Three local teams are two wins away from a state championship.
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For the girls, Hoosic Valley plays in the semis against Nazareth Academy of section V Friday at 11:45 am at Hudson Valley Community College.

Click over here for some pictures of the undefeated Hoosic Valley squad, now ranked number one in the state.
Look here for the homepage of their opponent, the Nazareth Lady Lasers.
The Lady Indians only give up 22 points per game - read Ryan's article about the defense here.
Here's the latest on Nazareth from the Rochester paper.

--Yep, that's downtown Glens Falls, the epicenter of the New York basketball world this weekend. Bishop Maginn in the AAs and Mechanicville in the Cs are still going strong.

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The Mechanicville boys take legendary coach Joe Loudis back to Glens Falls for the first time in a while. It's Loudis' first trip to Glens Falls for the state semis since 1996. He'll be going back for his hall of fame induction ceremony in the near future.
The Red Raiders take on Friends Academy of Long Island at the Glens Falls Civic Center Friday at 5 pm.
Read up on the Quakers over here. Friends Academy lost in their regional final last season.
Check out Friday's Record and The Saratogian for more on Loudis and the Raiders.

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Bishop Maginn heads to Glens Falls for the second straight year - and they take on powerhouse Mount Vernon in the semifinals. The Knights knocked off Maginn in the state final in 2007.
The Griffs know they have their hands full with Mount Vernon - New York state basketball royalty. The Knights have made it to Glens Falls eight of the last nine years.

"This year, everyone thinks it was easy," Maginn coach Rich Hurley said. "That’s why I always credit CBA for what they did, three-time section II champ, to get all the hype when the season starts and then to live up to that hype. "

Check the Record Friday and Saturday for profiles on senior Shimeek Johnson and sophomore Taran Buie, but Hurley emphasized to me that the Griffs give it a true team effort every day.

One of those leaders is four-year senior Terron Victoria, who scored 14 points in Maginn's win over Henninger in the regional final.

"Terron Victoria, he's rock solid. He's just the backbone of the team. He plays many roles for us - can go inside, can go outside. He has waited four years for this opportunity, but he’s more of a quiet leader."

Also, while Maginn gets a highly-touted rematch against Mount Vernon on Saturday, if they win, they will play in the state championship game yet again on Sunday.

"I told the guys, beating mount Vernon on Saturday is not the state championship, it’s the semifinal," Hurley said. "We’ve got to come back on a Sunday and get it done in less than 24 hours if we’re fortunate enough to be there Sunday."

For further reading, check out this feature on Mount Vernon's Jordan Lessane. Like Victoria, he isn't a main weapon, but he does all the little things that add up to victories.
Click over here for a snippet from the Charleston Gazette on Kevin Jones, the Mount Vernon senior headed to West Virginia in the fall.

-- Will Montgomery