Central Square boys basketball falls to New Hartford in Section 3 championship

New Hartford (14-10) advanced to face Section 2 champion Troy in a first-round state playoff game at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Liverpool High School.

Central Square ended its season with a 17-6 overall record after reaching its first sectional title game since 2005, also under 22nd-year head coach Jay Adams.

“Not many people thought we would be here,” Boyce said afterward. “I think we had something special, the whole team is a family, we all played together, we’re all brothers.”

Central Square held a 43-32 edge entering the fourth quarter and had never trailed before New Hartford dialed up the defensive pressure.

The Spartans went to the full-court press to start the fourth and aggressively trapped and double-teamed in half-court sets to spark the double-digit comeback.

Jameson Stockwell drained a corner 3-pointer to give New Hartford its first advantage all game, 52-51, with four minutes and 15 seconds left. The go-ahead bucket capped a 22-6 run to open the fourth quarter for the Spartans, who produced more than half their point total in the final period.

“They came with the press and it kind of caught us off guard,” Boyce said. “We weren’t really ready for it, and we turned over the ball a couple times, gave them a couple and-ones, and just let them back in the game.”

New Hartford finished with a 33-17 edge overall in the fourth quarter overall and prevailed after two ensuing lead changes and one tie.

“I love the way my kids played, I love the way they fought, they played their butts off,” Adams said. “Call it what it is. We out-played them for three quarters, but it’s a four-quarter game.”

Philipkoski went coast to coast to push the Spartans ahead for the final time, 57-55, with 2:05 left, and he made four free throws in the final 16 seconds to close out the victory. The all-state senior also tallied 15 rebounds and seven assists.

Colton Suriano scored 16 points, including a pair of fourth-quarter 3’s, and Stockwell added 15 for New Hartford, which reached the Class A state final last year.

“I thought the key was Suriano and Stockwell made some huge shots for them, and then Philipkowski is just as good as it gets,” Adams said. “He’s tough, he made some nice drives and got some kick-outs, kind of sucked us in and they hit some big shots.”

Boyce scored 20 points to lead Central Square, while fellow senior Cameron Pownall scored 17 and Shane Bergquist added 14 points. Collin Kees tallied seven points and seven assists.

Boyce got Central Square rolling early with 14 points in the first quarter, including a 4-for-6 mark from behind the 3-point arc. He sank a 3-pointer at the first quarter buzzer to extend the Redhawks advantage to 18-11.

Boyce made a pair from deep less than two minutes in to help the Redhawks open the game with eight unanswered points. They led 33-23 at halftime and shot 50 percent before the intermission, making 6-of-12 attempts from deep.

“My teammates kept feeding me the ball, I was hot, hit a couple big shots and the buzzer beater at the end, and I just felt great,” Boyce said.

Central Square surrendered its highest scoring output to an opponent this year and entered allowing an average of 45 points per game.

The Redhawks last reached the sectional final when they won the Class AA-1 crown in 2005. They recorded their highest win total in five seasons after finishing just 8-13 last year.

“We just had a long meeting (in the locker room), a lot of tears shed,” Adams said. “This is just an unbelievable group of kids that grew up together and played together for a long time, and probably one of the most enjoyable teams I’ve coached.”