By Jim Stout
MaxPreps.com
The wait was a long one for the White Plains High boys basketball team. You could say it was worth it, though. Many in the capacity crowd on Monday at White Plains would agree.
A win by the Tigers over neighborhood superpower Mount Vernon is more than just a win.
"I told all the seniors that their legacy was made with this game," said White Plains coach Spencer Mayfield, after his team beat Mount Vernon for the first time in 13 tries with a 75-70 victory.
"They're going to be 35 (years old) one day and making business deals, but they'll remember this," Mayfield told the Journal News. "They're all going to remember beating Mount Vernon in their last home game."
Six-foot-4 junior forward Sean Kilpatrick led the way for White Plains (17-2) by registering 25 points and 10 rebounds. He scored 11 points in the final period, when the Tigers overcame a 49-46 deficit.
White Plains' Spencer Smith, meanwhile, limited Rutgers-bound Michael Coburn to 6-of-14 shooting and 16 points. In the teams' previous meeting, a 91-68 Mount Vernon win last month, Coburn had 34 points and seven assists.
"They (White Plains) threw a couple of different zones at us, and it was tough to get anything going," Coburn said. "I feel like there should have been more attacking, but we just fell in love with the 3-pointer."
Kevin Jones instead carried Mount Vernon (13-4). The 6-foot-7 junior scored 33 points on 13-of-18 shooting, including four 3-pointers.
Rashad James scored 12 points and Smith added 11 points and five assists for White Plains. Senior point guard Jamell Cromartie scored 16 points, including four free throws in the final 39 seconds, as the Tigers won their seventh straight since losing at Mount Vernon Jan. 12.
"Tonight we really played well defensively and made a lot of hustle plays," Mayfield said. "There were a couple of momentum-changing plays in this game, but I think we were just much more poised than the last game. We weren't able to answer their runs last time and tonight we did."
Both teams still have to play New Rochelle so the playoff seedings for Section 1 in Class AA are far from being decided. But don't be surprised if Mount Vernon and White Plains wind up meeting for a third time in the sectional final at the Westchester County Center.
"The first two games meant nothing," Mount Vernon coach Bob Cimmino said. "If there is a third game, maybe some people will come and watch."
Bolding, Stepinac Finally Solve Mount St. Michael
Stepinac junior Melquan Bolding, who has already verbally committed to Louisville, scored 29 points as the Crusaders surprised defending CHSAA A Division champ Mount St. Michael, 66-63. The win ended Mount St. Michael's 29-game conference winning streak.
"This is the best victory the program has had since I've been here," seventh-year Stepinac coach Tim Philp told the Journal News. "Mel was phenomenal. This was the best game he's played all year. He waited for everything to come to him."
Bolding, a 6-foot-4 guard, scored eight points in the fourth quarter, highlighted by a clutch rebound and a coast-to-coast drive for a lay-up. The basket put Stepinac (13-6) ahead by 61-54 with 1:14 remaining.
Mount dropped to 16-2.
"This win matters a lot right now, but this isn't the playoffs," Bolding said. "That's when things really start. We played really well and things were going our way tonight. But we still have to beat them again."
Albany-CBA Tickets On Sale in Advance Only
Tickets to the Albany High vs. No. 4 Christian Brothers Academy game on Friday, Feb. 9, will not be available at the door. Instead, spectators must purchase tickets prior to the game from either Albany or CBA.
Of the 1,500 tickets available, host Albany will sell 1,000. CBA will sell the remaining 500. Tickets can be purchased at the main office at Albany High from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 7 and 8, and from noon to 3 p.m. on game day.
For more information, call Albany High at (518) 454-3987 or CBA at 452-9809.
Nyack Coach To Bow Out After Season
Veteran Nyack coach Gary Gray worked his final home game in a 75-49 loss to Spring Valley. He'll retire after the season as the sixth-winningest coach in Section 1 history and No. 2 all-time in Rockland County. Gray has 432 wins heading into his final game Friday at Port Chester.
"I don't think the emotion or the sentimentality of the moment will really hit me until later on, because I still have to come to practice tomorrow and the next day. After Friday, it will be difficult," Gray told the Journal News. "I spent my entire coaching life at Nyack.
"There were two goals that I personally wanted to try to achieve with the basketball program," he added. "One was to bring honor to the team and the other was to bring glory to the community. I think, by and large, we were able to do that."
Christ the King Settles Score
Senior Point guard Malik Boothe shut down Holy Cross' Sylven Landesberg over the final two possessions Tuesday night, helping to secure the Royals' 69-66 CHSAA win at home.
Christ the King (19-2, 10-1) avenged its only league loss this season with the victory and clinched the CHSAA Brooklyn-Queens Division title.
