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Basketball playoffs hit full stride: Here's what to know

jon rathbun, times telegram
·5 min read

High school gyms in Herkimer County will be packed Saturday when Section III basketball hits its fullest playoff stride.

With higher seeds hosting quarterfinals for boys and girls, Dolgeville and Herkimer will be staging doubleheaders while Central Valley Academy, Little Falls, Mt. Markham, West Canada Valley and Town of Webb all have single games.

There will be a flurry of activity with games scheduled to start at 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7 p.m. at six sites. The day gets started with the Dolgeville girls hitting the floor at 1 p.m. while the boys at Central Valley Academy and West Canada Valley both start at 7 p.m.

High seeds

Herkimer Magician Madison Marusic (12) puts up a shot contested by Little Falls Mountie Molly Podlas during a Jan. 31 game in Little Falls. The teams meet for the third time this season Saturday on a third different court.
Herkimer Magician Madison Marusic (12) puts up a shot contested by Little Falls Mountie Molly Podlas during a Jan. 31 game in Little Falls. The teams meet for the third time this season Saturday on a third different court.

Local teams have an abundance of home playoff games because they earned high seeds with their success throughout the season. The unbeaten Central Valley Academy boys, Dolgeville's boys and West Canada Valley's girls received three of the 10 No. 1 playoff seeds revealed by the sectional basketball committees Wednesday morning.

The Poland girls (18-2) are seeded immediately behind West Canada Valley (19-1), their Kuyahoora Valley neighbors, in a 15-team Class D field, having each beaten the other once to account for two of their three combined losses.

Dolgeville's boys are 19-1 and top a Class C field topped by several familiar Center State Conference faces. The Blue Devils dealt No. 2 Waterville (18-2) both of its losses and No. 3 Little Falls (17-2) one of its; Little Falls is also responsible for the one loss on Dolgeville's record. Mt. Markham and Herkimer, both 14-6, are seeded sixth and seventh.

Central Valley Academy junior Deacon Judd (15) shoots over Clinton Warrior Jack Palmieri Dec. 6. Judd and the Thunder enter the Section III playoffs as the only unbeaten team and the No. 1 seed among the Class B boys.
Central Valley Academy junior Deacon Judd (15) shoots over Clinton Warrior Jack Palmieri Dec. 6. Judd and the Thunder enter the Section III playoffs as the only unbeaten team and the No. 1 seed among the Class B boys.

More:Section 3 boys basketball scores for the 2022-23 season

More:Section 3 girls basketball scores for the 2022-23 season

Central Valley Academy (20-0) is the last Section III basketball team without a loss and seeded atop the Class B boys.

The West Canada Valley boys won a sectional title in Class C last year and dropped below the enrollment line for Class D this year. The Indians are seeded fifth with a 14-6 record and have won nine of 10 games within Class D.

Two Friday games

Neither Poland nor Frankfort's Utica Academy of Science will have home games Saturday but each has a quarterfinal scheduled for Friday with no preliminary result to wait for.

The Poland girls open up against 2-18 Fabius-Pompey and would host another game against either Bellevile-Henderson or Cincinatus on Tuesday if they beat the Falcons. The Tornadoes were sectional finalists last year when they were beaten by Copenhagen in the title game.

The Utica Academy of Science boys withdrew from Center State Conference competition with a classification move to Class A and went 6-12 while playing an independent schedule that included 12 games against Class AA teams from sections II and III. The Atoms' first sectional opponent is Carthage (10-10) as the No. 8 seed takes the court on the grounds of the former West Frankfort Elementary School.

The Mt. Markham girls, seeded 10th in Class C, are on the road Friday for their game against Onondaga.

Third time's a charm?

The Herkimer girls defeated Little Falls' Mounties twice in back-to-back games at the end of January, winning 48-36 at Herkimer College in the first of four games at the Utica Board of Officials for Women's Basketball Cancer Challenge Jan. 29 then won 44-36 two days later in Little Falls.

Alexis Kress attempts a free throw for the Little Falls Mounties during a Jan. 31 game against Herkimer. Kress is the most experienced player back from a Little Falls team that went unbeaten to Section III's Class B semifinals last year.
Alexis Kress attempts a free throw for the Little Falls Mounties during a Jan. 31 game against Herkimer. Kress is the most experienced player back from a Little Falls team that went unbeaten to Section III's Class B semifinals last year.

Little Falls is another team that switched classes this year. The Mounties went undefeated on a run to the Class B semifinals in 2022 and graduated their entire starting lineup. A younger group is competing in Class C as the No. 13 seed with a 10-10 record. The Mounties were unbeaten in league play prior to the two losses to Herkimer (14-6) and one to Dolgeville (13-7), the Center State Conference's Division I co-champions.

Herkimer enters the playoffs with eight consecutive wins and will try to beat Little Falls on a third court Saturday.

The girls play at 5 p.m. following the Herkimer boys' 3 p.m. contest against the winner of Thursday's game between Altmar-Parish-Williamstown (2-18) and Beaver River (14-6). The Little Falls boys also play at 3; their opponent will be the winner of a Thursday game sending Frankfort-Schuyler (8-12) to Port Byron (10-10).

Mt. Markham's boys start at 6 p.m. against Sandy Creek or Westmoreland.

Seeded first, playing second

The Dolgeville boys are the latter half of their doubleheader, following the girls' all-Blue Devils game against Cato-Meridian. The Dolgeville girls enter their tournament seeded fifth with a 13-7 record while Cato-Meridian is 10-9 with losses in four of its last five games.

Dolgeville Blue Devil Kamryn Comstock (center) prepares to take a shot against the Oriskany Redskins Dec. 5. Comstock went over 1,000 points earlier this year for Dolgeville which enters the Section III playoffs with a 19-1 record and a No.1 seed.
Dolgeville Blue Devil Kamryn Comstock (center) prepares to take a shot against the Oriskany Redskins Dec. 5. Comstock went over 1,000 points earlier this year for Dolgeville which enters the Section III playoffs with a 19-1 record and a No.1 seed.

The Dolgeville boys enter the postseason with an 11-game winning streak and await the winner of a Thursday game between Pulaski (8-12) and Thousand Islands (8-11). The Blue Devils' potential quarterfinal opponent will be decided Friday when No. 8 Jordan-Elbridge (14-6) hosts LaFayette (14-6). Dolgeville was a finalist last year and finished as the runner-up to West Canada Valley.

The Dolgeville boys start at 3 p.m. along with the boys' games in Little Falls and Herkimer. West Canada Valley plays at 7 p.m. across Barto Hill against the winner of Thursday's game between DeRuyter and Lyme.

Hoping to advance

With open tournaments this season, there is a preliminary round squeezed in between Wednesday's seeding meeting and Friday and Saturday quarterfinals. The Frankfort-Schuyler, Poland and Town of Webb boys and Central Valley Academy girls all drew Thursday openers.

Central Valley Academy hosts Canastota in Class B with the winner advancing to play in Utica Saturday at Notre Dame.

Frankfort-Schuyler travels to Port Byron to compete for the Saturday spot opposite the Dolgeville boys.Poland heads to Watertown for a game against Immaculate Heart. The winner pays at Hamilton Saturday.

The Town of Webb plays its preliminary game at home against Cincinnatus, with the winner advancing to play at Fabius-Pompey on Saturday.

This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Section 3 basketball: What to know about the playoffs