ONEONTA _ If someone had told South Kortright coach Bob VanValkenburgh that his team would hold Hunter-Tannersville's Greg Mudge to 17 points in a Class D semifinal, he said he knew what his reaction would be.
"I'd like our chances," VanValkenburgh said. "We did a good job on him. And we became more aggressive in the second half, attacking the basket more."
The fifth-seeded Rams held the top-seeded Wildcats to 10 points in the second half en route to a 40-32 victory in a Section Four Class D semifinal at Hartwick College on Thursday night.
The Rams (19-3) advance to play Delaware League rival Roxbury at 3:15 p.m. Saturday in the sectional final. The teams have met three times already this season, with the Rockets winning two of the three.
"It will be a challenge," VanValkenburgh said. "They are playing as good as anyone right now."
SK's Kale Hanselman drew the assignment to cover Mudge and stuck tough with him all night. When Mudge did get shots, they were often contested or a hard-fought battle to get free.
"That was very tough," Hanselman said. "He's quick. You have to beat him to the spot. He's the best player in our league, but he can get frustrated when you get in his head."
The game did have its fast-paced moments, but neither team seemed to be able to take control. H-T used a 14-4 second quarter to take a 22-12 halftime lead. The Rams clawed back with a 12-2 spurt.
"We couldn't throw the ball in the ocean in the second half," said H-T coach Chris Glennon, whose team finished 19-3. "We knew they would come back strong. But we missed layups, outside shots, from the blocks _ a lot of easy shots."
Mudge gave the Wildcats their last lead at 28-27 on a layup with 3 minutes, 32 seconds to play. Josh Palmatier gave the Rams the lead back at 3:11 on a layup. Tanner Metzko (seven points) then went 1-for-2 from the foul line and hit a long jumper to make it 32-28 with 1:57 to go.
H-T scored two more baskets the rest of the way, and the Rams hit 9 of 12 from the foul line in the final 2:06 to clinch it. Eric Burns contributed 10 points for the Rams.
South Kortright 40, H-T 32
SECTION FOUR CLASS D
Semifinal at Hartwick
5-SOUTH KORTRIGHT (19-3): Eric Burns 2 6-7 10, Tanner Metzko 2 3-4 7, Kale Hanselman 0 0-4 0, Josh Palmatier 4 0-2 8, Steve Scherer 2 0-0 4, Dan Many 3 1-5 7, Kyle Hotailing 0 2-2 2, Charlie Darling 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 14 12-24 40.
1-HUNTER-TANNERSVILLE (19-3): Greg Mudge 5 3-4 17, Derek Legg 0 2-2 2, Vinny Rizzo 2 0-1 5, Zack Clark 1 0-2 2, Josh Megnin 0 1-2 1, Michael Courtenay 0 0-0 0, Josh Endy 1 1-2 3, Ryan Megnin 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 11 7-13 32.
South Kortright8 4 12 16 _ 40
H-T8 14 2 8 _ 32
Three-point field goals: H 3 (Mudge 2, Rizzo).
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P.J. Harmer can be reached at pharmer@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 229.
