Ë®¹ûÅÉAV

Its grip on that hold did not get any looser this season. 

The No. 1-seeded Blue Devils captured their third consecutive section title with a 57-47 victory over No. 2 Delaware Academy in the sectional championship on Saturday at Tompkins Cortland Community College.

The Blue Devils now join Trumansburg as the only teams to . Moravia earned its second straight sectional title last season with a 49-42 win over the Bulldogs, and has won eight of a possible 15 section championships since 2010. 

For head coach Todd Mulvaney, who has led the team to all eight of those titles, watching a new cast of characters reach the section's pinnacle is what he takes pride in.

"I'm just proud of these kids," he told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV. "Even though we were here last year, it's a new set of kids. Everybody has the goal to play not only in the sectional championship, but then to try to win it. (For) them to get there, I'm just really proud of them because they were really hungry and they wanted it really bad."

With the Bulldogs remembering last year's result — and hoping to win their first Section IV, Class C title — they looked to throw the first punch. Moravia was held to 5 points over the first four minutes, with Delaware Academy's size and length being a contributing factor. 

Joe Baylor helped get the Blue Devils out of their offensive rut, scoring 11 of the team's 13 first-quarter points to lead them to 3-point advantage. 

"That's what Joe does," Mulvaney said. "He's the leader of this team, and he comes up big when we need him. He knows when he's got to take a step here and there and do whatever he needs for our team to be successful."

Dillon Palmer took the reins from Baylor in the second quarter by scoring 7 of his 12 total points. Riley Jones also dropped in a pair of floaters over the Bulldogs' center to help grow Moravia's halftime lead to 28-21. 

The Blue Devils held Delaware Academy at bay in the third by outscoring them 13-12 — 7 of those points coming from Baylor.

However, the Bulldogs did not go down without one last response.

They would go on a 12-6 run to cut their deficit to just 2 with a little over two minutes remaining. Looking to get back in sync offensively, Moravia turned to Baylor to right the ship. And right it he would. 

The senior scored 7 straight points for the Blue Devils in a minute stretch to build its lead to 7 with 1:10 remaining. 

"I knew I had to take over," Baylor told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV. "We just needed to hold the ball, let the clock run out and be smart."

While Baylor was getting buckets on one side of the floor, Moravia's defense managed to seal the cracks on the other. The Blue Devils held the Bulldogs to 4 points over the final three minutes to come away with the sectional title. 

"We are a defensive team all the way through," Jones told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV. "Our intensity on the defensive level is just absolutely crazy. We hate it when teams score on us. When they score on us, we have to return it. That's just the mentality that we have."

Baylor finished the contest with a game-high 29 points. Jones scored 8 while Zach Szachta chipped in 4.

Missing the Blue Devils' sectional run last season due to a torn ACL, Baylor is grateful to be a part of another sectional championship. 

"It feels great," he said. "We're a whole different group this year too, apart from the last two (section championships). We took what the other guys gave us. They still come back to practices on their breaks from college. They're still so supportive of us, and they just want to see us win." 

Now advancing to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association  regional round, the Blue Devils will take on Section III, Class C champion Cooperstown on March 16 at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton. While Moravia will enter the matchup with a 19-game winning streak and one loss, the Hawkeyes boast an undefeated record of 24-0.

As Moravia makes its third consecutive trip to the state tournament, Baylor said the team isn't getting ahead of itself.

"We're confident, we're not cocky," he said. "We're ready for everything. We've been there before. It's my third time (there), so I'm experienced. I'm ready for it."