Red Hot Mahopac Clips Greeley, Wins Holiday Tourney

Hen Hud Sinks Westlake, Takes Rye Tourney Honors; Peekskill Crowned at Nyack

By Ray Gallagher, Examiner Sports Editor @Directrays

While some of our Examiner-area teams were shaking off the rust and working through their particular shortcomings at practice over the holiday break, we had a ton of local flavor at the MAHOPAC High Tournament where the host Wolf Pac welcomed the likes of HORACE GREELEY, plus fellow Putnam County rivals BREWSTER and CARMEL, thus opening the door to a field of highly competitive challengers.

Here’s what we figured going into to a tournament, which featured four Class AA teams likely battling for two, perhaps one, of the Final 4 spots behind state-ranked frontrunners (No.5) Scarsdale, (No.17) Yorktown and Poughkeepsie: (No.26) Mahopac, at 5-0 going in, was rife with hope but had faced foes with a 9-27 combined record, so the jury was still out; Horace Greeley, at 5-1, had only lost to Poughkeepsie, and its opponents were a  8-23, so we needed to see more; Brewster, at 3-3, beat the teams it expected to beat (John Jay CR, Riverside and Carmel) but hadn’t posted a true statement win; and Carmel, at 1-2 and full of athleticism, was still working its way into basketball shape after its run to the NYS Class AA football finals.

We got what we expected as Thursday turned to Friday and a physical Mahopac club was crowned champions after a hard-fought series that saw senior Danny Koch (18 points) earn an MVP nod after the Wolf Pac’s 59-53 championship win over Greeley and a 51-44 win over Carmel in the opening round.

All-Tourney choice John Kearney (15 points), Liam Scanlon (12 points, double digit rebounds), Daniel Dedvukaj (6 points) and key sophomore wing Drew Lichtenberger (6 points, 2 3’s) all played a vital role in the Wolf Pac win over Greeley as they improved to 7-0.

Koch carried the Wolf Pac in the early stages of the third over Greeley, nailing Mahopac’s first eight points of the third quarter for a 36-26 lead. Kearny followed for a 38-29 lead off a nice drive.

Greeley G Zach Boyriven followed with a nifty bank shot to cut the deficit to 38-31. Aidan Dunleavy made it 38-33 off a put-back from Nick Tasso at 2:46 of the third. Quaker G Benji Ricardo made it 40-37 off a layup to close out the third quarter. Ricardo then struck again, 40-39. With the Wolf Pac in need of a lift, Coach Matt Calabro inserted sophomore wing Drew Lichtenberger, who dropped a corner 3, making it 43-39, at 7:20. Lichtenberger then struck again, from the top of the key, in a pivotal point in time, draining a 3 for a 46-39 at 6:20 of the fourth. He shot 2-of-3 from distance off the bench at a time when Mahopac needed it most.

Kearney drove strong and was good for a 48-39 lead at 5:20. Quaker Boyriven answered to make it 48-41. Greeley’s Aidan Dunleavy fouled out and put Kearney at the line with 4:00 left where he hit one. Greeley F Nick Tasso made it 49-44 when he popped in the lane off the dribble. Kearney, then at line, hit two for his 15th point and a 51-44 lead, essentially ending the game. Riccardo went to the line with 1:12 to play, hit one,and cut the lead at six for Pac. Koch went at line for two and hit one.. Koch then forced a loose ball off Greeley, and got the ball back at 1:08. Scanlon went for an and-one conventional 3 to seal the deal, 55-45 at 1:04. Riccardo went to the line again and coolly hit 3, cutting it to 55-48 with 54.1 to go. Two at the stripe by Scanlon were answered by a Ricardo layup at 38.8, making it 57-50.

Scanlon, quietly and methodically, continued to get it done. A Tasso 3 cut it to 59-53 with just 8.3 seconds left, but the fat lady had busted out in song behind the play of Koch and Kearney, in particular.

