SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WKTV) - The Hamilton boys basketball team's sectional finals skid continued Saturday at Manley Field House as the Emerald Knights lost in the Section III, Class D-1 championship for the third straight year 56-49 to Sackets Harbor.

Trailing 38-34 entering the fourth quarter, Hamilton, the No. 2 seed and ranked No. 10 in the state in Class D, went on a 9-1 run to take a 43-39 lead.  But Sackets Harbor, the No. 4 seed, closed the game on a 17-6 run including five free throws on six attempts in the final minute to pull out its second straight sectional title (the Patriots won the D-2 crown last year).

Sackets Harbor, now 14-8, will next face D-1 champion New York Mills in the D-1/D-2 crossover final Tuesday at Jamesville-Dewitt at 7:00.  The Patriots beat the Marauders 58-55 earlier this season.

Hamilton ends the season 16-7.

Emerald Knights senior Derrick Cenicola scored a game-high 22 points in his final high school game and was named to the All-Tournament Team.  Jake Simmons scored 21 for the Patriots to earn the Tournament Most Valuable Player award.

Sackets Harbor led the game 17-13 after the first quarter, then Hamilton came back to tie it at 27 at halftime.

Hamilton held Patriots leading scorer Gage LeClair to just one field goal and five total points, but was hampered down the stretch by senior guard Matt Broedel's foul trouble.  Broedel sat for the final 4:24 of the third quarter and first minute of the fourth after getting his fourth personal foul and fouled out with 2:07 remaining, finishing with eight points.  At that point the game was tied at 45, and the ensuing free throws put Sackets Harbor ahead to stay.