NEW BERLIN – The Storm will be seeking their first Section IV title in program history Sunday afternoon when they play the Tioga Tigers at SUNY Cortland.

So far this year’s tournament has seen two higher seeds fall at the hands of Unadilla Valley and the Storm will be looking to add the fourth seeded Tigers to the list after the finals.

UV will have their hands full with the quickness, athleticism and strength of Tioga, who upset the top-seed Walton 58-52 Tuesday night to reach the championship game.

One key player that Unadilla Valley head coach Matt Osborne is really focused on is the Tigers point guard, Nick Klossner. “[Nick] is quick, athletic and makes good decisions when he gets in the lane,” said Osborne. “He keeps his dribble alive and always finds the open man.”

The Storm will look to keep Klossner out of the paint, which is where he usually ends up following his strong dribble penetration through the defense. Once there, he can draw defenders to him, leaving a man open underneath.

That man is usually Tioga’s Connor Hutchinson, who stands about 6-feet-2-inches tall. Not very ‘big’ but Hutchinson very strong inside has the capability of hitting the boards hard. “Not only can [Connor] be big on the glass, he will also step outside and shoot the three.” said Osborne.

Standing around the three-point line will Lucas Klossner, who is the Tigers best outside shooter from behind the arc. “[Lucas] likes to screen and pop out to the three-point line for the shot,” said Osborne

“But we also need to pay attention to Pierce Hendershot, who likes to shoot the very deep three. Hendershot will pull up as deep as 30-feet from the hoop and knock them down. If he misses, we need to keep  Hutchinson off the offensive glass because he will be difficult to stop.”

Defensively, Tioga will play all man-to-man but a physical man-to-man that will put a lot of pressure on the Storm players and try to force them into mistake. It will be something UV has to handle well in order to win. As the Storm will attempt to break down the Tigers defense, Unadilla Valley will look to get the ball inside by spreading the floor but using movement and screens. With Andrew Jackson putting up the numbers he has so far this season, teams are focusing on him.