In fact, Ilion and Mohawk nearly did on Friday. The Mohawk Valley rivals engaged in a five-overtime boys game, with Ilion prevailing 80-79 in what is believed to be the longest boys basketball game in Section III history.
Connor Morris nailed a mid-range jumper with 22 seconds left in the fifth overtime for his only points of the night, giving Ilion the lead for good.
Senior guard Richie Carpenter played all 52 minutes for Ilion, scoring 17 points, and junior Kris Klosner also went wire-to-wire. Tommy Moore scored 25 before fouling out.
Mohawk freshman guard Carson Murphy had a career night, posting 30 points with eight rebounds and five assists while also playing the entire game. Win Smithson and Dillon Hassett scored 15 and 12, respectively, before fouling out.
"It felt like it was never going to end," Carpenter told The Observer-Dispatch. "I know I will always remember that game. It will always be a story I can tell people."
Said Mohawk coach Luke Judd: "It’s all a blur. It was a marathon. You feel numb after a while. I was telling guys in between the overtimes, ‘Can we just get this over with?’ "
More boys basketball: Big win for New Rochelle
There are certainly other obstacles awaiting, most likely in the form of Newburgh Free Academy on the first weekend of the tournament and probably Half Hollow Hills West in the title game, but you have to like the odds of the Section I survivor in the NYSPHSAA Class AA basketball tournament.
New Rochelle, Poughkeepsie and Mount Vernon were all ranked in the top 10 this week by the New York State Sportswriters Association, and North Rockland checked in at No. 23.
New Rochelle kicked off a tough stretch on its schedule Saturday with a 62-58 victory over Mount Vernon, overcoming a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Antoine Mason (22 points) tied the score with a steal and a dunk with 1:38 left and then made two free throws with 11.3 seconds left for the go-ahead points.
The Huguenots will take on always-potent Iona Prep this Saturday, and then comes the rematch at Mount Vernon two days later.
"We thought this would be a week where we find out where we stand in the section," coach Bill Murphy told The Journal News. "Let's face it, Mount Vernon's always going to be the team you test yourself up against."
Mount Vernon, which would be riding a string of 10 straight Section I championships if not for New Rochelle in 2005, got 22 points from Jabarie Hinds, but only two in the second half.
"This team does not have a great identity yet for closing games," Mount Vernon coach Bob Cimmino said. "We gave up a nice lead to All Hallows and lost at our place, also. I like what I see for a majority of the game. We just have to step up at crunch time."
That will be crucial beginning with the sectional semifinals early next month. Section I catches no breaks in the state tournament, as the sectional survivor will likely have to down Newburgh and then either Albany CBA, Bishop Maginn or Shenendehowa out of Section II just to reach the final, where Tennessee recruit Tobias Harris and Half Hollow Hills West could be waiting.
* Bishop Maginn lost unexpectedly Friday to Troy but bounced back Sunday as senior forward Chris Jeffers scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to beat Newburgh Free Academy, 60-56 in the Coaches vs. Cancer Challenge at Siena College. Newburgh has won handily in a nonleaguer between the two a year ago en route to a NYSPHSAA championship.
The other featured game of the benefit, which has raised more than $30,000 in just two years, saw Buffalo Nichols rout Albany Academy 65-43 as Virginia recruit Will Regan scored 19 points and yanked down 22 rebounds in 26 minutes.
Nichols held Albany Academy to 15-for-69 shooting. Nichols began the weekend by stopping by Syracuse and dropping a 71-66 decision to two-time defending NYSPHSAA Class A champion Jamesville-DeWitt, despite 25 points and 19 rebounds from Regan.
Jamesville-DeWitt sophomore center Dajuan Coleman produced 17 points, nine rebounds and two blocks for the Red Rams.
* Peekskill is going to stand out a little bit in the next set of state ratings because it seems early for a five-loss Class A team to be ranked. Considering, though, that the setbacks before Saturday’s 75-67 loss to Poughkeepsie were to Iona Prep, Long Island Lutheran — both ranked in Class A — and Xaverian and Wings Academy, the Red Devils (9-5) still get the benefit of the doubt as they aim for their sixth straight trip to Glens Falls.
Which isn't to say that coach Lou Panzanaro isn't concerned.
"We're just not executing, and we've been harping on that all year long," he said. "We just make one bad play and let the close games get away from us. And I'm sure we're going to be in close games in the playoffs."
Poughkeepsie's Nate Gause was the star of the afternoon, scoring 39 points. Dayvon Whitaker chipped in with 23 to help offset Peekskill's Kenny Bradshaw (23).
* Playing short-handed caught up to Jamestown. The Red Raiders were without their top four scorers, suspended for a violation of the school's code of conduct policy, and lost to Frontier 64-57. Darius Edwards scored 25 points to lead Frontier, which overcame a 51-46 deficit through three quarters to hand Jamestown its first loss.
Jamestown will still be two players down this week against once-beaten Orchard Park, which got 29 points from Troy Nowak in a 62-49 victory over Williamsville North.
More heroes and highlights
* Rome Catholic point guard Zach Rowlands made it a senior night to remember by hitting for 41 points in a 65-53 triumph vs. Morrisville-Eaton. The school record is 42 points.
* Senior forward Kadeem Jack, back on the ground for just three hours after a recruiting visit to Arizona, supplied 12 points and 12 rebounds as Rice beat Boys & Girls 56-44 in the semifinals of the SNY Invitational. He came back the next day with 19 points and 10 rebounds to foil Cardozo in overtime, 63-58. Cardozo had built a 19-point lead late in the third quarter before Rice pressed its way back into contention, and Jermaine Sanders scored five points in the extra period.
* Bishop Loughlin roared to a 17-point lead in the first quarter and defeated Christ The KIng 65-62 to break a four-game losing streak, including a matchup last week, to the Royals. Villanova-bound forward Jayvaughn Pinkston scored 14 of his 29 points in the first quarter.
* Hoosick Falls edged Schuylerville 61-57 in double overtime. Kevin McMahon scored 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the Panthers' second OT win this season vs. Schuylerville.
* Andrew Falvey of Cicero-North Syracuse netted 25 points and set a school mark with 23 rebounds as the Northstars beat Baldwinsville 70-56.
* Chris Secky put up 33 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists and seven steals in Maple Grove’s 77-58 victory over Westfield.
