On Tuesday night, the Saratoga Central Catholic boys’ basketball team kept hopes of capturing their first sectional title since 1989 alive by defeating Cairo-Durham, 69-53, in the opening round of the Section II, Class B tournament.

The sixth-seeded Saints (16-4) will now face the No. 3 seed, Hoosic Valley (17-3), Saturday at Hudson Valley Community College in the second round of the tournament. A win Saturday will send the Saints to the Glens Falls Civic Center where they would face the winner of Fonda-Fultonville/Cohoes in a semi-final contest.

The Saints struggled throughout the first half as the 11th-seeded Mustangs forced six lead changes and three ties. Cairo was able to take their first lead of the game on a Hunter Phillips jump shot with 57 seconds remaining in the first quarter, putting the Mustangs up 17-16. Pat O’Rourke hit a jumper from the top of the key with 11 seconds left to put the Saints back on top, 18-17.

The Saints fell behind early in the second half following two Phillips free throws. Ryan Knotek, who struggled in the first half, put Spa Catholic back ahead 20-19 after taking an inside pass from Pat O’Rourke. However, a Leland Crowder layup put the Mustangs back on top 10 seconds later. O’Rourke answered by hitting a deep three pointer to put Spa Catholic back ahead 23-21 with 6:25 remaining.

Cairo’s 6-foot, 5-inch forward Ryan Delosa responded 22 seconds later by hitting a floater from the corner to tie the game at 23-23.  Kevin O’Rourke answered by completing a three point play at the other end to give the Saints a 26-23 lead with 5:51 to go until halftime.  Cairo would trim the lead to 34-32 at the half when Phillips hit a three-pointer with two seconds remaining.

The second half would belonged solely to the Saints as they held the Mustangs without a point for the first two minutes and 45 seconds while going on a 9-0 run. Cairo would get no closer then within eight points for the rest of the game.

“Our defense was a major factor in our victory, especially considering we are a team built on scoring,” said Spa Catholic Coach John Catone. “If you don’t defend you will eventually be looking up at the scoreboard wondering what happened.”

Spa Catholic’s Pat and Kevin O’Rourke combined for a team high 19 points, while Knotek added nine points and 11 rebounds. Cairo-Durham’s Hunter Phillips scored a game high 21 points, while Delosa finished with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.