One team is looking for its first state semifinal win. The other has two wins in the final four and looking for a first under its current head coach. Penfield and Seton Catholic will meet in the NYS Class AA semifinals on Friday. Here’s the breakdown:
PENFIELD PATRIOTS/ No. 1 NYSSWA
23-1/Monroe County Division I
vs.
SETON CATHOLIC SAINTS/ No. 2 NYSSWA
21-1/Southern Tier Athletic Conference
Section IV
Friday March 20th
Visions Veterans Memorial Arena – Binghamton, New York,
10:00 AM
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM STEVEN TWARDZIK.
How they arrived here: After earning a first-round bye, Penfield defeated No. 8 Webster Schroeder in the quarterfinals 60-47 and grabbed a 66-55 victory over No. 4 Churchville-Chili before beating Victor, 70-50 in the Section V Class AA1 championship game. In the regional qualifier, the Patriots notched a 63-48 victory over Pittsford Mendon and then topped North Tonawanda, 62-49 to reach the state semifinals.
Seton Catholic defeated Binghamton (57-45) and Section III champion East Syracuse-Minoa (65-60) to reach the final four.
Scoring offense: Penfield (71.5), Seton Catholic (77.5)
Scoring defense: Penfield (50.6), Seton Catholic (44.4)
Trends: Penfield brings a 17-game win streak (with 11 of those victories coming by 10 or more points) into the final weekend of the season. During that stretch, the Patriots have scored 70-plus points 10 times. The only loss Penfield took this season came on Jan. 9 against NYSSWA Class AAA No. 7 Fairport 79-62.
Seton Catholic hasn’t lost since an 83-71 setback on December 23rd to Bishop Ludden (III). The Saints bring a 16-game winning streak into the weekend including a 66-63 win over NYS Class AAA semifinalist, Corning-Painted Post. The Saints, as a team, shoot 40 percent (225-570) from behind the 3-point arc.
Players to watch for Penfield: CJ Johnson Jr. (17.6 PPG); Jackson Green Jr. (17.0 PPG); Jake McCarthy Jr. (15.8 PPG); Aaron Hardaway Jr. (7.8 PPG); Ryan Savino Sr. (5.2 PPG); Ethan McEntire Jr. (2.7 PPG).
Players to watch for Seton Catholic: Brian Dempsey Sr. G (16.3 PPG, 42 percent/64-151 3-pt., 3.6 APG); Allan Eagles Sr. W (18.9 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 4.2 APG) ; Liam Kozel Sr. G (11.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG); Angelo O’Connor 8th PG (10.4 PPG, 3.3 APG); Malik Wimberly Jr. G (12.4 PPG).
Coaches: Jason Ellis (Penfield), Tommy Dempsey (Seton Catholic)
History 101: Penfield, looking for its first state semifinal win in program history, reached the final four in 1980 as an at-large bid and lost to Union-Endicott, 69-46. Seton Catholic has two state semifinal wins (2009 and 2018). Both of those came under former hall-of-fame head coach Chris Sinicki. Sinicki led the Saints to 12 sectional titles and four regional championships. Current head Tommy Dempsey is in his third season at the helm. Dempsey coached 16 years at the NCAA Division I level (9 at SUNY Binghamton/7 at Rider).
More history: Section V ranks fourth all-time in state championships with 29 behind Section I (33), Section III (33) and Section 2 (32). Local cagers have won eight large-school titles: Victor (2023 AA), Irondequoit (2017 A), Aquinas (2016 AA), Bishop Kearney (2013 AA), McQuaid Jesuit (A 2003), McQuaid Jesuit (A 1997), Greece Athena (A 1992) and McQuaid Jesuit (A 1988).
What’s at stake: A spot in the NYS Class A final against either Amsterdam (II/ 22-2 No. 3 NYSSWA) or Rye (I/21-5 No. 4 NYSSWA)
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