One team is making its third state semifinal appearance while the other has reached the final four for the first time in program history. Fairport and Corning-Painted Post will square off in the NYSPHSAA Class AAA semifinal on Friday. Here’s the breakdown:
FAIRPORT RED RAIDERS / No. 6 NYSSWA
22-1 / Monroe County Division I
vs.
CORNING-PAINTED POST/No. 11 NYSSWA
21-1/Southern Tier Athletic Conference West
Section IV
Friday March 20th
Visions Veterans Memorial Arena – Binghamton, New York,
1:30 PM
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM STEVEN TWARDZIK.
How they arrived here: After finishing the season with just one loss, top-seeded Fairport continued its dominance with a 70-50 victory over No. 4 McQuaid Jesuit in the semifinals. In the sectional final, the Red Raiders got revenge and cruised to a 77-43 victory against the defending Class AAA champs, No. 3 Rush-Henrietta before topping Jamestown (66-51) in the state quarterfinals. Corning-Painted Post opened the postseason with 90-68 win over Ithaca before beating William Floyd of Section XI, 72-64 to clinch a spot in the state semifinals.
Scoring offense: Fairport (74.9), Corning-Painted Post (82.0)
Scoring defense: Fairport (52.4), Corning-Painted Post (59.2)
Trends: Fairport rolls into the state semifinal on a five-game win streak all by double-digits, holding each opponent under 60 points in that stretch. On the season, the Red Raiders compiled 21 wins by 10-plus points with their only loss coming to NYSSWA Class AA No. 1 Penfield on Feb. 13, 80-58. Corning-Painted Post opened the season with 19 straight wins before falling to Seton Catholic (No. 2 NYSSWA Class AA), 66-63 on February 21st.
Players to watch for Fairport: Alex Grejda Sr. (13.0 PPG); Noah Meabon (13.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG); Hadi Dergham (13.0 PPG); Jon Roessel (9.0 PPG); Gannon Culver Sr. (8.0 PPG, 5.0 APG); Sam Roselli Sr. (8.0 PPG).
Players to watch for Corning-Painted Post: Teigen Gill 5-foot-11 Sr. G; Kohl Hogue 6-foot-1 Jr. F; Carter Proudfoot 6-foot-1 Jr. G; Nolyn Proudfoot 6-foot-2 So. G; Kyler Stevenson 6-foot-2 Sr. F.
Coaches: Scott Fitch (Fairport), Mike Johnston Jr.
History 101: Fairport is making its third state semifinal appearance. The Red Raiders topped Section III champion Liverpool (69-52) in the 2017 Class AA semifinal before falling in the championship game to Mount Vernon (59-48) of Section I. Fairport also dropped a 68-63 decision to Bishop Maginn (2) in the 2007 Class AA semis. The Red Raiders are looking to become the first Section V team to take a Triple-A crown since the state added the classification for the 2023-24 season (Class AAA titles were in place for the first two years of the state championship – 1978 and ’79). Corning-Painted Post boys’ basketball is making its first state semifinal appearance.
At one time, Corning East was a part of Section V winning a championship as recently as 1965. Painted Post won a Section V title in 1948.
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 AAA championship game on Saturday against either CBA Albany (II/22-0 No. 4 NYSSWA) or Mamaroneck (I 22-3/No. 9 NYSSWA)
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