CBA claims first sectional boys' basketball title in 14 years by beating Shaker
· Yahoo Sports
GLENS FALLS - Before the start of the 2025-26 boys' basketball season, Christian Brothers Academy coach Galal Cancer went around the room with each of his players and asked them what they wanted to accomplish. The two answers provided were to go undefeated and win a state championship.
Sunday afternoon, the Brothers continued their undefeated campaign and inched closer to achieving their second desire task by beating last year's state champion.
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CBA, seeded No. 1 in the Section 2 Class AAA tournament, never trailed against second-seeded Shaker and withstood a furious comeback bid by the Blue Bison before drawing away to register a 66-52 victory at Harding Mazzotti Arena.
"This feels awesome. Words can't explain it," said CBA junior standout JJ Osinski, who was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after scoring 18 points on Sunday. "This feels great, but, ultimately, the job is not finished. We've got three more games to go and get that state championship."
CBA (22-0), ranked No. 4 in the state, denied the Blue Bison (18-5) a chance at repeating as state champion. Shaker (2025) and Green Tech (2024) each captured Class AAA state championships, and the Brothers will look to do the same for Section 2 beginning next weekend in the state quarterfinals.
Sunday, CBA started quickly after struggling mightily on offense to end Friday's semifinal against Green Tech, a 43-36 win that saw the Brothers only make 4 of 23 shots during the second half. This time, CBA shot 55.6% for the game.
"I thought we played hard all year (and) that if we aren't playing well offensively - which we have had our fair share (of) - our defense is something we can hang our hat on," Cancer said. "JT Vogel hit some huge shots (against Green Tech) and coming into this game with Shaker, they have a lot of threats, size and athleticism. We had to set the tone physically and we did that from the start."
The Brothers led 16-13 after one quarter and limited Shaker to a pair of baskets and one foul shot in the second quarter to build a 31-18 halftime advantage.
"We knew that last one was not us. We knew we had to set the tone today and that is exactly what we did," CBA senior guard Amare' Coffil said.
"Offensively, we were really stagnant in the first half. Credit to their defense. They get into you," Shaker coach Aric Kucel said. "We needed to get vertical and more downhill with the ball. We stood around too much. In the third quarter, we came alive and played more like us. By that time, it was a little too late."
CBA celebrates after its victory over Shaker in the Section 2 Class AAA championship game at Harding Mazzotti Arena in Glens Falls on Sunday. (Stephen Weaver)The Blue Bison looked much better on offense in the second half, yet spent the majority of the third quarter trading baskets with the Brothers as CBA entered the fourth quarter ahead 46-39.
Ryan Church fired things up for the Blue Bison when he drained a baseline 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 46-43. Quickly, though, the Brothers answered as sophomore guard Jack Hulett scored on a drive. Then, Austin Osinski and Coffil each buried 3-pointers to put CBA up 54-43.
"They got on the offensive glass and Coffil made a couple of big plays. They got some timely 3s after that," Kucel said. "It felt like all the momentum was swinging our way, but they hit some big shots."
"Shaker is a great third-quarter team and we let them get out in transition," Cancer said. "We were able to make timely shots when we needed them to keep our cushion."
"We are a very resilient and tough team. We all work very hard and it showed on the defensive end," JJ Osinski said. "Our effort is through the roof every game."
Over the last four minutes, CBA managed to spread the floor, run time and scored at the end of the shot clock.
"We felt like with JJ, Austin, Pop (Coffil) and Jack, we had mismatches out there and we were able to finish shots. That was huge," Cancer said.
Coffil, Hulett and Vogel combined to score 27 points Sunday. All three were starters on the football team, each starting in the secondary. Saratoga Springs edged CBA 14-13 in the Class AA Super Bowl to deny the Brothers a fifth straight sectional football title.
"I was heartbroken when we didn't win in football," Coffil said. "This is my last year. I was going for the 'chip.' That is exactly what happened today."
Cancer played in a sectional final all four years on the CBA varsity playing for then-coach Dave Doemel, including helping to lead the Brothers to the 2010 Class AA title as a junior. The second-year coach missed out on reaching a title game last winter with a 54-53 semifinal loss against Green Tech. Sunday, he got to share winning a sectional title with his players.
"I am proud of this team. There is still work left to do," Cancer said.
Shaker was led by all-tournament selections Melvin Brown (16 points) and Bless Demand (13 points, six assists), the latter of whom scored his 1,000th career point when he made the first basket for the Blue Bison.
"These guys have got big hearts. They weren't going to quit," Kucel said. "They played hard for 32 minutes. We just didn't really play smart enough or efficient enough. I love my guys. They have done a lot of things for the Shaker program that people will remember for a long time."
This article originally published at CBA claims first sectional boys' basketball title in 14 years by beating Shaker.