Oriskany Grabs Class D Title

Glens Falls – As fans piled into the Glens Falls Civic Center Saturday evening, it was to crown three state champions. The first game would be for the Class D title – a battle between two undefeated teams, Oriskany out of Section 3, and the local team, Moriah of Section 7.

Small school basketball is one of the greatest phenomenons in all of sports. It is blood, sweat, and tears, one tiny town against another. Despite a strong local presence from the Moriah faithful, Oriskany controlled this one from the beginning and had the upperhand for the majority of the game. Whenever Moriah found a crack in Oriskany, Oriskany changed the tide with a deep three ball or some other difference maker. The 3 point shooting made all the difference for Oriskany, as they scored a ridiculous 10+ shots from beyond the arc, 6 of which came from their first 9 shots.

It was Oriskany that walked out of the Civic Center crowned Class D champ, outlasting the Vikings of Moriah 79 to 54.
Leading the way for Oriskany was senior guard Marcus Smithling with 25 points. ” It’s unbelievable … I couldn’t ask for a better group of kids to play basketball with and win a title,” Smithling said after the game.

With this win, Oriskany completes their perfect season. ” I don’t know which one feels better” Marcus Smithling said after the game. Senior guard Shawn Cassevah spoke to the lasting impressions the title would have on their lives moving forward, “We’ll be talking about this forever as a family.”