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JANUARY 31, 2010 Section One tinkering with football again Exclusive: Sub-committee wants to trim playoffs, re-structure leagues By Rich Thomaselli HVSR Section One is once again trying to change the structure of high school football in Dutchess, Putnam, Westchester and Rockland counties – and once again the coaches aren’t happy about it. Hudson Valley Sports Report has learned that a new football sub-committee consisting of eight members – but none from Dutchess County – will recommend that the section limit all classes to a four-team postseason playoff regardless of the number of teams in that class, instead of the current eight-team postseason in Classes AA and A. The sub-committee is also discussing a new league structure to set up more equity in the conferences. This is to create more competitive balance and avoid having more teams opt to join the so-called “Alternative Leagues,” which offer relief schedules. Locally, Beacon and Pawling played last season in alternative leagues, which do not allow teams to compete for sectional titles. A four-team playoff for the right to win the section and move on to the state playoffs is currently in places for Classes B, C and D in Section One – but only because of the limited number of football-playing schools in those sections. Section One, Class B has 11 schools, Class C has 10 schools, and Class D has only two football-playing programs. But Section One, Class AA features 18 schools and Class A has 27 schools competing. “We as coaches are talking to our athletic directors and our superintendents about how important we feel it is to keep that eight-team playoff structure,” said Poughkeepsie coach Ken Barger, whose team has advanced to the semifinals and finals of the Section One, Class A tournament in the last two seasons. A new league structure and seedings for the playoffs could be based on power rankings, better known as the Piner System, which creates a series of team ratings based on myriad criteria, including three-year record, jayvee record, number of participants in the program, and more. John Jay coach Tom O’Hare said “it’s nice that they’re acknowledging flaws in the current system,” a reference to his team and Arlington both going 2-0 outside the league last year, but not having those games count. Instead, both were 2-2 in league play and missed out on the playoffs. “I agree with the intent of trying to make more games mean something,” O’Hare said, “but I don’t know if they hit the nail square on the head. We just hope they don’t put it to a vote (today) without giving it a chance to get some feedback from coaches and administrators.” Indeed, the new sub-committee could offer the new Structure Proposal as soon as today to the Section One Athletic Council. Hudson Valley Sports Report obtained two e-mails from New Rochelle coach Lou DiRienzo – head of the Section One Football Coaches Association – in which he addressed the proposal on several fronts. “A 4 team playoff structure across the board makes absolutely no sense where the classes range from 27 teams to 2 teams. In addition, this 4 team playoff structure does nothing to create competitive balance,” DiRienzo wrote to his fellow coaches. “The answer to having more regular season games on the schedule is to allow the Sectional Title game in each Class to be the tenth game, as every section in NY State has (Section 1 is the ONLY section that does not have a tenth game). This would allow Classes C & B to have an 8 game regular season with the current 4 team playoff structure, and Classes A and AA to have a 7 game regualr season schedule, with the current 8 team playoff structure. For your information all Sections in NY State have an 8 game playoff structure with the exception of Sections 9 and 7/10. Those sections don't have a Class with more than 10 teams.” DiRienzo certainly has a grasp on the merits of an eight-team playoff – in 2003 his New Rochelle team, seeded fifth in the section, won the state championship. Unfortunately, he might be looking at a tough battle, says another longtime Section One coach – current Our Lady of Lourdes coach Brian Walsh. “The athletic directors have wanted that four-team playoff for a long time,” said Walsh, who has coached at Brewster, John Jay East Fishkill and now OLL. “They’re pretty set on this. I called a couple of ADs that I know and they told me flat-out, ‘We’re not entertaining any other proposition.’ ”
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| Heartbreaker ! Marist loses thriller to Manhattan on 65-foot shot POUGHKEEPSIE – Oh, can it get any worse for the Marist College men’s basketball team? Now the losses are coming in excruciating, heartbreaking fashion. The Red Foxes suffered a 60-59 loss to Manhattan at the McCann Center in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game on Sunday as Manhattan's Michael Alvarado hit the game-winning shot from approximately 65 feet away as time expired.  No joke.
A 65-footer at the buzzer, and Marist loses. The opportunity presented itself to the Jaspers after Marist sophomore guard Devin Price missed the front end of a one-and-one at the free-throw line with 2.6 seconds remaining on the clock. Manhattan's Demetrius Jemison grabbed the rebound and called his team's final timeout. A review of the game clock during the timeout put 2.0 on the clock for the Jaspers, inbounding the ball from their baseline. Following the timeout, Alvarado received the inbounds pass, took two dribbles up the left sideline and banked in the long-distance shot to give Manhattan the one-point victory. Marist red-shirt sophomore swingman Dorvell Carter recorded his first double-double of his career, as he scored a game-high 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. He shot 6-for-12 from the field. Price contributed 13 points, five assists and four rebounds, while freshman swingman Jay Bowie added 11 points, five assists, three rebounds and a blocked shot. There were 14 lead changes and eight ties during the contest. Manhattan's bench outscored Marist's bench by a score of 20-6, and won the points scored off of turnovers by a 15-5 margin. Neither team led by more than six points at any juncture. Marist held Manhattan scoreless over the final 4:50 of the first half en route to taking a 25-24 halftime lead. An 11-4 run early in the second half gave the Jaspers a four-point lead, but the Red Foxes answered with a 10-0 run of their own to take the game's largest lead of six, at 41-35 with 14:15 remaining.
With 2:22 to play, a three-point play by George Beamon gave Manhattan a 57-56 lead with 2:22 to play. Carter answered with a three-pointer on Marist's ensuing possession to give the Red Foxes a 59-57 advantage with 1:54 to play. The score remained that way until Alvarado's game-winning shot. As a team, Marist committed just nine turnovers and shot .407 (22-for-54) from the field, .346 (9-for-26) from three-point range and .429 (6-for-14) from the free-throw line. The Red Foxes outrebounded the Jaspers by a margin of 40-33. Beamon led Manhattan with team-highs in points (13) and rebounds (10), while Kidani Brutus and Djibril Coulibaly added 12 points apiece. Marist fell to 4-19 overall and 3-8 in the MAAC; Manhattan is now 4-18 overall and 2-9 in conference play. Marist will head to Western New York next weekend, as the Red Foxes will face Canisius and Niagara. The Red Foxes will face the Golden Griffins first on Friday. Marist defeated Canisius 74-64 at home on Dec. 5th. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. | | Red Foxes had their chances POUGHKEEPSIE – Almost every fan in attendance at the McCann Center was pulling for a Red Fox victory Sunday afternoon versus MAAC rival Manhattan.  And perhaps no one needed a victory more so than Marist’s Head Coach Chuck Martin. With a 15-70 record coming into today’s game, it is clear that wins have been few and far between. Unfortunately for Martin, his Red Foxes fell just short in losing to the Manhattan Jaspers by a heartbreakingly close score of 60-59. Even more unfortunate was the way in which they lost – Manhattan freshman, and soon to be campus hero, Michael Alvarado banked in a shot from well beyond half court as time expired. Manhattan inbounded the ball with only 2.0 seconds remaining on the clock. Alvarado only had time to catch the ball, quickly turn around, and take one dribble before he released the ball and quieted the crowd that had been energetic and lively until that point. Some might call Marist unlucky, but the Red Foxes sealed their own fate. With 59 seconds remaining, freshman forward Adam Kemp attempted to post up underneath the basket but he traveled, turning the ball over. Then within the final 35 seconds, Marist guard Devin Price missed the only two free throws he attempted. It was Marist’s mistakes that allowed Alvarado to become a hero. “When you got a chance to win the game, you got to win the game,” Martin said. “You got to put the game away.” Marist clearly did not put the game away but Martin did offer up his reasoning as to why the team failed to close properly. “We had never been in those situations before,” he said. Martin’s team is young, and with youth comes inexperience. Their youth might be the best thing going for Marist. The Red Foxes have scored 1,323 points this season. 471 of those points (35.6%) have come from freshmen and 607 (45.9%) have come from sophomores. In fact, during the past four games, every single point the Red Foxes have scored have come from freshmen and sophomores. Martin’s team is filled with players ready to lead, play hard and most importantly, win. No player has showed this mentality more so than red-shirted sophomore Dorvell Carter. Carter understands his role on the team. He is the only player on Martin’s squad who has been with him for all three years and is still playing in games. This has turned Carter into a leader on the court. “I have to take on the responsibility,” said Carter. “If there’s a shot to be made, I want to take it.” Carter proved that. With the Red Foxes trailing 59-57 with 1:54 remaining, Carter hit a three pointer, putting Marist ahead until Alvarado’s fateful shot. That was Carter’s last attempt of the game and he put Marist in the position to win. Martin needs more players like Carter. With the potential of players such as Candon Russin, Jay Bowie, Menelik Watson, Price and Kemp, it looks like Marist will start winning more. And then, when they find themselves up two points in the last minute, they won’t travel, they’ll hit their free throws, and they’ll never have to relive the nightmares that Alvarado has undoubtedly placed in their heads Sunday night.
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| Even the referees have a tough job I’m back! Sorry for the long delay between articles, but my grandfather died last week. My grandfather suffered Alzheimer’s but still came to many of my basketball games. He’d often cheer for the wrong team and say or do silly things – one time he even fell into a garbage can watching me play at Marist Camp! – but whenever I was playing and I looked over on the sideline, he was always there and I enjoyed seeing him there.  “Pop” never got to watch me play when he was healthy, but I’d like to think that now he’s watching me play from heaven for the first time without Alzheimer’s. So now into this week’s topic – officiating. After watching a few games, I’ve decided to write this week’s article on officiating and the effects it has on the athletes. Referees can greatly affect the flow and outcome of a game. A couple of bad calls can change the pace of a game. If you have a ref that doesn’t like the way your team plays, good luck winning your game. Yes, it’s possible, but it can be extremely frustrating. A few calls going the other way, a game can be changed drastically. Although we are constantly told to ignore the referees, as players it becomes very difficult. It becomes frustrating when your team is losing and you want someone to blame it on. It’s always easy to put the blame on the referees. Seems they get all the bashing and criticism, often undeserved. So I will say that being a ref is a tough job. Actually, their job is something of a dilemma. Aren’t they supposed to be there to control the game? Yes, but… as athletes, we need to take control of the game ourselves. Play within ourselves, play team ball, play hard but within the rules – always. Challenging, yes; impossible, not even close. I think if we want to get the calls, ignoring the refs is the best way to go. Don’t get caught up in the angst and frustration of the officiating, show respect and courtesy to the officials and just play your game. This isn’t a ref bashing article. Officials actually have a lot more stress on them then we think. Between the reckless fans, screaming coaches and crazy athletes, the referees have a lot on their plate. I actually give them a lot of credit. I would never want to be a referee and suffer the snide comments and cruel remarks that come their way. We tend to place a lot of blame for a loss on a ref. But in actuality, they’re not there to win or lose the game for you. If you want to win a game, it’s up to you to play to win, not a referee. So give them a break and look to yourself and team on how to improve so you’re not even in a position to blame anyone but yourselves for the outcome of a game. Show them the respect they deserve and I’m confident they’ll reciprocate. Just play the game! Before closing, I would like to give a shout out to Arlington girls’ basketball team for all but clinching the Conference I, League A title and proving my prediction to be wrong (as much as I hate being wrong). But to be fair, I did say they were going to put up a fight! A big part of their win was Jocelyn Strack, a sophomore who has become a rebound machine helping lead the Admirals to victories. And big shout out to FDR, which had two huge wins in back to back games over Spackenkill and Wallkill. Congratulations ladies! Next week, I’ll do a special edition column on seniors in the area and their high school careers as they start to come to an end. Until next time, see you on the court! – Cat
(Cat Thompson is a senior at Spackenkill High School and a member of the girls’ basketball team. She writes a weekly high school column during the winter season for Hudson Valley Sports Report, focusing mostly on girls’ basketball. She can be reached at rich@hudsonvalleysportsreport.com) |
JANUARY 30, 2010 How is this team not ranked?!? Arlington girls now 14-1, but get no love from the state
Arlington's Jocelyn Strack goes up for two Saturday vs. Cornwall. Photo by WJS Photography. |
It could be my eyes.
After all, I’ll be 47 this year and, well, you know what they say. Not everything works the way it did when you were 24. So, armed with my magnifying glass with the built-in light, I continue to scan the New York State Sportswriters Association state rankings week after week, and I still can’t find the Arlington High School girls’ basketball team. I see teams with two losses who are state-ranked. I see teams with three losses who are state-ranked. I even see teams with four losses who are state-ranked. Yet, somehow, it boggles the mind how a one-loss Arlington team remains unranked. The Admirals are now 14-1 after beating Cornwall on Saturday, 49-34, capping another tremendous week. Arlington beat John Jay on Monday and Lourdes on Friday, and is now 7-0 in Conference I, League A and needs just one win to clinch a tie for the title and two for an outright championship. And they’ve been getting performances from just about everybody on the team. On Saturday, it was Jocelyn Strack with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Nicole Spaulding had 14 points and four blocks. The Admirals had 18 assists as a team, nine in the first quarter alone. “We did a nice job of moving the ball, finding the open teammate and finishing,” Arlington coach Kim Costello said. “I was pleased with the girls’ effort, especially after the quick turnaround from last night’s physically draining game.” I asked Costello how it is that her team isn’t in the state rankings. She took the high road, of course, saying that she prefers to remain “under the radar” a little bit. Still, it’s a bit of a slap in the face because you have to wonder where the Section One, or Dutchess County, spotters are. That’s how the state rankings are compiled. The Sportswriters Association, which does a yeoman’s job of putting this all together, relies on sportswriters and “spotters” from around the state to send them information, and then they piece it into a Top 25. If anything, Section One’s reputation and history as a girls’ basketball powerhouse since the inception of the state championships back in 1981 – hello Lourdes, John Jay, Albertus Magnus and Haldane – should guarantee at least automatic consideration, if not inclusion, in the state rankings. After all, this year’s Marlboro girls are so good they’re in there twice ! That’s right – the latest poll has the Dukes ranked 18th and 23rd in Class A. My point is, mistakes are made. Oversights happen. But not week after week after week. At 14-1, this Arlington team deserves a lot better. | |
| RCK topples Beacon by two in crazy ending WAPPINGERS FALLS – Freshman Kim Quiles scored 12 points on Saturday, and the Roy C. Ketcham High School girls’ basketball team won its first Conference I, League A game of the season with a 44-42 win over Beacon. GIRLS' BASKETBALL |
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The Indians are now 5-8 overall. Kayla Cruz added eight points for RCK and Jackie Hart had seven. The game came down to a final play as the Bulldogs were looking to tie or win the game. Brooke Dennin missed a three-pointer for Beacon but teammate Brittani Romanelli snared the rebound and went back up with it. But a Ketcham player blocked it for a jump ball call at the buzzer, and that’s how it ended.
“It was definitely exciting and controversial, but it was a good win for us,” Ketcham coach Kristie Worell said. | | Kennedy's career-high 29 points put FDR in first place in MHAL Division I HYDE PARK – About 18 hours after the Franklin D. Roosevelt High School boys’ basketball team suffered an 11-point loss to Rhinebeck, the Presidents were back on the court in a make-up game against Mid-Hudson Athletic League Division I rival Wallkill. They walked off tired. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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But they walked off in first place. Matt Kennedy scored a career-high 29 points on Saturday, and FDR beat Wallkill, 70-56, to complete a sweep of the first round of MHAL divisional play. With wins over the Panthers, Saugerties and Rondout, the Presidents are now 6-5 overall and 3-0 in Division I. “I was really pleased with our performance,” FDR coach Kevin Hart said. “Our execution on offense was solid for four quarters. That was the difference in the game. We were just really consistent throughout the game, and our defense has been consistent all year. I thought we did a decent job just playing four quarters. The legs were a little flat in the beginning but I thought our energy level was OK for having played (Friday) night.” Felix Riascos added 20 points for the Presidents, fellow sophomore Jack Raimo had eight and Tim Miller chipped in with seven. Jamie Penetto had 18 points for the Panthers, and Hunter Andrews and Dominic Calvanico had 13 apiece. | |
JANUARY 29, 2010 Arlington just about ends history Admirals beat OLL, putting the Warriors' 27-year streak of league titles in jeopardy
POUGHKEEPSIE – Sarah Mesuch made a triumphant return to the Our Lady of Lourdes High School gym on Friday night that she coached in for seven years, but this time in a bittersweet role.
 The former OLL mentor is now an assistant coach at Arlington, and she helped head coach Kim Costello guide the Admirals to their 13th victory of the season, a 49-37 victory over the Warriors that just about brings to an end one of the most remarkable streaks in state history – 27 consecutive years in which Lourdes has won or shared the conference championship, a streak started by former coachBrian Giorgis, continued by Ken Thomas, then Mesuch, and now likely ended in current coach Al Viani's first year. It would take a miracle for OLL to extend that streak now. Arlington is 13-1 overall and 7-0 in Conference I, League A. Lourdes is 4-3 in league play. The Warriors would need to win all three of their final league games while the Admirals lost all three, a highly unlikely scenario since Arlington has already beaten the two toughest teams twice each – Lourdes and Jay – and has recorded wins over remaining opponents Beacon, Ketcham and Poughkeepsie by 17 points, 23 points and 20 points respectively. The victory over the Warriors came on Think Pink Night at Lourdes, which served as a fundraiser for the Miles of Hope breast cancer awareness group. Except this was more like Think Black and Blue Night. The game was physical and there were at least two verbal confrontations in the stands. “It was an intense atmosphere and I’m proud of the way the girls kept their composure and maintained their focus,” Costello said. Arlington’s Nicole Lanteri had 15 points, Jocelyn Strack had 11 points and 13 rebounds, Nicole Spaulding had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and senior captain TK Starzyk gave the Admirals a huge spark with her best game of the season with 10 points off the bench. “We played great team defense tonight and did a nice job of attacking the basket offensively,” Costello said. “Stevi Sala and Sarah Kaminsky did a terrific job guarding (Teneka) Whittaker.” The OLL star, who is headed to Rhode Island next year, scored 12 points, and only four in the second half. Krysta Vanacore had 13 points for Lourdes. | |
| Zuvic gets 1,000th point, Haldane boys win again COLD SPRING – An untimely injury kept John Zuvic from reaching the magic milestone of 1,000 career points when he graduated from Haldane High School in 1969. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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That’s OK; his son will make up the difference. Jackson Zuvic scored 29 points on Friday night, including the 1,000th of his career, and the Blue Devils beat Leake & Watts, 59-53, in a non-league boys’ basketball game. John Zuvic, who went on to play collegiately at Siena, finished his Haldane career with 987 points. Jackson, a senior, still has at least a half-dozen games left, plus whatever Haldane plays in the postseason. “And he did it having had the flu for the last three days,” Haldane coach Joe Virgadamo said. “He hasn’t been able to eat a whole lot and he struggled physically.” Still, Zuvic gutted it out and was helped by a fine defensive performance by teammate Elias Lopez, who shut down L&W star and McDonald’s All-Star Game nominee Devon Feller. Feller finished with 17 points. Paul Mackey added 11 points for Haldane. | | 14 in a row for Marist women LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – Fourteen. And counting. The Marist College women's basketball team won its 14th straight game on Friday and improved to 8-0 in road games as it defeated the Rider Broncs, 70-41 in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) contest. The Red Foxes outscored the Broncs 41-23, an advantage that was keyed by a 22-3 run. Junior guard Corielle Yarde led all scorers with 12 points and senior Maria Laterza added a career-high 11.  Laterza posted double figures in the scoring column for the first time in her career. She shot 5-for-7 from the field and grabbed five rebounds. Yarde made six of 11 field goals. She had five rebounds, three assists, a block and two steals. After Alyssa Parsons opened the game with a three pointer, Marist responded with a 15-1 run over the next 6:54 to open up a 15-4 lead with 12:20 to go in the stanza. Junior Brandy Gang and senior Élise Caron hit triples during the run and sophomore Kate Oliver went 4-for-4 from the line during the spurt. Caron finished the game with eight points and Gang finished with seven points, three assists and three steals. Rider used a 6-0 run to get as close as two, 19-17, with 4:19 to play in the half, but the Red Foxes scored 10 of the final 11 points of the half to take a 29-18 point lead into the locker room. Yarde hit a runner in the lane as time expired in the period. The Broncs scored the first five points of the second half before the Red Foxes sparked a 22-3 run to gain a 24-point advantage, 55-31. During the run, Marist got six points from Yarde, five from freshman Emma O'Connor, four from classmate Casey Dulin and two from Erica Allenspach (pictured).
