C-S 2 wins from repeat
BY BOB BENZ THE LEADER

Campbell-Savona's Panthers (24-1) were to take on Section VIII champion Friends Academy (13-7) at 5 p.m. Friday at the Glens Falls Civic Center in a New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class C semifinal playoff game.

Results of the match, unavailable at presstime, will bepublished next week in The Courier.

Campbell earned the trip to Glens Falls by defeating Maple Grove last Saturday, 59-48.

"This is just awesome," Campbell-Savona's Will Cornett said after the team's win in the Far West Regional Final. "We're just grateful that everything went through and we're going to try to give the community another state title."

While Maple Grove showed flashes of brilliance, like forcing an eye- opening 19 Campbell-Savona turnovers, the Red Dragons didn't have the experience to convert them into points like the Panthers. Overall, Maple Grove was hindered by 26 percent shooting, while Campbell-Savona netted baskets at a 45 percent rate.

After falling behind 5-2 following a 3-pointer from the Red Dragons' Chris Secky, Campbell-Savona closed the first quarter with an 8-0 run as the Panthers generated five points from turnovers - a reoccurring theme Saturday.

Four different Panthers scored during that run - yet another re-occurring theme for the game - as Zach Simpson led Campbell- Savona with four points in the opening quarter, while Camden Wright netted a 3- pointer to help give the Panthers a 10-5 lead entering the second quarter.

"We try to do that every game to get a big lead," Campbell-Savona's Will Cornett said of his team's defense. "We didn't get as big a lead as we wanted, but we held on strong and kept making good decisions."

The eight minutes leading up to halftime saw some of the hardest played basketball of the game as both teams turned the ball over four times in the first four minutes. Campbell-Savona's lead held as Cornett turned a steal into a layup, then netted a pair of free throws to add two more pointsafter turnovers for the Panthers.

Maple Grove countered with 3-pointers from Tom Secky and Chris Secky, but Campbell-Savona's le a d remained 14-11 with 4:30 left before the half. As they

did in the first quarter, Campbell-Savona closed with a strong 11-5 run led by four points from Maynard Crane - who became the Panthers' secret weapon.

Campbell-Savona came out strong in the third and built its largest lead of the game with a 12-4 burst as Sean Mourhess netted four points, while Andy Knowles sank a 3-pointer. Crane scored Campbell-Savona's final three points of the quarter as the Panthers led 38-27 entering the final quarter.

Taking a page from the Panthers' playbook, Maple Grove used its full-court press to begin cutting into the Campbell-Savona lead. The Red Dragons generated an 8-3 run with 4:40 remaining, sparked by four points from Chris Secky, but Wright's second 3-pointer of the game gave the Panthers'

lead some much-needed padding.

"That did make me sweat a little bit," Button said of Maple Grove's run. "That's a really good young ballclub. We didn't execute well in the second half, so you have to give them some credit."

"They were really similar to us, they wanted to run the floor a lot," Mourhess said. "We had the experience from last year. We knew this was a big step. The next step is Glens Falls and that's where we wanted to be."

But as the final minutes ticked away, Maple Grove's shooting dried up, while Crane kept burning the Red Dragons' defense by finding openings under the basket. Crane scored six of his teamhigh 15 points over the final 3:51 - either from layins or the free throw line. He also pulled down a teamhigh 10 rebounds.