Albany Academy Wins Fed TOC Class A Championship

ALBANY, NY - While last season the feeling was that Albany Academy peaked too early which cost them a chance at a Federation Class "A" Championship, this year everyone has been waiting to see when the Cadets would play their absolute best, and it just so happened that their best came in the last two games of the season as forward Hameir Wright '17 poured in 28 points to lead Albany Academy to the school's second Federation Title, taking down Elmont on Saturday evening at the Times Union Center, 67-51.

Playing the Spartans of Elmont in the title game brought a whole different set of challenges for Albany Academy than head coach Brian Fruscio admitted his team is used to. With not overly big like some teams the Cadets have faced, Elmont the coach is scrappier and tougher in the open court than most so it would be a game of contrasting styles which meant anything could truly happen with a championship trophy on the line.

It was all Albany Academy to open up as the 3 ball seemed to be the Cadets best friend as Will Bennett '17, Sal Arena '16, and Steve Low '16 hit triples on three straight trips down the floor to open up a double digit advantage with 3:40 to go in the opening quarter. It was only the play of Jalen Burgess '16 for Elmont that kept them close in the early going as he was able to score on put back inside, and then a short jumper in transition off a steal to see the Spartans down 20-12 after one.

The second seemed to be a completely different Albany Academy team than the one we saw in the first though. Wright was able to get on the board early on with some smooth moves around the defense to the rim, but the Cadets started to settle for contested perimeter looks, and with Elmont finishing the half on a 11-2 run, they were able to rally back into the game and get within 26-25 at the half.

It was not the close to the half that the Cadets wanted, and Wright admitted that heading into the locker room he saw some of his teammates heads start to get down. He said that to himself he made a promise that he would do whatever was necessary to help his team win the championship right at that point, and Fruscio said that the message to the team in the locker room was all about a word he has been preaching to his team all year long, believe.

"It's all about believe," Fruscio said. "We put that on our shirts, we hashtag it as much as possible and I told them at the half that they just needed to believe. They were creating tempo and we needed to stop that train and thankful we had Hameir to stop the train."

The 3rd quarter truly became the Wright show as when his team needed him most he was there to step up. Elmont was actually able to score the opening bucket of the half to take a 1-point lead, but Wright was able to score 13 in the 3rd, including 3 huge threes, one deeper than the next to see Albany Academy once again open up a 12-point lead heading to the 4th.

For Wright it was a defining moment of his young basketball career. When a star player is asked to step up, some can handle that pressure and rise to the big occasion, while others struggle. Wright was able to play some of his best basketball of his life when his Cadets looked to be on the ropes, something he knew was important to his team's success.

"Going into the 3rd I saw my teammates looking towards me and I just tried to go out and get things going and thankfully I was able to do that," Wright said.

He did more than just get things going, he took things over. Fruscio said he wasn't surprised by Wright's 3rd quarter because he knows the special talent the junior, but to prove it in the biggest game of the year he admitted was quite special.

With a comfortable lead heading into the 4th, Albany Academy never relented as Bennett was a catalyst on the ball handling the pressure and running the point superbly down the stretch to see the Cadets maintain control

As the seconds ticked down, Fruscio hugged his son, senior captain guard Nick Fruscio '16, as the father shared a moment soaking it all in as the Cadets celebrated as champions as Albany Academy took Federation Championship #2 in school history, downing Elmont for the title, 67-51.

It was a game high 28 points in the win for Wright as he proved to have the right stuff for sure, while Bennett and Arena each added 14 points, doing anything and everything to help lead their team to the win.

In defeat it was Burgess who had 19 points, with guard Travis Morgan '16 adding 15 points for the NYSPHSAA Champions, in an effort and season the entire Elmont community should all be proud of.

Spartans head coach George Holub just felt that in the Albany Academy wanted it more, giving that extra bit of hustle and effort his squad just lacked today, but he added that Wright was someone his team had nothing for at the end of the day.

"I thought we had the matchup problem with Jalen, but this kid Wright was even better," Holub admitted after the game. "They are a darn good team and we just couldn't handle him at all."

Truly peaking at the right time, it was Wright and it was all of the Albany Academy players and coaches that were able to pull out what was a memorable win for the Cadets, and a win that will go down forever in school history. They are now 2-time Federation Champions and it's a feeling and a moment that Wright says he always remember.

"This showed our true colors about how much we wanted this and how much we wanted this. I hope our effort showed on the court today because we did everything we could for this. It's so amazing and it's a feeling I will never forget."