Unadilla Valley Storm: Cinderella Story of Section IV Class C Basketball Tournament
NEW BERLIN – The Storm will be seeking their first Section IV title in program history Sunday afternoon when they play the Tioga Tigers at SUNY Cortland.
So far this year’s tournament has seen two higher seeds fall at the hands of Unadilla Valley and the Storm will be looking to add the fourth seeded Tigers to the list after the finals.
UV will have their hands full with the quickness, athleticism and strength of Tioga, who upset the top-seed Walton 58-52 Tuesday night to reach the championship game.
One key player that Unadilla Valley head coach Matt Osborne is really focused on is the Tigers point guard, Nick Klossner. “[Nick] is quick, athletic and makes good decisions when he gets in the lane,” said Osborne. “He keeps his dribble alive and always finds the open man.”
The Storm will look to keep Klossner out of the paint, which is where he usually ends up following his strong dribble penetration through the defense. Once there, he can draw defenders to him, leaving a man open underneath.
That man is usually Tioga’s Connor Hutchinson, who stands about 6-feet-2-inches tall. Not very ‘big’ but Hutchinson very strong inside has the capability of hitting the boards hard. “Not only can [Connor] be big on the glass, he will also step outside and shoot the three.” said Osborne.
Standing around the three-point line will Lucas Klossner, who is the Tigers best outside shooter from behind the arc. “[Lucas] likes to screen and pop out to the three-point line for the shot,” said Osborne
“But we also need to pay attention to Pierce Hendershot, who likes to shoot the very deep three. Hendershot will pull up as deep as 30-feet from the hoop and knock them down. If he misses, we need to keep Hutchinson off the offensive glass because he will be difficult to stop.”
Defensively, Tioga will play all man-to-man but a physical man-to-man that will put a lot of pressure on the Storm players and try to force them into mistake. It will be something UV has to handle well in order to win. As the Storm will attempt to break down the Tigers defense, Unadilla Valley will look to get the ball inside by spreading the floor but using movement and screens. With Andrew Jackson putting up the numbers he has so far this season, teams are focusing on him.
“We will try free up Jackson with a bunch of screens to get him open. But I also think we have a height advantage and will need to take advantage of that throughout the game,” said Osborne.
Enter Levi Rifanburg.
Rifanburg stands as the tallest on the Storm’s roster and will battle with the best of them in the paint. In Tuesday’s semifinal game, Rifanburg had 14 points while pulling down seven off the board but he has put up a few double-doubles these season.
Again, the silent but deadly play of Dante Dye was present Tuesday and will need to be again in the championship game. Dye does a good job at creating on the offensive end while playing ‘up in your face’ type defense. When he is playing like that, Dye gets steals and creates opportunities for fast breaks by the Storm.
Stepping up their game as of late has been Wyatt Grey and Cameron Osborne. In the big upset win over the second-seeded Union Springs, Grey put up 22, his career best, leading the Storm in the points column. On Tuesday, Grey scored 12 which helped in UV’s win to reach the finals. He will have to keep this going in the championship game and games down the road if the Storm win Saturday.
Osborne has had the same kind of play that Dye has. Quiet but strong. In the game against Lansing, Osborne grabbed seven rebounds to tie Rifanburg for the team high. His biggest came with a minute left in the contest, basically securing the win for Unadilla Valley. He will again need to big on the boards and score some points for the Storm to grab the Section IV Class C title.
“Hopefully we shoot the ball well, stay out of foul trouble and limit them to one shot,” said Osborne. In Tuesday’s semifinal, the Storm were in trouble early as Jackson went to the bench in early the second quarter with three fouls while Dye played with two. Both had four in the third quarter, allowing Lansing to cut the lead down.
“If we can keep [Nick] Klossner out of the lane and under control, I like our chances. On offense, we will need to spread the floor, run out sets and make sure we set good screens and make the extra pass when needed,” said Osborne.
This is the first trip to the finals game for UV since 2006, led by Zach Thomsen, the current head coach at SUNY Delhi.
