Horace Greeley Conquers Field at Mahopac Tourney
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Quakers Knock off Wolf Pac, Put Valley
By Ray Gallagher, Examiner Sports Editor @Directrays
There wasn’t a whole lot of time between the holiday hoopla last Wednesday evening and the start of the Mahopac Holiday Hoops Tournament, which tipped off Friday morning and wrapped up early Saturday night with the host Wolf Pac playing host to a slew of Examiner-area teams.
Saturday’s championship game featured the host MAHOPAC Wolf Pac and the HORACE GREELEY Quakers, and in terms of effort and excitement, the tourney finale didn’t disappoint when the Quakers reeled off a 57-56 tournament triumph to close out 2024 #HappyNewYear!
Greeley carried a 28-26 edge into the second half, but the Wolf Pac fired early and often in the third quarter when sophomore F Ethan Dedvukaj, junior wing Drew Lichtenberger and junior point forward Matt Reilly spotted Mahopac a 35-32 lead at 4:57 of the third. Ayden Smith responded for the Quakers, going back-to-back to tie the score at 36. Quaker G Zach Boyriven and Reilly (off a signature move) kept it even at 40-all before Greeley went on a 7-0 run behind buckets from Smith, Boyriven and a baby hook from Joran Nadel.
Mahopac sophomore G Justing Beberman, who came of age in the tournament with an all-tourney selection, hit a layup before Boyriven closed out the quarter with the Quakers taking a 49-43 lead into the fourth. Baseline in-bound plays were quite successful for the Quakers.
Mahopac clawed back behind big 3-balls from Dean Ulaj and Ronan Hunter to knot the score at 49 with 5:50 to play. But “Big Play” Boyriven (23 PPG) scored at 4:15 off a steal for a 54-51 lead Greeley would not relinquish. A sloppy finish ensued but the Quakers held firm for its second win of the season over a Mahopac club, which has come a long way since then, a 64-47 loss on 12/12.
“It was great to win this tournament,” said Greeley Coach Matt Simone, a graduate of Mahopac and former coach there. “(Mahopac) Coach (Matt) Calabro is a good friend of mine and Mahopac puts on a great holiday tournament. We knew Mahopac would be much improved from when we saw them two weeks ago on their season opener. They are a young but tough physical team who plays well together. We have played in this tournament for the last three years since Coach Calabro invited us and have played Mahopac in the championship each year with each game being highly competitive and close. It is very fun and our players look forward to it each season. It has slowly budded into a fun little rivalry. We were lucky enough to have the majority of the guys around and playing all fall, so we knew having a lot of early games in December could benefit us and we are happy with the 5-2 start . We have a very tough remaining schedule and our league is always very competitive, so we are hoping to keep improving each week.”
Quaker F Jake Sheehy (12 points, 8 rebounds) was instrumental throughout the tournament.
Reilly and Lichtenberger each had 13 points apiece for Mahopac.
In Mahopac’s opening round 67-47 rout of CARMEL, it was the Wolf Pac’s sophomore class that shined brightest as Beeberman and Dedvukaj each dropped 16 points on the Rams, including a combined six 3-pointers, which kept distance between the Pac and Rams throughout. Carmel senior G Aiden White added 16 of his own as he returned from injury. Joey Loughlin (10 points) and King Mercer (8) were minimized – for the most part – by a hustling Pac defense.
In Saturday’s consy round, PUTNAM VALLEY knew full well what it was up against throughout the tournament. The youthful Class A Tigers were going up against three Class AA teams, including Greeley, Carmel and host Mahopac (should they meet). The Tigers didn’t disappoint in terms of effort, settling for fourth place after falling, 68-59, to a seasoned but soul-searching Carmel club.
A scalding third quarter turned the tide in Carmel’s favor. Trailing 33-31 at the half, the Rams entered the fourth with a 51-42 lead after a game-changing 19-11 run, which featured a productive stanza from Mercer (18 points overall), White (8 points), Loughlin (16) and Aidan Luciana (6 points, 2 treys). Mercer is averaging 18 PPG through five games.
“Having White back changes the vibe immediately,” Carmel Coach Joe Loughlin admitted. “We just have to keep working. We’re only going to get better as we play together. We’re a work in progress, but we will get there.”
