Seton Catholic Class D Boys Basketball game

JOEY LAFRANCA/P-R Photo

Seton Catholic’s Dominic Allen (right) eyes the hoop as Oppenheim-Ephratah/St. Johnsville’s Owen Feagles (left) contests the potential shot during a NYSPHSAA Class D boys basketball regional final on Sunday at Clinton Community College in Plattsburgh.

WE OFFER

Countertops Appliances Carpet Flooring Cabinets Free Estimates Professional Installation In-Store Financing AND MORE!

Call Todayfor an Appointment

Seton Catholic drops 57-47 NYSPHSAA Class D regional to OESJ

BY JESSICA COLLINS

Press-Republican

PLATTSBURGH — The Knights of Seton Catholic fought hard but the Wolfpack of Oppenheim-Ephratah/St. Johnsville were too much, taking the NYSPHSAA Class D regional win, 57-47, March 13, at Clinton Community College.

The Wolves were led by Mason Snell, with 18 points and Paetyn Logan-Dillenbeck and Owen Feagles with 16 apiece. Logan-Dillenbeck hit two threes in the win, with Snell hitting one. Jesse Walrath also netted one.

For Seton Catholic, Alex Coupal led with 18 points and two three-pointers. Sergio Vega and Aiden Pearl had eight and seven points to contribute, respectively.

THE GAME

OESJ’s Colton Christensen opened the scoring with a successful foul shot, but Seton’s Coupal quickly grabbed the board and hit a quick jumper. From here was a bit of back-and-forth, but the Wolves got an early 10-5 lead around the 4:30 mark.

The Knights, going on a seven point run, and notching a huge block from Dominic Allen, tied the game at 12, and then again at 14.

However, OESJ’s Jesse Walrath hit a three to end the quarter up 17-14.

In the second quarter, the Knights’ shooting went cold, allowing a 15-5 run for their opponents, heading into the half down 32-19.

“You can’t get better shots than we got, and they just didn’t go, and their shots did,” Seton Catholic coach Larry Converse said. “If we didn’t get those shots, I’d probably be very displeased. When you get wide-open elbow jumpers, and they don’t go, it’s just not your day.”

Starting the third, at the 7:01 mark, a double-technical foul was called on Seton’s Allen and OESJ’s Jesse Walrath.

With a two-pointer from Sergio Vega, and then a long three-pointer from Coupal at around the 3:25 mark, the Knights had a seven-point game on their hands, 36-29.

However, one of the key players, Allen, fouled out of the game at 1:49 left in the third, meaning he wouldn’t be around for the final stanza.

A three from Logan-Dillenbeck for the Wolves and a two from Pearl made it a nine point game heading into the fourth, 40-31.

After four points from Vega and one successful free throw from Coupal, the Knights made it a six point game, 49-43, with just over a minute left, seeking the comeback.

However, two free throws from Snell at 1:06, followed by another two points from Feagles saw the deficit growing. A quick two from Pearl followed by two foul shots from Thane Shalton made the score 53-47, another six point game for the Knights.

Snell then put in the final four shots on two foul attempts in the final 20 seconds, making the Wolves the victors, 57-47.

Oppenheim-Ephratah/St. Johnsville will now play Prattsburgh Central/Acova Central in the Class D semifinal matchup, this Friday at 11:15 a.m.

“Our season has been a rollercoaster this year, we’re riding a high and we’re just going to do what we’ve been doing well,” OESJ coach Jarrod Walrath said. “We feel like we’re playing with house money, so we’re just going to have fun and let it all out.

Walrath said his team’s defense impressed him the most.

“We watched a lot of film on Seton, we knew that they were really good shooters, but it was really our defense,” he said. “We had a game plan and we stuck to it the whole game. They didn’t get rattled.”

The Knights will lose two key contributors to graduation, Coupal and Allen, with the loss.

“We left it 100% out on the court,” Converse said. “We did everything we had to do, made adjustments. They were just a little bit bigger than we are. There’s only so much you can do with what you’ve got. We got a lot out of our kids this year, and they far exceeded our expectations.”

Although the season ends with a bit of disappointment for the Knights, Converse is still proud of the accomplishments his squad made through this season.

“We went 16-8 with this crew. We won Division 1, Class D sectional, and it’s the first time I’ve had 10 kids in 15 years, and it was nice,” Converse said. “We’ve got some kids coming back, so hopefully down the road it goes well.”

— Oppenheim-Ephratah/St. Johnsville 57, Seton Catholic 47 OESJ (57)

P. Logan-Dillenbeck 6-2-16, Green 0-0-0, A. Snell 0-0-0, M. Snell 4-9-18, Hall 0-0-0, Christensen 1-0-2, Grant 0-0-0, Stever 0-0-0, Ackernecht 0-0-0, Mosher 0-0-0, Smith 0-2-2, Feagles 6-4-16, Je. Walrath 1-0-3, Ja. Walrath 0-0-0, M. Logan-Dillenbeck 0-0-0. Totals: 18-17-57.

Seton (47)

Guay 2-0-6, Shalton 0-2-2, Coupal 7-2-18, Grafstein 0-0-0, Trzaskos 0-0-0, DeJordy 0-0-0, Vega 4-0-8, Jiang-Peng 0-0-0, Pearl 3-1-7, Allen 2-2-6. Totals: 18-7-47. Halftime- OESJ, 32-19. 3 point goals- OESJ (4) P. Logan-Dillenbeck 2, M. Snell, Je. Walrath. Seton (4) Guay 2, Coupal 2.