The Chapel Field boys’ basketball team didn’t have any expectations at the beginning of the season.
They were young, didn’t play for a month and then lost four of their first five games.

However, they turned things around, went on a roll and the season came to an end on Sunday when the Lions suffered a 68-52 loss to the Section 4 champion South Kortright Rams in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D regional finals at S.S. Seward High School.

“It’s hard,” said Jonah McDuffie, who led the Lions with a game-high 28 points. “It doesn’t feel like it, but it is what it is. You made it this far. I didn’t think so in the beginning, but we made it this far. It’s a blessing to play with them.”

The Lions earned their shot at the regional championship with a 56-47 win over Section 11 (Suffolk County) champion Bridgehampton on March 8.

It was the Lions’ eighth-straight win at that point. McDuffie had scored 27 points in that game, and Noah Swart added 23.

But it was a far different story on Sunday as Swart was the only other player in double figures, finishing with 10 points, eight of which he scored in the second half when the Lions were able to get a little more offense going.

They entered the half trailing 35-20.

“That’s natural,” Chapel Field coach Brad McDuffie said. “In a game like this, you get a little under the lights and come out a little tentative, especially when we’re such a young team in terms of experience. I think that affected us in the first half.”

The Lions got their offense going in the second half and were able to keep pace with the Rams for a time but were never able to close to within less than 14 points, as everything the Lions did, the Rams had an answer for.

“They can all dribble; they can all shoot; they’re all strong,” Jonah McDuffie said.

Connor Quarino scored 20 points, leading four Rams in double figures. Josh Anderson finished with 18 points, while Adam Champlin and Logan Firment scored 10 each. The Rams will head to the state Final Four at the Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls at 9:30 a.m. Friday against Section 10 champion Heuvelton.
“I told them before the game they’re going to have to be patient against their zone and their presses and they’re going to have to move the ball, and we were trying to get it all back in one shot,” coach McDuffie said. “And on top of that, we were missing some wide-open shots.”

The Lions will lose two seniors Tyler Hossink and Daimen Storch, but expect to return four of the five starters that grew closer over their eight-game winning streak.

“We’re a band of brothers,” Jonah McDuffie said. “We love each other. We played for each other. We played our hearts out.”

They’re a group that started the season with no expectations and won a Section 9 championship, putting Chapel Field basketball on the map. Getting to the regional final was a bonus.

“I think that it’ll sting a little bit, but not for long because when we put everything into perspective, we accomplished a lot this season and it’ll be a good building block,” coach McDuffie said. “It’s a good building block for Chapel Field basketball in terms of – not just our guys – but young guys watching this and thinking about playing. That’ll be great for our program.”