Upsets, parity rule New York basketball

Last March marked the 10th anniversary of Mount Vernon's 28-0 season en route to a Federation Class AA championship in boys basketball.

And this past weekend offered an explanation as to why 2000 was the last time New York has seen perfection at the highest level. A string of upsets did a number on a bunch of the state's top-ranked teams, reminding both players and fans that the margin for error is brutally thin.

A few examples:

* In Section V, a sub-.500 Fairport team handed Irondequoit its first loss, 63-44. Irondequoit was ready to burst into the state rankings after a thrilling mid-week upset victory of its own – 73-70 over Rush-Henrietta – sparked by 30 points from Josiah Smith.



* In Section II, a 3-6 LaSalle Institute (Troy) team scored the biggest shocker of the Albany-area season with a 68-66 triumph over Troy as Tyler Reed poured in 26 points and the team made 15 of 18 free throws.

* In the CHSAA, Bishop Loughlin (Brooklyn) (5-5) followed up a quality win against Dobbins Tech five days earlier by upsetting Xaverian, 56-54.

And a good Holy Cross (Flushing) team dropped its CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens opener to St. Francis Prep before righting the ship Sunday and tacking another loss on Xaverian, 71-60, as 6-foot-9 forward Marcus Hopper led the way with 18 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Of course, not all the losses of note were necessarily upsets. Syracuse CBA, generally regarded as the best Class AA team in Section III, fell to Jamesville-DeWitt (DeWitt), New York's No. 1 Class A team.

Pete Drescher made two 3-point buckets and a pair of 3-point plays to highlight the 59-46 victory for the Rams, who bridged the second and third quarters with a 15-0 spurt. Junior DaJuan Coleman had 14 points and 14 rebounds.

MORE BASKETBALL: TWO SCARY SCENES
Two incidents last week served as a reminder that emotions run high among young people and that vigilance is essential if we're going to avoid tragedy.

First, Newburgh's game at Kingston had to be stopped with 14.2 seconds to go and Newburgh was declared a 58-53 winner.



Officials called the game after fans charged the floor during a skirmish between players. Officers from the City of Kingston Police, Ulster County Sheriff's Department and the state police handled the incident and largely restored order within two minutes.

No arrests were made, but it's likely that the lasting images some people will take away from the chaos were vulgar chants from the home fans and the sight of a police dog being brought onto the court to help restore order.

The PSAL acted swiftly when two of its teams had an on-court confrontation Thursday. South Shore was canceled out of its next scheduled game – the PSAL Mid-Winter Classic at St. Francis College against McKee/Staten Island Tech – after the altercation in its game vs. Thomas Jefferson.

The league also left open the possibility of more sanctions after newspaper accounts said a South Shore player allegedly struck an opponent in the head while officials were resolving a question at the scorer's table.

Some fans ran onto the court after the third-quarter punch before coaches and school safety officers intervened. The players were ejected and the game continued, with South Shore upsetting Jefferson, 69-64.

GIRLS BASKETBALL: MILESTONE VICTORY
Elba coach Tom Nowak picked up his 400th Section V coaching victory as the Lancers routed Oakfield-Alabama 55-22 to improve to 5-2 this season.



Nowak should have some company in the Rochester area soon as Phil White of Bloomfield (396 wins) and Steve Willoughby (Honeoye Falls-Lima, 392) are closing in.

John Schiano, who has written about high school sports in western and central New York for more than 25 years, covers New York for MaxPreps. He may be reached at johnschianosports@gmail.com.