By Jim Stout
MaxPreps.com
The calendar may say it's only late December, but the Proctor High boys basketball team of Utica played last week as though it were on a march toward a Section 3 and state Class AA championship this season.
In its latest matchup against another state-ranked team, No. 10 Proctor went into Syracuse last Wednesday night and received a buzzer-beating, tip-in shot from Deandre Preaster in overtime as the Raiders came away with a 56-54 win over No. 14 Henninger in an Onondaga High School League game.
The win by Proctor (6-0, 4-0) came on the heels of another last-second road win, its 62-60 win at No. 2 (in Class A) Glens Falls, a game that was decided by Mario Whitehurst's 3-point basket at the buzzer.
Preaster, an All-State junior, scored 16 points for Proctor while Wesley Jackson and Whitehurst each added 12 in the latest win for Proctor, the defending Section III Class AA champions.
Against Henninger, Proctor held the biggest lead of the night, just six points, at 18-12 and 33-27. Henninger rallied to take a 46-41 lead in the fourth quarter, but Proctor scored the next five points, including Jackson's tying free throw with 1:43 left.
Neither team scored again in regulation and Henninger took the early lead in overtime when seven-foot junior center Ben Cronin scored his only basket.
Ron Tarver, however, hit a 3-pointer and a field goal during an 8-2 run that gave Proctor a 54-50 lead.
Hoosic Valley Scores Major Victory
Hoosic Valley made a strong case for its place as Wasaren League and state Class C contender as it handed second-ranked Stillwater its first loss of the season, 55-46, in Schaghticoke.
"We play pretty sound defense when we decide to play defense," Hoosic Valley coach Dan Calhoun told the Albany Times-Union. "Height does not matter. It is all about positioning."
"I think they (Stillwater) underestimated us," added HV's Pat Lanoue, who contributed 10 points, 10 rebounds and three steals for the Indians (7-0, 4-0).
Stillwater (7-1, 4-1) led 12-7 after one quarter, but Hoosic raised its defensive level and proceeded to go on a 14-0 surge, capped by a lay-up by junior reserve guard Josh James (12 points). During that span, the Stillwater missed nine shots and turned the ball over two times.
"Everything snowballed for us in the second quarter," said Stillwater coach Dave Cook said. "Hoosic Valley played strong defensively and hit some big shots."
No. 7 Aquinas Remains Undefeated
Sophomore Tyler Patterson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to spark Class A No. 7 Aquinas of Rochester on an 8-0 fourth-quarter run as the Little Irish rallied to defeat McQuaid, 55-49, in a non-league boys basketball game at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
D.J. Wing added two free throws during the run for Aquinas (9-0), which trailed 42-41 with 2:38 remaining before coming back. Junior Tim Crilly scored 11 of his 13 points in the third quarter for the Little Irish.
"Tyler is one of our captains," Aquinas coach Mike Grosodonia told the Rochester Democratic and Chronicle.
"These are the games we expect him to play well in. He came out and played really well tonight. He gave us a lot of energy offensively."
Wes Edwards scored 14 points and Mike Labanowski and Dan Riley each scored 12 for McQuaid.
Jones Steps Outside for Mount Vernon
Wadleigh High was all set to shut off the middle and shut down 6-foot-7 Mount Vernon junior Kevin Jones in the finals of the Riverbank State Park Christmas Tournament.
Jones had other ideas. He took a hike - to the perimeter.
Jones hit five of six shots from outside 15 feet, including a pair of 3-pointers, to lead Mount Vernon to an 84-63 win over Manhattan's Wadleigh in the championship of the Riverbank State Park Christmas Tournament.
"That was a needle to the heart right there," Wadleigh coach Crump told the Journal News. "We were hoping to bang the big man down low and make them shoot from the outside. And then (Jones) goes out and hits some 3s. I was like 'What the heck is going on here?' He took the air out of our strategy."
Jones finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds, giving the Division I prospect 47 points and 22 rebounds for the tournament.
