By Jim Stout
MaxPreps.com
Maybe they should start calling the County Center in White Plains "Championship Central Station."
The County Center, just north of New York City, is where Section 1 holds its annual basketball playoffs for the various size categories, with the winners shipping out to the meet the other sectional champs from around the state.
The goal has been the same for the past 27 years in Section 1, to reach the Final Four at the Glens Falls Civic Center, in the upstate Adirondack Mountains Region.
Section 1's Mt. Vernon and Peekskill always seemed to be there. Now it seems as though they own the place. All championship roads down the Northway interstate lead to Section 1.
Mt. Vernon won its third Class AA state championship in four years Sunday while Peekskill captured its third Class A title in a row as Section 1 came away with the two biggest prizes at the annual boys state finals.
Mt. Vernon rallied from a seven-point deficit in the third quarter and won its second-consecutive AA title with a 68-65 win over Bishop Maginn of Albany.
Kevin Jones and Michael Coburn combined for 29 of the 35 points scored by Mt. Vernon (24-4) in the second half, with the 6-7 junior forward Jones finishing with 29 points and 13 rebounds. Maginn dropped to 23-4.
Peekskill had to battle both BYU recruit Jimmer Fredette and a hostile hometown crowd of 5,782, but came away with its third-straight Class A crown in a 58-48 victory over local favorite Glens Falls High.
"It's nice to see a double-Section 1 crowned, like dominating the basketball world," Mt. Vernon coach Bob Cimmino told the Journal News.
Cimmino's championship was his fourth at Mt. Vernon, the title won by Peekskill's Lou Panzanaro his fifth.
The fun's not over, either.
Mt. Vernon will meet CHSAA champion Rice High at 8:30 p.m. Friday in Glens Falls as it tries to win its second-consecutive New York Federation Class AA championship. The latter brings together the champions of the state public school association, the New York City PSAL and the two private, independent associations, the CHSAA and the ISAA.
Peekskill will face Independent Schools Athletic Association winner Long Island Lutheran at 6:45 p.m. Friday in a Class A semifinal game.
Mt. Vernon found itself in a major battle in the state final Sunday as Maginn guard Taylor Battle, a Penn State recruit, scored 12 of his 21 points in the first half. He helped send the Griffins ahead by 40-33 less than a minute into the third quarter.
But Mt. Vernon, which had use overtime to erase a 14-point deficit against Newburgh Free Academy earlier in the tournament, would not be denied.
Two free throws by Johnson with 2:09 left tied the score at 59-59. Coburn responded on the ensuing possession with a driving lay-up before Jones converted a Coburn miss 40 seconds later to put the Knights ahead by four with 1:11 to play.
"I don't know if we were flat or what," said Mt. Vernon senior forward Kortney Parker. "I think we were just trying to get a feel for this (Maginn) team. It took a while."
If Mt. Vernon can beat Rice in Friday's Federation semifinal, it would meet PSAL champ Lincoln of Brooklyn Saturday for the AA title. Lincoln whipped Boys & Girls Sunday for the PSAL title at Madison Square Garden, scoring a 77-50 win in a game marred by spectator violence.
Peekskill, meanwhile, was sparked in the end by 5-8 freshman guard Dequann Brickhouse, who contributed four points, two steals and an assist in the final 32 seconds to help put Glens Falls away.
"The kid doesn't know what age he is," Panzanaro said of Brickhouse. "He's 15 going on 29."
Peekskill's 6-7 junior forward Mookie Jones registered 21 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots, and was named the tournament's MVP. He added a clutch three-pointer from the right corner that put Peekskill up 49-45 with 3:08 to play. Six-foot-4 junior Elliott Watson had 14 points, nine rebounds and eight blocked shots for Peekskill.
Defensively, Peekskill held Glens Falls (25-2) to 3-of-25 shooting in the second half. The Red Devils also limited Fredette, Section 2's all-time leading scorer, to 3-of-24 shooting and 19 points.
"(Peekskill's) defensive intensity and quickness was tough," Glens Falls coach Tony Hammel said. "It was hard just to get the ball up the court at times. We had to regain our composure after we'd get it across (the time line) and run something on offense. That takes a lot."
Especially when you're facing a team from Section 1.
Malverne Captures Class B Championship
Malverne of Long Island overcame foul trouble and an early eight-point deficit and went on to edge Section 5 champion Ogdensburg Free Academy, 44-42, for the state Class B championship at Glens Falls.
Ogdensburg junior center Tom Kelso sank one of two free throws with 1:02 left in regulation to knot the score at 42. But Malverne's MVP winner, Greg Lott, ended a four-minute scoreless stretch with a put back off the glass with 30 seconds remaining and put an end to the Mule's 26-year title drought.
Malverne, 22-2 and winners of state titles in 1979 and 1981, reached the final for the third time since 2000. It was Darrol Lopez's third title-game appearance in his eight seasons as coach.
Ogdensburg Free Academy (24-3) had one last chance to win it, but Kelso's desperation 3-point attempt fell short at the buzzer.
Malverne will play Eagle Academy in the Class B Federation semis on Friday.
Sidney Tops Friends For Class C Crown
Andy Foote was named MVP following an 18-point, six-rebound, five-assist night as Sidney routed Friends Academy, 67-49, in the Class C final at the Civic Center. Sidney (24-2) held Friends to 37 percent shooting and forced 15 turnovers.
"We just played together, played as a unit of one, spread the ball around on offense, looking for our shots," Foote told the Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin.
"We didn't really force anything and just played great defense, 1 through 5, closing out on their shooters. And then there was Troy (Hawley) and Darrin (Martindale) down low with blocked shots and controlling the boards."
The title marked the first time that a team from Section 4 has won as many as three boys state championships.
Finney Rises Again For Encore
Finney High of Penfield, a Rochester-area school, won its second-straight Class D title with a 46-27 victory against Chateaugay.
The Falcons join Charlotte as one of only two Section 5 schools to win state titles in back-to-back seasons. Charlotte won its second of two Class D championships in 1984.
Finney was once a basketball doormat before the present group of players emerged.
Point guard Andy Marchand scored 18 points and was named MVP.
"It all started in seventh grade," Marchand told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. "We got killed, but we played good competition and that's what paid off for us."
"(The players) put our school on the map," Finney coach and athletic director Joe Marchand said about his team, which included 10 returnees from last year's state champion unit. "(Assistant coach Rick) Ottman and I, we're not idiots. We know it was the hard work and dedication of the kids did this."
Jim Stout is the MaxPreps.com 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