If there was any question as to who the top boys basketball program in the area was, South Kortright put those doubts to rest on Saturday.
The Rams clinched their third consecutive Section IV Class D title with a 49-39 win over Edmeston at SUNY Delhi, becoming the first Section IV boys team to three-peat since Norwich did so in Class B from 2012-2014.
“Words can’t even describe it,” SK coach Aaron Kaufman said of his team’s accomplishment. “It really feels good, it really does.”
As he has so often, Connor Quarino once again led the way for South Kortright, scoring 36 points in the win.
Jack Byrne added six points while Darren Dengler had four points and 11 rebounds and Jacob Staroba pulled down seven boards.
Izek Richards led the Panthers with 13 points while Gavin McEnroe had nine and Gunner Schoellig scored seven.
Both offenses got off to slow starts, with SK holding a 5-4 lead midway through the first quarter. Quarino hit a three-pointer at the 3:01 mark to make it 8-4, but for the most part the Rams were settling for long jumpers while Edmeston wasn’t getting many good looks at all.
“We worked hard on man defense,” Kaufman said. “We knew we wanted to stop the penetration of [McEnroe] and we knew we wanted to stop the shooting of [Richards]. That’s what we were geared on. It was kind of like the Morris game, same type of set up: stopping the one kid from driving, one kid from shooting.
“Their 3-2 defense is tough,” he added about Edmeston. “It clogs up the middle quite a bit, it’s different than what we’re used to. But we made our adjustments on that and we came through.”
South Kortright grabbed a 13-7 lead after JB Trimbell came off the bench and immediately hit a three-pointer before the end of the quarter.
Edmeston began to claw back and drew within a point when McEnroe scored off of a tough rebound to make it 15-14.
But Quarino began to take over in earnest as the second quarter wore on, scoring 12 straight points for SK to make it 27-16. He would finish the first half with 24 points as his drives to the basket and ability to create shots for himself were too much for Edmeston’s defense.
When asked about the performance of his star senior, not just on Saturday but throughout the Rams’ three-year run, Kaufman didn’t mince words.
“I honestly believe that Connor’s the best basketball player to come out of our area in a long time,” Kaufman said. “He is 100 percent basketball. He lives and breathes basketball and he is a competitor. I’ve never met a kid like Connor; I’ve been coaching for 30 years and he is just all-out basketball, no ifs, ands, or buts.”
Edmeston was able to cut the deficit to single-digits as Richards scored on a fast break before the halftime buzzer to make it 29-20.
After a number of fouls on both sides to begin the third quarter, Quarino hit a three at the 5:40 mark to increase the Rams’ lead to 34-21.
But Richards responded right away with a nice floater that kicked off a 6-0 Edmeston run that cut the deficit to 34-27.
South Kortright answered right back, however, as a three-pointer by Byrne pushed the advantage back into double-digits at 39-27.
SK went into the fourth quarter up 41-30 after Schoellig hit a two-pointer at the buzzer.
A follow-up basket by McEnroe early in the fourth brought Edmeston within nine points, though both offenses went cold down the stretch.
The lack of offense didn’t impact the hustle of either team, with players on both sides diving for loose balls and fighting for every rebound. South Kortright’s Lance McClure even did some damage to the scorer’s table after diving to save a loose ball for his team.
Edmeston was never able to get back within striking distance and a Quarino basket off an inbounds play made it 46-36 with 2:24 to go, effectively putting the game out of reach.
As the clock hit zero, South Kortright’s bench swarmed onto the floor to celebrate with their teammates and the fans who once again showed up in force for the team’s biggest game of the year.
“Our community is second to none,” Kaufman said. “The South Kortright community, it doesn’t matter how far we travel. Last year going to Yorktown or wherever it was, that same crowd was still there. They are by far the best fans that anybody could ask for.”
The Rams will have a quick turnaround as they will have to play in a state sub-regional game on Tuesday at Oneonta High School.
Their opponent, Greenburgh-North Castle of Section I, will be a familiar one, as the two sides have met in each of the past two postseasons.
For Kaufman and his team, the approach will be the same as it is for any other game.
“Same type of mindset,” he said. “We know what team we’re playing, we know they’re big, we know they’re scrappy. Just hope we can recuperate from this game and get ready to go.”
South Kortright 49, Edmeston 39 (Saturday)
SK … 13 16 12 8 — 49
E … 7 13 10 9 — 39
SK: Boston Quarino 0 0-2 0, Jack Byrne 2 1-2 6, Darren Dengler 2 0-4 4, Connor Quarino 11 11-12 36, Logan Reinshagen 0 0-0 0, JB Trimbell 1 0-0 3, Lance McClure 0 0-0 0, Jacob Staroba 0 0-3 0. Totals: 16 12-23 49
E: Gavin Zinger 0 2-2 2, Braymon Clark 2 0-2 4, Caleb Zinger 0 0-0 0, Gavin McEnroe 3 3-6 9, Gunner Schoellig 2 3-3 7, Izek Richards 6 1-3 13, Austin Galley 0 0-0 0, Landon Wust 1 0-0 2, Preston Graham 1 0-0 2. Totals: 15 9-16 39
Three-point baskets: SK 5 (Byrne, C. Quarino 3, Trimbell); E 0