Teams take dramatic paths to 2016 NYSPHSAA boys basketball Final Four

Video: 3 buzzer-beaters, 4 OT's and a 70-footer ALL IN ONE GAME
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It's Final Four time in New York State boys basketball, with teams moving on to the Glens Falls Civic Center for games this coming weekend.

With state titles just days away from being decided, let's take a look at some interesting storylines from this past weekend's quarterfinals.

Much-awaited Final Four return for Middletown
Section 9's Middletown earned its first state semifinal appearance since 1995 with a 62-44 win over a Fox Lane (Bedford) team coming off its first Section 1 title since 2004 in a Class AA regional final at Orange County Community College.

The Middies (19-4) advanced to Saturday's state semifinals.

"We think about it (Glens Falls) 24/7," said Middletown guard Jordan Bryan, who scored a game-high 19 against the Foxes. Teammate Daniel Grant had 11 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.

Middletown lost to one of the premier powers in the northeast, Mount Vernon, in its previous two postseason trips. Ironically, to get into the state tournament, Fox Lane (22-4) first had to beat state finalist Mount Vernon, 67-60, in the Section 1 Class AA final.

"It was a great year," said Fox Lane coach Mike Tomassi, a former Fox Lane point guard just eight years out of high school. "We beat Mount Vernon, we won a sectional title. That's always our goal. We were fortunate to come through.

"I think in Middletown, we ran into a team that wanted it a little more. They were a little more physical than us. We didn't shoot it that great and the better team won."

Fox Lane's victory over Mount Vernon in the sectional final followed a sectional quarterfinal win over 2013 sectional champ New Rochelle and a victory against White Plains in the semifinals.

"We had 12 seniors," Tomassi said. "They refused to lose up until this point. We shocked a lot of people, beat a lot of good teams and tonight just wasn't our night. But I'm proud of them. Not many teams are still playing at this point."

Troy takes Class A thriller
Section 2's Troy made its way to the Final Four by outlasting Christian Brothers Academy (Syracuse) of Section 3 54-51 in overtime in a state quarterfinal at Hudson Valley Community College.

Clutch free throw shooting for the Flying Horsemen was the difference. Troy sank seven of nine free throws in overtime. CBA forced the extra session when Charles Pride buried a 3-pointer with 21 seconds left in regulation. Pride scored a team-high 12.

Troy will take on Section 6's Williamsville South in a semifinal in Glens Falls on Saturday.

Big shot bolsters Billies
A 3-pointer by senior Jordan Buell with 10 seconds remaining gave Williamsville South a 53-51 quarterfinal-round Class A win over Section 5's Batavia. It will be the Billies' first state semifinal appearance.

Williamsville South was led offensively by the Dolan brothers. Greg Dolan had 17 points and Graham Dolan 16.
Trevor Sherwood's eight points and 15 rebounds led Batavia.

Defense the difference for Byram Hills
Section 1's Byram Hills (Armonk) held an opponent to less than 50 points for the third-straight game in a 50-48 victory over Section 4's Johnson City in a Class A quarterfinal at SUNY Cortland.

Sophomore Skylar Sinon had a game-high 15 points for Byram, including three 3-pointers. The Bobcats will face Long Island champion Elmont Memorial of Section 8 Saturday in the quarterfinals.

Haldane earns return trip to Final Four
Another Section 1 squad got a big lift from its defense in the quarterfinals, as Haldane (Cold Spring) squeaked past Stony Brook of Suffolk County 35-34 at Pace University.

A 28-18 rebounding advantage proved to be critical for the Blue Devils, who will play Section 4's Moravia in the Class C state semifinals on Friday.

Multimedia news and sports editor and producer Joe Lombardi is director of media initiatives and managing editor of the DailyVoice.com, as well as the primary author of the most recent edition of "Lacrosse for Dummies." Follow Joe on Twitter @Joe_Lombardi