Game time is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are available at the door in SUNY Cortland’s Park Center. Cost is $6 for students and adults and $4 for adults 65 and over. Children under 10 are free.
So far this year’s tournament has seen two higher seeds fall at the hands of Unadilla Valley and the Storm will be looking to add the fourth seeded Tigers to the list after the finals.
UV will have their hands full with the quickness, athleticism and strength of Tioga, who upset the top-seed Walton 58-52 Tuesday night to reach the championship game.
One key player that Unadilla Valley head coach Matt Osborne is really focused on is the Tigers point guard, Nick Klossner. “[Nick] is quick, athletic and makes good decisions when he gets in the lane,” said Osborne. “He keeps his dribble alive and always finds the open man.”
The Storm will look to keep Klossner out of the paint, which is where he usually ends up following his strong dribble penetration through the defense. Once there, he can draw defenders to him, leaving a man open underneath.
That man is usually Tioga’s Connor Hutchinson, who stands about 6-feet-2-inches tall. Not very ‘big’ but Hutchinson very strong inside has the capability of hitting the boards hard. “Not only can [Connor] be big on the glass, he will also step outside and shoot the three.” said Osborne.
Standing around the three-point line will Lucas Klossner, who is the Tigers best outside shooter from behind the arc. “[Lucas] likes to screen and pop out to the three-point line for the shot,” said Osborne
“But we also need to pay attention to Pierce Hendershot, who likes to shoot the very deep three. Hendershot will pull up as deep as 30-feet from the hoop and knock them down. If he misses, we need to keep Hutchinson off the offensive glass because he will be difficult to stop.”
Defensively, Tioga will play all man-to-man but a physical man-to-man that will put a lot of pressure on the Storm players and try to force them into mistake. It will be something UV has to handle well in order to win. As the Storm will attempt to break down the Tigers defense, Unadilla Valley will look to get the ball inside by spreading the floor but using movement and screens. With Andrew Jackson putting up the numbers he has so far this season, teams are focusing on him.
“We will try free up Jackson with a bunch of screens to get him open. But I also think we have a height advantage and will need to take advantage of that throughout the game,” said Osborne.
Enter Levi Rifanburg.
Rifanburg stands as the tallest on the Storm’s roster and will battle with the best of them in the paint. In Tuesday’s semifinal game, Rifanburg had 14 points while pulling down seven off the board but he has put up a few double-doubles these season.
Again, the silent but deadly play of Dante Dye was present Tuesday and will need to be again in the championship game. Dye does a good job at creating on the offensive end while playing ‘up in your face’ type defense. When he is playing like that, Dye gets steals and creates opportunities for fast breaks by the Storm.
Stepping up their game as of late has been Wyatt Grey and Cameron Osborne. In the big upset win over the second-seeded Union Springs, Grey put up 22, his career best, leading the Storm in the points column. On Tuesday, Grey scored 12 which helped in UV’s win to reach the finals. He will have to keep this going in the championship game and games down the road if the Storm win Saturday.
Osborne has had the same kind of play that Dye has. Quiet but strong. In the game against Lansing, Osborne grabbed seven rebounds to tie Rifanburg for the team high. His biggest came with a minute left in the contest, basically securing the win for Unadilla Valley. He will again need to big on the boards and score some points for the Storm to grab the Section IV Class C title.
“Hopefully we shoot the ball well, stay out of foul trouble and limit them to one shot,” said Osborne. In Tuesday’s semifinal, the Storm were in trouble early as Jackson went to the bench in early the second quarter with three fouls while Dye played with two. Both had four in the third quarter, allowing Lansing to cut the lead down.
“If we can keep [Nick] Klossner out of the lane and under control, I like our chances. On offense, we will need to spread the floor, run out sets and make sure we set good screens and make the extra pass when needed,” said Osborne.
This is the first trip to the finals game for UV since 2006, led by Zach Thomsen, the current head coach at SUNY Delhi.
Game time is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are available at the door in SUNY Cortland’s Park Center. Cost is $6 for students and adults and $4 for adults 65 and over. Children under 10 are free.
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