"He (Boothe) is a good defender; he gets under you and it's really hard to dribble," Landesberg told the New York Daily News. "He's tough."
Boothe made it extremely tough for Landesberg, who finished with 30 points, but couldn't get one more basket in the clutch. Landesberg's final shot, which came with 2.5 seconds remaining, bounced high off the back rim.
Holy Cross (16-5, 6-4) had been hitting shots consistently in the first half, when it buried four 3-pointers. That's when CK's juniors came to life. Ryan Pearson and Erving Walker combined for all 25 of their team's second-quarter points, including three straight 3-pointers.
"Erving is like an assassin," CK coach Bob Oliva said. "He takes the dagger out, hits you five or six straight times and walks away with you."
Arlington Takes I-C League Title in Section 1
Andrew Luckie banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime, then made another huge trey in overtime to lead the Arlington to a 65-62 win over Mahopac on Senior Night, clinching the Section 1 I-C title on Monday.
Luckie finished with a game-high 22 points for the Admirals, 8-1 in the league and 13-5 overall.
"We got very lucky tonight," Arlington coach Matt Hoyt told the Poughkeepsie Journal. "To clinch the league title on Senior Night was big."
Dave Dix added 13 points for Arlington.
Henninger Topples Binghamton
Class AA 16th-ranked Henninger-Syracuse hit its free throws down the stretch to hold off host Binghamton, 65-59, in a non-league game Tuesday night.
Trailing by three points with 44 seconds left, Binghamton failed to execute while visiting Henninger pulled away by converting its foul shots.
"It was a good game, I'm very pleased with how we played," Binghamton coach Dave Springer told the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin. "For us to have an opportunity against the No. 16 team in the state is always good."
Brian Johnson led Binghamton (13-4) with 16 points.
Cornwall-Kingston Slug It Out
Seven players were ejected after a third-quarter brawl marred undefeated Cornwall's 64-42 non-league boys' basketball victory on Tuesday at Kingston.
According to Kingston coach Ron Kelder, Kingston's Mike Falatyn and Cornwall's Brian McNally "had an altercation on an apparent rebound" of a free throw less than three minutes into the second half.
"Then it got ugly fast," Kelder told the Middletown Times-Herald-Record.
The fight only involved players, both coaches said.
Each ejection carries a one-game suspension, per Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association rules.
Both teams have league games on Thursday: Cornwall hosts Monticello, needing a victory to clinch the Division III title. Kingston hosts Middletown in a Division I game.
"I think it was a heat-of-the-moment thing," Kelder said. "It's very unfortunate that it happened."
Worcester Clinches Tri-Valley East
Lance Hunt scored a game-high 17 points Monday to lead visiting Worcester to a 56-47 overtime defeat of Gilbertsville-Mount Upton in a Tri-Valley League game.
Worcester (12-2, 9-0) outscored the Raiders by 11-2 in the extra period to clinch the Tri-Valley East Division crown.
"We didn't get anything going in overtime," G-MU coach Bill Hartman told the Oneonta Daily Star.
G-MU (10-6, 7-3) had possession with less than 15 seconds remaining in regulation, but failed to score.
"We played a very gutsy game," Hartman said. "Worcester is undoubtedly the best team in the league. They are big, but I think we sent a message tonight that we can play with them."
Drew Hartman scored 15 points to lead the Raiders, who received 11 from Peter Schmidt.
Tommy McGrath contributed 14 points for Worcester, which advances to meet the West Division winner, which is still undetermined, in the Tri-Valley League championship game Feb. 17 at Oneonta State.
Weather Wreaks Havoc In Western New York
The combination of frigid artic air and heavy snow forced two and three days worth of game postponements in certain parts of Central and Western New York. The Rochester area was among those hit by the wintry blast, the cold in particular.
With the Section V hockey tournament scheduled to start on Thursday and the return of the Monroe County basketball tournament next week, finding makeup dates has become tricky.
"The timing of it makes it brutal,'' Spencerport athletic director John Pelin told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
"Our policy says if school is closed, all practices are cancelled and all games are postponed."
One game that's expected to be played on Wednesday is the anticipated match up at Fairport High between Fairport and Rush-Henrietta.
Fairport defeated Rush-Henrietta three times last season en route to its first Section V title since 1975, though R-H (14-1) won the first meeting this season by 60-55 as sophomore Dane Miller had 26 points, 19 rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 steals and 3 assists.
With a large crowd anticipated Wednesday night, no tickets will be sold at the door.
Jim Stout is the MaxPreps Master Photographer for the Massachusetts/Rhode Island area and a Northeast Region columnist. He may be reached at 203-563-2297 or at j.stout@jmstout.org.