The law of transitive relation states that if A is greater than B and B is greater than C, then A is greater than C (I know its Monday but c'mon this is basic math people!).
If that's the case, is Argyle the Class C boys basketball state champ?
Argyle wrapped up its undefeated season with a 58-33 victory over Martin Luther King in the Class D state title game and Adirondack League rival Lake George followed with a 55-45 win over Pine Plains in the Class C championship at the Civic Center Saturday.
You don't have to strain any mental muscles to slot the teams into the above equation: A = Argyle, B = Lake George and C = every other Class C team in NY. The proof for my above question would go something like this (and I'll even show my work):  

Argyle celebrates being undefeated (24-0) state champs

1) A (Argyle) is greater than B (LG).
The teams played twice this season with the Scots winning both contests. Class D MVP Joey Lufkin dropped a season high 47 points in the first meeting between the teams which resulted in a 12-point Argyle win. Class C MVP Joel Wincowski (a sophomore!!) scored 26 in defeat. The second meeting was a much tighter affair at a neutral venue, Adirondack CC, but the Scots still came up with the win, 41-35, and the outright Adirondack League championship.
You could argue Lake George started playing its best ball at the end of the year (with Joel Wincowski making "the leap" in the Section II final) but the same could be said of Argyle.

Joel Wincowski,
Class C MVP

2) B (LG) is greater than C (every other Class C squad).
After a scare from Berne-Knox in the first round of sectionals, Lake George blitzed Greenwich in the semifinals before edging No. 4 (at the time) state-ranked Hoosic Valley 51-48 in the Section II final. Joel Wincowski scored his 1,000th career point in the contest on the type of step-back jumper that is not only unguardable, but rarely attempted in high school athletics. From there, the Warriors stomped St. Lawrence by 20 points and Ausable Valley by 16 to reach the state final four. It could be argued any the four remaining teams — Moravia, Pine Plains, Silver Creek or Lake George — could pick up a win over the other three depending on the day. However, it was Lake George who ended up on top after the weekend thanks to a 65-42 overtime win over Moravia and a 10-point victory over Pine Plains in the final. Connor McCoy, Ethan Wincowski, Joel Wincowski and Andrew Zibro scored in double figures for the Warriors in the overtime win. Joel Wincowski went for 33 in the final.

3) Therefore A (Argyle) is greater than C (every other team in Class C).
Similar to boxing or wrestling arguments about athletes punching "above their weight," we'll never know for sure how Argyle would've fared against other larger schools in the Section II or state tourney. All I know is — if you believe in mathematics — you'd have grant the Scots the title of "the people's champ" among small schools.

— Q.E.D.

One thing that can't be argued is both teams earned their titles and helped contribute to the seventh-most attended state championship weekend in the history of the boys tournament with a 3-day total of 18,915. Agree? Disagree? Want to talk math? Let me know what you think.

By David M. Johnson
@davidmichael10