Marist grew the lead to as many as 33 points with 2:12 to play after junior Emily Stallings sank a pair of foul shots. The score after the free throws was 68-35. The Red Foxes shot 44.3 percent from the field in the game and had 16 assists against nine turnovers. Marist also amassed season-high 15 steals. Junior guard Kristine Best, Dulin and Gang each amassed three steals each. Best finished with four assists and no turnovers. Marist outscored Rider in the paint 44-14 and scored 32 points off 28 Broncs' turnovers. The Red Foxes' reserves outscored their counterparts from Rider 32-12. Rider was led by Parsons who scored nine points and Sarah Homan snatched a game-high eight rebounds. The Broncs fell to 2-18 overall and 2-6 in the MAAC. | |
Crazy (defense) like a Fox helps Rhinebeck RHINEBECK – In the grand scheme of things, two points and five assists is a decent contribution. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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But it wasn’t what Reed Fox did on the offensive end.
It was his defense. The Rhinebeck High School boys’ basketball player took over defensive duties in the second half on Franklin D. Roosevelt’s sensational sophomore Felix Riascos, holding him without a point in the fourth quarter as the Hawks rallied for a 59-48 Mid-Hudson Athletic League victory over the Presidents. Riascos had 21 points through three quarters until Rhinebeck coach Dave Aierstok put Fox on him. “Reed lives for that,” Aierstok said. “He’s 6-foot-2 and he’s long and he loves to take on that stopper role.” Rhinebeck trailed 40-33 with 1:44 left in the third quarter before closing the game with a 26-8 run. Ben Hoynes had 12 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, Jacob Sopchak had 18 points, seven blocks and six boards, and Nick Sorel added 11 points for the Hawks. Riascos led the Presidents with his 21 and Matt Kennedy added 13 points. With great balance comes great wins | |
| Spackenkill boys spread it around BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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WALLKILL – The boxscore says it all – 12, 10, nine, nine and eight points.
Can’t get much better balance than that. In a solid team effort, the Spackenkill High School boys’ basketball team knocked off Wallkill, 59-46, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League game on Friday night. Steve Gugumuck led the way with 12 points, 12 rebounds and two steals for the Spartans. “We were able to jump on them early and then do enough late in the game to hang on for the win,” Spackenkill coach Terry Feeley said. “After being idle for two weeks, you never know what to expect (both teams last played on Jan. 14). I knew Wallkill was too good and too well-coached for us not to expect a run from them.” K.J. Williams added 10 points for Spackenkill, including a huge three-pointer in the fourth quarter when the Panthers pulled within single digits. Josh Riley added nine points and 14 rebounds, as well as a pair of assists and a steal. Tyler Lipscomb also had nine points and Quinn Horvath tallied eight. Kevin Sheehan and Hunter Andrews had 13 points apiece for Wallkill. | | Thompson gets some help POUGHKEEPSIE – It’s not that Spackenkill High School girls’ basketball coach Don Niese doesn’t want his star player going off for 20 or more points every game. GIRLS' BASKETBALL |
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It’s just that, like any team, his is far more successful when it has balance offensively. Like Friday night. Cat Thompson had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Dominique Douglas had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Anna Thompson added 10 points as the Spartans posted a 50-36 Mid-Hudson Athletic League victory over Wallkill. “Too many times we’ve waited around for Cat to put in 20 points, and that just can’t happen,” Niese said. “I was happy to see the balance; that balance makes us a little more dangerous.” Lisa Bouffard scored 12 points and had five steals for the Panthers, and Kaitlyn Ponesse chipped in with 10 points. | |
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Brown's return lifts Bulldogs to win BEACON – Jarell Brown made a successful return from injury on Friday night, and the Beacon High School boys’ basketball team beat Ketcham, 69-55, in a Conference I, League A game.  Brown, who has been injured most of the season, scored 13 points. His brother, Marquise Brown, had a team-high 17 points, Jordan Morales added 15 points and Anthony Clark had a solid all-around game with 11 points, nine rebounds and five steals.
The game was tied at halftime but the Bulldogs went on an 18-9 run in the third quarter to open it up. “We went a little bit longer with one of our defenses that was working,” Beacon coach Tom Powers said. “We were successful with it. We got that nine-point lead and we kept it there for most of the second half.” Jarell Brown had nine of his 13 points in the final period, and Spenser McElhoney added nine rebounds. Roland Archie led RCK with 17 points.
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Merget, Palmatier lead Highland KYSERIKE – Charlie Merget and Devin Palmatier led a balanced attack with 13 points each, and the Highland High School boys’ basketball team beat Rondout Valley, 65-47, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League game on Friday night. MHAL BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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“We were as flat as you could be. We did every single thing slowly,” Rondout coach Pete Colomer said. “I’ve only see them six times in the last two weeks (due to the weather and school cancellations). We’re not practicing to the level we need to practice at. We were just flat, and Highland hit their shots.”
Ben DeForest led Rondout with 17 points and seven rebounds. NEW PALTZ 59, WEBUTUCK 33 – Craig Primus scored 16 points, including 10 in the second half, to lead the host Huguenots to an MHAL win. Teammate Bryan Krebs added 10 points as New Paltz improved to 8-2 overall and kept Webutuck winless at 0-8. MARLBORO 61, MILLBROOK 44 – Mike Tamburri scored a game-high 20 points for the host Iron Dukes, who slowed down a red-hot Millbrook team in this MHAL game. Tamburri also had five assists. Austin Beck added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Marlboro while Evan Hurley had 14 points for Millbrook. COLEMAN 66, ONTEORA 39 – Ben Mesuda had 29 points and the host Statesmen climbed above the .500 mark with the MHAL win. Coleman is now 5-4 overall as Donnie Timbrouck added 14 points. Chris Pollo led the winless Indians with 12 points.
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| Pougheepsie girls drop Pawling, 53-45 GIRLS' BASKETBALL |
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PAWLING – Tanisha Coleman scored 16 points, Elantra Means had 13 points and Jasmine McClendon added eight as the Poughkeepsie High School girls’ basketball team beat Pawling, 53-45, in a non-league game Friday night.
“They’re a very nice team,” Pawling coach Jeff Hackett said. “We’d make some runs here and there and cut it down, but like most teams they have a few more people who can score than we do, so they were able to keep that eight to 12-point cushion.” Margo Hackett had 28 points for the Tigers, and Brianna Esposito added eight. | | Jay beats slumping Arlington FREEDOM PLAINS – It’s frustrating, but Arlington High School boys’ basketball coach Matt Hoyt just can’t figure out how to get his Admirals out of a month-long slump. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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Arlington lost its sixth consecutive game on Friday, falling at home to John Jay 66-55 in a Conference I, League A contest. “We struggled to score the last time we played them, and I thought tonight we had a lot of good looks,” Hoyt said. “Offensively it was a good night but defensively we didn’t have a good night. Jay did whatever they wanted. They all took it to the basket, got rebounds and generally got the shots they wanted to get.” Nick Segarra led the Patriots with 22 points. Antonio Hinton and Daen Riviere had 14 points each for Jay. For the Admirals, Brian Brocker led the way with 18 points and Dan Kane added 12. Arlington was only down three at the half. “We’re in a three point game but we haven’t one in a while, and maybe we didn’t believe we could pull this thing out,” Hoyt said. “We just have not found ways to win.” |
JANUARY 28, 2010 600 ! Red Hook’s Chando gets milestone win
 RED HOOK – Do you remember what you were doing in 1971?
Rod Chando does. He was coaching his very first Red Hook High School boys’ basketball team. Forty years later – 37 of which were spent as the Raiders’ coach – Chando joined an exclusive club on Thursday night. Red Hook, which just moved back into the state rankings on Wednesday, was all over Webutuck, 81-21, giving Chando his 600th career victory. He is just the sixth high school boys’ basketball coach in New York State history to achieve 600 victories for his career. He is now 600-177. The outcome was fait accompli; the Warriors came into the game winless in nine tries and Red Hook has certainly rebounded from its upset loss to New Paltz. But, because of the snowy weather since Christmas, No. 600 has been delayed several times. The 62-year old Chando, who was inducted into the state basketball Hall of Fame in 2005, is now No. 6 on the list of winningest coaches led by the legendary Jack Curran at Archbishop Molloy in New York City with 924 victories. Ed Petrie of East Hampton is next with 754, followed by Chuck Granby of Campus Magnet (665), Jack Halloran of Whitney Point (630) and Trinity’s Dudley Maxim (619). Ryan Dalton led Red Hook with 20 points and Chris Loftus added 16 points and 17 rebounds.
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| Bernasconi to sign with Providence to play field hockey And yet another local high school athlete is set to sign a National Letter of Intent. And it’s becoming pretty obvious that the John Jay High School field hockey team had some serious talent on the roster this past season. Days after her teammate announced her college choice, Jay’s Daniella Bernasconi will sign with Providence College to play field hockey for the Friars. Bernasconi will actually sign her letter on Tuesday, Feb. 8, in a ceremony at the school. The signing period begins on Wednesday, Feb. 2. Her teammate, Jade Dennett, has already chosen to play at Colgate. | | Red Foxes fall to St. Peter's JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Another game, another loss for the reeling Marist College men’s basketball team, as the Red Foxes suffered an 85-53 defeat at Saint Peter’s in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) game played at the Yanitelli Center on Thursday evening. Sophomore point guard Devin Price led the Red Foxes with 14 points. Freshman forward Adam Kemp notched nine points, six rebounds and four blocked shots. Wesley Jenkins of Saint Peter’s led all scorers with 16 points, which included a 5-for-8 performance from three-point range. Darius Conley had 10 points and a game-high 16 rebounds for the Peacocks. Saint Peter’s led wire-to-wire and scored the first five points of the game. After a jumper by Marist freshman swingman Jay Bowie cut the Peacocks’ lead to 9-7 with 18:04 remaining in the first half, Saint Peter’s responded by going on a 12-0 run over the next 3:56. The Red Foxes then clawed their way back, and a three-pointer by Price cut their deficit to 21-16 with 11:56 left in the first half. However, Saint Peter’s was able to widen its margin on the strength of a 23-2 run, which encompassed a stretch of nine minutes. The Peacocks led 46-23 at halftime, and the closest the Red Foxes would come in the second half was 17 points. Saint Peter’s shot .534 (31-for-58) from the field and .500 (10-for-20) from three-point range. Marist shot just .340 (16-for-47) from the field and .190 (4-for-21) from three-point range. The Red Foxes did shoot .708 (17-for-24) from the free-throw line. Saint Peter’s held a 42-25 edge in rebounding, and committed just 12 turnovers compared to 16 for the Red Foxes. Marist is now 4-18 overall and 3-7 in MAAC play; Saint Peter’s improved to 12-9 overall and 7-3 in conference. The Red Foxes will return to action on Sunday, when they host Manhattan at the McCann Center. Tip-off is set for noon, and the game will be televised on MSG and MASN as part of the MAAC television package. Marist will also host Take a Kid to the Game Day, as all fans ages 14 and under will receive free admission with the purchase of a full-price adult ticket. |
ANUARY 27, 2010 Ross earns another accolade, named Section Nine Player of the Year By Rich Thomaselli HVSR It’s been more than two months since Millbrook High School’s Jimmy Ross last put on the football pads for the Blazers. But his storybook year continues. On Sunday, Ross was named the Section Nine Football Coaches Association Player of the Year at the organization’s annual banquet. The award covers all five classes – AA, A, B, C and D, which is quite an impressive feat considering the accolades that the section’s other players also received, including Monroe-Woodbury quarterback Trevor Officer. “Jimmy started the season running by returning the opening kickoff (for a touchdown) against Spackenkill and didn't stop having an unreal season,” Millbrook coach Sean Keenan said. Ross finished with 1,362 yards rushing, 19 touchdowns on the ground, three from the air, five more on kick returns, one on an interception return, and a total of 2,199 all-purpose yards. For his efforts, Ross was named the Hudson Valley Sports Report Offensive Player of the Year. “Jimmy's dedication in the weight room and classroom makes him the perfect example of a student/athlete,” Keenan said. “He is a quiet leader who led by an unbelievable work ethic. I'm sure we will use Jimmy as an example to our younger players what hard work and doing things the ‘Millbrook Football Way’ will do for them.”
| | Beacon's Alexander to run off to Northeastern By Rich Thomaselli HVSR Beacon High School’s Victoria Alexander started out her athletic career by playing a little soccer, a little softball and a little basketball, and there was always one common denominator. “I was always the fastest kid on the team,” she said. “My dad was always telling me I should try running track, and I always put it off.” Now she’s racing all the way to a scholarship – Alexander will sign a National Letter of Intent next week to run track at Northeastern University in Boston. The senior devoted her skills full-time to track as a sophomore. Last year, during her junior year outdoor season, she lowered her time to 24.60 seconds in the 200 meters at the New York State championships. “I think that was the time and the performance that took her from being a decent recruit to a blue-chip recruit,” said Beacon track coach Jim Henry. “I think once she really got into track, she realized how good she could be and what the opportunities were.” She did. “I think one of the things I like about track is that it’s individual,” Alexander said. “You’re responsible for you. If you make a mistake it’s on you; you’re not relying on anybody else. Plus, I like that it’s easier to be seen by (college) coaches.” Alexander was recruited by more than a dozen schools, including Michigan State and Richmond, but there was a rhyme and a reason to selecting Northeastern – friends and education. The school is famous for its five-year program in which the “middler” year can be used for internships or a year abroad. And, she’ll be comfortable there since former Beacon teammates Tejorn Davis, James Hall and Alex Shapiro compete on Northeastern’s men’s track and field team. “A bunch of my friends go there and I’m really close to them. And I wanted to go to a city that wasn’t as big as New York, but wasn’t in the middle of nowhere, either,” Alexander said. “With the educational program, that was the key. I wanted to make sure I came out of school and was going to be successful. Athletics is important but education is more important.” | |
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Army men waste 15-2 lead, blown out at home WEST POINT – For the second straight game, Army jumped out to an early double-digit lead, but could not sustain the momentum in an 83-60 loss to Lafayette in Patriot League men’s basketball action at Christl Arena on Wednesday evening.
Army (10-11, 2-4 PL) led 15-2 in the opening minutes, but the Leopards (8-13, 3-3 PL) roared back to lead by six at halftime and by as many as 24 in the second half.
Sophomore Ella Ellis registered his second career double-double with a career-high 28 points and 10 rebounds. Ellis shot 10-for-16 from the field, including a career-high five three-pointers in seven tries. It is his third consecutive 20-point effort. Senior Jeremy Hence added 12 points. The rest of the team combined to shoot 6-for-28 overall and 2-for-12 from three-point range.
Nick Petkovich hit six three-pointers en route to 18 points for the Leopards. As a team, Lafayette was 10-for-23 form three-point range and shot 51.7 percent for the game. Jared Mintz led the team with 20 points, while Tony Johnson and Jim Mower added 13 and 11, respectively, to round out the Leopards’ top scorers.
Army hit 38.6 percent from the field, including 7-for-23 (.304) from three-point range. The Black Knights have allowed their opponents to shoot a higher percentage in all 11 of their losses this season. Lafayette also owned a 40-26 rebounding edge, including 16 offensive boards.
The Black Knights have allowed 80-or-more points in back-to-back games and have lost 24 of their last 25 games when giving up at least 80 points.
After their 1-for-11 start to the game, the Leopards finished the half 13 of their last 21, to shoot 43.8 percent for the half, including a 7-for-16 mark from deep. Army shot 44.8 percent overall, including 4-for-8 from deep. The Leopards also held a 21-15 edge on the glass in the first half.
Ellis led all scorers with 15 points, including three three-pointers. Petkovich scored all of his team-high points from three.
The Leopards picked up where they left off, starting the second half on a 16-4 run to claim a 56-38 with 16:14 left in the second half. Army closed within 14 points after Ellis’ fifth three-pointer, but the Leopards scored the next five points to take a 65-46 advantage with 13:38 to go.
Lafayette scored six of the next seven points to stretch its lead to 71-47 with 9:03 remaining. Army scored the next six points, but the Leopards answered with a 12-4 run of their own to take its largest lead at 83-57 with 1:36 to go.
The Leopards have now scored three straight victories over the Black Knights.
The Black Knights continue their four-game homestand on Saturday versus league-leading Bucknell. Tip-off at Christl Arena is set for 4 p.m.
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JANUARY 26, 2010 | Sullivan steps down at John Jay, to take assistant position at Marist By Rich Thomaselli HVSR Simply put, it was time. Time to try the next level. John Jay High School girls’ soccer coach Darryl Sullivan has resigned from the program and has taken a new position as the assistant men’s soccer coach at Marist College, effective immediately. “Being a teacher is my No. 1 job and it’s the reason I got involved in coaching. But you’re always looking for a challenge elsewhere,” Sullivan told HVSR. “Leaving is especially tough. But I have a pretty good relationship with (Marist head coach Matt Viggiano), we’re both involved in the soccer community, and he approached me and the whole idea of the way he does things caught my attention.” Sullivan spent the last five years at Jay, compiling a record of 94-8-5, winning two state titles and numerous top-10 national rankings. In 2008 Sullivan earned ESPN Rise National Coach of the Year. Sullivan was also named the National Soccer Coaches' Association of America (NSCAA) New York State and Regional Coach of the Year. Prior to his time at John Jay, Sullivan was co-head coach of the boys' soccer program at Roy C. Ketcham. In five years there, Sullivan helped guide the program to three New York State Final Fours and compiled an 81-22-8 record. In 10 years of varsity high school coaching, Sullivan has compiled a record of 175-30-13 record. “You know, I never thought I’d be as successful as I was in coaching,” he said. “Really, it was all the kids. We had a special group with the girls.” “It's a no brainer to bring someone of Darryl's pedigree into our program,” Viggiano said. “His history of success and ties to the Hudson River Valley made his hire a win-win for Marist.” Currently, Sullivan is a club coach at Soccer Plus Academy a premier club located in the Hudson Valley. As a player Sullivan competed for John Jay and earned All-State Honors. He is a member of Thomas Macrini Hall of Fame. He played collegiate soccer at Virginia Wesleyan College. Sullivan graduated from Mount Saint Mary College with a degree in History and Education and his Masters in Secondary Education from Mercy College. | | Poughkeepsie's Williams to sign with Wagner; Jay's Dennett to play field hockey at Colgate By Rich Thomaselli HVSR Jarrid Williams said the recruiting process was like a shopping trip. “It’s like when you go look for a great pair of sneakers,” the Poughkeepsie High School football star said. “You go from store to store trying on different pairs, but when you see that perfect pair you just know it. That’s what Wagner did for me. I just knew it was the place I wanted to spend my next four years at.” Williams, a first-team Hudson Valley Sports Report All-Star at safety, will sign a letter of intent next week to take his talents to the next level at Wagner College under legendary coach Walt Hameline. The Seahawks are a Football Championship Subdivision school, or formerly Division I-AA. National Signing Day is Wednesday, Feb. 2, and Williams isn’t the only one putting the signature to the dotted line. John Jay field hockey star Jade Dennett will sign her letter of intent to play at Colgate in a special ceremony at the school on Feb. 3. Fordham, Albany, Rhode Island and Stony Brook were also recruiting Williams, but in the end he felt more comfortable down on Staten Island at Wagner. And, like that sneaker, “Wagner just felt right to me,” Williams said. And the Seahawks aren’t just getting a good player, they’re getting an unselfish one. Williams quarterbacked Poughkeepsie to the Section One, Class A championship game in his junior year by throwing for more than 1,000 yards and running for 400 more. But he knew he wanted to play defense in college, and he knew the Pioneers had an up-and-coming thrower in Fabian Stone, so Williams stepped away from the game’s premier position. “He could have easily remained in that position and had another outstanding year, but Jarrid knew that he wanted to play defense in college and within our program we had another QB with a great arm and accuracy,” Poughkeepsie coach Ken Barger said. “Jarrid never once went back on his move and was exceptional at strong safety.” Williams had 73 tackles this past season, this time leading Poughkeepsie back to the Section One, Class A semifinals but as a defender. “He’s become the model for what we’d like a Poughkeepsie football player to be,” Barger said. “Jarrid is a special young man and someone that our football family celebrates. We are so happy for Jarrid, his mother and father, and his younger brother. A scholarship is not just a chance to play football in college, but in Poughkeepsie, we view it as a gift that helps the family achieve the goal of sending the next generation to college.” | |
JANUARY 25, 2010 Arlington does it again Admirals knock off John Jay, zero in on girls' hoop title
WICCOPEE – It’s been a heck of a ride so far this season for the Arlington High School girls’ basketball team, and in many respects it’s only just beginning. Because at this rate, the Admirals are looking at locking down one of the top seeds in Section One, Class AA and making a serious run at the state playoffs. Arlington all but locked up the league championship on Monday night, rallying from an eight-point second-half deficit to beat John Jay on the road, 43-39, in a Conference I, League A game. The Admirals are now 12-1 overall and 6-0 in the league. John Jay fell to 9-4 and 3-2. Our Lady of Lourdes, which beat Poughkeepsie on Monday, is in second place in the league at 4-2. But Arlington’s two-game bulge on OLL is really three games – the Admirals have already defeated the Warriors once this year. “We’re just extremely proud of the way the girls stayed together and persevered tonight,” Arlington coach Kim Costello said of the victory over Jay. “Our bigs were phenomenal tonight. They controlled the boards and were all over the place. Their hard work inside on both ends of the court was the difference in the game.” Post players Nicole Spaulding and Jocelyn Strack led the Admirals. Spaulding had 16 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks, while Strack had seven points 14 boards and four blocks. Nicole Lanteri added 11 points, all in the second half, and four steals. “I thought our guards did a great job of defending their shooters and taking care of the ball down the stretch as well,” Costello said. Cate Ruland had 12 points for the Patriots and Brittney Gullo added 10 with eight rebounds. John Jay led by eight with three minutes to play in the third quarter but Arlington clamped down on defense down the stretch, holding the Patriots to one field goal in the final four minutes of the contest. “In the second half we struggled defensively and offensively,” Jay coach Larry Brooks said of his team, which was outscored 24-15 after halftime. “It wasn’t by any means pretty. They did some things really well. They’re a good team, well-coached and they have a lot of great athletes.”
