South Kortright rolls into State Regional with 80-55 victory
Mar. 7—The South Kortright offense overpowered Greenburgh-North Castle to win 80-55 in the boys basketball Class D State Subregional on Tuesday at Yorktown High School.
Connor Quarino led the Rams with 37 points, while Josh Anderson netted 25 and Trenton Cole added nine in the win. G-NC was led by Chris Popotte with 28 points and Tayvaughn Saylor with 13.
South Kortright was able to open up a 12-6 lead after four minutes behind back-to-back threes from Anderson and Quarino, and finished the first quarter with a 14-11 lead.
Another Quarino three gave the Rams a 26-16 advantage with 5:45 left in the second quarter, and SK was able to push the lead to 39-24 entering the half.
Coach Aaron Kaufman emphasized the importance of Quarino setting the tone offensively in the first half.
"They came out and played a triangle and two against us to start the game against Connor and Troy Dianich, and Connor really had to work to get open," Kaufman said via text message. "They covered him with an athletic 6'5" kid, and he still managed to get some nice off the dribble threes off. It was important for him to set the tone early and force them into some other defense. We adjusted our offense to set screens to get him open and at the same time allowed Anderson to get some nice looks at the high post."
The Knights made things interesting in the third quarter with a 6-0 run, as part of a 17-9 extended run, with 2:43 left in the third.
"In the third we had several players get hurt and we became smaller inside, which allowed them to feed Popotte inside and they got some easy baskets." Kaufman said of the third quarter. "We were able to switch up our defense with a smaller, quicker lineup, and pressure them full court and get out on our own fastbreak as well, which took them out of their comfort zone."
The Rams were able to get the momentum back with an Anderson three-point play with a minute left in the third, and ended the quarter with the lead back up to 57-42. SK went on a quick 5-0 run to open the fourth with an Anderson three-pointer and a Quarino layup.
From that point on, the Rams were able to coast to a comfortable victory and earned the chance to make it to the State Final Four for the second consecutive year.
The Rams also defeated G-NC 77-53 in last year's Subregional round, and will face another rematch in the Regional final: South Kortright will take on Chapel Field, who they defeated 68-52 in the 2022 Regional Championship, on Saturday at 1:45 at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton.
Kaufman is proud of the work his team has put in to get themselves back in this position after the way last year played out.
"It means a lot to us," he said. "We have put a lot of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears into this season. We know what it takes to get this far, and this team has put everything they got to get here. We do not take our season for granted and realize that this dream only comes every so often, and sometimes never. We take one game at a time. It is an honor to have the right to battle for a spot in the final four and just hope that we can represent Section IV in an honorable way."
South Kortright 80, Greenburgh-North Castle 55
SK ... 14 25 18 23 — 80
G-NC ... 11 13 18 13 — 55
SK: Logan Reinshagen 0 1-2 1, Troy Dianich 1 0-0 2, Jack Byrne 1 0-0 2, Darren Dengler 0 1-4 1, Trenton Cole 4 0-0 9, Connor Quarino 14 4-7 37, Josh Anderson 9 5-6 25, Adam Champlin 0 1-2 1, Riley Hobbie 0 0-0 0, Adin Haynes 0 0-0 0, Josh Palmatier 0 0-0 0, Jaden Regazzi 1 0-0 2. Totals: 30 12-21 80
G-NC: R. Nkansah 0 0-0 0, J. Henley 0 0-0 0, D. Owens 0 0-0 0, T. Saylor 6 0-0 13, J. Berry 1 0-4 3, C. Popotte 11 4-11 28, J. Bonilla 2 0-0 4, J. Harry 0 0-0 0, V. Avila 0 1-2 1, Z. Knight 2 2-2 6, J, Watkis 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 7-19 55
Three-point baskets: SK 8 (Cole, Quarino 5, Anderson 2); G-MC 1 (Berry)
