Yorktown Beats Mt. Vernon #NotAMisprint; Byram Takes Bcliff Title

By Ray Gallagher, Examiner Sports Editor @Directrays

When YORKTOWN, which returns just about everyone from a Class A Final 4 team, opened its Class AA season with an opening-day loss to Class A LAKELAND, also a Final 4 team but decimated by graduation, a lot of hoop heads were scratched, a lot of eyes were rolled.

Then, Yorktown (1-1) went out and did something almost nobody north of White Plains and south of Poughkeepsie has ever done. Coach Mark Pavella’s Huskers traveled to 100 California Rd. where mighty Mount Vernon’s halls are filled with Class AA gold balls – 34 in fact – and pulled off the upset of the early season with a 68-61 triumph of the mighty Knights (0-1) Friday.

Pavella knows it’s a statement win but wouldn’t get too far out in front, despite the magnitude of the win and the fact that his seasoned Huskers were down 10 early in the third.

“Kids had a great week of practice and executed our game plan,” he said.

Section 1 hoops historian Dave Greiner believed the upset to be the first time a team north of White Plains from the Examiner-area ever pulled off a win at Mount Vernon.

Yorktown senior sniper Billy Feeks (23 points, 5 assists) played dragon slayer. The hour-long bus ride home could have lasted three hours and the Huskers would not have cared. They were riding the high that comes with knocking off the 13-time NYS and five-time Federation champs.

“We knew we needed to have a good game after we started off our season so slow, and there’s nothing better than getting to have your bounce-back game against such a storied program,” Feeks admitted. “Not many teams can say they have gone into Mount Vernon and won, especially when being down 10 early in the second half. Our resilience as a team has never died and that’s why we have a chance to win every game we play.”

Huskers Brandon Montero (15 points), Kaden Gonzalez (16 points), Ryan Duffy (8 points) and

Justin Price (10 assists, 5 rebounds) were primary contributors, but this was a team win the Huskers will not soon forget.

CLASS A

BYRAM HILLS is looking like a squad that is in it to win it after the undefeated Bobcats (2-0) rolled through the field at Briarcliff Boosters Basketball Tournament last weekend, including a 79-51 win over the host Bears in the tourney finals. Byram Hills senior Tyson Repa, among the finest all around players in NYS, grabbed MVP honors after scoring 23 points to go with eight boards and seven assists in the title-clinching win.

The Bobcats were well-rounded and represented with All-Tourney selections Chris Amenedo dropping 21 and All-Tourney F Efobi adding a double-double (15 points, 14 rebounds). Max Miller added six assists and four steals.

Repa added 18 more points in a 96-24 trouncing of Keio while Efobi (13 points), who looks like an interior monster, Kevin Kendall (13) and Amenedo (12) were all in double figures.

Make no mistake, the Bobcats (2-0) are in the same breath with defending Class A champion Tappan Zee, with very little standing between them and a County Center Final 4 berth should they reach their potential.

“The boys played well, especially on the offensive end,” Bobcat Coach Ted Repa said. “The team is really pushing the tempo and sharing the ball on offense, so that we always have a multiple threat approach. Tyson is playing very complete basketball, controlling the game without dominating the ball. It’s been impressive to watch.”

It’s entirely possible folks will be watching the Bobcats well into March at the County Center if they hold up according to plan.

After opening the season with a huge win over Yorktown, host LAKELAND (2-2) snuck past a gritty Class AA BREWSTER (1-2) club last Tuesday, 74-68. A great effort in the fourth by the Bears gave the Hornets all they could handle. Brewster, which looks more athletic than the last couple of years, was led by Matt Thompson (18 points, 12 boards), Christian Freeman (12 points) and Will Dignan (10 points, 5 boards, 7 assists)).

But Lakeland had four players in double digits, including Anthony Attanasio (20 points), Ryan Ahmed (15), Logan Crilly (12) and Ryan Tocci (10). Lakeland went on to fall, 65-44, against AAA power Suffern.