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| Highland, Saugerties split basketball games HIGHLAND – It was a split decision for the Highland and Saugerties high school basketball teams on Monday night. In Highland, Lucas Veltrie had a game-high 19 points as visiting Saugerties beat the Huskies, 64-47, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League game. The Sawyers were able to pull away from a tight three-point lead at halftime to win the game. Highland’s Devon Palmatier BASKETBALL |
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had 16 points to lead the Huskies.
Up in Saugerties, Alex Garcia had a game-high 24 points and Highland outlasted the Sawyers, 55-50. Emily Rowan had 16 points for Saugerties. Dover starts flat, falls to JFK SOMERS – The middle was great. The beginning and the end? Not so much. The Dover High School boys’ basketball team got off to a rough start, battled back in the second and third quarters, and then watched John F. Kennedy pull away Monday night for an 84-56 win over the Dragons. Jalen LaCourt led Dover with 17 points. Dover trailed by 21 points after one period, but came roaring back to pull within four late in the third quarter. But the Gaels scored the last seven points of the third period and went on a 25-8 blitz in the fourth period to salt the game away. Daivon Lloyd added 13 points for the Dragons and Brendan Harriott had 11. | | Baker’s Dozen Marist wins 13th straight game
POUGHKEEPSIE – The Baker’s Dozen was on the line, and the Loyola (Md.) College women’s basketball team gave Marist a little heat on Monday night. But not that much. Marist saw its 20-point halftime lead cut to as little as seven late in the second half, but the Red Foxes were able to hold off the second-place Greyhounds, 62-52, in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) contest at the McCann Center for its 13th consecutive victory. Marist (17-2, 7-0 MAAC) was paced by a game-high 22 points from senior guard Erica Allenspach. She shot 9-for-10 from the floor and made both of her three pointers. In addition to her nearly flawless shooting day, Allenspach added six rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal in 37 minutes of action. She was joined in double figures by junior guard Corielle Yarde, who netted 14 points and went 7-for-8 at the free throw line. Sophomore Kate Oliver made four field goals including a three pointer. She scored nine points. With the teams deadlocked at seven with 16:08 to play in the first half, Marist used a 13-1 run over a span of 4:20 to take a 20-8 lead. The run was sparked by an Oliver jumper and was capped on a layup by Allenspach. She scored 15 points in the first half. During the spurt the Red Foxes held the Greyhounds without a field goal for 7:57. Marist closed the half on a 9-0 run in the final 5:48 of the period. Senior Maria Laterza grew the lead to 20 points, 35-15, on a hook shot from the right baseline with 1:04 left in the period. Loyola went without a field goal for the final 6:07 of the half. The Red Foxes held a 14-4 advantage in the paint and scored 13 points off 10 Loyola turnovers. Miriam McKenzie scored the first three points of the second half for Loyola in 36 seconds to cut the Greyhounds' deficit to 35-18. After Marist pushed the lead to 21, 48-27, its largest lead of the game on an Allenspach jump shot with 10:22 left, Loyola answered with a 9-3 run to get to within 15 points, 51-36 with 7:16 remaining.
During the Loyola run Yarde was the only scorer for Marist. She hit a triple. Erica DiClemente had the first five points of the run for Loyola. Katie Sheahin and Alyssa Sutherland each had baskets for the Greyhounds. The Red Foxes pushed the lead back to 17 points, but Loyola continued to answer. The Greyhounds used a 10-2 run over 2:35 to get as close as seven points with 1:57 remaining. A McKenzie three-point play made the score 56-49, but the Greyhounds would draw no closer. In the final 1:33 of the game, Marist hit six free throws to seal the victory and garner its closest MAAC win of the season, a 10-point margin. The Red Foxes shot an even 40 percent from the field in the game and made 22 of 55 field goals. Loyola shot 35.7 percent (20-for-56) from the field, a percentage which was bolstered in the second half behind 14-for-27 shooting in the stanza. Marist held the edge on the glass 40-37 and dished out 10 assists behind a team-high four from Élise Caron. | |
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Parks reaches 1,000 points, Vassar holds off MSV POUGHKEEPSIE – On the night when junior guard Brittany Parks became just the 8th player in Vassar College women’s basketball history to reach 1,000 points, Mount Saint Vincent College did everything in its power to ruin the milestone evening. Parks made sure her night remained unspoiled, however, in leading the Brewers to a 71-60 victory Monday night at the Athletics & Fitness Center.
For the game weary Brewers, who were playing their sixth contest in the last 11 days, it took 35 minutes of action to shake off a pesky and determined Dolphins team that forced 11 ties in the contest and had the game knotted 54-54 with 5:11 to play.
But in the game’s last five minutes, when the Brewers needed clutch baskets, freshman guard Cydni Matsuoka delivered a big 3-pointer and senior guard Carolyn Crampton canned back-to-back baskets from the left wing to create the necessary breathing room. To augment its opportune offense, the Vassar defense then clamped down on the Dolphins, causing consecutive turnovers. Then, with the game’s balance still teetering in either direction, Parks drained a 3-pointer with 2:18 to play that provided an 11-point lead at 67-56 lead and secured a hard-earned victory.
Vassar, now winners of seven of its last eight games, improves to 10-6 on the season – just the second double figures win total in the last ten years – following a 15-10 season in 2000-01. For the majority of the game, however, it looked as though the Dolphins would upset the Brewers and snap their losing streak. Mount Saint Vincent went into intermission leading 27-26. In a half where the Dolphins were able to counter punch every Vassar attack, the visitors managed to erase an early 18-13 Vassar lead and build a 27-24 lead with 1:12 to play. If not for Mount St. Vincent’s 15 first half turnovers that allowed Vassar to score 12 points off, the one-point halftime lead would have been larger.
The Dolphins remained determined and tenacious for 15 minutes of the second half, but the Brewers continued to force turnovers and capitalize, scoring 13 points off 11 Dolphin miscues. Still, Mount Saint Vincent held a 54-53 lead after freshman guard Desiree Rosa made one of two free throws with 5:58 to play. Vassar went ahead 55-54 at the 5:11 mark following two free throws by Parks. A 3-pointer by Matsuoka pushed the Brewers ahead 58-54, and in one last gasp for victory, the Dolphins drew within 58-56 after freshman guard Bragilyn Ates made a jumper inside the lane.
The Brewers closed out the game by scoring in bunches in the final 4:13 of play, getting buckets from freshman forward Hannah Senftleber, Matsuoka, Crampton and Parks to build a double digit lead and secure the tenth victory of the season.
Parks led the Brewers with 19 points and five assists, the 15th time in 16 games that she has tallied double figures. Senftleber scored 17 points and added a career-high 15 rebounds for her 8th double-double of the season. Matsuoka contributed an efficient 16 points. Crampton scored her entire nine points in the all-important second half.
Mount Saint Vincent was led by senior guard Kerry O’Connor with 17 points and junior forward Kara McNish with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
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JANUARY 23, 2010
Marist Gangs up on Manhattan Red Fox women make it an even dozen wins in a row
 Junior Brandy Gang, in a game from earlier this season. |
RIVERDALE – This is exactly what Marist College women’s basketball coach Brian Giorgis envisioned this year – every game a different player stepping up.
Saturday it was junior forward Brandy Gang, who tied a career-high with 19 points as the Red Foxes defeated the Manhattan Lady Jaspers 75-52 in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) game at Draddy Gymnasium. That’s 12 consecutive victories for Marist, which is now 16-2 overall and 7-0 atop the league. Gang shot 8-for-10 from the field and 3-for-4 from three-point range, scoring 17 of her 19 points in the first half as she shot 7-for-8 from the field and hit all three of her tries from beyond the arc. Junior guard Corielle Yarde had a strong second half where she scored 12 of her 17 points. Senior guard Erica Allenspach added 14 points and nailed five of her nine field goal attempts. She also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, including four on the offensive end. After Abby Wentworth hit a three to open the scoring for Manhattan, the Red Foxes with a 10-0 run over the next 3:05 to take a 10-3 lead. During the run Marist used three Gang layups, a triple by Allenspach. Sophomore Kate Oliver also split a pair of foul shots. The Lady Jaspers got as close as four, 10-6, on a Monica Roeder three-pointer with 14:22 to play. The Red Foxes responded by pushing the lead to double figures on a brief 8-0 run fueled by a Kristine Best layup and back-to-back threes from Allenspach and Kelsey Beynnon. Beynnon scored her five first half points in succession. Marist grew its first half lead to as many as 19 on two instances in the final 1:21 of the stanza. Roeder hit a jumper with five seconds left in the period to make the halftime score 38-21. In the stanza, Marist shot 53.8 percent (14-for-26) from the field.
Over the first 3:10 of the second half the Red Foxes used a 9-0 to push the lead to 26 points, 47-21. Gang scored her final basket of the game to start the period. Allenspach followed with a layup of her own and Yarde scored the final five points of the spurt with a triple and layup. The Red Foxes pushed the lead to as many as 31 on three occasions. Layups by Yarde, Casey Dulin and a three by Emma O'Connor at the 6:57, 5:47 and 4:20 marks, respectively. Marist shot 48.3 percent (29-for-60) from the field in the game and the Red Foxes scored 28 points in the paint to the Lady Jaspers' eight. Marist held a 41-31 edge on the boards and totaled 18 assists against just seven turnovers. The Red Foxes will return home to the McCann Center on Monday when they host the Loyola Greyhounds at 7:30 p.m.
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| Hackett scores 2,000th career point, but Haldane triumphs COLD SPRING – It was triumphant and bittersweet at the same time. GIRLS' BASKETBALL |
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Pawling High School girls’ basketball star Margo Hackett scored her 2,000th career point on Saturday afternoon – by far the most in school history, boys or girls – but it came in a 73-42 loss to Haldane. Determined not to be upstaged, Haldane standout Liz Milner scored a game-high 32 points. “She played phenomenally well,” Haldane coach Tyrone Searight said of Milner. “I don’t know, I think she had something personal with Margo going. They just went basket for basket for a while.” Hackett’s milestone point came early in the fourth quarter on a three-point shot. She needed 13 points going in, and now has 2,011 career points – 800 more than the next Pawling player. The game was stopped to acknowledge the achievement. “It was certainly bittersweet,” said Pawling coach Jeff Hackett, Margo’s father. “I’m sure she would have liked to get it under different circumstances, but we have a young team and these things happen.” Erin Percicciolo scored 14 points for the Blue Devils, who improved to 10-3 overall. | | OLL hangs tough in Poughkeepsie loss POUGHKEEPSIE – Somebody should probably get a tape of Saturday’s boys’ basketball game between state-ranked Poughkeepsie and Our Lady of Lourdes high schools. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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The underdog Warriors didn’t win, but they sure as heck gave the No. 4 Pioneers a tough game. OLL was still within eight midway through the third quarter when Poughkeepsie finally went on one of its patented runs, and the Pioneers went on to a 72-54 victory over Lourdes in a Conference I, League A game. Poughkeepsie is now 12-0 overall and 5-0 in league play. Lourdes fell to 4-8 and 3-3. “I was happy with our play for three quarters tonight, and thought we were competitive through the entire game,” Lourdes coach Jim Santoro said. OLL was right there with the Pioneers, doing a nice job of handling their full-court press and controlling tempo with its defense. The Warriors trailed by only four after the first period and 10 at the break, and were only down by eight when Nate Gause scored eight of his team-high 21 points in the third quarter to break open the game. “Poughkeepsie is very disciplined and when they sense trouble, they are able to really focus,” Santoro said. “That focus allows them to make big plays.” Elijah McLaurin had 16 points for Poughkeepsie. Grant Thomas of Lourdes led all scorers with 24 points. | |
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Loyola rallies to defeat Marist men, 75-69 POUGHKEEPSIE – In front of the bright lights of the MSG Channel cameras, the Marist College men’s basketball team put up a good fight on Saturday afternoon. But the Red Foxes’ good just wasn’t good enough. Marist came back from a 12-point halftime deficit to take a second-half lead, but couldn’t hang on and lost to Loyola (Md.), 75-69, at the James J. McCann Recreation Center. Red-shirt sophomore swingman Dorvell Carter led the Red Foxes with a career-high 16 points to go along with six rebounds. Freshman forward Adam Kemp had his second career double-double with a career-high 13 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots. Sophomore point guard Devin Price scored 14 points and tied his career high with nine assists. Sophomore guard Sam Prescott gave the Red Foxes four scorers in double digits with 11. Loyola’s Robert Olson led all scorers with 21 points, with 19 coming in the second half. J’hared Hall and Justin Drummond added 16 and 14 off the bench, respectively. Shane Walker tied Kemp for the game high in rebounds with 12. Marist jumped out to an early nine-point lead, as a three-pointer by Price put the Red Foxes up 14-5 at the 13:26 mark of the first half. However, the Greyhounds responded by going on a 23-5 run over the next 8:08 to take a nine-point lead. A three-pointer by Hall with 38 seconds left in the first half gave the Greyhounds their largest lead of the game at 40-28 going into halftime. After a jumper from Drummond put Loyola up 44-37 with 14:37 to go, the Red Foxes held the Greyhounds scoreless over the next 5:01, and a basket by Kemp capped a 9-0 run that saw the Red Foxes reclaim the lead at 46-44. The next seven minutes saw five lead changes and three ties, but a pair of free throws by Walker with 2:37 gave the Greyhounds the lead for good. Marist shot .451 (23-for-51) from the field, while Loyola shot .426 (23-for-54). Both teams hit eight three-pointers. Loyola was 21-for-29 from the line (.724) – including 10-for-11 in the final three minutes of play – while Marist was 15-for-20 (.750). Loyola held a 39-29 edge in rebounding. Both teams committed just eight turnovers. Loyola is now 10-9 overall and 6-3 in the MAAC; Marist is now 4-17 overall and 3-6 in conference play. The Red Foxes will return to action on Thursday, when they meet conference rival Saint Peter’s for the first time this season. Tip-off at the Yanitelli Center in Jersey City, N.J. is set for 7 p.m.
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JANUARY 21, 2010 Marist falters on and off the court Red Foxes lose game and two players to grades LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – The Marist College men’s basketball program lost more than just a game last night.  It’s starting to lose credibility. For the second time in two seasons, two Red Fox players have been academically suspended. Guard R.J. Hall is lost for the remainder of the year after failing to meet the school’s academic standards. It was the second consecutive season that Marist has been forced to sideline Hall (pictured) because of grades. Also, senior Dejuan Goodwin’s career is over after failing to meet NCAA-mandated academic minimums. The school did not provide any other information to Hudson Valley Sports Report, and as of 1 a.m. this morning still had not updated its website with either the news of the academic suspensions nor results of the game. On the court, Marist dropped to 4-16 after losing at Rider, 80-66, in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game. Junior Brandon Penn scored 20 points to lead Rider. The victory ended a two-game home losing streak. “It was nice to get a win at home,” said Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey. The win was Rider's ninth in the last 13 games. The loss was the third in a row for Marist and the 10th in the last 12 games. Rider (13-7, 5-3 MAAC) began the second half by out-scoring Marist 13-1, with seven points by freshman Danny Stewart, and turned a tight three-point game at the half into a 48-33 lead with 15:02 left to play. Stewart finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots on his 19th birthday. “We are better this year because Danny is here,” Dempsey said of his rookie post player. “He's given us a presence inside.” Trailing 55-37, Marist (4-16, 3-5 MAAC) went on a 9-2 run, thanks to six points by sophomore guard Candon Rusin, to cut the Rider lead to 57-46 with 8:00 left to play. Rusin finished with 18 points. Trailing 64-49, Marist outscored Rider 7-0 to cut the lead to 64-56 with 3:20 left, and later went on a 5-0 burst to cut the lead to 67-61 with 2:10 left, but that was as close as the Red Foxes could get. Devin Price finished with 15 points. “Give Marist credit, they played well,” Dempsey said. “They played with confidence.”
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| Pine Plains boys upset state-ranked New Paltz, 68-63 NEW PALTZ – The New Paltz High School boys’ basketball team learned this week that it was ranked when the new state polls came out, and deservedly so.  The Huguenots are having a solid season at 8-2, including an upset win over state semifinalist Red Hook.
Somebody forgot to tell Pine Plains. The Bombers, who are having an equally fine season, got 27 points and five rebounds from Rob Lamont and knocked off New Paltz, 68-63, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League game on Wednesday night. Pine Plains is now 8-2 overall. “It was a big win for us,” Pine Plains coach Brendan LoBrutto said. “My guys played well tonight, but we still have a lot of things to iron out for us to reach our full potential.” Justin Cooper added 21 points, including a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line, for the Bombers. Cooper also had eight rebounds, two steals and a block. Tyler Lydon had eight points, Zach Lydon had five, and Marquise VanDeWater played another steady game with seven points and seven assists. VanDeWater is the only starting senior for Pine Plains. “I have a young team,” LoBrutto said, “but these guys are starting to play like veterans.”
| | Meekins delivers career high, Haldane boys take road win over Pawling PAWLING – All season long, Haldane High School boys’ basketball coach Joe Virgadamo has talked about the quiet, steady progression of point guard Jimmy Meekins. Meekins, Virgadamo said, is just one reason why the Blue Devils are a surprising 8-3 after winning just seven games total last year. Make it 9-3. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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Meekins scored a career-high 18 points Thursday night, and Haldane went on the road to beat Pawling, 57-41, in a Conference I, League D game. “He just played really well,” Virgadamo said of Meekins. “He’s just getting smarter and smarter every game. He penetrates when it’s there, and takes his jumper when they step back and play off of him.” Jackson Zuvic led Haldane with 22 points. Thomas Cameron had 13 for the Tigers and Justin Mayette added 10. “We were a little sluggish after playing (Wednesday) night. We really didn’t have the legs, but we played smart,” Virgadamo said. “We pushed when we should and walked it up when we should and we played hard defensively.”
