OT triumph sends Corning boys to first NYSPHSAA final 4 in basketball
· Yahoo Sports
For the first time, a boys basketball team from the Corning-Painted Post School District is headed to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association final four.
Nolyn Proudfoot's 40-point, 21-rebound effort carried Corning to a 72-64 overtime victory over William Floyd on Sunday, March 15 in a Class AAA regional final at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton.
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Proudfoot hit one of two foul shots with 1.8 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score, then netted 11 of the Hawks' 13 overtime points.
"Amazing feeling. Best feeling ever," Proudfoot said of reaching the final four. "Last year we were happy to be there, this year we expect to win it."
Added teammate Kohl Hogue: "I wouldn't rather be anywhere else. I love this team so much."
Elsewhere on Sunday, the Elmira Notre Dame boys basketball team saw its season end with a 60-57 loss to Cooperstown in a Class C regional final at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse.
Class AAA: Corning 72, William Floyd 64 (OT)
Proudfoot averages around 30 points per game and is nearly a 90% shooter at the foul line. The sophomore guard played to his high standards Sunday, hitting 10 of 19 shots from the field and 17 of 18 at the foul line.
Of his 21 rebounds, 19 came on the defensive end.
But Johnston Jr. couldn't help but tease his star about the one miss.
Said Johnston: "I was busting his chops and I said, ‘You’re 17-for-18 at the line. That’s tremendous.’ I said, ‘The one you missed is the one that would have won it in regulation.’ He’s like, ‘Aah, coach.’
"But we had the ball in the right guy’s hands. He and his brother (Carter) are pretty good free-throw shooters. And Kohl (Hogue) made two huge free throws down the stretch as well to kind of spread the margin."
Nolyn Proudfoot said he was confident he would hit at least one foul shot with Corning's season on the line in regulation, but he said he should have made both.
"I work on that every day," Proudfoot said. "Credit to my mom. All week we were working on our free throws."
Proudfoot's mom is Missy (DeClemente) Proudfoot, an all-state guard at Corning West and a big scorer for the Vikings' 1995 Class B state championship team.
After William Floyd got a bucket to open overtime, Nolyn Proudfoot sank a 3-pointer with 3:02 left to give the Hawks the lead for good, 62-61. He went 8-for-8 from the line the remainder of overtime.
Kohl Hogue's two free throws with 18 seconds left after his steal put the Hawks up 70-64.
Carter Proudfoot and Kyler Stevenson added 11 points apiece.
Teigen Gill's only points came on a 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter and cut what had been an 11-point William Floyd lead to 50-46.
Johnston took a moment to praise Gill's impact on the team.
"He’s so unselfish and such a team player," Johnston said. "He doesn’t get a lot of credit and he deserves it because he gets guys where they need to be, he’s like a coach on the floor, and he defends like crazy. He’s usually playing the opposing team’s best player."
Before a long-range hoop from Nolyn Proudfoot early in the fourth quarter, the Hawks had uncharacteristically missed all their 3-point tries. They connected on five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and overtime.
The Proudfoot brothers hit back-to-back 3-pointers that left the score knotted 56-56. Stevenson's bucket gave Corning a brief lead before JJ Smith's 3-pointer put William Floyd up 59-58 with 1:04 remaining.
Smith led William Floyd (20-4) with 22 points. Sharod Sutton added 20 points.
Hogue said defensive adjustments were a key in overtime.
"We threw some different things at them and I felt like it made them stand around," Nolyn Proudfoot added.
Corning finished 25-for-31 at the foul line and went 10-for-10 in overtime.
"I’m really happy for the kids. Really resilient," Johnston said. "We got down double-digits and they kept clawing and fighting back.
"We took care of the ball and had some guys make some big shots for us in the last four minutes and we were solid at the free-throw line."
Up next: Corning (21-1) will play Section 5 champion Fairport (22-1) in a semifinal at 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 20 at Visions Arena. The winner takes on either Albany Christian Brothers Academy or Mamaroneck in the championship game at 7:45 p.m. March 21 at the same site.
"It’s something special, but we earned it," Hogue said. "We worked every day, we came to practice hard, prepared. We knew coming in here we’re just as good as any team out there and we played like it. We’re going to the final four."
Class C: Cooperstown 60, Elmira Notre Dame 57
The Crusaders held a three-point halftime lead against Section 3's Cooperstown before the Hawkeyes pulled out the victory.
Cooperstown (25-0) is ranked first in Class C by the New York State Sports Writers Association.
Miles Nelen led Cooperstown with 24 points, including 19 in the second half. Jackson Crisman scored 18 points.
Rocco Sayers led four double-figure scorers for Notre Dame with 15 points. Landon English scored 13, Max O'Connor 11, and Finn Schweizer 10.
The Crusaders finished with an 18-5 record.
"Great back-and-forth game," said Notre Dame coach Nick Weiermiller. "Had a chance at the end."
This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Recap of Corning, Elmira Notre Dame in NYSPHSAA boys regional finals