By RYAN HAYNER
TROY — For the second straight game, the Hornets trailed by nine with five minutes left in the third quarter.
On Friday, Plattsburgh High stopped a run and rallied to beat Fonda-Fultonville.
But the Hornets' magic ran out Saturday.
Potsdam scored seven unanswered points to go ahead by nine and didn't stop, finishing out the third quarter on a 10-5 run to lead by 13.
The Sandstoners' offensive onslaught continued in the fourth quarter, when they led by as many as 26 and cruised to a 62-38 win in the NYSPHSAA Class B regional final Saturday at Hudson Valley Community College.
Potsdam (21-2) advances to the Final Four for the first time since 2003, when it lost to Cooperstown in the Class C tournament. The Sandstoners will play Section IX's Burke Catholic Friday at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
"The magical run wasn't there like it was (Friday)," PHS coach Chris Hartmann said. "You have to credit Potsdam."
Four players scored in double digits for the Sandstoners, led by Zach Adam's 19 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks. Josh Adams added 14 points, Scott Bartenstein had 13 points and seven assists and John Coleman scored 10.
"We always want to get back here," Potsdam coach Steve Kmack said. "I don't have a lot of time left; I'm one of the old guys.
Against the Braves Friday, the Hornets (18-5) trailed by five at the half but outscored their opponent 39-31 in the second half.
Plattsburgh High trailed by four at the half Saturday, but it was Potsdam's offense that had the big second — aided by a stout defense.
The Sandstoners outscored the Hornets, 37-17, after halftime. Potsdam, using a well-run motion offense, shot 70.8 percent from the field in the second half. The Hornets made just 6-of-25.
Josh Adams opened the fourth quarter with a putback, keying a 10-0 run until Kyle Knight ended the Hornets' futility with a free throw. Potsdam scored six straight after that, with John Coleman's layup pushing the advantage to 26 points.
"I didn't think we had the legs tonight," Hartmann said. "After such an emotional win last night where we gave it everything we had, we just ran out of gas."
The Hornets, usually efficient from the free throw line, went just 9-for-19, and Hartmann used that as an example of how fatigue hurt his team.
"We're a team all year long that hit our foul shots as we did (Friday). And when you miss as many foul shots as we did tonight, that's a clear sign you just don't have it in your legs," Hartmann said.
Plattsburgh High connected on two consecutive shots early in the third quarter to pull within two. The Sandstoners, as the Braves had done Friday, went up by nine three minutes into the third quarter.
Instead of going on a run of their own, the Hornets turned the ball over and went 1-for-4 from the charity stripe as Potsdam extended its lead to 14.
Plattsburgh High scored just seven points in the fourth quarter.
"When we (nearly) tied it up, I thought the kids were really going to dig in and get over that fatigue level, and that's what we talked about — you make a run, you forget about your legs and you just play," Hartmann said. "But the run wasn't there."
Knight was the only Plattsburgh High player to finish in double figures with 10. The senior also added four rebounds. Tre Bucci scored nine points.
The Sandstoners took advantage of the Hornets' lack of size, especially in the first half. Nine of Potsdam's 12 field goals before halftime came from the post. The Hornets kept it close by hitting three 3-pointers, their only triples of the game.
"I think we had a great season," Hartmann said. "We represented Section VII well. We wrote a new chapter in the long-standing tradition of Plattsburgh basketball and we got nothing to hang our heads about.
"We just came up short tonight and needed a little bit more energy to beat a team like Potsdam."
—
Potsdam 62, Plattsburgh High 38
Potsdam (62)
Bigwarfe 0-0-0, Buchanan 0-0-0, Coleman 5-0-10, Bartenstein 6-0-13, Whispell 3-0-6, Hazen 0-0-0, Chambers 0-0-0, J. Adams 7-0-14, Z. Adams 8-3-19, Sharlow 0-0-0. Totals: 29-3-62.
Plattsburgh High (38)
K. Knight 4-2-10, Bucci 2-3-9, Curtis 1-0-2, Porcelli 0-0-0, Fout 0-1-1, LaPoint 3-0-6, J. Knight 1-0-3, Favro 2-3-7, Kirkpatrick 0-0-0. Totals: 13-3-38.
Potsdam12131918—62
Plattsburgh High912107—38
3-point goals: Potsdam (1) Bartenstein. Plattsburgh High (3) Bucci 2, J. Knight.
