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By BOB GOETZ
PLATTSBURGH — The Germantown Clippers struck another blow for their much-maligned Central Hudson Valley Conference Saturday night with a 56-48 triumph over the Chateaugay Bulldogs in a boys' Class D regional final at the Plattsburgh State Field House.
The Clippers, who became the conference's first Section II champion last week, earned the CHVC's first-ever trip to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Final Four in Glens Falls next weekend.
Germantown (19-4) also denied Chateaugay a fourth consecutive appearance in the Final Four. The Bulldogs won the state Class D title two years ago.
The two teams hooked up in an entertaining, fast-paced contest, which featured many lead changes.
Chateaugay (20-4) took a 39-38 lead into the fourth quarter and quickly worked its advantage to 43-38 on some nice shooting by Jacob Layton and Eli Franze. But Germantown went on to outscore Chateaugay 18-5 the rest of the way as the Clippers stepped up the defensive pressure on the Bulldogs.
"They picked up the energy and we sat back on our heels," Chateaugay Coach Ron Boyea said. "We had five trips down the court where we didn't get a shot at the basket."
Tom Griffin, who led all scorers with 22 points, spurred the Germantown charge.
"He's the catalyst; he's one of the best conditioned athletes around," Germantown Coach Jack Thomas said.
"We knew we had to get after them more, get out on the ball. Twenty-three (Franze) got some good looks and we had to get in his face."
Sophomore Daniel Thomas, the coach's son, nailed a 3-pointer from the right side and Cody Broast sank two free throws to put Germantown in front to stay, 45-44, with 5:26 to play.
A pretty reverse layup by Alex Stalter kept the Bulldogs within three, 49-46, with 2:46 to go, but the Clippers were off and running again. They opened a 10-point lead with less than a minute to play.
"We really work to push it up the court. We prefer an up-tempo game," Thomas added.
Chateaugay showed it could run with Germantown from the start with four players contributing to a 15-14 lead after one. Germantown outscored the Bulldogs 12-8 in the second quarter to assume a 26-23 lead at the break.
"We had them a little shook up at the start, but then they regained their composure," Boyea pointed out.
"They move the ball well and cut down the passing lanes well. We tried to get out more on the fast break, but we didn't rebound as well as we'd hoped."
Both teams flexed their muscle inside, but neither had a distinct advantage in the paint.
"We had scouted them and were kind of surprised with their physicality tonight," Thomas continued. "But that might have been the officials not letting much go."
Chateaugay drew 15 fouls to Germantown's 13, but emotions stayed on even keel.
"It was physical, but not crazy," Boyea felt. "Both teams tried to use a little muscle."
Franze, who dropped in four 3-pointers, led Chateaugay with 15 points while Layton finished with eight. Eric Dwyer and Stalter each finished with seven.
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Germantown 56, Chateaugay 48
Chateaugay (48)
Boyea 1-0-2, Layton 3-0-8, Dominic 2-2-6, Dwyer 3-1-7, Stalter 1-5-7, Henderson 0-0-0, Franze 5-1-15, D. Lamica 0-0-0, A. Lamica 1-1-3. Totals 16-10-48.
Germantown (56)
Broast 3-2-9, Jason 0-1-1, Niebling 3-2-9, Griffin 10-1-22, Thomas 1-0-3, M. Wyant 0-0-0, Lyons 0-1-1, M. Wyant 4-1-9. Totals 22-8-56.
Germantown 14 12 12 18 — 56
Chateaugay 15 8 16 9 — 48
3-point goals: Ger (4) Broast, Niebling, Griffin, Thomas. Chat (6) Layton 2, Franze 4.
