GLENS FALLS – It was almost as if all those victories, an undefeated regular season and that PSAL Class B title meant nothing to Queens HS of Teaching. The Tigers returned to their locker room after a 61-41 loss to Collegiate in the New York State Federation Class B title game looking completely dejected.
Unlike it is to some teams that come up here from the city, the Federation title was extremely significant to QHST.
“I just feel bad,” coach Mike Shelton said. “They wanted it so much. Today, it just wasn’t meant to be. We’ve had games that we score 41 points in a quarter.”
The final score, though, was not indicative of how the close the game actually was. QHST (31-1) was down just 28-24 at halftime and free throws late by Collegiate (26-4) made it seem like a rout, which it was not. But that wasn’t any consolation for the Tigers, who brought up a sizable amount of spectators to Glens Falls Civic Center.
“It’s a shock,” junior guard Troy Singleton said. “We really wanted it. We just fell apart. We were frustrated. We weren’t together like we were yesterday.”
Junior forward Bryce Elie led the way with 14 points and six rebounds in a strong performance going head-to-head with Collegiate’s Yale-bound forward Will Bartlett. He showed off smooth, athletic moves inside and shot 7-of-12 from the field. He didn’t get a lot of help either. Kyleef Rivers was QHST’s next leading scorer with six points.
“Bryce played his butt off,” Singleton said. “He worked hard. We got him back next year.”
Indeed, Singleton, Elie, Paul Simpson (eight rebounds) and Navjeet Jammu are all back for a Queens HS of Teaching team that will have invaluable experience. Seasoning played a big part Saturday; Collegiate has now won three straight Federation titles.
“It’ll give us a lot of an advantage and we’ll be more hungry to get back here next year,” Singleton said.
In the meantime, QHST can enjoy a remarkable season. The Tigers were the first basketball team from their school to win a title when they defeated HS for Construction last week for the PSAL Class B crown. An undefeated season and Federation crown would have been nice, but winning a championship and coming up here are accomplishments the Glens Oaks, Queens school can be proud of.
Singleton said he’ll remember all that soon.
“Probably tomorrow morning when I wake up,” he said.