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New Paltz girls beat Bombers for first win GIRLS' BASKETBALL |
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PINE PLAINS – The New Paltz High School girls’ basketball team came off the bus shooting and never slowed up, and that’s why the Huguenots are on the ‘W’ side of the ledger for the first time this year. Allison Ricci scored all 12 of her points in the first half as New Paltz jumped to an 18-11 lead en route to a 50-41 Mid-Hudson Athletic League victory over Pine Plains on Wednesday night. New Paltz is now 1-9 on the season; the Bombers fell to 3-8. “Congratulations to New Paltz for their first win. New Paltz played harder than us and outhustled us to loose balls and rebounds all night,” Pine Plains coach Eric Sullivan said. “They deserved the win and I'm sure they are going to win a few more games this year.” New Paltz’s Makenzie Quick took over for Ricci, scoring all 14 of her points in the second half |
JANUARY 19, 2010 Admirals, Jay set for showdown
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| Gullo goes for 19 in Patriots win WICCOPEE – The John Jay High School girls’ basketball team got what it wanted – for Friday night’s game against Arlington to mean something. GIRLS' BASKETBALL |
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In this instance, it means a share of first place. Brittney Gullo had 19 points and seven rebounds, and the Patriots moved into sole possession of second place in Conference I, League A with a 48-39 win over Our Lady of Lourdes on Wednesday night. Jay hosts first-place Arlington, to whom it lost earlier this month, on Friday night. “Our defense was the key to tonight’s success,” John Jay coach Larry Brooks said. “Maggie (Gallagher) and Cate (Ruland) both switched up defensively on Teneka. She got her points, but she had to work for them.” OLL star Teneka Whittaker had a game-high 19 points, but the Patriots were able to slow her down, particularly in the third quarter when the Warriors scored only two points. Gallagher had eight points and three assists, Ruland had nine points, but the big damage was done on the boards. Carlee Hirt (seven points) had nine rebounds, and Brittany Gregory and Calli Balfour had seven and 11 boards, respectively, off the bench. | | Rywalt's career-high leads Arlington BEACON – Still unbeaten in league play. The Arlington High School girls’ basketball team continued one of the best seasons in school history Wednesday night, beating Beacon 47-30 behind a career-high 19 points and seven steals from Jackie Rywalt. The Admirals are 11-1 overall and 5-0 in Conference I, League A, a game up on John Jay. Arlington and Jay meet on Friday night in Wiccopee in a big game. GIRLS' BASKETBALL |
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“Jay just earned a big win over Lourdes tonight, so I know they will be ready to play us,” Arlington coach Kim Costello said. “I expect a good, tough battle between two good teams, as is usually the case when we play each other. I feel we are both very similar teams – both well-rounded, with a lot of offensive threats, and good team defense – so it should be a very competitive game.” Rywalt got help from teammate Nicole Lanteri, who had 13 points, six steals and three assists. Jocelyn Strack had 11 rebounds and three blocks, Nicole Spaulding added seven boards and four blocks, Stevi Sala also had seven rebounds to go with four steals and three assists, and TK Starzyk came off the bench to grab five rebounds. Brittani Romanelli led Beacon with 11 points. | |
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Fairy tale continues -- Haldane boys win again BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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COLD SPRING – The fairy tale season continues. Four players scored in double figures and a fifth had nine points, and the Haldane High School boys’ basketball team beat Lincoln Hall, 72-66, in a Conference I, League C game on Wednesday night. The Blue Devils, who won seven games total last year, are now 8-3 overall. “The guys are really working hard. They’re buying into it,” Haldane coach Joe Virgadamo said. “We’re ahead of where we’ve been the last few years. The guys are focused. We’re working on little things and that’s why we’re ahead of the game this year.” Virgadamo said this is the first time the Blue Devils have beaten Lincoln Hall in his five years as coach. Jackson Zuvic led the way with 24 points, but was also nursing foul trouble, allowing Will Hoffman to step up with a career-high 17 points. Elias Lopez came off the bench to score 12 points, Jimmy Meekins had 10 and Paul Mackey added nine. |
Segarra's 24 points lift Jay to big road win POUGHKEEPSIE – Nick Segarra scored nine of his 24 points in the first quarter to jump-start the John Jay High School boys’ basketball team, and the Patriots went wire-to-wire for a 54-43 victory over Our Lady of Lourdes on Wednesday in a Conference I, League A game. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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“It was a game that I thought our kids executed the game plan really well,” John Jay coach Matt Hayes said. “We knew offensively they were a very good shooting team. They get good ball movement, and they’re always a good half-court defensive team, so we knew it was going to be tough. So it’s a good road win for us.”
Daen Riviere had 10 points for the Patriots, who did a solid job defensively in holding OLL to just three three-pointers. Nick Makris had a career-high 17 points to lead the Warriors. “We thought that’s where they were strongest coming into the game,” Hayes said of OLL’s perimeter play. “And I liked our ball movement on offense. We were very aggressive.” John Jay led by seven after one quarter, eight at the half and opened an 18-point lead heading into the final period. Lourdes got as close as seven in a frantic final frame. “Jay did a nice job defending our perimeter game and forced us to make adjustments that we just were not comfortable with,” OLL coach Jim Santoro said. “Segarra hit some big shots for them that prevented us from making a run. Jay did what they had to do tonight to win, and we didn't.”
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| Pioneers move to 11-0 POUGHKEEPSIE – Basheem Bennett and Nate Gause scored 17 points each, and the Poughkeepsie High School boys’ basketball team remained unbeaten with an 86-48 win over Roy C. Ketcham on Wednesday night. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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The Pioneers, 11-0 and ranked fifth in the state in Class AA, are also 4-0 atop Conference I, League A. Ketcham fell to 4-7 and 2-2.
“Ketcham came out and played extremely hard on defense,” Poughkeepsie coach Brian Laffin said, “I thought both teams struggled due to the lack of practice the last couple of days, but we were able to grind it out and get some separation with our defense.” Gause added nine rebounds to his 17 points. Ronnell Epps came off the bench to score 13 for Poughkeepsie. Steve Bizzaro led RCK with 14 points. | | Pawling takes down JFK; Hackett zeroes in on 2,000 PAWLING – Everybody knows Margo Hackett is the unquestioned star of the Pawling High School girls’ basketball team and one of the best players in the area. GIRLS' BASKETBALL |
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That’s the problem – everybody knows, and they throw two, sometimes three defenders at her. But this time, her teammates stepped up. For the first time all season, the Tigers had a player score in double figures whose last name wasn’t Hackett, and Pawling beat John F. Kennedy, 53-41, in a Conference I, League D game on Wednesday night. Pawling is now 6-5 overall. Hackett, despite being triple-teamed much of the game, still scored 25 points but teammate Erin Waters, a freshman center, chipped in with 10 to help the Tigers to victory. “It was a good win for us,” Pawling coach Jeff Hackett, Margo’s father, said. “Our younger kids are starting to get a little more comfortable to put themselves in position of being a threat. It was a real team win.” Margo Hackett, already signed to play at Pace University next year, will be gunning for 2,000 career points on Saturday night at Haldane. She is 13 points shy. | |
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Fareed's late 3-pointer keys Beacon victory BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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FREEDOM PLAINS – Dayvonne Fareed knocked down a huge three-pointer with less than a minute to play, and the Beacon High School boys’ basketball team rallied to beat Arlington, 55-53, in a Conference I, League A game on Wednesday night. The Bulldogs improved to 5-7 overall and 2-2 in the league, while the struggling Admirals fell to 4-8 and 0-5. “We’re struggling offensively, no doubt about it,” Arlington coach Matt Hoyt said. “But I did think we played well, and played hard, and I thought we deserved to win. That’s tough for our guys to hear right now, I know, but it was still one of the best games we’ve played in a while.” With a little more than a minute left, Arlington nursed a four-point lead. But the Admirals were called for an offensive foul on an inbounds play that led to a Beacon hoop that cut it to two. Then, following a turnover, Fareed knocked down what proved to be the game-winning shot. Fareed finished with nine points and Jordan Morales had 16 for Beacon. Julian Martinez led Arlington with 12 points. Dan Kane had 11.
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JANUARY 18, 2010 Marist to retire Fitz's jersey POUGHKEEPSIE – It’s one of the highest honors, if not the highest, you can get – watching your jersey retired, your number never to be worn again. For former Marist College women’s basketball star Rachele Fitz, it’s not only an honor, it’s groundbreaking. Fitz will become the first woman to have her jersey put up on the wall when the Marist Athletics Department retires her jersey during a ceremony on Friday, Feb. 18, prior to the Marist women's basketball game against Manhattan. Fitz will join men's basketball greats Drafton Davis, Steve Smith and former NBA all-star Rik Smits as the only four players to have their jerseys retired at Marist. Fitz was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Female Student-Athlete of the Year following her four-year career at Marist. The ceremony will begin at approximately 7:18 p.m., and game is slated to tip at 7:30 p.m. The ceremony will culminate a full day of activities, starting with a public luncheon at Marist's Historic Cornell Boathouse at noon on Friday, Feb. 18. Fitz and head coach Brian Giorgis will address the room during the meal. The program will be one hour in length. The cost of the lunch is $15, and those interested in attending should contact Janet Davis via email at Janet.Davis@Marist.edu or call 845-575-3304. This event will be open to the media. Fitz will be available to sign autographs for fans who are in attendance for the Marist-Manhattan game at the McCann Center on Feb. 18. The autograph session will be held in the McCann Center Auxiliary Gym. Fitz was a three-time MAAC Player of the Year from 2007-10, the Rookie of the Year in 2006-07 and a 14-time MAAC Player of the Week selection. She finished her Marist career second in the conference in scoring with 2,447 career points complemented by 1,066 rebounds. She is the first player in Marist women's basketball history with over 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Athletically, Fitz was a two-time Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American in 2008-09 and 2009-10, a preseason and midseason Wooden Award candidate in 2008-09, the 2008-09 Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Player of the Year, was twice selected to the Met Basketball Writers Association First Team and was named to the Naismith Preseason Watch List as a senior. Fitz was named the MAAC Tournament MVP in 2007, her freshman season, and 2010, her senior year. As a sophomore and junior, Fitz was a member of the All-Tournament Team. She finished her career as the all-time record holder in seven statistical categories: points (2,447), rebounds (1,066), field goals made (905), free throws made (663), field goal percentage (.582), free throw percentage (.847) and games played (137). During her time with the Red Foxes, Marist achieved a record of 116-21, a winning percentage of .847. Marist won three NCAA Tournament games during Fitz's four seasons in the Hudson River Valley. The team reached the Sweet 16 in 2007, where it met Tennessee in Dayton, Ohio. The Red Foxes also won their first round game in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, a 76-57 first round victory over Big East opponent DePaul.
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| Lyn hired as women's soccer coach at Marist POUGHKEEPSIE – Marist Director of Athletics Tim Murray announced on Monday the hiring of the seventh all-time head coach of the women’s soccer program, Katherine Lyn. Lyn joins the Red Foxes after serving as the top assistant coach and director of goalkeeping at Columbia University since 2007.  “I’m very excited to be a part of the Marist College community,” Lyn said. “I am looking forward to working with the department and the girls on the women’s soccer team. As the season goes on I’m looking forward to supporting the entire department. I am more than ecstatic to be working at Marist.”
In her four seasons on the Columbia staff, the Lions accumulated an overall record of 36-21-12. Lyn’s goalkeepers amassed 25 clean sheets and posted 11 wins during the 2008 season. The 11 victories is tied for the second highest total in program history as the Lions notched 12 triumphs in each of the 1996 and 1998 seasons. Administratively she communicated with all prospective student-athletes, including international recruits. Lyn served as the program liaison between the team and all community service representatives and assisted in the development and monitored all pre-, in- and off-season fitness and strength training. Additionally, Lyn facilitated all travel needs for away matches. In addition to her experience at Columbia, Lyn worked as a head coach and player evaluator with the Olympic Development Program (ODP) Region I. She has also worked with the Long Island Rough Riders W-League Women’s Team and with the Montclair Lyn has also served as an assistant coach for FC Westchester Soccer Club and a head coach for the Super Y-League ODP Program. She was also an assistant coach and head goalkeeper trainer for the U18 girls team during the 2004 Empire State Games held in Poughkeepsie. “I have great confidence Kate will be able to build on the success of last year’s team,” Murray said. “Her background as a player and coach at Columbia will help her understand the caliber of student and athlete we need to be successful at Marist.” | | Army's Anthony earns honor WEST POINT – While the Army women’s basketball team stretched its win streak to five games last week, it did so in large part to a pair of record-setting performances from senior Erin Anthony. After averaging a double-double, along with six blocks per game, over two victories, the team co-captain was rewarded on Monday afternoon with her fourth Anaconda Patriot League Player of the Week honor this season.  Anthony repeated as Patriot League Player of the Week, marking the first time a player has garnered back-to-back honors this season. She was also named Army Athletic Association Co-Athlete of the Week on Monday. Anthony’s 12 career Patriot League Player of the Week citations are more than any other Army player in the conference’s 25-year history. Anthony continued what has been a stellar New Year for the Allentown, Pa., native. She set a pair of records last week, posted back-to-back double-doubles and averaged 13.5 points, 13.0 rebounds, 6.0 blocks and 3.5 steals per game over the course of two Army wins. In a 50-47 win at Holy Cross last Thursday evening, Anthony's five blocks gave her enough to break a 26-year-old career blocks record at the Academy. She bettered that number with a Christl Arena-record seven blocked shots in the Black Knights' 54-52 victory over two-time defending Patriot League champion Lehigh on Sunday. Anthony now has 183 career rejections, which also ranks sixth in Patriot League history. While shooting 48.0 percent from the field, Anthony recorded her eighth and ninth double-double of the season, respectively, last week. She poured in 10 points and 14 rebounds at Holy Cross, a game in which she also grabbed her 900th career rebound. Anthony joins former Black Knight great Katie Macfarlane (2000-04) as the only two players in Army history to own at least 1,000 career points and 900 career rebounds. A preseason all-league pick and three-time All-Patriot League performer, Anthony leads the league in both scoring (14.6 ppg) and rebounding (12.0 rpg), and is the only player to be averaging a double-double this season. As of Monday’s NCAA statistical report, she ranks as the nation's fifth-leading rebounder. Anthony has posted a league-best nine double-doubles this season, which also lands 14th among NCAA leaders. Her 2.8 blocks per game list 15th nationally. Riding a season-long five-game win streak, Army (9-8, 3-0 Patriot League) hosts American (13-4, 3-0) in a battle of unbeatens on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. While Army has yet to lose a game in 2011, the Eagles have won 11 in a row. |
JANUARY 17, 2010 Split decision for Marist basketball | |
| Men score just 41 in loss NEW ROCHELLE – Just when Marist College men’s basketball coach Chuck Martin figured his team was coming around, the Red Foxes took a humongous step back. Marist put up the kind of numbers that CYO teams scored, and Foxes suffered a 79-41 loss at Iona on Sunday at the Hynes Athletics Center in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) game. Sophomore guard Sam Prescott led the Red Foxes in scoring with 10 points. Iona scored the first five points of the game, but a basket by Prescott with 16:19 left in the first half tied the score at six apiece. After a three by Iona’s Rashon Dwight on the ensuing possession gave the Gaels a 9-6 lead, junior guard R.J. Hall tied the score at nine apiece at the 15:08 mark. A three by Iona’s Jermel Jenkins at the 14:20 mark up the Gaels up 12-9, and they never surrendered the lead after that. With 13:02 left in the first half, a putback by red-shirt freshman forward Menelik Watson pulled the Red Foxes to within one at 12-11. However, Iona responded by going on a 19-0 run over the next 9:06 to expanded its lead to 20. Marist never got within 15 points after that, and trailed 34-16 at halftime. Iona began the second half on a 13-3 run over the first 6:26 to run its lead to 28. The Gaels led by as much as 41, and outscored the Red Foxes 45-25 in the second half. Sean Armand came off the bench to lead Iona with 22 points, as he shot 8-for-10 from the field and 6-for-8 from three-point range. Scott Machado had eight assists against just two turnovers, and Mike Glover hauled in a game-high nine rebounds. Marist shot just .302 (13-for-43) from the field, and committed 20 turnovers. Iona shot .473 (26-for-55) from the field and knocked down 13 three-pointers while committing just nine turnovers. Marist is now 4-15 overall and 3-4 in the MAAC; Iona is 12-6 overall and 6-1 in MAAC play. The Red Foxes will return to action on Thursday, when they travel to Rider for a MAAC contest. Tip-off at Alumni Gymnasium in Lawrenceville, N.J. is set for 7 p.m. | | Women win 11th game in a row NIAGARA UNIVERSITY – Twelve of 14 players scored points as the Marist College women's basketball team defeated the Niagara Purple Eagles, 95-48, in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) game on Sunday afternoon at the ‘Taps’ Gallagher Center. Marist takes over sole possession of first place in the conference with the victory. The 95 points was the most since the Red Foxes scored 98 points against Niagara on Jan. 9, 2009. Freshman guard Leanne Ockenden netted a career-high 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting and 3-for-3 from long distance. Ockenden was one of four Red Foxes who posted double figures. She also set career-highs in assists with three and field goals with four. Ockenden was joined in double figures by a game-high 14 points from senior guard Erica Allenspach, 13 points from junior Corielle Yarde and 10 from sophomore Kate Oliver. The Red Foxes opened the game on a 13-0 run over the first 4:18. The stretch was sparked by an Allenspach layup while three other starters etched their names in the box score. Oliver hit a pair of layups, Brandy Gang sank a pair of free throws and Yarde scored five of her 13 first half points during the run. With her 2-for-2 mark at the line, Gang has sunk her last 28 free throw attempts dating back to Nov. 20. She is 38-for-40 from the charity stripe on the year. Liz Flooks stopped the Marist (15-2, 6-0 MAAC) run and hit a jumper for the Purple Eagles to make the score 13-2, but Niagara never got the deficit to single digits for the remainder of the contest. Marist stretched the lead to 20 points, 37-17, with 4:33 to go in the first half on a layup by Élise Caron, and scored five of the final six points of the stanza to take a 24-point advantage into the locker room. Freshman Emma O'Connor completed a conventional three-point play in the final minute and senior Maria Laterza hit a layup with 17 seconds remaining. The halftime score was 47-23.
In the first half the Red Foxes forced 12 Niagara turnovers, including seven in the first 4:52 of the matchup. Marist shot 53.1 percent (17-for-32) from the field in the period and 5-for-10 from three point range. Yarde scored all 13 of her points during the first half. A 10-0 run over a span of 3:35 gave Marist a 36-point lead, capped by an Emily Stallings jumper at the 12:50 mark. The Red Foxes took their largest lead of the season, a 57-point margin, 95-38, on a Casey Dulin layup with 3:53 remaining. Dulin scored six points in the game behind two field goals and a pair of free throws. She added two assists, three steals and tied a career-high five rebounds. In the game, Marist attempted 17 more shots than Niagara. The Red Foxes took 63 shots while Niagara (1-16, 0-6 MAAC) only attempted 46 field goals. Marist assisted on 20 of its 34 field goals. It outrebounded Niagara 34-25. The Red Foxes committed a season-low five turnovers and tied a season-high with 11 three-point field goals made. Marist shot 16-for-17 from the free throw line on Sunday and totaled 30-for-32 against Canisius and Niagara this weekend. Marist will conclude a four-game road trip at Manhattan on Saturday. Tip-off at Draddy Gymnasium is scheduled for 2 p.m. The Red Foxes are 6-0 on the road this year. | |
JANUARY 15, 2010 Ten-Spot Marist women top Canisius for 10th win in a row
BUFFALO – If anything, the Marist College women’s basketball team is consistently consistent. For the seventh consecutive season, the Red Foxes have put together a double-digit winning streak, as they went on the road and beat Canisius on Friday, 59-40, in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) contest at the Koessler Athletic Center. That was the 10th consecutive victory for Marist, which is now 14-2 overall and 5-0 in league play. The Red Foxes equaled a season-low in points allowed with 40, and senior guard Erica Allenspach (pictured) led the team in scoring for the sixth time this season. She tallied 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the game. Sophomore Kate Oliver added 12 points and also grabbed seven caroms, while junior guard Corielle Yarde added nine points and a game-high eight rebounds. Oliver added an assist, a block and three steals. Yarde was credited with three blocks. Allenspach shot 7-for-7 from the free throw line and helped the team shoot 14-for-15 from the charity stripe on the day. After the teams matched each other with triples by Yarde and Jamie Ruttle to open the game, the Red Foxes sparked a brief 6-0 run to take a 9-3 lead. Yarde scored the first seven points of the game for Marist and first four of the run. The Marist spurt was capped on a jumper by Brandy Gang in the paint. Allenspach and Courtney VandeBovenkamp hit triples for their respective teams on consecutive possessions to make the score 12-8 in favor of the Red Foxes with 13:10 remaining in the opening stanza. Over a span of 2:26, from 11:05 until the 8:39 mark, Canisius used a 9-0 run to take a 17-16 lead, its only advantage of the contest. The Red Foxes answered with a 9-3 run to close the first half over the final 7:13. The run was sparked by a pair of free throws by Élise Caron. It continued with a layup by Gang, a triple by freshman Leanne Ockenden and concluded with a pair of free throws by Allenspach. At halftime, Marist held a five-point lead, 25-20.