Lakeland is 2-2 to start the year and was scheduled to visit Tappan Zee today in what should be the ultimate test for the Hornets, who already have the aforementioned impressive win over Yorktown.

Brewster was down as much as 21 points in the second half and was able to cut Lakeland’s lead to four points with a minute left in the game. Brewster showed a lot of character as they battled back and never quit.

PANAS dropped its season opener at Pelham, 65-51, doing so without the services of senior star G Tyler Greene, who was away from the team. Perimeter defense was an issue for the Panthers, who bounced back to take second place in the Panas Holiday Tournament, falling to Dobbs Ferry, 66-56, in the finals.

“Pelham came out very hot hitting, 6 of 7 from three to open the game, and we could never fully recover,” Panas Coach Mike Auerbach said. “We made it interesting down the stretch, getting it down to a seven-point deficit with three minutes to play, but couldn’t get any closer than that.”

Panas got a major jolt from 6’6″ senior forward Logan Tolbert, who introduced himself to Panther fans with a mega double-double (28 points, 15 rebounds) in his first varsity start.

“He’s had a great off season and is poised for a big year,” Auerbach said.

Panas junior G Isaiah Wallace smoked five 3’s in his first varsity game to keep the Panthers in striking distance.

“Dobbs was a tough one for us,” Panas Coach Mike Auerbach said. “They’re solid and have three kids who can really score. Our defense isn’t anywhere near where it needs to be right now, so if a team can play 3-4 legit scorers we’re going to struggle. It’s a work in progress.”

Panas G Greene had a huge game offensively, going for a career-high 36 points. Tolbert was really good the previous night against John Jay, going for 15 points and 20 rebounds.

“We’re still in search of a consistent third guy, which we’ll need against the better teams on our schedule,” the coach added.

Despite 23 points from Christian Freeman and 15 from Matt Thompson, Class AA BREWSTER could not keep up with the Class B Eagles in the opening round. Dobbs scored 30 first-quarter points to bury the Bears (1-2), 81-67.

Brewster got its first win of the season beating John Jay Cross River, 60-48, in the consolation game of the Walter Panas Tournament. Brewster started the game with a 16-0 first-quarter run. JJCR battled back and tied the game 25-25 at half time. Brewster was led by Lucas Cabiati’s 15 points. Thompson, who has a pair of double-doubles this season, added 11 points and eight rebounds and was named to the All-Tournament team. Dignan (11 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists) has shown great poise for a sophomore. Colin Lamaroux, Harrison Schmitt, Christian Freeman, Billy Pappas and Isiah Lopez all provided big minutes to secure the win.

HEN HUD took Eastchester to overtime, but the Eagles soared to a 72-70 win over Sailors (1-2), who saw Gino Wamack go for a team-high 19 points. The Sailors opened up the Jack McGuire Tournament in fine fashion, posting a 63-55 win over Roosevelt, which had little answers for  Jeremy Heady (20 points) and Wamack (19). But a tough Pearl River club took home tourney honors with a 49-44 win over the Sailors despite solid team defense and strong offensive contribution from Heady (19 points) and Wamack (15), who each earned an all-tourney nod.

PUTNAM VALLEY James Apostolico led the Tigers (2-1) with 19 points in their first win of the season, 55-44, over Leffell. Angel Munoz added nine in the win. The Tigers (2-1) chalked up a second win against Hunter College, 64-44. Apostolico led all scorers with 27, and Jack Moriarty chipped in eight.

CLASS AA

PEEKSKILL went into overtime in its 74-72 win over Ardsley Wednesday, doing so behind a 21-12 fourth-quarter run. Junior G Isaiah Crawford (19 points), junior sniper Jaden Chavis (23 points), point guard Travis Brown (12) and Amir Thames (12, 4 in OT) paced the Red Devils (2-0). Peekskill followed that up with a solid 70-61 road win against Binghamton behind 27 from Chavis, 18 from Brown and nine from Marquette Webster.

