One more win, and the Jamesville-DeWitt boys basketball team will reach a whole new level of accomplishment with three consecutive state Class A championships.
Tested for the first time in its entire 2010 post-season run, the Red Rams were up to it, getting away in the fourth quarter to beat Red Hook 63-53 in Saturday morning’s state semifinal at Glens Falls Civic Center.
Now J-D has a chance to match what Peekskill did from 2005 to 2007, when it won three straight state titles. The final, against Newark (Section V), will be played Sunday at 1 p.m. in Glens Falls and will be telecast on Time Warner Sports.
The semifinal was a clash of the last two unbeaten teams in the state. J-D was 22-0, and Red Hook, the Section IX champions, were 23-0. More importantly, the Raiders were far from intimidated at the prospect of trying to topple the J-D dynasty.
All through the first quarter, the Rams and Red Hook swapped the lead before Zach Firestone’s 3-pointer just before the buzzer pushed J-D ahead 17-14.
Twice in the second period, J-D built four-point margins, but the Raiders kept answering, pulling within two, 34-32, as the two sides went into the break.
Throughout the sectional and state playoffs, J-D had used the third quarter to put a stubborn opponent away. Yet it could not do so here, thwarted by poor shooting and the fact that star center DaJuan Coleman picked up his third foul early in the period.
But Red Hook was even colder, and could not take advantage. Right at the end of the period, Firestone struck again with a timely basket, this one off a steal, and J-D took a 45-40 lead to the fourth quarter.
The Raiders still lay within three, 48-45, when the Rams finally made the decisive move midway through the fourth quarter.
Lamar Kearse launched the run, draining a 3-pointer. He followed it up another basket, and when Demetrius Mitchell pulled off a steal and dunk, J-D suddenly had a 55-45 edge, and time was running out.
Red Hook never recovered, only getting within six, 59-53, before a pair of Coleman dunks in the final minute sealed matters.
Despite his foul trouble, Coleman still led both sides with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Kearse had 12 points, while Mitchell, back in the starting lineup and making a big impact, earned 11 points. Jailaan Kinsey had eight points. For Red Hook, Spencer Dalzell had 19 points, inlcuding five 3-pointers, and Dan Totten added 12 points.
Newark advanced to the title game by coming from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to beat Westbury 55-48. In 6-7 senior center Javon McCrea, who is going to the University of Buffalo next fall (he had 25 points and 18 rebounds against Westbury), it has a center who can match up to Coleman.