Sherrod Wright and Michael Coburn each added 22 points for Mount Vernon, the defending Section I and Class AA state champions, who are 2-0 and ranked No. 23 in the nation by USA Today.
Pearl River Knocks off Tappan, Wins Tourney
A basket by Matt Grossbard broke a tie with two minutes left and host Pearl River ended Class A No. 12 Tappan Zee's unbeaten start with a 54-52 win in the finals of the Pearl River Tournament before a raucous and overflow crowd.
"It's that time of the year for a TZ-Pearl River barnburner," Pearl River coach Jerry Houston told the Journal News. "Both teams are so familiar with each other."
Tappan Zee (6-1) won on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in overtime to beat Pearl River (5-2) in last season's tournament. This time, the Dutchmen couldn't capitalize on 11 chances they had to take the lead in the fourth quarter, including four possessions in the final minute.
On Tappan's final shot, Pat Casey rebounded a missed free throw with less than a second left and got off a desperation heave. But it became stuck in an overhang at mid court and stayed there for the entire post-game ceremony.
Tournament MVP Danny Linnane recorded 13 points and 10 rebounds and played tough defense in the post in the fourth quarter despite having four fouls. Albertus Magnus transfer Eddie McGuinness scored 14 first-half points and Rob Ferreira added 10 rebounds for the Pirates.
"It was unbelievable," McGuinness said. "I've never been in a situation like that before, where both sides were out of control. It's a great environment to play in."
Class D Power Genesee Valley Holds off Fillmore
Fillmore Central hung tough with Class D No. 2 Genesee Valley, even holding a two-point lead with three minutes to go, before finally falling, 54-47.
"Genesee Valley is a fabulous team, and they play tough, but I am going to give my guys a plug tonight because they controlled the pace and kept the game close with a very tough team," Fillmore coach Jamie Mullen told the Olean Times Herald.
"We were up a bucket with three minutes to go and it could have gone either way."
Austin Kelley led the scoring for Genesee Valley (5-0) with 15 points, while Brian Fanton added 14 points.
Ryan Campbell had 17 points for Fillmore (3-3), while Aaron Martin chipped in 14 points for the Eagles.
Top-ranked Olean Improves to 7-0
Zach Moore's 25 points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals paced Olean High (7-0, No 1 in New York in Class B) to a 67-40 win over Gowanda.
"I thought we came out right from the start with a lot of defensive intensity and pressure, and I thought that was key,'' said Olean coach Jeff Anastasia. "I thought our pressure took them out of the game at the beginning."
Sam Moore added 15 points and 16 rebounds for the Huskies, while Frank John scored 29 points for Gowanda (5-2).
John Jay, Ketcham Rivalry Continues
In the Poughkeepsie area, it doesn't get much better than R.C. Ketcham vs. John Jay of Hopewell Junction.
In front of a standing-room-only crowd, Ketcham held off rival John Jay, 71-65, in the Section 1 League C opener for both teams.
"It was a packed house. This is the best rivalry in Dutchess County," Ketcham coach Matt Paino told the Poughkeepsie Journal. "People were lined up out of the doors trying to get in. They had to close the doors."
Trailing by as many as three points in the fourth quarter, Ketcham went 14-of-20 from the foul line in the final period to win.
"I rely on my senior Sean Morris to stabilize the team at moments like that and I didn't have to use time outs," Paino said. "He took care of that for me."
Morris had 13 points and 10 assists, while a pair of sophomores stepped up to make the difference in the game. Kyle Bender, playing in his first Ketcham-Jay game, scored 24 points; Mike Cummings, playing in his first-ever varsity game, contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds. Ketcham is 1-0 in the league, 3-3 overall.
Damian Kaps and Mike Guadagno scored 20 points apiece for John Jay and Mark Chamberlin added 15 points. The Patriots are 0-1 in the league, 2-4 overall.
Jim Stout is the MaxPreps.com master photographer for the Massachusetts/Rhode Island area and a Northeast region columnist. He may be reached at j.stout@jmstout.org