Games to Watch This Week

This week, several high-profile basketball games are set to take place. On Monday, January 12, Suffern will face Clarkstown North. On Wednesday, January 14, Tappan Zee will go up against Nanuet. The following day, on Friday, January 16, Cardinal Hayes will play against Iona Prep. On Saturday, January 17, the Panini Hoophall Classic will feature Woodlands and Tappan Zee, as well as Stepinac vs. IMG (Fla.) Academy.

Game Highlights from Saturday, January 17

Several notable games took place on Saturday, January 17. Pearl River defeated Clarkstown South with a score of 56-31. Clarkstown North came out strong, winning 68-57 against Roosevelt. Rotimi Esiso led the way for Clarkstown North with 21 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals. Justin Santos added 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Jack Kavanagh and Kyle Kirkland each contributed 9 points. For Roosevelt, Oudai Alnnashash scored 19 points and 7 rebounds, while Frank Mercedes added 13 points and 3 assists.

Lakeland played against Brewster in a game that ended in a tie (PPD). Pelham narrowly beat Obama with a final score of 60-55. Sean Grubert led Pelham with 20 points and 5 steals, while Ty James added 10 points and 8 rebounds. Eli Mitchell and Jordan Merrill were the top scorers for Obama with 24 and 21 points respectively.

Hen Hud faced Carmel in a game that also ended in a tie (PPD). Mount Vernon played against John Jay-East Fishkill in another tie (PPD). Mamaroneck defeated Arlington 63-55. Jonah Walsh and Brandon Burrell each scored 23 points for Mamaroneck, while Will Plunkett added 11 points.

New Rochelle won against Spring Valley 74-54. Chris Butler and Bryce Seward each scored 13 points, while Greg Martin added 10 points and 5 assists. Greeley played against Harrison in a tie (PPD). Tappan Zee defeated Woodlands 49-29. Isaiah Leveille and Timmy Alexandre each scored 13 points for Tappan Zee, while Jack Piccione and Christian Sanchez added 8 points each. Woodlands’ Sean McKenney and Noach Cherubin each scored 8 points.

St. Edmund’s beat Salesian 54-51. Joe Secola and Kevaughn Mitchell each scored 15 points for Salesian. In the Hoophall Classic at Springfield College, Stepinac defeated IMG Academy, Fla., 56-53. Darius Ratliff was the standout player, scoring 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 blocks. Hassan Koureissi added 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. Jasiah Jervis and Josh Rivera each scored 12 points.

Hoophall Invitational

In the Hoophall Invitational, Tuckahoe faced Monument Mountain, Mass., at 11:45 a.m. White Plains defeated Conrad, Del., 56-46. Nathan Plummer led White Plains with 13 points and 5 rebounds, while Jeremiah Turner added 12 points. Otto Armstrong and Bryce Thomas each scored 9 points and 3 assists.

Auburn, Mass., defeated Haldane 65-45. Luke Bozsik and Ryder Griffin each scored 19 and 8 points respectively. Grafton, Mass., beat Ossining 67-61. Peekskill faced Sheperd Hill, Mass., at 9:30 a.m. Scarsdale defeated Classical, R.I., 56-48. Ryan Sussberg and Hunter Ross each scored 16 and 9 points respectively. Andrew Roseman and Ethan Grossberg each added 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Westlake defeated Brattleboro, Vt., 76-55. Marcus Jackette led Westlake with 33 points, while Nick Stancarone and Jayson Aprea each added 19 and 7 points.

Rankings and Upcoming Games

There are two new teams in the lohud Section 1 boys basketball top 10. On Sunday, January 18, Scarsdale will face Staples (Conn.), starting at 9 a.m.

On Monday, January 12, Clarkstown North defeated Suffern 67-58. Kyle Kirkland led Clarkstown North with 29 points and 10 rebounds, while Jack Kavanagh added 21 points and 8 rebounds. Rotimi Esiso scored 12 points. Jake Pampolina and Arthur Mpesha each scored 22 and 16 points for Suffern. The Rams connected on 11 three-pointers.

Rye defeated Roosevelt 72-60. Carson Miller and Henry Shoemaker each scored 22 and 13 points for Rye. Frank Mercedes and Akeem Perry each scored 30 and 14 points for Roosevelt.

White Plains defeated Ossining 67-47. Bryce Thomas and Eli Turuseta each scored 21 and 17 points for White Plains. Nathan Plummer and Justin Boateng each added 10 and 5 points. Jeremiah Turner added 5 points and 6 assists.

Hastings defeated North Salem 50-49. Dylan Heilakka and Michael Leyden each scored 15 and 10 points for Hastings. Max Cotrone and Bryce Bryant each scored 14 and 10 points for North Salem.

Byram Hills defeated Eastchester 72-40. Kevin Kendall and Max Miller each scored 20 and 13 points for Byram Hills. Tyler Freiberg added 7 points.