GREELEY had three big guns firing on all cylinders in the Quakers’ 72-39 rout of John Jay-Cross River. When Zachary Boyriven (19 points, 7 assists, 5 steals), Benji Ricardo (18 points, 5 boards) and Nicky Tasso (18 points, 11 rebounds) play like this, the Quakers (1-1) will be tough to beat. The host Quakers gave Poughkeepsie fits but fell. 61-53.  Ricardo (14 points), Tasso (11) and Filip Vujanic (11) all reached double digits.

FOX LANE knocked off RCK, 60-57, behind four player they will seriously count on this season, including, but not limited to, Kevin New (27 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists), Arthur Shevick (16 points, 3 assists, 3 boards), Logan Mammola (11 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assists) and James Minotti (6 points, 2 assists, 5 rebounds).

“They are tough and always have a nice squad,” Fox Lane Coach Mike Tomassi said of RCK. “The boys played hard, though, and overcame some adversity being down nine. We showed grit and the boys never gave up.”

MAHOPAC opened up its season with a 39-34 win at Harrison behind a monster double-double from senior F Liam Scanlon (17 points, 22 rebounds). It wasn’t pretty but the Wolf Pac (1-0) found a way.

“We will take an early season road win any way they may come, and this was an ugly one,” Mahopac Coach Matt Calabro half-joked. “We were able to put a good second half together and hold them to 14 points in the second half. I was really happy with our kids’ determination and the leadership our guys demonstrated throughout the game.”

CLASS AAA

WHITE PLAINS wasted no time telling Section 1 it means business this winter when the Tigers (3-0) knocked off reigning Section 1-AA champion North Rockland, 55-53, behind the combination of Luke Brooks (15 points, 8 boards) and Logan McCormick (13 points, 9 boards, 3 assists). Daniel Herzner added nine points while playing good defense and sophomore RJ Marcano added.

A season-opening road win at Clarkstown South got things rolling when the Tigers were led by All-Section standout McCormick (23 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists), and senior G Miles Johnson (11 points, 6 assists, 4 steals). White Plains also saw rising sophomore Nick Triolo (12 points) jump off the bench to ignite a fire, and got five points and good defense from senior Daniel Herzner.

In a 75-32 romp of Clarkstown North in the Harry Jefferson Showcase, McCormick (15 points, 9 boards) showed out. Johnson delivered 10 points, seven assists, and Nick Triolo (11 points, 5 assists) were key contributors and Daniel Herzner (8 points, 7 boards) came up strong.

OSSINING, which figures to challenge both White Plains and Fox Lane for a very competitive League I-D title, has rolled out to a 3-0 start and looks the part of a legit challenger. The Pride, who are long, lean and deep, rolled Class B VALHALLA, 88-43, in their home opener behind sniper Kris Singh (21 points), Asher Cort (12 points, 7 rebounds), Aki Williams (12 points), Makhi Rotella-White (11 points), Franklin Santos (8 points) and Mateo Taylor-Lowe (8 points). The Pride should pack their gym all season if everything goes according to Coach Mike Casey’s plan.

CLASS B/C

BRIARCLIFF opened its tourney with a 78-37 win over Children’s Village with Xavier Prekejezaj (14 points) and Chris D’Onfrio (12 leading the way to Coach Conor McGuinness’ initial win.

WESTLAKE opened its season with a 68-15 trouncing of North Salem. Nick Castellano led the charge with 18 points while Marcus Jackette (16), Brayden Lingeza (8) and Michael Pagan (6) supplied the back-up.

PLEASANTVILLE suffered a 62-51 defeat at the hands of Class C heavy HALDANE. Dermot McSpedon led the Panthers (0-1) with 17 points while Steven Pettus (8 boards) and Peter Choundas (9 points) had solid contributions but not enough to slow down the pesky Blue Devils (1-0), who were led by double-digit scorers Ross Esposito (19 points), Matt Nachamkin (16) and Mike Murray (12), .