In the period, the Red Foxes grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, which generated 14 second chance points. The game was the fourth in a row where the Red Foxes allowed 20 points or less. Marist used an early 15-2 second half run over a span of 4:26 to take a 17-point lead, 40-23, with 14:15 remaining that put the game out of reach for Canisius. Allenspach scored six of her 13 second half points during the run and Oliver hit two jumpers. The run was capped by an Emma O'Connor right wing triple. The Golden Griffins got as close as 12, 52-40 with 3:33 to play on a Micayla Drysdale three pointer. She tallied five points for Canisius, and Jamie Ruttle led the Golden Griffins with 10 points. In the game, the Red Foxes grabbed a season-high 48 rebounds, including 20 on the offensive glass. Additionally, Marist held its opposition under 30 percent shooting from the floor for the sixth time this season and fourth consecutive game. Canisius shot 13-for-46 from the field, 28.3 percent. Canisius committed 19 turnovers which led to 23 Marist points off giveaways. The Red Foxes wrap up their annual trip to Western New York on Sunday when they take on the Niagara Purple Eagles at the `Taps' Gallagher Center. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.
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| HOLY MOLY ! Red Hook puts 127 on the board in win over Onteora BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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BOICEVILLE – Well, somebody was going to pay for this. Unfortunately, the Onteora High School boys’ basketball team was next on the schedule.
State-ranked Red Hook, still smarting from Tuesday’s upset loss to New Paltz, took it out on Onteora Friday night with a 127-53 win in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League game. The Raiders improved to 7-2 overall while the Indians remained winless. Ryan Dalton had 40 points and Red Hook rolled up 100 points by the third quarter. | | Steady Millbrook downs Webutuck MILLBROOK – Don’t look now, but your leader in the Mid-Hudson Athletic League’s Division IV boys’ basketball race is none other than Millbrook High School. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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The Blazers completed the first round of division play unbeaten after knocking off winless Webutuck on Friday night, 56-28. “We had two starters coming back, and a third guy who was like the sixth man last year, so I thought we’d be a little thin in the bench but that our starters would be solid,” Blazers coach Adam Peek said. “They’re doing better than I thought and hopefully we can build on that.” Andrew Gartelman had 14 points to lead Millbrook, while Evan Hurley had 12 and Peter Keenan added nine points and five assists. “We played pretty unselfish,” Peek said. “The chemistry is really coming together. As far as the division, we’re playing pretty well. Pine Plains and Coleman are both pretty good and it’s probably going right down to the end of the season. We expect to be competitive.” Matt Mateo led the Warriors with nine points. | |
Pine Plains to host hoops tourney, auction PINE PLAINS – Two great basketball games and some terrific items up for auction highlight Sunday’s Pine Plains Bomber Basketball Classic. It would be a double-header, with Pine Plains taking on Our Lady of Lourdes in a boys’ basketball game at 2 p.m., followed by Rice Catholic vs. Middletown at 4 p.m. Rice Catholic, located in Harlem, has long had a good relationship with Pine Plains. The school has produced such standout basketball players as former St. John’s star Felipe Lopez and current UConn super-frosh Kemba Walker. The Bomber Booster Club is also hosting a silent auction for such prizes as signed baseballs from New York Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera; a pair of tickets to the Knicks play the Washington Wizards; sneakers from Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and Miami Heat center Chris Bosch (one pair of which is signed); as well as restaurant gift certificates, golf outings, golf equipment and many other items.
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| Eggink takes it on the chin, but Red Hook still wins RED HOOK — Sabrina Eggink may have taken it on the chin Friday night, but her Red Hook High School girls’ basketball team didn’t. GIRLS' BASKETBALL |
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Eggink was forced to leave the game in the third quarter with a cut on her chin that required stitches, but the Raiders had enough to overcome Onteora, 55-46, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League contest.
Jordyn Dezago picked it up in Eggink’s absence, scoring a game-high 17 points and adding four assists and three steals. Kyla Gabriel had 10 points and eight rebounds. Julia Hinchey led the Indians with 15 points. | | Hackett's 33, defense help Pawling girls NORTH SALEM – Defense and Margo. GIRLS' BASKETBALL |
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That’s what wins game for the Pawling High School girls’ basketball team. The Tigers clamped down on defense in the fourth quarter, and Margo Hackett finished with 33 points as Pawling beat host North Salem, 53-46, in the first round of the North Salem Holiday Tournament. Pawling plays in the finals tonight at 5 p.m. The Tigers were up two at halftime but then watched as North Salem went on an 18-8 run to take an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter. “Everything that could go wrong did go wrong in that third quarter,” Pawling coach Jeff Hackett said. “But we kind of corrected things, and Margo iced it for us down the stretch.” Pawling’s Jen Jones had a solid game with nine points and eight rebounds. No fluke: New Paltz boys win again MARLBORO – Nope, no fluke. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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After handing Red Hook its first Mid-Hudson Athletic League loss earlier this week, the New Paltz High School boys’ basketball team was ripe for a letdown. Instead, the Huguenots went on the road and beat Marlboro, 52-44, to remain the only unbeaten team in the MHAL’s Division II. Zack Cone and Bryan Krebs each had 15 points to lead New Paltz. Cone came through in the clutch, scoring eight of his points in the final period as the Huguenots broke away from a 33-33 tie after three quarters. Joe Asprea had nine points for Marlboro. | |
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Sophomore Riascos, Kennedy's 3's lift FDR BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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HYDE PARK – Quietly, the Franklin D. Roosevelt boys’ basketball team is doing what its football team did in the fall – sneak up on people. Sophomore Felix Riascos scored 25 points Friday night, and teammate Matt Kennedy drained seven three-pointers and scored 23, as the Presidents beat Rondout Valley, 66-47, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League game. FDR sits atop the MHAL’s Division I with a 2-0 mark, and is now 5-3 overall. “I’m excited about the good direction this team is moving in,” Roosevelt coach Kevin Hart said. Tim Miller added 11 points for FDR, which pulled away from 50-44 lead after three quarters with a 16-3 run in the final period. Ben DeForest led the Ganders with 22 points and and Erik Johansen added 14.
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Thompson's all-around game paces Spartans GIRLS' BASKETBALL |
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POUGHKEEPSIE – Cat Thompson had another solid, all-around game, and the Spackenkill High School girls’ basketball team defeated Ellenville, 45-36, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League game on Friday night. The Spartans are now 7-2 overall. “Basically, they outsized us so we tried to handle it as best we could,” Spackenkill said of the bigger Blue Devils. “We tried to keep the pressure on them in the defensive backcourt. We got them to turn the ball over, and Cat just came up big again.” Thompson had 16 points, nine rebounds and five steals. Seana Tully added 11 points and three steals, and Dominique Douglas had seven points. Regina Steele led Ellenville with 15 points, and Mercedes Wilson had 12.
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| Sawyers beat Wallkill in OT SAUGERTIES – Big win for the Sawyers. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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Jon Hindes scored 19 points and Saugerties High School went 18-for-22 from the free throw line Friday night in a 72-70 overtime win in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League boys’ basketball game. The Sawyers made sure they stayed right on Roosevelt’s tail in the MHAL’s Division I. Saugerties is 2-1 in division play, 5-3 overall. The Presidents are 2-0 in the division and Wallkill is 1-1. Jon Hindes led Saugerties with 19 points and nine rebounds. Connor Hicks chipped in with 13 points and four assists, J.T. Elmendorf had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Scott Melville tallied 10 points and five rebounds. Hunter Andrews also had 19 points for the Panthers. Teammates Jamie Paneta had 17, Adam Rohl had 13 and Kevin Sheehan added 11. Huskies' 'D' stops Rhinebeck GIRLS' BASKETBALL |
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HIGHLAND – Kelly Murphy had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and the Highland High School girls’ basketball team beat Rhinebeck, 40-27, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League game on Friday night.
Highland, now 6-3 overall and 2-0 atop the MHAL’s Division III, also received seven points each from Shannon Ward and Stephanie Porter. But the key was on the defensive end – the Huskies held the Hawks to just nine points in the second half. Meredith Mimoso had nine points to lead Rhinebeck. | | Marlboro girls rally past New Paltz NEW PALTZ – This wasn’t right. GIRLS' BASKETBALL |
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The state-ranked Marlboro High School girls’ basketball team was on the wrong end of a 19-7 score against winless New Paltz on Friday night before turning it around in the third quarter, and the Dukes beat the Huguenots, 63-51, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic league game. Nicole DeSantis led a balanced Marlboro attack with 12 points. Erin Cunningham and Yazmin Lewis added 11 points each, and Nina DeFabio had 10. The Dukes, now 7-2 overall, were down by 12 in the first quarter and three at the half before exploding with a 32-point third quarter to take control of the game. Allison Ricci had a game-high 20 points for New Paltz. Coleman's pressure wears down Bombers PINE PLAINS – John A. Coleman Catholic High School used its pressure defense to wear down Pine Plains on Friday night, and the Stateswomen cruised to a 65-28 victory over the Bombers in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League game. GIRLS' BASKETBALL |
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“In the third quarter their pressure defense just dominated and let to huge fast-break points,” Pine Plains coach Eric Sullivan said of the decisive period, when Coleman raced to a 24-5 advantage. “We battled as hard as we could. I couldn’t be happier with the girls’ effort. They played a full 32 minutes and never backed down. I thought we actually played pretty decent half-court defense.” Coleman’s Makenzie Burud led all scorers with 22 points. “Burud is a really good player that makes everyone on their team better,” Sullivan said. “She left me shaking my head a few times with nice passes and tough rebounds.” Deanna Strang had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Bombers. | |
| Beacon drops non-league game to Brewster BEACON – Sometimes, don’t you just get the sense that if you didn’t have bad luck you wouldn’t have any luck at all? Tom Powers knows the feeling. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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The Beacon High School boys’ basketball coach watched as his team put on a defensive clinic in the third quarter of Friday night’s non-league game against Brewster, holding the Bears to just six points.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs only scored 10 themselves and the failure to capitalize was costly in a 56-52 loss to Brewster. Beacon dropped to 5-7 overall. “We had a great third quarter defensively, and we were able to turn them over a number of times,” Powers said. “But we just couldn’t convert. We’d throw it away ourselves, or we’d travel, or we’d miss an easy shot. We probably missed at least four layups. We should have scored 20 points in that quarter.” MHAL BOYS' BASKETBALL ELLENVILLE – John Paulsen led three Ellenville High School players in double figures with 25 points, and the Blue Devils ran away from Spackenkill in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League boys’ basketball game, 84-61, on Friday night. Ellenville bounced back from a tough outing in which it scored just 44 points in a loss to Rhinebeck. Paulsen added 12 rebounds and eight assists, Adrian Echols had 16 points and 11 assists, and Mark Candelario had 12 points, 20 rebounds and four blocked shots. K.J. Williams led the Spartans with 16 points and Steve Gugumuck added 15. RHINEBECK 54, HIGHLAND 44 – Jacob Sopchak had his third consecutive big game, and the host Hawks stopped Highland in this Mid-Hudson Athletic League game. Sopchak, Rhinebeck’s 6-foot-8 senior center, had 15 points, seven rebounds and seven blocks. Teammate Reed Fox also had 15 points. Highland’s Dan Chenery led all scorers with 16 points. PINE PLAINS 69, COLEMAN 59 – The defending state finalist John A. Coleman Catholic High School boys’ basketball team finds itself in an unusual position. Last. Rob Lamont scored 13 of his game-high 25 points in the final quarter as Pine Plains rallied from a five-point deficit to beat the Statesmen in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League game. The win keeps the Bombers a game behind 3-0 Millbrook in Division IV; Coleman is 0-2 in division play, tied with Webutuck. Tyler Lydon and Justin Cooper added 13 points apiece for Pine Plains, which trailed 49-44 entering the final period. Ben Mesuda had 19 points to lead Coleman. Chris Chatelain added 15 and Jordan Shaw had 12. |
JANUARY 14, 2010 Great night for RCK basketball “Orange-out” fundraiser for teammate nets $2K, Indians beat Arlington WAPPINGERS FALLS – It was a great night all around. Not only did the Roy C. Ketcham High School basketball program help make $2,000 for one of its own, but the Indians – buoyed by a huge crowd participating in the “Orange-Out” fundraiser – knocked off Arlington, 55-43, in a Conference I, League A game on Thursday night.  The fundraiser was for Nick Scianna, a jayvee player for RCK who was diagnosed with leukemia over the holiday break. Nick is currently at Westchester Medical Center undergoing chemotherapy. Ketcham urged fans to wear orange to the game – orange being the color of the Leukemia Society – and also sold T-shirts and bracelets. “It was amazing,” Ketcham coach Matt Paino said. “We had 450 T-shirts and they were sold out by 5:30.” As for the game, it was a defensive performance that Scianna would have been proud of. RCK, with momentum from the huge crowd, jumped out to an 8-0 lead and led 21-8 after one quarter. “We’ve been telling these kids to believe in our system,” Paino said. “We’re not a great offensive team and we told them our identity starts with the defense. We fed off the energy of the crowd.” Ketcham’s man-to-man defense was stifling, and the Indians were able to keep their turnovers down. Roland Archie had 12 points to lead RCK, and Sean Nichols and Earl Snead had nine points each. Josh Wright led Arlington with eight points, and Dan Kane and Julian Martinez had six points apiece.
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| Sopchak's blocks lead Rhinebeck upset of Ellenville RHINEBECK – Jacob Sopchak made his presence felt, and the Rhinebeck High School boys’ basketball team pulled off the upset. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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Sopchak, Rhinebeck’s 6-foot-8 senior, scored 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds and, more importantly, blocked 11 shots, and the Hawks took care of the state’s No. 18 Class C team with a 57-44 Mid-Hudson Athletic League win over Ellenville on Thursday night. The Hawks are now 6-2 overall and 2-0 atop the MHAL’s Division III. Rhinebeck’s defense was superb against an Ellenville team that routinely scores in the 70s. Then again, the defense has been super all season – only two teams, Spackenkill and Coleman, have scored in the 50s against the Hawks. Everybody else has been held to less than 50 points. “I have 10 seniors, and they really know what they’re doing,” Rhinebeck coach Dave Aierstok said. “We mixed in a bunch of different zones and things, and they knew exactly how to react every time.” Sopchak’s shot-blocking prowess not only prevented the Blue Devils from scoring, but also led to several transition buckets for the Hawks. “Jacob is a senior who has worked very hard in the offseason,” Aierstok said. “That’s two good games in a row for him.” Ben Hoynes added 13 points and six rebounds for Rhinebeck, Mark Scott had 12 points and Justin Targia had a huge three-pointer and a layup in the fourth quarter to get some separation when Ellenville pulled within two points. John Paulsen led the Blue Devils with 21 points. | | Thomas' 34 paces OLL win BEACON – The Warriors have found themselves. The 1-5 start by the Our Lady of Lourdes High School boys’ basketball team is but a memory as the red-hot Warriors won their third consecutive game in impressive fashion, going to Beacon Thursday night and knocking off the Bulldogs, 64-60, in a Conference I, League A game. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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Grant Thomas had a monster game, scoring 34 points – including 9-for-11 from the foul line, and 5-of-6 in the fourth quarter – to lead OLL. Johnny Gonzalez had 13 points, Anthony Clark had 12 and Marquise Brown added 12 for Beacon, but the story was Thomas and a defensive adjustment made by OLL. “We knew Grant was their go-to guy and best offensive player, and we tried a lot of things to shut him down,” Beacon coach Tom Powers said. “We just did not play a smart defensive game like we did against John Jay the other night. We let them get away from us. They set some nice screens for Grant and he did a good job of finishing.” Where Beacon couldn’t seem to find the right defense for Thomas, Lourdes did a nice job on Brown, who scored 10 of Beacon’s first 15 points of the game in the first quarter, had a couple of free throws in the second quarter, and then didn’t score again. “Credit Lourdes’ defense,” Powers said. “They did a nice job on Marquise. The bottom line is they played much better defensively than the first time we played them.” Beacon beat Lourdes 67-50 earlier this season, holding Thomas to just three field goals in the game.
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Arlington girls' hoop rolls to 10th victory FREEDOM PLAINS – Nicole Spaulding had 14 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks, and the Arlington High School girls’ basketball team continues to run away with Conference I, League A with a 51-28 win over Roy C. Ketcham on Thursday night. The Admirals are now 10-1 overall and 4-0 in the league – and, surprisingly, have been overlooked in the state rankings. Nicole Lanteri added 10 points and six assists for Arlington. “We had good contributions from every one,” Admirals coach Kim Costello said, “especially on the defensive end of the floor.” HALDANE 45, JFK 28 – The visiting Blue Devils improved to 8-3 overall and 3-0 atop Conference I, League C with the victory. Liz Milner led all scorers with 23 points for Haldane, which hosts Putnam Valley today.
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| McCaster leads Pioneer attack POUGHKEEPSIE – Jayson McCaster led a balanced attack as the Poughkeepsie High School boys’ basketball team rolled to its 10th consecutive victory to open the season, an 86-43 decision over John Jay in a Conference I, League A game on Thursday. McCaster had 14 points. Ronell Epps had 12, Nate Gause scored 11, Elijah McLaurin and Basheem Bennett had nine each, and Jamary Dancy picked up five assists. “I thought we came out and did a nice job defensively,” Pioneers coach Brian Laffin said. “We got great contributions from everybody. Everybody scored, which was nice because the bench came on and did a nice job.” Antonio Hinton led the Patriots with 11 points, and Zack Gindes added nine points. | | Zuvic drops 33, but Haldane boys can't overcome JFK in 74-64 defeat COLD SPRING – Jackson Zuvic had 33 points, but he couldn’t do it by himself as the Haldane High School boys’ basketball team had its five-game winning streak snapped in a 74-64 loss to John F. Kennedy on Thursday night. “I thought we played great but Kennedy’s been destroying everybody,” Haldane coach Joe Virgadamo said. “They’re a state-ranked team and they showed it, but I thought we handled their pressure, hit the open guy and caught them off guard a little bit.” Virgadamo said the Gaels were able to take advantage of second and third shot opportunities. “Jackson played almost the entire second half with four fouls,” the coach said, “and he was afraid to pick up his fifth. JFK was using that. They got some easy buckets inside off of us.” | |
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Strong first half jump-starts John Jay girls WICCOPEE – The John Jay High School girls’ basketball team got off to a hot start Thursday night, and the Patriots went on to beat Poughkeepsie, 53-46, in a Conference I, League A game. Jay led 30-16 at the half. “It was a good win for us,” John Jay coach Larry Brooks said. “There’s a lot of talent on that Poughkeepsie team. I thought we executed real well against their man (defense).” Brittney Gullo and Maggie Gallagher each had 13 points and five assists for the Patriots. Cate Ruland had 11 points and Calli Balfour did a solid job coming off the bench with nine rebounds, two assists and two steals.
