After the first quarter of Albany High School’s Section 2 Class AA quarterfinal Saturday afternoon, it became clear that Shenendehowa would not let Isaiah Austin end its season.
So the rest of the Falcons took care of that.
With Austin limited to seven points over the game’s final 24 minutes, his teammates stepped up to make shot after huge shot to send fifth-seeded Albany High on to the semifinals with a 63-59 win over the fourth-seeded Plainsmen at Hudson Valley Community College.
Frailin Marrero De La Rosa had 12 points and 11 rebounds, Malachi Perry had 13 points and six boards, and Deavion Springsteen added 10 assists to go with four points to lead the Falcons (16-6) back to the Class AA Final Four for the first time in 11 years.
Albany High will play No. 1 Green Tech (17-2) in the semifinals Tuesday at Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls. Game time is 8 p.m.
Austin still led the Falcons in scoring with 17 points Saturday, including a clutch 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter as Albany High started to open the game up. A three-year starter, Austin also became the first member of the Albany High boys’ team to top 1,000 career points since Abar Miller in 2003.
Delon Dean added seven points and Tailon Pompey contributed six on a perfect 6-for-6 performance at the free throw line and Damarion Tucker (four points) had the bucket of the game with an emphatic second-quarter dunk as the Falcons avenged a 59-50 defeat at Shen on Dec. 21.
You can check out our Facebook page for more photos from the game.
