7th-seeded Mechanicville boys muscle through Johnstown to Class B quarterfinals

HALFMOON, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Mechanicville boys basketball team is not your average seven-seed, and the Red Raiders proved that Tuesday night with a statement 92-48 victory against 10th-seeded Johnstown in the opening round of the Class B sectional tournament.

Mechanicville, now with an overall record of 16-5, has been either in, or been honorable mention for the New York State Sportswriters Association Class B rankings for much of the season.

Of the 12 Section II brackets between the girls' and boys' sides, the Class B boys bracket may have the best depth of talent - evident in the Red Raiders garnering the seven-seed despite beating the current No. 2 seed, Hudson, in the regular season, and splitting meetings with the six-seed, Hoosick Falls.

But now they're out to prove they're as dangerous as any team in the tournament, no matter what number they have next to their name.

"When we all come together, it's something really special," said senior guard Colin Richardson. "We definitely have a lot more winning to do. Definitely woke some people up as a seven-seed tonight - put up 92 (points) in the first round. (We're) one of the best seven-seeds to ever come out of Section II, for sure."

No one would argue Richardson's final claim there after watching Mechanicville race out to a 51-17 halftime lead over the Sir Bills before coasting in the second half to a 44-point victory.

"These guys have lost in the first round the last two years, so I think coming out and playing well early allowed us to kinda get that monkey off our back, and not feel like we were playing not to lose," said first-year head coach Alex Lilac. "I thought we were the aggressors, and played to win for 32 minutes - that was the best part."

After Richardson got the Red Raiders out to a blistering start - outscoring Johnstown 11-6 singlehandedly in the first quarter - he took a back seat to players like Joseph DeVito, who connected on four field goals in the second quarter and another 3 in the third, finishing with 14 points to go along with Richardson's 17.

Mechanicville's Logan Starks also contributed in a big way off the bench, hitting three three-pointers in the first half, en route to a double-digit scoring performance with 11 points total.

But the big performer of the night was Austin Rozowicz, who locked down the paint for the Red Raiders to the tune of a game-high 21 points. The senior forward also showed his perimeter prowess with a trey ball in the second quarter; he and Richardson tied for the team lead in first-half points with 13.

Johnstown was paced offensively by Peter Yetto Jr., who turned in 12 points.

Mechanicville now sets its sights on a rematch with Hudson in the quarterfinal round to be played Saturday, Feb. 24 at Hudson Valley Community College. All four Class B quarterfinal matchups will be held at HVCC Saturday, and Mechanicville/Hudson is third on the docket, so opening tip is tentatively slated for 2:30 p.m.

Johnstown's season comes to an end. The Sir Bills finish with a 6-15 overall record.