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JANUARY 13, 2010 Marist men's hoops at the halfway point | |
| Murray laments loss of live TV By Rich Thomaselli HVSR There will be no live television broadcasts of Marist College basketball games this season for the first time in almost 25 years. As Hudson Valley Sports Report first reported in November, the school and Time-Warner Cable could not come to an agreement to televise any games. An attempt the last six weeks by an independent third-party to produce a dozen or so telecasts after the new year was stymied by a lack of interest on the part of area businesses to sponsor the games and buy advertising. “Unfortunately, for this year, we’re not going to be able to put together live or taped TV,” Marist athletic director Tim Murray told Hudson Valley Sports Report. “Is it economy-related? I guess you could make that assumption.” Murray admitted that the downfall of the Marist men’s program – 10-19, 1-29 and, currently, 4-13 in the last three seasons – probably contributed to the dilemma. “We tried with some other folks to have a third-party production, but the sales end of that was difficult and challenging. It’s unfortunate,” he said. “The success, or lack thereof, of our men’s program was a factor.” Marist men’s coach Chuck Martin was disappointed that the Foxes won’t be on TV this season, although internet broadcasts are still available. Television, even local telecasts for small programs like Marist, is an important recruiting tool. “It’s huge in recruiting,” Martin said. “You get a kid up here on a game day and there’s TV cameras and the band and the Red Fox Club, and it creates an atmosphere of college basketball. No doubt it hurts us. No one saw our (three home wins), no one saw how good we’re playing and how we’ve improved over last year. Not having television is like having snail mail.” Local television broadcasts of Marist games have a long history, dating back to the Colony Cable days in the mid-1980s. Even some select road games that were relatively close to Poughkeepsie – such as at Iona, Siena, Manhattan, FDU and St. Peter’s – were broadcast on tape delay. Staffers would take a videotape – remember those? – of the game’s first half, leave the site and rush it back to the Hudson Valley studios. Recently, TWC handled production of Marist basketball and shared it with Cablevision, meaning virtually everyone in the area could watch the Red Foxes. TWC paid all costs for the game – which can range from $4,000 to $6,000 per game, including the production truck, cameramen, on-air talent, etc. – and then recouped the money through sponsorship and advertising sales on the broadcast. But TWC decided against doing production of the games this season. Seven earn All-State football honors Poughkeepsie High School’s Tyre Coleman led a group of seven Hudson Valley players who earned All-New York State honors for Classes AA and A on Wednesday when the NYS Sportswriters Association announced the teams. Classes B, C and D were announced last week. Coleman, the Hudson Valley Sports Report Defensive Player of the Year, was named All-State Class A Second Team Defense after leading the Pioneers to a league championship and berth in the Section One, Class A semifinals. Section Nine, Class A champion Wallkill was well-represented on the All-State team with five players. Kicker Pat Toole made the Second Team Offense, as did fellow Panther and offensive lineman Adam Rohl, and teammate Joe Ortiz made Second Team Defense for his defensive back duties. Wallkill quarterback Eric Wellmon made Fourth Team Offense, and Panther defensive lineman Jahsiem Davis earned Fourth Team Defense honors. In Class AA, Roy C. Ketcham running back Aaron Morganstern earned Third Team Offense honors. | | HVSR goes 1-on-1 with coach Chuck Martin By Rich Thomaselli HVSR At a little past the midpoint of the Marist College men’s basketball season, the Red Foxes sport a 4-13 record. Not great, but, technically, still four times better than last year’s 1-29 mark. Hudson Valley Sports Report had a chance to sit down with head coach Chuck Martin and talk about the first half of the season. HVSR: Where do you think you are now that we’re at, or a little past, the halfway mark? Martin: “I think we’re doing some really good things. I think we’re heading in the right direction. I wish I had the time to explain to people who don’t realize it how difficult our non-conference schedule was. We played Villanova and they’re nationally-ranked; Wake Forest; Belmont, a team that has won 22-25 games the last few years and gone to the NCAA Tournament; Rutgers, a Big East team; Vermont; Lehigh, which won the conference. Our schedule is just ridiculous.” HVSR: But the only way a program like Marist is going to make the NCAA Tournament is to win its league, so it really doesn’t matter if you go 1-9 or 9-1 in the non-conference, the MAAC isn’t getting that at-large bid. So which would you prefer – a non-conference schedule that really challenges your team, or a soft schedule that builds confidence? Martin: “I’d rather be somewhere in between. I’d want to play a Villanova and a Belmont, but not all of them. Two or three good teams is great, but not five. And not in a short period of time.” HVSR: Do you think you’re better than last year? Obviously the team's record already reflects that, but from a coaching standpoint do you see the improvement? Martin: “Ask the teams that we’ve played if they want to play us again. Ask Niagara, Canisius, Penn. Ask Vermont and Lehigh. We’re better. The one thing I’ve been trying to tell the people who want to listen, is that Adam Kemp was in high school last year. Jay Bowie was in high school last year. Menelik Watson didn’t play last year. Those guys have nothing to do with 1-29. We’re a different team and a better team. We’re 3-2 in league play. We’re top (four) in the MAAC defensively (in field goal percentage defense and three-point field goal percentage defense). We’ve had two guys named Rookie of the Week when we weren’t even nominated last year. R.J. Hall hit 30 consecutive free throws at one point. There are a lot of good things about this team.” HVSR: But with attendance being down, and now no live television, how do you get the community to start backing this team again? Martin: “If people are still stuck on last year, I can’t worry about changing perceptions. But it will come back. We’ll chip away. It will be slow – it will be a crawl – but you’ll be at the supermarket or a pizza joint and you’ll hear somebody say ‘Hey, Marist played really well the other day.’ That’s how it will start. I think it’s going to be more buzz, word of mouth. If we can continue to get better, put ourselves in position to win, the word will get out. We lost credibility because of the losses, but if we can get the signature win, people will come around. And when we turn it around, I’ll be able to take more satisfaction in that. Because, you know, it’s been a grind. It’s been tough.” HVSR: Is it wearing on you? Do you enjoy being here, being the coach at Marist College?
Martin: “Oh, I truly, truly enjoy it. I enjoy the area and I enjoy coaching. I enjoy the people here. I love coming to work every day. I enjoy coaching and I like the team I have. To add to that, in a real sick, crazy way, I kind of enjoy the struggle. Because you know you’re not going to struggle your whole career. This is not what I want to go through right now, but I enjoy the grind because it makes you work harder and keeps things in perspective.”
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Hey juniors: college preparation begins now Wow, another exciting week in girl’s basketball! Wallkill over Onteora behind a big inside game by Kaitlyn Ponesse. And Arlington with two big wins this past week – a dominating win over Jay behind some excellent guard play and a nice win over Lourdes Monday night. Great job girls. And what about Spackenkill over Coleman by 11 in OT after being down by 14 at the half? This is why we play the games! Before I get to this week’s topic, I want to wish Isabella Garland of Rhinebeck a speedy recovery. She went down with a head and neck injury during the Spackenkill-Rhinebeck game. I don’t know how bad it was, but I wish her well. Maybe someone could e-mail Rich here and let us know how she is. Get well soon and get back on the court where you’re needed – quickly! This week I want to address all the juniors that are considering playing ball at the collegiate level. First, let me state unequivocally (nice big SAT word there), that the next six months are absolutely the most critical in your recruiting process. Second, you need a plan to get the right exposure to the schools you are interested in. Third, you need to visit at least five schools that interest you BEFORE the end of your junior year. It’s all about planning and exposure. You need to decide where you want to go to school geographically. Most girls pick a school within a four-hour radius of their home. I don’t know the exact reason for this, but the closer to home you stay, the more games your parents can attend. Once you pick an area, you can research the schools in that area. A good resource is collegeboard.com. On that site you can do a lot of searches for schools by distance, division, major and more. Next, I would recommend that you create an e-mail list of all the colleges you want to attend. Go to the college website and add the head coach and all the assistants to a blind mail list. Yes the assistants too. Many of the schools have the assistants do the recruiting so it’s important to contact everyone on the coaching staff. You should then send a general letter introducing yourself and expressing an interest in the college. I would include a picture of yourself in the email to add a personal touch. You want the college to get to know who you are. I was at a college game and a coach came up and introduced herself to me because she recognized me from the picture I included in the e-mail, so I know this works. Finally, you need to have an exposure plan for the upcoming AAU season. Remember juniors, this July is the LAST Penn State you will ever attend. You need to sign on with an AAU program that will bring you to the major recruiting tournaments leading up to Penn State. For instance, Blue Chip in Richmond, Va., or Boo Williams in Hampton, Va., for the April D1 open period, and the Nike Big Apple Classic over Memorial Day, Gym Ratz in June, and Penn State in July. If you are looking to mid-west schools, try Chicago instead of Penn State. Whatever tournaments you choose, they need to be part of a plan that gives you the proper exposure in front of the schools you are interested in. Why go to Chicago if you are only interested in northeast schools? Then, by next fall, you should be narrowing your choices of schools to pick the best fit for you – financially, academically, and athletically. That’s about it for now. So until next time, see you on the court. – Cat (Cat Thompson is a senior at Spackenkill High School. She writes a high school column with an emphasis on girls' basketball weekly for HVSR.)
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JANUARY 12, 2010
Pine Plains plays 5-on-4 and still wins Bombers go the last 10 minutes of the game a player down PINE PLAINS – Pine Plains began the high school girls’ basketball season with eight players, but injury and illness quickly depleted that roster even further. In fact, on Tuesday night, the Bombers dressed only six players. And foul trouble trimmed that number even further. Pine Plains played the last 10 minutes of the game with just four players, but the Bombers were able to knock off Webutuck, 48-33, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League game. Senior Deanna Strang scored 18 points and pulled down 15 rebounds for Pine Plains. Strang, Julia Purus, Sam Mason and Nikki Lengyel played the last two minutes of the third quarter and all of the fourth in a 5-on-4 situation. “It was zero fun for me,” quipped Bombers coach Eric Sullivan, “but I told them after the game that they’d have a story to tell for the rest of their lives. I give them a lot of credit. I don’t know how they did it. They were exhausted.” Purus, a freshman who was called up from the jayvee just to give Pine Plains an extra body, ended up scoring seven points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Mason had seven points, four rebounds and three assists, and Lengyel had seven points.
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| Cone, New Paltz stun state-ranked Red Hook, 51-45 NEW PALTZ – Suddenly, the Mid-Hudson Athletic League boys’ basketball race just became interesting again thanks to New Paltz High School. Zach Cone had a big game and the Huguenots turned up the defensive pressure, as New Paltz stunned state-ranked and defending Class A state semifinalist Red Hook on Tuesday night, 51-45. Cone had 20 points, and teammate Bryan Krebs added 12 points. Red Hook, ranked No. 12 in Class A, dropped to 6-2 with its first MHAL loss of the season. New Paltz is also 6-2.
| | Beacon guards frustrate Jay WICCOPEE – John Jay High School boys’ basketball coach Matt Hayes has seen enough hoops in Dutchess County to know that “whenever one or two guys get real hot for Beacon, the whole team gets hot.” Hayes expressed that to his team on Tuesday, but the Bulldogs were still too hot to handle. Marquis Brown had a game-high 25 points and Beacon went on the road and beat John Jay, 74-66, in a Conference I, League A matchup. The Patriots fell to 4-6 overall and 1-1 in the league; Beacon is now 4-5 and 1-1. “Give Beacon a lot of credit because they took it to us the whole game,” Hayes said. “They controlled how the game was played on both offense and defense, and they shot the ball extremely well.” Beacon drained 10 three-pointers, including five in the first quarter as it jumped out to a 22-14 lead. In addition to Brown, fellow sophomore guard Ray Silva added 17 points and Chaz DelBene had 10. “Brown and Silva are probably two of the quickets guards we’ll play this year, and we struggled with that quickness,” Hayes said. “This is our 10th game, and this is the first time in 10 games I can say that I was not happy with the way we defended.” Nick Segarra led John Jay with 23 points and Antonio Hinton added 17. The Patriots briefly rallied to tie the game in the fourth quarter, but Beacon responded with an 11-1 run to put the game away. | |
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RCK to hold fundraiser for Scianna By Rich Thomaselli HVSR The Roy C. Ketcham High School boys’ basketball program is hosting an ‘Orange-Out’ on Thursday to help one of its own. The Indians are inviting fans to Thursday’s jayvee-varsity doubleheader against Arlington to wear orange in honor of Nick Scianna, a jayvee player for RCK who was diagnosed with leukemia over the holiday break. Nick is currently at Westchester Medical Center undergoing chemotherapy. “Nick will be in the hospital for about a month and has very little physical contact with his friends because of his chemo treatments,” Ketcham coach Matt Paino explained. “Both our jayvee and varsity teams have taken upon them as a mission to go out and play as hard as the can and keep Nick in their thoughts.” The doubleheader begins at 5 p.m. starting with the jayvee game. Ketcham wants as many fans as possible to wear orange – the color of the Leukemia Society – to the game. The school will be selling orange T-shirts and bracelets, and any donations at the gate will go to Nick Scianna and his family. |
Balanced Spackenkill doubles up Highland POUGHKEEPSIE – The Spackenkill High School boys’ basketball team held Highland to single digit scoring in the first three quarters, and the host Spartans raced to a 60-30 Mid-Hudson Athletic League victory Tuesday night over the Spartans. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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Steve Gugumuck had 14 points, eight rebounds and a pair of steals for Spackenkill, while Josh Riley had 11 points, 12 boards and three assists.
“We were able to contributions from quite a few people tonight,” Spartans coach Terry Feeley said. “The kids did a nice job defensively in the first two quarters to get some separation.” Spackenkill jumped out to a 37-10 lead at the half. Nick Ranalli led Highland with six points. POUGHKEEPSIE 79, ARLINGTON 50 – Elijah McLaurin had 23 points and Nate Gause added 21 as the Pioneers improved to 10-0 overall with the Conference I, League A win. Josh Wright had 17 points for the Admirals. “They jumped out on us early and started off the game on a big run,” Arlington coach Matt Hoyt said. “They’re just a very good basketball team, well-coached, and disciplined on both sides of the floor. I was proud of our guys tonight. We’re struggling right now. We had two tough losses to Jay and Lourdes, and now tonight, but we executed much better. Hopefully we can take some things from tonight and build on it and be ready to play Ketcham on Thursday.” PINE PLAINS 58, WEBUTUCK 20 – Tyler Lydon had 13 points and Justin Cooper added 12, and the host Bombers knocked off the Warriors in this Conference I, League C game. “We played some solid defense and got a great game from our bench tonight,” Pine Plains coach Brendan Lobrutto said. “We have a lot to work on but overall I'm happy with the result. Webutuck is a scrappy team that showed a lot of heart.” Liam Corcoran and Andrew Schultz had seven points apiece for Webutuck. ROOSEVELT 54, SAUGERTIES 51 – Matt Kennedy and Tim Miller had 13 points each, and the Presidents won this MHAL game at home. “I thought the key was that we played real consistent defense throughout,” Roosevelt coach Kevin Hart said. FDR’s Felix Riascos added 12 points and Errol Evans had eight. MILLBROOK 50, COLEMAN 44 – Peter Keenan’s 13 points paved the way as the host Blazers beat John A. Coleman in this MHAL game. “I thought we had some good rebounding tonight and hit the boards hard, limiting them to one shot,” Millbrook coach Adam Peek said. “We turned the ball over way too much on offense, but our defense saved us.” Evan Hurley added 11 points for the Blazers. WALLKILL 44, RONDOUT 41 – The Panthers improved to 4-3 overall as Jamie Paneto had 12 points and teammate Dominick Calvanico added 11. Ben DeForest had 13 points for the Ganders in this MHAL contest. MARLBORO 72, ONTEORA 63 – The Iron Dukes evened their record at 5-5 overall with the MHAL win over the visiting Indians. Mike Tamburri had 18 points for the winners. Nick Occhi had a game-high 27 points for Onteora.
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| OLL goes back-to-back POUGHKEEPSIE – The last thing the Our Lady of Lourdes High School boys’ basketball team wants to see right now is a snow day because the Warriors are finally finding their stride. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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Grant Thomas had 17 points, Kelby Santoro banged four three-pointers for 12 points, and Lourdes put together consecutive victories with a 56-51 win over Roy C. Ketcham on Tuesday night in a Conference I, League A game.
“This was a good win for us,” OLL coach Jim Santoro said. “Ketcham was coming off an impressive performance against Beacon the other night, and after seeing them in the Coaches tournament I knew they were a solid team. They did a great job pressuring the passing lanes, making it difficult for us to deploy our offense. Our big men were a major factor tonight. They are playing with more confidence and are starting to mesh with the guard play.” Chad Wallace and Nick Makris combined for 18 points for Lourdes. Ketcham led the game by a point at the half but OLL used its defense to force turnovers and convert them into an 18-6 run in the third quarter. The Indians kept it close, pulling to within four as the Warriors missed five consecutive free throws in the fourth quarter, but OLL was able to close out its third win of the season. | | Zuvic pops for 34, Haldane shuts down LaCourt in win DOVER PLAINS – The Haldane High School boys’ basketball team figured out a way to stop Dover scoring machine Jalen LaCourt. Get him in foul trouble. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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LaCourt spent more time on LaBench Tuesday night due to foul difficulties, and Haldane pulled away from the Dragons, 71-56, in a Conference I, League C game. The surprising Blue Devils are now 7-2 overall and 2-0 in the league, while Dover dropped to 5-4 and 1-2. Jackson Zuvic had another big game for Haldane, scoring a game-high 34 points. Jimmy Meekins added 14. LaCourt was held to 12 points, while Daivon Lloyd led the Dragons with 17. “The refs called a tight game both ways and Jalen got in foul trouble and sat out a lot of the first half and a good part of the second half,” Dover coach Adam Repinz said of his star player. “He just could never get in the rhythm of the game.” “We threw a little box-and-one at him in the beginning, knowing he was the best player on the court, and we ended up getting him in foul trouble,” Haldane coach Joe Virgadamo said. “Obviously that was beneficial to us.” Zuvic scored 23 of his game-high 34 points in the first half. “We had no answer for him,” Repinz said. “We knew he was the key guy and he just went by us. We didn’t box him out, didn’t guard him, and he made us pay for it.” | |
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Ponesse's 16 points lead Wallkill past Rondout WALLKILL – Kaitlyn Ponesse scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds Tuesday night, and the Wallkill High School girls’ basketball team beat Rondout Valley, 56-40, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League game. GIRLS' BASKETBALL |
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Raven Pentz added 10 points and Kelly Warren added eight in the first half before leaving the game with a knee injury. Alyssa Cheslo-Brown had eight points while Lisa Bouffard and Kristin Lundy both added five. RED HOOK 76, NEW PALTZ 44 – Sabrina Eggink had 24 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks to lead the host Raiders to an MHAL win. Kyle Gabriel had 10 points and four steals, and Rebecca Fildes and Sienna O'Han each had 10 points for Red Hook. Adrian Hekking had 14 points and Allison Ricci added 13 for New Paltz. MARLBORO 34, ONTEORA 30 – Erin Cunninham had a game-high 13 points as Marlboro picked up an MHAL road victory against the Indians. Yazmin Lewis added 10 points for the winners; Andrea Cooney had 10 points for Onteora. COLEMAN 53, MILLBROOK 12 – Makenzie Burud’s 22 points led all scorers. “They just pressed us right out of the gym,” Millbrook coach Heather Ianucci said. “We can’t play with that kind of physical team.” JOHN JAY 55, BEACON 45 – Brittney Gullo had 15 points and Shannon Spring added 13 to lead the visiting Patriots to the Conference I, League A victory. Carolann DelBene scored 15 points and Brittani Romanelli added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Bulldogs.
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JANUARY 11, 2010 'A monumental win for our program' Arlington girls beat Lourdes for first time ever in hoops FREEDOM PLAINS – Mid-season games aren’t supposed to be so noteworthy, but in the case of the Arlington-Our Lady of Lourdes high school girls’ basketball contest on Monday night, the subplots were delicious. Let’s count the ways that the Admirals’ 48-43 win over the Warriors in a Conference I, League A matchup qualified for “significant” status. How about this? It was the first-ever win for an Arlington girls’ basketball team over mighty Lourdes in program history. “This was a huge win for our season and a monumental win for our program,” Arlington coach Kim Costello said. “I can't think of a more special group of young ladies to have earned this distinction. Coach Mesuch and myself are very proud of them.” Ah, coach Mesuch, which brings us to subplot No. 2. Sarah Mesuch was the Our Lady of Lourdes head coach for seven seasons until she was downsized out of her physical education teaching position last May and also lost her coaching job at the school. She more than landed on her feet as a guidance counselor in the Arlington school district and as an assistant to Costello. This was the first time facing her former team. The Admirals showed some fortitude late in the game that should make Costello proud. After watching OLL reel off 13 consecutive points to tie the game at 41-41 in the fourth quarter, the Admirals tightened up on defense, hit a couple of big shots down the stretch and came away with the win. “I was pleased with our girls’ poise, as we absorbed their run and kept our composure,” Costello said. “We stayed tough, hit big shots down the stretch, rebounded when we had to, and handled their pressure.” At 9-1, and 2-0 in the league, Arlington not only has the best girls’ basketball record in the area, but has a game up already on the two teams that figure to be its closest competitors in the league – John Jay and Lourdes, which could also threaten OLL’s phenomenal streak of 27 consecutive league championships.
Nicole Lanteri led Arlington with 13 points, Jackie Rywalt had 12 and Nicole Spaulding had eight points and 11 rebounds. Stevi Sala and Jocelyn Strack both played well defensively, Sarah Kaminsky had seven points in the first half, and Gabi Esposito and TK Starzyk gave the Admirals a boost with strong play. Teneka Whittaker led the Warriors with a game-high 27 points.