PV was led by senior G James Apostolico’s game-high 22 points while Tiger freshman Ethan Tesher (15 points) continued a rapid rise during what looks like a promising rookie season. Tesher was equally exceptional against Greeley, which took 22 points from Boyriven (6 assists), 19 from Jake Sheehy (6 boards) and 10 from Alex Horowitz (3 steals) to produce a 75-51 opening-round win. Apostolico, who earned all-tourney honors, led all scores with 22 points, just days after scoring his 1,000th career point.
CLASS AAA
WHITE PLAINS is having some trouble scoring the ball, but the Tigers (1-3) will get a handle on things shortly, given the schedule they’ve already faced, including Saturday’s 43-29 loss to Section 9 power Kingston. RJ Marcano (13 points), Bryce Thomas (10) and Asa Hamlin (7 rebounds) led the Tigers, who were also defeated 66-43 by a strong Suffern club. Justin Boateng (11 points), Nathan Plummer (9) and Michael Borella (8) kept the Tigers in the game.
OSSINING has put a poor start behind it by taking home wins against Carmel (55-51) and Lakeland (58-52) to put the Pride at 2-3.
Examiner-area coaches are encouraged to send stats and comments on a game-by-game basis to Raygallaghersports@gmail.com for inclusion in our weekly Hoops Notebook.
Examiner-Area Top 10 Hoops Poll
(No offense intended, useless polls just make for good reading)
No.1 BYRAM HILLS – Early on, state-ranked (No.4) Class A Bobcats are looking like Section 1’s top hope to rep in states as they are a balanced, nightmare matchup for all.
No.2 YORKTOWN – Class AA state-ranked (No.12) Huskers will soon get back a healthy junior F Ryan Duffy to pair with senior G Kaden Gonzalez, who just happens to average 27 PPG.
No.3 GREELEY – Class AA Quakers (5-2) move the ball exceptionally well and play extremely unselfish hoops, which should/could translate into a Final 4 finish if the Quakers just figure out a way to finish better around the rim.
No.4 PEEKSKILL – Class AA Red Devils were knocked by a scrappy Spring Valley team 68-61 despite the dynamic duo of Isaiah Crawford (27 points) and Jayden Chavis (15) putting up some decent numbers. Both are averaging over 20 PPG, which is pretty sick.
No.5 FOX LANE – We spotted Class AA Foxes (4-2) Coach Mike Tomassi and several players in attendance at Mahopac tourney, which tells us Fox Lane means business when they come out of the break this week to host the aforementioned Wolf Pac on Jan.3. Both clubs are finding their footing early on, but this game could be a doozy if Pac can slow down Arthur Shevick and his 23 PPG.
No.6 WESTLAKE – Class B Wildcats are going to have a very solid season, showing off the likes of Marcus Jackette (24.8 PPG) and company.
No.7 MAHOPAC – Class AA Wolf Pac are a fairly deep unit, which is still establishing continuity but they hung tough with a seasoned Greeley outfit.
No.8 BRIARCLIFF – Class B Bears are in the top 10 because they’ve challenged themselves by going against the likes of state-ranked clubs like Byram Hills and Woodlands, and while those matchups did not produce victories it toughened them for the road ahead.
No.9 CARMEL – Class AA Rams (2-4) were sound asleep in 20-point loss to Mahopac Friday but woke up in time to salvage some tourney respect in 68-59 win over PV Saturday. On paper, the Rams are much better than they’ve shown thus far, but when will they TOTALLY show?
No.10 WHITE PLAINS – A grueling schedule will surely test the Tigers (1-3) and the league features Ossining, Fox Lane and Greeley so wins will be tough to come by but venerable Coach Haywood will have them ready to roll.
No.10A PUTNAM VALLEY – Class A Tigers (3-3) are seeing senior G James Apolistoco shred nylon at a 26.6 PPG clip and the youthful role players are doing a solid job.
No.10B OSSINING – Class AAA Pride put themselves to the test early on against the likes of Mount Vernon, Scarsdale and Yorktown, but now that the “noise” has died down around the program and its coaching change, we suspect they get on a roll soon enough.
Honorable Mention – Every other team in the Ex-area who are stoked and capable of catching fire in what we hope is a HAPPY NEW YEAR to each and every one of you.
RAY GALLAGHER/DAVID TABER/CHRIS SMAJLAJ PHOTOS
Ray has 33 years experience covering and photographing local sports in Westchester and Putnam counties, including everything from Little League/Travel Baseball to varsity high school prep sports and collegiate coverage. He has been a sports editor at Examiner Media since its inception in 2007.
Visit Ray’s author bio page for more details. Also read Ray’s archived work here and his Direct Rays column here.