Civic Center.