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| Snow expected to play havoc with schedules By Rich Thomaselli HVSR For the third time in 16 days, Mother Nature is bearing down on the Hudson Valley and will likely force another glut of postponements and re-scheduled high school games. A winter storm watch for the area is in effect from late tonight through Wednesday evening. The National Weather Service is calling for 100% chance of snow tonight heading into Wednesday, with seven or more inches of snowfall in 12 hours. Snow should start moving in after 10 p.m., becoming steadier and heavier by Wednesday morning with the possibility of the snowfall exceeding an inch an hour. Schools have already begun adjusting; with a full slate of games scheduled tonight, many have pushed up the start times by an hour or so to make sure they get the game in this evening but are done before the snow starts. As for Wednesday’s schedule, well, don’t count on it. Athletic directors will probably be on the phone later today already penciling in postponements. | | Marist women win 9th in a row BALTIMORE – The Marist College women's basketball game won its ninth straight game with a 59-43 victory over Loyola in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) game at Reitz Arena on Monday. Three Red Foxes reached double figures led by junior forward Brandy Gang, who scored 15 points. Senior Erica Allenspach added 14 points, while junior guard Corielle Yarde scored 13 in the game. Gang added five rebounds and Allenspach dished out four assists and collected two steals. Senior Élise Caron notched three assists and tied for the team lead in rebounds with six. She led the Red Foxes with three steals. Junior Kristine Best also had six boards. Loyola's Katie Sheahin scored the first basket of the game to give the Greyhounds a 2-0 lead. Marist responded with an 8-0 run over a span of 2:16 to claim an 8-2 advantage with 16:52 to play in the period. During the spurt, sophomore Kate Oliver hit a layup and Gang nailed triples on consecutive possessions to cap the run. With the score tied at 12 apiece with 10:25 to play in the frame, the Red Foxes held Loyola without a point for the next 7:29. The strong defensive effort by Marist sparked an 11-0 run during the stretch to grow the lead to as many as 13, 25-12. In the run, Allenspach shot 4-for-4 from the free throw line and Yarde completed a conventional three-point play for her only points of the frame. At the half, Marist held a 27-18 lead. It was the third straight game that Marist allowed fewer than 20 points in the opening period. The Red Foxes opened the second half on a 7-0 run that began at the 18:20 mark and was capped with 16:38 remaining in regulation. Caron began the run with a layup and Yarde followed up with a three-pointer. Allenspach capped the run with a layup off a Greyhounds turnover.
Loyola got the deficit to as few as eight on two occasions in the final 4:26 of the game, but a right wing three-pointer by Gang gave Marist an 11-point advantage, 50-39, with 2:15 to play. In the final 88 seconds of the game, Caron made seven of eight free throws to secure the ninth straight Marist victory and fourth in a row to start conference play. In the game, the Red Foxes shot 15-for-17 from the free throw line and individually Caron went 7-for-8 and Allenspach made all six of her attempts. Marist won the battle of the boards, 41-40, but Loyola did manage 17 offensive rebounds. The Red Foxes had 10 second chance points in the game off of eight offensive rebounds. Marist improved to 13-2 overall and 4-0 in MAAC play; Loyola fell to 6-9 overall and 3-1 in conference contests. The Red Foxes continue their four-game road trip on Friday, Jan. 14 at Canisius. Marist will play its second consecutive morning game, and tip-off in Buffalo is slated for 11 a.m. at the Koessler Athletic Center.
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LaCourt's 29 lead Dover past rival Pawling PAWLING – Jalen LaCourt led all scorers with 29 points, and the Dover High School boys’ basketball team held off a hot-shooting Pawling team for an 80-61 win on Monday night in a Conference I, League C game. The Dragons are now 5-3 overall and 1-1 in league play. “We wound up winning by (19) but it was close throughout,” Dover coach Adam Repinz said. “They couldn’t miss. It was one of the best shooting performances I’ve seen.” Pawling drilled 11 three-pointers in the contest to keep it relatively close until Dover pulled away in the second half. Dayvon Lloyd added 24 points for the Dragons and Ryan Dowd had his third consecutive double-figure game with 13 points. Cameron Toms led the Tigers with 20 points, and Matt Morrison had 12. |
Lourdes boys stifle Arlington, 54-31 POUGHKEEPSIE – Here come the Warriors. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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The Our Lady of Lourdes High School boys’ basketball team has struggled through injuries and other setbacks in the early going, dropping five of its first six games. But it was just a matter of time before it all started to come together for the Warriors, and it appears that time was Monday night.
Chris Metz broke out of a shooting slump with a game-high 17 points, and OLL suffocated Arlington on defense, rolling to a 54-31 win over the visiting Admirals in a Conference I, League A game. Lourdes is now 2-5 overall; Arlington dropped to 4-5. “It's not the win that was important, but the effort and execution we had tonight,” OLL coach Jim Santoro said. “We have struggled early on in our season, but I think our team is starting to make up some lost ground.” Lourdes used its standard man-to-man defense and mixed in some fullcourt pressure that befuddled Arlington at times. The Warriors held the Admirals to just 21 points through the first three quarters. Grant Thomas added 13 points for OLL. “Arlington-Lourdes is always an exciting game,” Santoro said. “I thought both teams played extremely hard tonight, but we just executed a little better.” | |
| Saugerties slows down Rondout KYSERIKE – The Rondout Valley High School boys’ basketball team continues to achieve its defensive goals nearly every time out. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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The Ganders strive to hold opponents under 50 points, and they’re generally successful.
The problem for this youthful team is on offense. RV could only muster 34 points on Monday in a 42-34 Mid-Hudson Athletic League loss to Saugerties. Lucas Veltrie led the winners with 11 points; Eric Johanson had 15 points and Ben DeForest 10 for the Ganders. “We don’t have the greatest shooting team so we preach defense, and these guys play as hard as they can night in and night out,” Rondout coach Pete Colomer said. “We just have to knock down a few more shots.” | | Sapchak's 22 lead Rhinebeck POUGHKEEPSIE – Jacob Sapchak scored a game-high 22 points on Monday night, and the Rhinebeck High School boys’ basketball team held off host Spackenkill, 64-53, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League game. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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“Sapchak is much improved from last year and had a great game,” Spackenkill coach Terry Feeley said. “He stayed within himself and put up some very good numbers on both ends of the floor.” Mark Scott scored half of his 14 points from the free throw line and Ben Hoynes added 11 points for the Hawks. “We were much too inconsistent on the offensive end; defensively our transition defense was horrendous,” Feeley said. “It's going to difficult to win ball games if we're going to give our opponents 33 free throws.” Rhinebeck made 22 of them. Josh Riley led Spackenkill with 15 points, 10 rebounds and a block, and Steve Gugumuck added 13 points in a limited role because of foul trouble. |
JANUARY 10, 2010 Marist nabs a rare road victory NEW YORK – A victory for the Marist College men’s basketball team is rare. A win on the road is like finding a Faberge Egg.  Sophomore guard Sam Prescott had 18 points and the Red Foxes led wire to wire on Sunday in a 65-59 win over Manhattan in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) game at Draddy Gymnasium.
It was only the fourth win in 17 games for Marist this season, and the first road win since the end of the 2008-09 season, a span of 27 games. Red-shirt sophomore swingman Dorvell Carter scored a career-high 14 points and tied his career high with eight rebounds in his first career start. Prescott shot 6-for-12 from the field and drained four three-pointers, the highest single-game total for any Red Fox this season. Carter (pictured) shot 6-for-13 from the field, hit two three-pointers, and had two assists and a steal in a career-high 38 minutes. Five of his eight rebounds came on the offensive end. Freshman forward Adam Kemp scored a career-high 10 points and added seven rebounds. Kemp shot 4-for-6 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. The win snapped a nine-game losing streak for Marist at Draddy Gymnasium, and was the Red Foxes' first win at Manhattan since Dec. 7, 2000. Marist drained a season-high 12 three-pointers in 25 attempts, a percentage of .480. The Red Foxes also outrebounded the Jaspers 35-30 and shot 9-for-11 from the free-throw line. Marist opened the scoring 55 seconds into the game on a three-pointer by Prescott. With 7:06 left in the first half, a basket by Kemp gave the Red Foxes a 12-point lead at 19-7, which would be their largest lead of the contest. The bucket also capped an 8-0 run. A three-pointer by Manhattan's Mohamed Koita in the waning seconds of the first half cut the Red Foxes' lead to 27-20 going to the locker room. With 14:33 to play, the Jaspers got within one point at 34-33 after two free throws by George Beamon. However, the Red Foxes answered with a 12-2 run to get the lead back to 10, as they hit three-pointers on four consecutive possessions. Sophomore guard Devin Price knocked down two threes in the run, with sophomore guard Candon Rusin and freshman swingman Jay Bowie adding one apiece.
When Manhattan mounted charges in the final minutes, Prescott had the answer for the Marist. After the Jaspers cut their deficit to two, Prescott had a conventional three-point play with 6:39 remaining to put the Red Foxes back up by five. With the Red Foxes nursing a four-point lead with under three minutes to play, Prescott scored five points on successive possessions with a jumper and three-pointer. Manhattan once again got as close as two on a basket by Beamon with 13.4 seconds to go, but junior guard R.J. Hall put the game away by going 4-for-4 from the line in the final 11 seconds. Marist (4-13 overall) is now tied for fourth place in the MAAC with a 3-2 conference mark. Manhattan fell to 2-13 overall and 0-5 in the MAAC. The Red Foxes will return to action on Friday, when they host conference rival Siena at the McCann Center. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
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| Army women top Yale WEST POINT – Senior Erin exploded for 21 points, 14 rebounds and a season-high six blocked shots to pace the Army women's basketball team in a 63-56 victory over visiting Yale in the final non-conference test of the season for both teams on Sunday afternoon at Christl Arena. The victory improved Army to 7-8 overall, extended the team's win streak to three games and bettered the Black Knights' record to 6-1 at home. Yale dropped to 4-10 on the season. Anthony scored 15 of her 21 during a stellar second half. She was 9-of-11 from the free throw line and recorded her seventh double-double of the season. Senior Nalini Hawkins poured in a season-high 15 points, including a pair of consecutive buckets with under two minutes to play, while adding four assists and as many rebounds. Senior Laura Baranek and sophomore Molly Yardley chipped in with seven points each. Freshman Jen Hazlett and junior Kait Goodall contributed seven and six points off the bench, respectively. The Black Knights shot 38 percent (22-of-58) from the field and 76 percent (16-of-21) from the free throw line. | | Beacon's Bowen, Alexander shine at Hispanic Games meet NEW YORK – Do Beacon High School’s Alex Bowen and Victoria Alexander ever have a bad day at the track? Sure doesn’t seem like it. The two competed on Saturday night at the Hispanic Games Invitational at the Armory, and, of course they both shined. Bowen won the boys’ high jump with a leap of six feet, four inches and, as you can see from the video, he just missed at 6-6. Alexander also medaled for Beacon and had two personal bests in the 55 meters. Her trials time of 7.22 seconds qualified her for the finals, and her finals time of 7.19 placed her third out of 236 competitors. Alexander is ranked sixth in the state in the 55-meters; Bowen is third in the state in the high jump. |
JANUARY 6, 2010 Nine earn All-State football honors By Rich Thomaselli HVSR Nine local players have made the New York State Sportswriters Association All-State high school football teams in Classes B, C and D, including a couple of first-teamers.  Millbrook High School placed three players on the Class C teams, led by placekicker Aidan Little, who was was named to the Class C First Team Offense for his efforts in helping the Blazers to the Section Nine, Class C championship. Little, who also played simultaneously in the fall for Millbrook soccer, hit four of six field goals, nailed 50 of his 54 extra points – and two of the misses were on bad snaps – and kicked 40 of his 67 kickoffs for touchbacks.
Hudson Valley Sports Report Offensive Player of the Year Jimmy Ross of Millbrook (pictured) was named Class C Second Team Offense as a running back, as was Pawling’s James Magee. Ross finished with 1,362 yards rushing, 19 touchdowns on the ground, three from the air, five more on kick returns, one on an interception return, and a total of 2,199 all-purpose yards. Ross’ teammate, lineman Josh Rose, also earned Class C Second Team Offense honors. In Class B, the Section Nine champions from New Paltz were well represented as offensive lineman Kyle Roberts, a 6-foot, 300-pound senior, was named to the state’s First Team Offense. His teammate, defensive lineman John Schmitt, was a Third Team Class B performer. Also in Class B, Lourdes’ Jimmy Ryan and Marlboro’s Ben Cary was named to the state’s Second Team. Ryan, a running back, earned Second Team Offense honors after rushing for 1,327 yards and 22 touchdowns for the Warriors, the most rushing TDs in Section One this season. Cary, a two-way star who led the Iron Dukes to the Section Nine, Class B regular season crown, was named All-State Second Team Defense. The senior linebacker finished with a team-high 101 tackles as well as an interception. Highland running back Mike Forte was named Fourth Team Offense All-State. The All-State teams in Classes AA and A will be announced on Wednesday, Jan. 12.
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| RCK boys upend Beacon WAPPINGERS FALLS – At halftime, Matt Paino challenged his Roy C. Ketcham High School boys’ basketball team to win the third quarter. That ended up winning the game for the Indians. RCK outscored Beacon by 11 in the third period, and the Indians went on to a 56-46 BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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win over the Bulldogs on Wednesday in a Conference I, League A game. “They outscored us 14-6 in the second quarter and went into halftime with a lead, and we kind of got hard on the players and challenged them,” said Paino, RCK’s coach. “The kids really responded.” Steve Bizzaro led Ketcham with 18 points and Roland Archie added 17 points and nine boards, but Earl Snead had two huge buckets in the fourth quarter for the Indians to keep Beacon at bay. Ray Silva and Spenser McElhoney had 10 points each for Beacon. Ketcham shot 24-for-38 from the free throw line in the game. Zuvic's 29 paces Haldane COLD SPRING – Haldane High School boys’ basketball coach Joe Virgadamo said it’s been a while since the program finished with a winning record. So long he can’t remember. He might have to find out exactly so he can put it into context, the way this season is going. The Blue Devils improved to 5-2 overall and opened Conference I, League C play with a victory on Wednesday night, beating Pawling 59-38. Jackson Zuvic had a game-high 29 points for Haldane, while Will Hoffman and Jimmy Meekins had 11 and nine, respecetively. Matt Morrison led the Tigers with 14 points. “We came out and executed with intensity the whole game,” Virgadamo said “We played great team ball, which has been progressively getting better. Our big men just dominated the game. Our pressure, right from the tip, just got the job done.” Virgadamo had high praise for Meekins, his point guard. “Jimmy is just running a great show, taking control of the game, getting more confident each game and more importantly making the extra pass and making his teammates better,” he said. | | Sala, defense key as Admirals rip Jay FREEDOM PLAINS – Ask any basketball coach for two keys to victory and they’ll tell you the same thing – good defense at one end of the court, and a good floor leader at the other. GIRLS' BASKETBALL |
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The Arlington High School girls’ basketball team had both on Wednesday night. The Admirals clamped down on defense to hold John Jay to just 12 second-half points, and Stevi Sala controlled the play on offense as Arlington rolled to a 56-36 victory in a Conference I, League A game. The Admirals are now 8-1 overall and 2-0 in the league. Jay dropped to 4-3 and 0-1. “I thought we just came out and played smart, probably our smartest game all season,” Arlington coach Kim Costello said. “We did a good job of controlling the boards, we got some great contributions off the bench and we played great defense.” Sala had a tremendous floor game for the Admirals with eight points, six steals, six rebounds and five assists. “She was all over the place,” Costello said of Sala. “She had a great line and she also did things that don’t show up in the scorebook.” Jackie Rywalt led Arlington with 15 points, Nicole Lanteri had 12 points and five assists, and Jocelyn Strack had a game-high 11 rebounds. Brittney Gullo led John Jay with 14 points. The two teams were tied at 24-all at halftime before Arlington shut down the Patriots in the second half. | |
| Marist rally falls short at Princeton PRINCETON, N.J. – Good rally, but another ‘L’ for the Marist College men’s basketball team. The Red Foxes trailed by as many as 20 points in the first half before cutting the deficit to five in the second half, but that’s as close as they would come as Marist loss to Princeton, 68-57, in a non-conference game on Wednesday night. Sophomore guard Sam Prescott led the Red Foxes with 12 points, and freshman swingman Jay Bowie added 11. Freshman forward Adam Kemp had a game-high nine rebounds to go along with seven points, a blocked shot, a steal and an assist. Junior guard R.J. Hall had four assists against just two turnovers to go along with eight points. Princeton, the Ivy League preseason favorite, had five scorers in double digits. Dan Mavraides led all scorers with 16 points, and Douglas Davis had 15. Ian Hummer led the Tigers with seven rebounds and five assists, and added 11 points. Princeton led wire-to-wire, as the Tigers scored the game’s first six points and had their largest lead of 20 at 30-10 with 4:54 left in the first half. The Red Foxes answered with an 8-0 run, but still trailed 37-20 going into halftime as they shot just .267 (8-for-30) in the first half and missed all 10 of their three-point attempts. After a jumper by Davis gave Princeton a 41-24 lead with 18:09 to play, Marist answered with a 12-0 run over the next 7:05 to make the score 41-36. However, a three-pointer by Davis at the 10:49 mark put Princeton back up by eight, and the Tigers never led by less than 10 over the game’s final nine-and-a-half minutes. Marist, which entered the game as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s (MAAC) leader in free-throw percentage, shot .867 (13-for-15) from the line. However, Princeton hit 21 of its 24 attempts for a mark of .875. The Tigers outrebounded the Red Foxes 38-34. Marist committed a season-low nine turnovers, while Princeton committed just 10. Marist fell to 3-12 overall; Princeton improved to 11-4. Marist will return to action on Friday, when the Red Foxes host MAAC preseason favorite Fairfield. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. As part of its promotion of Scout Night, the Marist Athletics Department will offer tickets at a discounted rate for Boy/Cub Scouts and their families. For further information, call the Marist Ticket Office at (845) 575-3553. |
Gindes' career-high lifts John Jay WICCOPEE – Last week, the John Jay High School boys’ basketball team squeaked by Arlington by a point on a neutral court in the Dutchess County Basketball Coaches Association Tournament.  Wednesday night, some home cooking and a big lift from a role player got the Patriots an easier go of it.
Zack Gindes scored a career-high 14 points, and John Jay beat the Admirals, 52-38, in the Conference I, League A opener for both teams. Jay is now 4-5 overall; Arlington is 4-4. “I think it was just one of those nights for Zach,” John Jay coach Matt Hayes said. “I don’t think he’s had 14 points total in our previous eight games.” Gindes stepped up in place of leading scorer Nick Segarra, who was sidelined with much of the game with foul trouble. Daen Riviere added 13 points for the Patriots and Rob McMahon had eight. Julian Martinez paced Arlington with 12 points. Jay limited the Admirals to just 10 points in the first half. “Offensively, the story was we had some guys step up that haven’t been our leading scorers before, but the defense really won the game,” Hayes said. “Arlington is a very good three-point shooting team. They hit seven three’s against us last week so we wanted to get out and contest their shooters.”
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| Pioneers down OLL POUGHKEEPSIE – Hangover? Nah. Just one team coming down off an emotional high and another trying to ride an emotional lift. BOYS' BASKETBALL |
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Two days after knocking off No. 4 Newburgh in a thrilling game at Marist College, the Poughkeepsie High School boys’ basketball team opened Conference I, League A play with a closer-than-expected 77-59 win over a game Our Lady of Lourdes team on Wednesday.
