Orange Secures Familiar Spot in Region XV Division II Championship Game

Loch Sheldrake, NY – The SUNY Orange men held a slim one point 35-34 lead at the half of their Region XV semi-final against Rockland on Saturday. Orange, who had already beaten Rockland twice this season, clamped down on defense and took advantage of some timely shooting to run away with the victory 74-60 to secure a spot in the Championship Game. Orange will be playing in their 8th straight Regional Championship Game and are the only team to play in every single Championship Game the conference has held. This makes it eight trips in a row to the final. 

 Orange was led by a trio of double-digit scorers. Sophomore, George Patsalos, a first team All-Region selection had 21 points on 7-12 shooting. His gaudy stat line also showed him with 13 rebounds, 4 steals, and an eye opening 6 blocked shots. While blocks are not tracked in the record books, six in one game must be in contention for most in Orange history. Freshman, Marquis Gill, broke out from the three-point line, making 6 from long range to total 18 points. If a Player of the Game award were given out, Sophomore Dan Lans would be the primary candidate. He shot a remarkable 8-9 from the field as well as taking on a lot of the ball handling duties to give Jared Smalls some rest. Lans was active on both ends as he also tallied 3 steals. Speaking of Smalls, the sophomore once again showed why he is the best pure point guard in the country. The first team All-Region player had 6 assists and 4 steals with 0 turnovers to control the pace and tempo of the Colts. 

 It is March Madness time, and the rules are simple. Win and advance, lose and the season is over. Orange moves on and will play Sunday at 3:00 PM against the winner of Sullivan and Westchester. The winner of tomorrow's game will move on to the East Districts where two spots in the national tournament will be up for grabs.