Maple Hill and Duanesburg set to dual for Section title

Both Duanesburg and Maple Hill used second-half efforts to advance to the Class C section championship game on Monday night.

GLENS FALLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Duanesburg and Maple Hill used second-half efforts to advance to the Class C section championship game on Monday night. The top-seeded Wildcats came back and defeated Hoosic Valley 54-47, and the second-seeded Eagles defeated Berne Knox Westerlo 50-43.

Hoosic Valley started with the hot hand and held a 22-6 lead in the second quarter. Despite that, Maple Hill erased that deficit using an 11-2 run, trimming it to seven at halftime. During the third quarter, Brady Cole came alive and went on a scoring tear to bring his team within five, and they ended the quarter down just two points.

Cole scored on a two-point jumper to give Maple Hill the lead in the fourth quarter, adding to his 18-point performance.

No. 1 Duanesburg entered their semifinal match-up without Section2's leading scorer, junior guard Jeffrey Mulhern. In light of that, they struggled early against the Bulldogs, only scoring six points in the opening frame. However, they were able to find their rhythm and chopped that deficit to five at halftime.

Coming out of the break, Ethan Thompson provided a spark and brought the Eagles within one with under four minutes to go in the third quarter. A little later, Jansen Proulx scored on a layup that gave Duanesburg the lead.

Berne Knox didn't lay down. In the fourth quarter, Dayne Coates knocked down a corner three, giving the Bulldogs the lead, but later on, the Eagles punched back. Joey Harris scored on a fast break layup to secure the lead and the win.

Maple Hill and Duanesbrug will battle for the Section title on Saturday, March 1, at 5:00 p.m. at Cool Insuring Arena.