Yorktown defeated John Jay-Cross River 50-41. Colin Worden and Franklin Ringel each scored 16 and 12 points for Yorktown. Connor Morhardt added 9 points and 6 rebounds.

Saunders defeated Children’s Village 91-37. Alex Vazquez and Anthony Vaccaro each scored 26 and 12 points for Saunders. Abdul Sadiq and David Mitchell each added 13 and 10 points.

Dobbs Ferry defeated Pawling 66-52. Anthony Ficarrotta led Dobbs Ferry with 33 points and 12 rebounds. Calvin Higgins and Mateus Hertz Bird each added 14 and 9 points. Parker Medlin added 5 points and 10 rebounds. Affy Middlebrook and Jimmy Thompson each scored 25 and 18 points for Pawling.

Note: Ficarrotta moved past Kyle Jones (Pleasantville) and Mookie Jones (Peekskill) into fourth place on the Section 1 career scoring list. He has 1,879 points.

Leffell defeated Sleepy Hollow 60-36. Nate Mirvis and Ilai Mandelbaum each scored 11 and 13 points for Leffell. Ben Gross added 10 points.

Westlake defeated Ardsley 60-48. Marcus Jackette led Westlake with 23 points, while Gjorge Krasnici and Nick Stancarone each added 10 and 9 points. Note: The Wildcats clinched their third straight league title.

Bronxville defeated Edgemont 60-55. Theo Hoffner and Brady Dolan each scored 24 and 17 points for Bronxville. Miles Teixeira added 16 points for Edgemont.

Greeley defeated Peekskill 85-58. Jaxson Thomas and Jackson Honig each scored 18 and 11 points for Greeley. Jake Sheehy and Sam Bourne each added 10 and 9 points. JoJo Walker and Darius Smythe each scored 19 and 14 points for Peekskill. Titus Mathias added 14 points.

Haldane defeated Croton 55-52. Zane Del Pozo and Luke Bozsik each scored 15 points for Haldane. Vin Flynn added 15 points for Croton.

Woodlands defeated Lincoln 75-49. Aaron Woodberry and Sebastian Benitez each scored 23 and 21 points for Woodlands. Noah Cherubin added 10 points and 5 rebounds.

Rye Neck defeated Briarcliff 60-55 in overtime. Davey Ryan and James Byron each scored 19 and 17 points for Rye Neck. Dante Friedman added 12 points. Jason Lawler and Devan Sood each scored 27 and 20 points for Briarcliff.

John Jay-East Fishkill defeated Ramapo 60-46.

Putnam Valley defeated Hamilton 58-47. Logan Moriarty and Zach Gabriel each scored 21 and 8 points for Putnam Valley. Ethan Tesher and Jack Marinelli each added 12 and 11 points. Zach Davis and Wyatt Cepeda each scored 15 and 11 points for Hamilton.

North Rockland defeated Ketcham 79-33. Aaron Rivera and Ayden Pignard each scored 24 and 14 points for North Rockland. Ehan Ilyas added 11 points for Ketcham.

John Jay-East Fishkill defeated Ramapo 60-46.

Kennedy Catholic defeated Regis 66-62. Sebastian Jackson and Ari Boubert each scored 25 and 16 points for Kennedy Catholic. Se’nre Tuitt and Aidan Cumberbatch each added 13 and 8 points. Joseph Lopez-Mendy and Mehki Martin each scored 18 and 15 points for Riverside.

Stepinac Overcomes Injury and Illness to Remain Unbeaten in the CHSAA

WHITE PLAINS – There was bound to be a little adversity on the road to a fourth straight CHSAA title. The kind a simple Band-Aid won’t fix.

For nearly a month, Stepinac has been dealing with injury and illness. The lineup has been shuffled and reshuffled. Adonis Ratliff got hurt in a Dec. 12 win over Monsignor Scanlan. Dylan Perry was playing in pain at the Palm City Classic before Christmas and was parked on the bench in street clothes for the Jan. 3 Crusader Classic. Hassan Koureissi got hurt in practice ahead of last Saturday’s game at Nazareth. And on Tuesday against Holy Cross, sixth-man Josh Rivera was out with the flu.

Stepinac has won three league games in a row despite playing without three starters. Jasiah Jervis has been doing most of the heavy lifting. The Michigan State recruit got 32 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and four steals in a 60-49 win over the Knights. The Crusaders remain undefeated in league play.

“Guys have been hurt throughout our season, but our depth is what separates our team,” Jervis said. “We have guys like Ameer (Smith) and (Jack) Coco and Jourdan (Archevald) who are ready and willing to step in and do anything to help this team win.”

He’s gotten help from Darius Ratliff, but over the last three games, Jervis is averaging 26.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists.

“For sure, I feel like I have to do more on nights like this,” Jervis said. “But I just try to hold myself to a standard and stay consistent.”

Turning point
Holy Cross was coming off an upset win over Christ the King, but Stepinac quickly dented the Knights’ confidence, building an 18-4 lead. The Crusaders did not give up a point for four-plus minutes to start.

