By ROB JONAS

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Brackets for the Section 2 boys basketball playoffs were revealed Wednesday, Feb. 13, and there were not many surprises.

Bethlehem (Class AA), Troy (Class A), Schalmont (Class B), Lake George (Class C) and Oppenheim-Ephratah/St. Johnsville (Class D) were named the top seeds by the Section 2 committee. Of the five No. 1 seeds, only Schalmont (19-1) was a mild surprise, as the Sabres were chosen over Foothills Council champion Glens Falls (19-1), which has only an out-of-state loss this season. Schalmont suffered an 80-69 loss to Colonial Council rival LaSalle Thursday, Feb. 7, for its only setback of the season, but grabbed the top seed due to a better strength of schedule, according to boys basketball chairman Will Ferguson.

“They were so close that Schalmont’s [seeding] points were only slightly ahead on the sheet,” said Fergsuon. “Then, there was the schedule … the number of AA’s and A;s played vs. the B’ and C’s they played against each other. One of the other key factors was Schalmont knocked off Troy, which was the No. 1 seed for the A’s.”

The top two seeds in Class C were easy choices for the committee, as undefeated Lake George received the No. 1 seed and Hoosick Falls received the No. 2 seed. However, Ferguson said slotting in the rest of the upper half of the bracket created some debate among the committee members.

“[No. 3] Maple Hill beat [No. 4] Chatham twice in the [Patroon Conference], so that put Maple Hill ahead of them,” said Ferguson. “Chatham over [No. 5] Mayfield came down to strength of schedule. When you look at their schedules, Chatham played more B’s than Mayfield because most of their league is made up of B’s.”

Here are the match-ups for the start of the Section 2 boys basketball playoffs.

Class AA
Opening round (Feb. 20)
No. 9 Schenectady at No. 8 LaSalle – 7 p.m.
No. 13 Guilderland at No. 4 Christian Brothers Academy – 7 p.m.
No. 12 Shaker at No. 5 Green Tech – 7 p.m.
No. 10 Albany at No. 7 Colonie – 7 p.m.
No. 11 Niskayuna at No. 6 Columbia – 7 p.m.

Quarterfinals (Feb. 23 at Hudson Valley Community College)
Schenectady/LaSalle vs. No. 1 Bethlehem – 7 p.m.
Guilderland/CBA vs. Shaker/Green Tech – 2 p.m.
Albany/Colonie vs. No. 2 Saratoga Springs – 5:30 p.m.
Niskayuna/Columbia vs. No. 3 Shenendehowa – 4 p.m.

Class A
Opening round (Feb. 20)
No. 9 Scotia-Glenville at No. 8 Queensbury – 7 p.m.
No. 13 Bishop Maginn at No. 4 Mekeel Christian – 7 p.m.
No. 12 Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake at No. 5 Lansingburgh – 7 p.m.
No. 10 Ballston Spa at No. 7 Amsterdam – 7 p.m.
No. 11 Catholic Central at No. 6 Mohonasen – 7 p.m.

Quarterfinals (Feb. 24 at Hudson Valley Community College)
Scotia-Glenville/Queensbury vs. No. 1 Schalmont – 6 p.m.
Bishop Maginn/Mekeel Christian vs. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake/Lansingburgh – 1 p.m.
Ballston Spa/Amsterdam vs. No. 2 Gloversville – 4:30 p.m.
Catholic Central/Mohonasen vs. No. 3 Averill Park – 2:30 p.m.

Class B
Preliminary round (Feb. 15)
No. 17 Hudson Falls at No. 16 Cohoes – 7 p.m.
No. 18 Broadalbin-Perth at No. 15 Greenville – 7 p.m.

First round (Feb. 19)
Hudson Falls/Cohoes at No. 1 Schalmont – 7 p.m.
No. 9 Cobleskill-Richmondville at No. 8 Schuylerville – 7 p.m.
No. 13 Voorheesville at No. 4 Catskill – 7 p.m.
No. 12 Coxsackie-Athens at No. 5 Fonda-Fultonville – 7 p.m.
Broadalbin-Perth/Greenville at No. 2 Glens Falls – 7 p.m.
No. 10 Tamarac at No. 7 Johnstown – 7 p.m.
No. 14 Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons at No. 3 Watervliet – 7 p.m.
No. 11 Mechanicville at No. 6 Hudson – 7 p.m.

Class C
Preliminary round (Feb. 15)
No. 17 Saratoga Central Catholic at No. 16 Cambridge – 7 p.m.
No. 20 Galway at No. 13 Fort Plain – 7 p.m.
No. 18 Rensselaer at No. 15 Berne-Knox-Westerlo – 7 p.m.
No. 19 Duanesburg at No. 14 Hadley-Luzerne – 7 p.m.

First round (Feb. 19)
Spa Catholic/Cambridge at No. 1 Lake George – 7 p.m.
No. 9 Stillwater at No. 8 Schoharie – 7 p.m.
Galway/Fort Plain at No. 4 Chatham – 7 p.m.
No. 12 Greenwich at No. 5 Mayfield – 7 p.m.
Rensselaer/BKW at No. 2 Hoosick Falls – 7 p.m.
No. 10 Hoosic Valley at No. 7 Canajoharie – 7 p.m.
Duanesburg/Hadley-Luzerne at No. 3 Maple Hill – 7 p.m.
No. 11 Waterford-Halfmoon at No. 6 Granville – 7 p.m.

Class D
First round (Feb. 20)
No. 9 Loudonville Christian at No. 8 New Lebanon – 7 p.m.
No. 13 Salem at No. 4 Hartford – 7 p.m.
No. 12 Whitehall at No. 5 North Warren – 7 p.m.
No. 10 Fort Edward at No. 7 Northville – 7 p.m.
No. 11 Hawthorne Valley at No. 6 Argyle – 7 p.m.

Quarterfinals (Feb. 23 at Stillwater High School)
Loudonville Christian/New Lebanon at No. 1 OESJ – 6 p.m.
Salem/Hartford vs. Whitehall/North Warren – 1 p.m.
Fort Edward/Northville vs. No. 2 Germantown – 4:30 p.m.
Hawthorne Valley/Argyle vs. No. 3 Fort Ann – 2:30 p.m.