Nate Gause had 28 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Pioneers to their eighth win in as many games. Grant Thomas had 14 points to lead a Warrior team that drilled 12 three-pointers. “I think our kids were still a little emotional about the game the other day and Lourdes was psyched to play us and came out strong,” Poughkeepsie coach Brian Laffin said. “They hit some big shots and their kids played very hard. Nate obviously had a great game and was really the offensive spark we needed.” The Pioneers are scheduled to play Friday at Beacon, a team they beat by 50 points, in the Dutchess County Basketball Coaches Association Tournament. | | Milner, Haldane best Pawling COLD SPRING – Margo Hackett is to the point now where she automatically expects to be doubled-teamed every game. The Pawling High School girls’ basketball star simply makes her adjustments against two defenders, like against Haldane on Wednesday night when she scored 25 points in the first half. Three defenders? That’s a different story. The Blue Devils put a third body on Hackett in the second half, and Haldane rallied from a 12-point deficit at halftime to beat the Tigers, 54-50, in a Conference I, League C matchup. “They started to run a third person at her in the second half, and we didn’t adjust,” said Pawling coach Jeff Hackett, Margo’s father. “For some reason, our young kids kind of take it easy instead of getting more aggressive. We don’t finish off plays.” Hackett had just seven points in the second half. Lauren Owens added nine. Haldane’s Liz Milner scored 26 points to lead the Blue Devils’ comeback. GIRLS' BASKETBALL |
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OLL outlasts Poughkeepsie POUGHKEEPSIE – Teneka Whittaker hit two big throws down the stretch and the Our Lady of Lourdes High School girls’ basketball team nipped Poughkeepsie, 47-43, in the Warriors’ Conference I, League A opener on Wednesday night. OLL, seeking an unprecedented 28th consecutive league crown, is 3-5 overall. “It was a real battle,” Lourdes coach Al Viani said. “They were killing us on the boards but we hung in there. It was a nip and tuck game the whole way. Nobody was up by more than four points.” The game was tied at halftime at 19-19. Whittaker scored 23 points, including 11-of-14 from the free throw line, and Krista Vanacore hit two huge three-pointers in the fourth quarter for the Warriors – one of which turned into a four-point play after she was fouled. Romanelli double-double leads Beacon BEACON – Brittani Romanelli had game highs with 21 points and 11 rebounds, and the Beacon High School girls’ basketball team overcame a sluggish start to beat Roy C. Ketcham, 45-38, in a Conference I, League A game on Wednesday. Carolann DelBene added 13 points for the Bulldeogs, who improved to 3-4 overall and 1-0 in the league. The Indians dropped to 4-5 and 0-1. The Bulldogs were down 10-2 after one quarter before outscoring Ketcham 29-15 in the middle quarters. “We didn’t play for two weeks and we looked like it,” Beacon assistant coach John Philipbar said. “Early on it was just sloppy but when we settled down we really got into a groove.” Allison Ginter led RCK with 20 points. | |
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Arlington girls extend bowling lead BOWLING and WRESTLING |
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HOPEWELL JUNCTION – The battle in the Dutchess-Putnam Interscholastic Bowling League has resumed. Well, in boys’ bowling, anyway. The Arlington High School girls continued to expand their lead as the Admirals beat John Jay, 7-0, on Tuesday at Fishkill Bowl. Samantha Zabawski rolled a 549 series for the winners, while teammate Kayla Brennan had the high game at 204. John Jay’s Dana Winant had a 424 series for the Patriots. Also in girls’ bowling, Roy C. Ketcham toppled Beacon, 5-2, as Stephanie Mayer had a 483 series. Beacon’s Erin Correa rolled a 472 series to lead the Bulldogs. The boys’ race is far tighter with RCK remaining on top after a 7-0 win over Beacon. The Indians’ Shawn Phillips, Tom Rosselli and Jon Savas went 649, 649 and 647, respectively, in a terrific display of solid bowling. Beacon’s Sean Meeker rolled a 566 series. Arlington moved into second place after beating John Jay, 7-0. Senior Bryan Golding rolled a 596 series to pace the Admirals, a pin better than teammate Raymond Hynes’ 595. Kevin Winant led Jay with a 518 series. WRESTLING KYSERIKE –Anthony Florida recorded a mandatory decision victory, leading the Onteora High School wrestling team to a 65-10 victory over John S. Burke on Wednesday. Florida beat Burke’s Matt Juliano, 11-0, at 145 pounds in a match that featured seven forfeits in Onteora’s favor.
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JANUARY 5, 2010 Marist crushes Iona 18-0 start leads to 23rd straight win vs. Gaels
 POUGHKEEPSIE – The hot dogs weren’t even cooked yet. That’s how long – or short, depending on how you look at it – it took the Marist College women’s basketball team to put away Iona Tuesday night at the James J. McCann Recreation Center. The Red Foxes scored the first 18 points of the game, led 24-1 at one point, and beat the Gaels 73-43 in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game. It was the 23rd win in a row for Marist over Iona, an amazing streak of dominance over one opponent. “We don’t look at the streak; you guys (the media) are the ones who make the streak what it is,” Marist head coach Brian Giorgis said. “We just know Iona has been the second best team (in the league) and has been trying like crazy to beat us. If we don’t bring our ‘A’ game we’re going to struggle.” It was A+ on this night. Marist held the Gaels without a field goal for the first 12:29 of the contest as seniors Erica Allenspach and Élise Caron, and juniors Brandy Gang and Corielle Yarde all scored in double figures with 15, 13, 12 and 11 points respectively. In addition to her game-high 15 points, Allenspach added five assists and a steal on 5-for-12 shooting. She was also a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line. Caron added six rebounds and hit all three of her three-point attempts. She also had three assists. Gang grabbed a team-high seven boards and scored eight of her 12 points in the second half. Marist scored the first 18 points of the game over a span of 9:26. During the stretch Allenspach scored six points, Caron added five, senior Maria Laterza hit a triple and sophomore Kate Oliver and Gang each netted two points. “We just came out ready to play,” Yarde said. “We’re the type of team that can get out early and get up by a lot.” Said Giorgis: “When we can play like this, we’re very tough to beat.” After Iona scored back-to-back baskets to make the score 24-6 with 6:56 to go in the half, the Red Foxes pushed the lead back to 25 on a Caron triple with 1:40 to go. The score was 36-11. Tomica Bacic hit a three pointer with 10 seconds remaining in the half for Iona to make the score 38-16 at the intermission.
The Gaels surged out to a 7-0 run to open the second half and cut the deficit to 15 with 17:30 to play. Anda Ivkovic scored all seven points on the run and helped Iona cut the Marist lead to 38-23. However, that was as close as the Gaels would get. Over a span of 2:02, the Red Foxes used a 10-0 run to get the lead back to 26, 51-25. The run was capped by a Gang triple, one of two three-pointers she made in the game. Marist got the lead to as many as 33, 72-39, with 2:31 to play when freshman Casey Dulin converted a shot from long distance. The Red Foxes shot 43.3 percent from the field in the game and Iona shot just 25.4 percent from the floor. The Gaels missed their first 16 shots from the field over a span of 12:29 in the first half. Marist collected 44 caroms in the game as opposed to Iona's 41. The Red Foxes doubled up the Gaels in the assist column with 16. Iona had eight helpers. With the win Marist improved to 11-2 and 2-0 in the MAAC, while Iona fell to 4-10 and 0-2 in conference games. Marist concludes a three-game homestand on Saturday when it hosts Saint Peter's in a MAAC battle. The game will be played at the McCann Center as the Red Foxes look to close out their three-game homestand, the longest of the season, with a perfect record.
Spackenkill, Coleman split on the court | |
| Chatelain, Mesuda lead JAC boys TOWN OF ULSTER – Chris Chatelain and Ben Mesuda each scored 22 points, and the John A. Coleman High School boys’ basketball team held Spackenkill to just two points in the second quarter en route to a 59-49 win over the Spartans on Tuesday in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League game. Steve Gugumuck had 19 points, seven rebounds and two steals to pace Spackenkill. Quinn Horvath added 11. The Spartans actually got off to a great start on the road, taking a 17-14 lead. But Coleman clamped down in the second quarter, holding Spackenkill to just a bucket in a 16-2 quarter that led to a 30-19 lead. “We missed some chippies and a couple of free throws, but give Coleman credit,” Spackenkill coach Terry Feeley said. “They were able to take us out of what we were looking to do. We didn't react well to being down, we began to force some passes and rush some shots.” | | Spartan girls use defense to upset No. 1 Stateswomen in OT POUGHKEEPSIE – And the first big upset of the high school basketball season goes to the Spackenkill girls’ basketball team. Cat Thompson and Dominique Douglas each had a double-double, and the Spartans knocked off No. 1-ranked Coleman, 45-33 in overtime, in a Mid-Hudson Athletic League game on Tuesday night. Spackenkill is now 5-1; it was the first loss of the year for the Stateswomen, the state’s top-ranked Class D team. Thompson had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Douglas had 11 points and 13 boards. But it was the Spartans’ defense that did the trick, as they held Coleman to just three points in the second half and only one in overtime to seal the win. Makenzie Burud led the Stateswomen with 16 points. |
JANUARY 4, 2010 It’s all Poughkeepsie Gause, Pioneers overwhelm NFA
By Rich Thomaselli HVSR POUGHKEEPSIE – It all changed in eight minutes. And it was as impressive as it was stunning. After spending the first 10 minutes of the game playing careless with the basketball on one end and failing to keep Newburgh Free Academy off the glass at the other, Poughkeepsie High School flipped a switch. The Pioneers finished the last four minutes of the first half on a 12-0 run, and opened the first four minutes of the second half on a 14-5 burst, and Poughkeepsie knocked off NFA, 68-59, before a packed house at Marist College on Monday night. Poughkeepsie avenged last year’s 13-point loss to Newburgh, and the Pioneers, ranked ninth in New York State Class AA, improved to 7-0. The Goldbacks, ranked fourth in the state, dropped their first of the season and are now 4-1. Poughkeepsie’s Nate Gause led all scorers with 27 points, including an incredible 16-point outburst in the third period when the Pioneers broke out to a 15-point lead at one point, and added six rebounds and eight blocked shots. Basheem Bennett added 20 points. “We wanted to make a statement,” Bennett said. “We made it.” Poughkeepsie did, indeed. It just took a little time, that’s all. Although the Pioneers started out the game with the ball and a 1-0 lead – there was no opening tip because Newburgh’s Gary Buxton was called for a technical foul during warm-ups for dunking the ball, and Gause hit one of two free throws to begin the game – it was the Goldbacks who jumped out first. Thanks to a relentless effort on the offensive glass and a defense that forced five Poughkeepsie turnovers in the first quarter, NFA led 12-9 after one period and 17-9 in the opening moments of the second period that forced Pioneers coach Brian Laffin to call a timeout. “We were making mistakes,” Gause said. “Lots of unforced errors, and they were scoring off them. But after that timeout, Coach Laf got on us about playing hard, playing defense and crashing the boards.” Whatever he said, and however he said it, it worked. Suddenly it was a different Poughkeepsie team, thanks in large part to a guy who knows a thing or two about being in the trenches – Hudson Valley Sports Report Football Defensive Player of the Year Tyre Coleman – and a guy who came off the bench to provide a spark. Coleman started snatching rebounds, holding his ground in the paint and drawing charges. His offensive rebound putback stopped NFA’s run and cut the lead to 17-11. Later, Ronnell Epps came off the bench and scored back-to-back hoops – a driving layup and then a three-pointer – jump-starting a 12-0 run to end the half that turned a 21-18 Newburgh lead into a 27-21 Pioneer advantage at the break. Then it was Nate Time. Gause exploded in the third quarter and put on quite the display – a dunk, consecutive three-pointers, a driving shot, a layup in transition, a couple of offensive rebounds – and the Pioneers built a 53-40 lead heading into the final quarter. “He’s talented. I don’t think there’s any question about that,” Laffin said of Gause. “He’s a leader on the floor.”
Newburgh’s Will Williams (21 points) kept Newburgh in it with five three-pointers, including one from well beyond NBA range, but the closest the Goldbacks could get was eight points.
Army men, women take doubleheader WEST POINT – It was a doubleheader Monday at Christl Arena, and both the Army men’s and women’s basketball teams were victorious.  The Army men’s basketball team (8-7) tied the Christl Arena record with 13 three-pointers en route to a 67-47 win over Dartmouth (4-9). Julian Simmons led the way with 19 points, including five three-pointers.
It was the third time this season Army made 13 three-pointers in its home facility. The Black Knights set the Academy record of 14 three-pointers at Yale on Nov. 27. Army’s 33 three-point tries against the Big Green on Monday were just two of the Army single-game record. Simmons, who just missed his first career double-double with a career-best nine rebounds, was the only Army player in double figures. The Black Knights used a balanced attack with 10 players finding the bottom of the net, including six with at least one three-pointer. Sophomore Ella Ellis had nine points, while rookie Josh Herbeck chipped in eight markers. Freshman Cartavious Kincade scored a career-best seven points. Hot shooting and a 20-4 run midway through the first half spelled a 66-55 Army victory over visiting Bryant in non-conference women’s basketball action. Senior Erin Anthony led a season-high four Army players in double-figures with 19 points to go with eight rebounds, while the Black Knights shot 52 percent from the field on the game. Sixty-six points marked a season-high for the Black Knights, who shot 26-of-50 from the field and 9-of-15 from three-point range. Senior Jessie Coiffard went 3-of-4 from long range and finished with 12 points, while sophomore Molly Yardley and senior Laura Baranek added 11 points each. Sophomore Jen Hazlett poured in a career-high eight points, including a pair of three-pointers in the first half. She added three rebounds and four assists. | | Loyola leads from start to finish, downs Marist BALTIMORE – The one-game winning streak is over. The Marist College basketball team dropped a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) game at Loyola on Monday night by the score of 83-67 on Monday. The Greyhounds led the game wire-to-wire as the Red Foxes suffered their first conference loss of the season. Junior guard R.J. Hall led Marist with 17 points, shooting 5-for-7 from the field, 2-for-3 from three-point range and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. Sophomore guard Candon Rusin added 15 while shooting 4-for-8 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Red-shirt senior guard Dejuan Goodwin led the Red Foxes in rebounds with four and assists with three. The Greyhounds started hot, scoring the game’s first seven points and running the lead to 16-2 before Marist called a timeout at the 15:59 mark. A three-pointer by Robert Olson at the 12:40 mark gave Loyola its largest lead of the first half at 25-6. Marist cut Loyola’s lead to 10 on two occasions in the first half, but never drew closer than 12 in the second half. Marist shot .488 (20-for-41) from the field and .828 (24-for-29) from the free-throw line, but Loyola shot .491 (28-for-57) from the field and .750 (21-for-28) from the line. The Greyhounds also shot 6-for-14 from three-point range, while the Red Foxes were just 3-for-10. Loyola outrebounded Marist 31-19. The Greyhounds grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, while the Red Foxes collected just 14 defensive rebounds. Loyola also committed just nine turnovers, while forcing 13 from Marist. Five Greyhounds scored in double digits, paced by Shane Walker, who had 19 to go along with a game-high eight rebounds, two steals, a blocked shot and an assist. Olson scored 17, and shot 4-for-5 from three-point range. Erik Etherly added 14, all of which came in the second half. Marist fell to 3-11 overall and 2-1 in MAAC play; Loyola is now 5-8 overall and 1-2 in the MAAC. The Red Foxes continue their stretch of four games in seven days on Wednesday, when they travel to Princeton of the Ivy League for a non-conference game. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. | |
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New Year, new picks for league champs Happy New Year to everyone! Has everyone made their New Year’s resolutions? My resolution is to get my own button on the HVSR home page so everyone can quickly access valuable information on girls’ basketball in the Hudson Valley. So how ‘bout it, Rich? (Editor’s Note: Whatever Cat wants, Cat gets. J ) I want to start the new year off with a few predictions on what local teams will make it into the postseason, and conclude with the New Year’s Thompson Top 5. As far as local Section One teams go, Lourdes’ 27-year consecutive league championship run will come to an end. I think John Jay will be league champions in Conference I-A this year. They have the strength, skill and size to carry them into the post season. Maggie Gallagher controls the game from the point and is piling on the assists. They have Carlee Hirt down low controlling the boards and Brit Gullo is back adding a transition threat. Bring in Calli Balfour off the bench and you don’t miss a beat. With that much talent and depth, they should make a serious run at the league championship. Though much improved this year, Arlington lacks the size at the post that Jay is blessed with and I predict the Admirals will finish second to Jay. The two teams meet Wednesday night and it should be a great game. Lourdes is in a rebuilding year and, like Arlington, they lack the post presence necessary to repeat as champions, although an Al Viani-coached team is always competitive. In Section Nine, Wallkill and Coleman should be the Mid-Hudson Athletic League Division 1 and Division 4 champions, respectively. Wallkill has the post presence of Kaitlyn Ponesse coupled with the outside shooting of Alison Baldwin and Kelly Warren. FDR, Rondout and Saugerties can’t match that talent so Wallkill takes it there. Coleman benefitted from the transfer of senior point guard Makenzie Burud from Red Hook to fill an otherwise depleted roster due to the graduation of Melody O’Connor and Taylor Leonard. But I don’t think they have the strength and depth to repeat as state champions this year. In Division 3, Spackenkill and Ellenville will once again be competing for the crown. Both teams lost key players to graduation and transfers, so it will be up to the younger players to step up and meet the challenge. Regina Steele is a dominant player but she doesn’t have the supporting cast Spackenkill has. For Spackenkill, Anna Thompson is developing into a true outside threat and the team plays very good team defense. If its keeps up the defense, Spackenkill should win the division. The toughest division to predict in the MHAL is Division 2. There we have Onteora at 5-0 (ranked 13th in the state), perennial powerhouse Red Hook at 5-1, and the tough up-and-coming Marlboro team at 4-1. Onteora and Red Hook each have 1,000-point shooters in Julia Hinchey and Sabrina Eggink, and both teams are tough defensively. Marlboro is a scrappy team led by Erin Cunningham and has the support of the DeSantis sisters down low. They meet Red Hook on Friday, which will be a test to see how they measure up in Class A. The championship will come down to the last game of the season – Onteora vs. Red hook at Red Hook. Experience and home court advantage should favor Red Hook to take the crown. So those are my predictions for some of the area schools. But you never know, that’s why we play the game. And now the Thompson Top 5: First on my list goes to all the maintenance workers that got all the snow cleared so the holiday tournaments could be played – great job!Second is the Marist women’s basketball team and their impressive wins over some very tough teams to start the season. Keep it up ladies.
This goes out to all the seniors that are on their way to college to get an education and play some ball along the way. Congratulations everyone.
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JANUARY 3, 2010 Poughkeepsie set for battle of unbeatens vs. Newburgh By Rich Thomaselli HVSR The names used to be Butch Moore, and Terry “Long Distance” Williams, and Jerome Elting and Ronnie Elting and Willie Mathis. Yes, the boys’ basketball rivalry between Poughkeepsie High School and Newburgh Free Academy is filled with great games and great players. Tonight, the two schools hope to write another chapter. Poughkeepsie hopes to avenge last year’s loss to NFA when it hosts the Goldbacks at Marist College at 5 p.m. Both teams are undefeated – the Pioneers are 6-0 coming off the Dutchess County Basketball Coaches Association Tournament championship, and the Goldbacks are 4-0. Both teams are state-ranked (NFA is No. 4 in Class AA, Poughkeepsie is 10th), both teams have Division I college prospects and both teams have great coaches. All of which should make for a great game. “Newburgh is a good team,” Poughkeepsie star Nate Gause said. “Marist should be packed and it should be a great game.” NFA ended Poughkeepsie’s dream of an undefeated season last year after opening with 15 consecutive victories, as the Goldbacks defeated the Pioneers, 82-69, at Mount St. Mary College. The key was the second quarter. With the Pioneers leading 15-12 after one period, NFA turned up the defensive pressure, Poughkeepsie turned the ball over on five consecutive possessions, and the Goldbacks went on a 17-0 run to turn a three-point deficit into a 14-point lead. “I think we’re going to go out there and it’s going to be a great test,” Poughkeepsie coach Brian Laffin said. “They’re battle-tested. They’ve had a difficult schedule already. But it’s Newburgh-Poughkeepsie – you roll it out and see what happens.” | | Marist women rout Rider POUGHKEEPSIE – The Marist College women's basketball team won its sixth straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opener with an 81-65 victory over Rider on Sunday afternoon at the McCann Center. The Red Foxes were led offensively by senior guard Erica Allenspach and junior guard Corielle Yarde, who scored 21 and 19 points respectively. The win was also the team's sixth victory in a row. Allenspach also finished the game with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. She shot 6-for-10 from the floor, 3-for-4 from distance and 6-for-8 from the charity stripe. Yarde added six rebounds, six assists and shot 8-for-13 from the field. Marist's third player in double figures was sophomore forward Kate Oliver, who netted 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and three blocks. Marist (10-2, 1-0 MAAC) scored the first six points of the game in the first 1:27 of the contest, and forced a Rider timeout. Senior Èlise Caron scored the first basket and the run concluded with layups from junior forward Brandy Gang and Allenspach. Rider clawed to within one point, 11-10, at the 14:48 mark on a pair of Sarah Homan free throws. After the Red Foxes used a 7-0 run to make the score 17-10 with 11:16 to play in the stanza, the Broncs fought back to tie the score at 19 with 9:23 remaining. The Red Foxes responded with an 11-2 run over a span of 2:25 to push the lead to 13, 39-26, on a pair of Allenspach free throws. She shot 5-for-6 from the line in the half. Allenspach closed the half with a shot from the mid-court line to make push the Marist advantage back to 13, 44-31, at the break. Over the first 7:40 of the second half, Marist used a 16-5 run to take a 61-36 lead, its largest margin of the game. The Red Foxes scored the first five points of the half on a triple from Yarde and a layup from Gang. The stretch was capped by an Allenspach three pointer off a pass from junior guard Kristine Best. Best had two assists in the game.
In the game, Marist shot 48.4 percent from the field and held Rider to just 35.5 percent from the floor. The Red Foxes compiled 21 assists on 31 field goals and forced 22 Broncs' turnovers. However, Rider did hold the edge on the glass, 44-37, and grabbed 17 offensive rebounds. Ali Heller of Rider (0-12, 0-1 MAAC) led the way for the Broncs with 12 points and made all four of her three point attempts. Homan joined her in double figures with 10 points. The Red Foxes will continue their three-game homestand on Tuesday against Iona. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the McCann Center. |
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