It was a six-point game with a minute to go, but Jervis attacked the rim and made good on the and-one to squelch the rally.

Box Score

Holy Cross (6-9, 2-5):
Malachi Miller 5P; Payton Wilson 16P; Jahzir Crawford 10P; Nathan Brown 10P; Stephen Cox Jr. 2P; Donovan Medley 6P.

Stepinac (10-4, 6-0):
Jasiah Jervis 32P, 10R, 3A; Darius Ratliff 7P, 17R, 5B; Ameer Smith 5P, 5A; Elijah Novotny 5P, 8R; Larry Jenkins 5P, 3R; Jack Coco 4P; Jourdan Archevald 2P.

Takeaways
Stepinac has utilized five different starting lineups. The experience that role players who are filling in have gained is the silver lining, but the revolving door rotation has not been good for consistency and chemistry. All three starters are expected to return in the days ahead. That leaves plenty of time for the Crusaders to get back in stride.

Yorktown Survives Rally, Gets Important Win at Greeley

CHAPPAQUA – Watching a once comfortable lead melt away in the closing minutes was an uncomfortable experience, but Yorktown possesses the one intangible needed to close out important wins no matter the circumstance. The Huskers are truly a stubborn bunch.

A baseline jumper from Connor Morhardt with the shot clock about to expire in the final minute of play slammed to door on a spirited Greeley comeback Wednesday and locked down a 50-44 win. This might have been the biggest test so far for Yorktown, which is undefeated.

“It’s not necessarily a surprise,” Huskers senior point guard Colin Worden said. “We knew how good we were going to be. We’ve had a lot of people telling us we couldn’t be what we used to be. … And while 8-0 is a fantastic start, it’s only part of the journey.”

There were four ties and 10 lead changes in the first half. Sean Davis came alive after the intermission and keyed a 16-0 run by Yorktown, exploiting multiple second chances to help build a 38-23 lead. Levi Sack got the first Quakers bucket with 32 seconds to go in the quarter.

“I think, especially on the road, energy is the most important thing,” Huskers senior forward Franklin Ringel said. “Like it can take you from a 15-point deficit and get you into a close game. The energy we got from the guys on the bench was huge there. We all lift each other up in any aspect. We’re all tightly bonded even after such a short time.”

Turning point
Greeley found some intensity after falling behind and got within 47-42 on a Jaxson Thomas layup with 2:14 to play. Yorktown had four costly turnovers down the stretch, but kept fighting on the defensive end, holding off the Quakers until Morhardt elevated and connected with 53.4 seconds to play.

“They put a fantastic amount of pressure on us,” Worden said. “We scouted it but that was a hard defense to play against. We stuck together and corrected our mistakes in a quick enough fashion that it didn’t affect us even more.”

Box score
Yorktown (8-0):
Colin Worden 7P, 12R, 6A; Connor Morhardt 23P, 6R; Franklin Ringel 12P; Sean Davis 8P, 10R.

Greeley (6-3):
Luca Polizzi 3; Jackson Honig 4P; Alex Horowitz 6P; Jaxson Thomas 4P; Jake Sheehy 18P; Levi Sack 7P; Sam Bourne 2P.

Takeaways
Morhardt should be getting way more attention following his first make of the game. He’s that player who only needs one good look to get on a serious roll. Worden runs onto more rebounds than any guard in Section 1 and is an elite hustle player. The biggest issue with Yorktown is ballhandling. There are too many strong defensive teams in Class AA for that not to get corrected.

Greeley is feisty when it wants to be. The correction that needs to be made is easy. Don’t let the scoreboard influence the amount of energy that’s being invested. Heck, if the Quakers play like they did for the final 10 minutes Wednesday, they might end up in the County Center.

“We go through spurts,” Greeley coach Matt Simone said. “Unfortunately for us, we don’t start playing like we did at the end of this game until we’ve fallen behind. If we play all the time like we do when we’re down 10, we’ll be a hard team to beat. We’re still working on getting consistent effort over four quarters.”

Suffern Shifts Gears, Runs Away from Rye

RYE – It was exactly the right time and place to flex a little. After quickly forgetting a bumpy start, Jake Pampolina and Suffern reached maximum potential for a good 10 minutes Friday and hung a surprising 52-31 loss on Rye.

Both teams are on the short list of Section 1 contenders in Class AA.

“Rye is tough,” said Pampolina, who scored 26 points and only needs 74 points to become Rockland’s all-time leading scorer. “They’ve got a lot of football players, a lot of basketball players who are very good, very skilled. I think that was one of our best games.”

At both ends of the floor.

“Defensively, we locked in,” Pampolina added. “Our process, I think, is the best in Section 1. Coach (Scott) Wright gets us prepared. We’ve had some ups and downs. We lost to Clarkstown North earlier in the week, but today was a statement win. … I don’t know about the other teams (Class AA), but we’re coming and we’re ready to play.”