Syracuse Academy of Science Charter School

Glens Falls – For Syracuse Academy coach Onur Gokce it was all part of the learning process.

He could live with a two-point 46-44 loss to Friends Academy of Section VIII in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class C championship game Saturday night in Glens Falls, he said, as long as his players remembered the journey.

The Atoms finished 22-3 this season, winning their second Section III and regional championships. This from a charter school that has been playing basketball only five seasons and won only nine games during its first three years.

"We’ll be back,’’ Gokce told his players, several of them crying or burying their heads in towels during the post-game ceremony.

"Everybody is frustrated, including me right now,’’ Gokce said, "but they will figure out after a couple of days or a couple of weeks what we did for their community, their school, families, everybody. It’s a great accomplishment for us. We did our best and I’m proud of them.’’

Glens Falls (WSYR-TV) - Section III's highest scoring team, Syracuse Academy of Science, advanced to the Class C State Final despite scoring less than half their season average. They advanced over Region II's Greenwich, 39-33.

The Atoms scored a total of 14 2-pointers, double their opponent's production from that range. Ahmet Tunali led the way with 17 points for SASCS, lifting his team onto his shoulders. Only four other SASCS players put points on the board.

Tom Leo, March 18, 2011 4:30 p.m.

Glens Falls – Syracuse Academy of Science coach Onur Gokce says good teams know how to win even on a bad day. And according to Gokce, the Atoms played about as bad as they could play in Friday’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class C semifinal victory over Greenwich of Region 2.

SAS, Section III’s highest scoring team, won 39-33 and scored about 45 points below its season average. The Atoms advance to the state final at 7:15 p.m. Saturday at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

"We played horrible but we won,’’ Gokce said. "That’s what matters. We won the game.’’

Neil Kerr / The Post-Standard, March 16, 2011 4:51 p.m.

Fresh from earning a trip to the Glens Falls Civic Center to compete in this week’s State Basketball Tournament, the Section III Class C champion Academy of Science boys basketball team (20-2) will play Section II champion Greenwich (19-4) in a 1:30 p.m. Friday semifinal.
The other Class C semifinal will pair No. 1 state-ranked Buffalo Grover Cleveland (19-3) with No. 18-rated Friends Academy, L.I. (15-4), at 5 p.m. Semifinal winners will tap off at 7:15 p.m. Saturday.
To reach the Class C title game, coach Onur Gokce’s red-hot, high-scoring Atoms will need another strong scoring output from standout shotmakers 5-foot-9 Dakeem McLain (16.2), 6-7 center Ahmet Tunali (15.5), 5-9 guard Jamon Haddon (13.7), 6-3 Kaleel Johnson (13.2), 6-2 DeOndray Tape (7.5) and 6-3 Joshua Guins (6.5).
Greenwich features the play of 5-7 junior guard Joe Estramonte, who erupted for a career-high 41 points Saturday as the Witches rallied to beat Brushton-Moira 66-49 in a state quarterfinal in Troy. With his team trailing 44-43 in the final period, Estramonte put together a streak of 15 points, two rebounds and two steals in a three-minute span, furnishing his team with a commanding 58-44 lead.

Witches next for scorching Atoms Academy of Science, two wins from a state title, faces Section II champion  Greenwich.
By Neil Kerr
Staff writer March 16, 2011
Fresh from earning a trip to the Glens Falls Civic Center to compete in this week’s State Basketball Tournament, the Section III Class C champion Academy of Science boys basketball team (20-2) will play Section II champion Greenwich (19-4) in a 1:30 p.m. Friday semifinal.
 The other Class C semifinal will pair No. 1 state-ranked Buffalo Grover Cleveland (19-3) with No. 18-rated Friends Academy, L.I. (15-4), at 5 p.m. Semifinal winners will tap off at 7:15 p.m. Saturday.