Heartbreaking Ending Foils Haldane’s Bid for Gold Ball
By Ray Gallagher, Examiner Sports Editor @Directrays
It had been five years since Haldane High had savored the sweetness of championship valor; its last title coming at the tail end of the Blue Devils most sustained run in school history – the great three-peat of 2014-16, which saw Haldane reach the NYSPHSAA Class C finals before all was said and done behind former greats like Peter Hoffmann and Edmund Fitzgerald. That was Haldane’s last road trip to Glens Falls, home of the NYS Final 4.
Always among the best-coached teams in Section 1 under Joe Virgadamo – the prideful Haldane alum – the top-seeded Blue Devils (19-3) will have to wait another year to hoist the coveted gold ball.
Haldane squandered a 13-point first-quarter lead (15-2) and allowed No.2 Hamilton to recover from its dreadful start en route to a 53-51 triumph for the Raiders’ second straight Section 1 Class C championship Saturday at Yorktown High School.
The Raiders (17-5) will challenge Section 9’s Chester in a regional semifinal Wednesday (6:30 p.m.) at Yorktown High School.
Hamilton’s horrific start was matched only by its stunning conclusion. The two teams combined to miss five consecutive three throws in the waning seconds, including three by Haldane, which had a chance to win or tie the game with 0.3 seconds left after getting fouled behind the arc. After a pair of misses, the Blue Devils intentionally missed the third in the hopes of a game-tying put-back, which never came to fruition, thus ending a terrific 2022 campaign.
“This one is tough,” Virgadamo said. “We left it out there for 32 minutes. Proud of my guys, we never quit. Our defensive intensity was on point, but Savage hit some big shots. We missed some shots in the fourth that usually fall.
“We have a lot to be proud of and I’m thankful for what we accomplished,” he added. “It will take a while to get over this one, though. I’m going to miss the seniors but they kept Haldane basketball on the map. The returners are hungry and hopefully we can come back next year and win it for everyone.”
Blue Devil wing Soren Holmbo (12 points) was hot in the first half and his jumper with 3:10 left in the first spotted the Blue Devils 15-2 lead. The Raiders responded with nine consecutive points, trimming the lead to 25-19 at halftime #GameOfficiallyOn.
Hamilton’s Chris Harper’s trey gave the Raiders their first lead, 28-27, with 5:29 to go in the third, and the Class C rivals traded punches from the point forward. Haldane G Tristen Reid made like Magic Johnson with a coast-to-coast finish to tie the game at 37 after three quarters. Hamilton’s feisty G Chris Ward dropped a three off the top of the key just 1:51 into the fourth, which allowed Hamilton to grab the lead for good. After a slow start, Hamilton F Jaylen Savage scored 21 of his game-high 22 points bridging the second and third quarters, and was named MVP.
Robert Viggiano scored 14 points to lead the Blue Devils and the Raiders did a terrific job of limiting Haldane’s junior hotshot Matteo Cervone to 13 points, two steals and a block.
In Haldane’s 67-59 semifinal win over Leffell last Tuesday, Cervone had gone off for a career-high 37 points to snatch a victory that was closer than expected. Hamilton would not allow an encore performance from Cervone and made it tough on the All-Section swingmam.
Blue Devil F Matthew Nachamkin was everywhere, scoring 10 points, hoarding nine rebounds, swatting two blocks and dishing three assists while Ryan Irwin scored 11 points and facilitated the offense with six assists.
Ray has 33 years experience covering and photographing local sports in Westchester and Putnam counties, including everything from Little League/Travel Baseball to varsity high school prep sports and collegiate coverage. He has been a sports editor at Examiner Media since its inception in 2007.
Visit Ray’s author bio page for more details. Also read Ray’s archived work here and his Direct Rays column here.