“Both had a great two days,” Mahopac Coach Matt Calabro said. “It was good to see them get going.”

In the Carmel/Mahopac game, the Wolf Pac held off a budding Rams club, which is not far from making some noise once the program gets back on track. Some stability among the coaching ranks will help. Koch (9 points), Kearney (10), Connor Ferrieri (10) and Dedvukaj (9) led the Wolf Pac while Aiden White (15 points) and King Mercer (13) kept the Rams (2-3) within striking distance throughout. However, it was Mahopac’s backcourt that dominated in the end.

“The bigs have stepped up big for us all year and four of our bigs each having two fouls at halftime was definitely tough,” Kearney admitted. “The guards knew we’d have to make plays inside since the bigs weren’t able to be as aggressive as they usually are. Danny (Koch) and I are best when pushing the ball in transition and I’m glad we were able to take advantage of that in the second half.”

It wasn’t the prettiest of efforts by Mahopac, but the Pac will take a 7-0 start as they head into league play.

“That was ugly at times, no rhythm, but it is nice to see Koch and Kearmey get going a bit,” Coach Calabro said after the Carmel game. “Add that to our bigs and we will be tough down the stretch.”

In the Greeley/Brewster game, won 66-59 by the Quakers, Greeley took a  30-24 lead into the half against Brewster, despite big man Nick Tasso being on the bench with foul trouble for the better part of two quarters. Bear G Lucas Cabiati’s 3 at 6:21 of the third cut the Quaker lead to one, 30-29, but Greeley’s Filip Vujanic answered untouched at 5:30 for a 32-29 Quaker edge. And then again before Ricardo extended the lead to eight, 37-29, off a 3 ball with just over 4:00 to play in the third. All-Tourney Brewster Bear Matthew Thompson answered with just under 4:00 to cut it to 37-32. Thompson was top-notch all game and all tourney.

But Ricardo struck again at 3:23 for a 39-32 Quaker edge. Christian Freeman of Brewster split the Greeley defense for two to make it 39-34. Tasso scored at 1:12 for a 45-34 lead, his first two points of the game.

A Vujanic 3 at :30 pushed the Greely lead to 14 and Dunleavy added off a steal to make it 16, 50-34 after three quarters. Vujanic had a huge quarter in a pivotal stretch. A Cabiati 3 cut the lead to 13 at 7:00 of the fourth. Ricardo had the answer, 52-37. Thompson made it 52-39, but Tasso went untouched, 54-39, at 6:10. Jaxson Thomas had a steal and layup for a 56-39 Quaker lead at 5:40, but Thompson scored five straight points to cut it 12, 56-44, at 4:50. Thompson, doing all one person could, then hit back-to-back 3’s, for eight in a row, making it 56-47 with 4:12 left. Thompson then went to the line at 3:30, hit two, and cut the deficit to 56-49. Isaiah Lopez scored a choice layup and forced a Greeley timeout at 3:13, the Quakers leading 56-51. Tasso from Ricardo stopped the bleeding at 2:51, the Quakers going up 58-51. Thompson answered again, 58-53, but tweaked his ankle.

Lopez then went to the line with 2:00 to play, hit one, but Colin Lamaroux’s rebound gave the Bears another chance. However, Lopez missed step back 3 with a chance to cut the deficit to one, and Boyriven scored two more for the Quakers despite some clock issues for a 60-54 lead. Thompson struck again from beyond the arc, 60-57. Lamaroux grabbed a rebound and followed with two gutty points to make it 60-59 with just under :30 left, but Brewster could get no closer as Ricardo went to the line with 23.78, and hit two, 62-59. Thompson, inexplicably, didn’t get a touch down the stretch. Ricardo went back to line 10.9 left, hit both for a 64-59 lead.

Thompson, who continues to churn out buckets as Putnam County’s premier scorer, finished with a career high 33 points. Thompson also added 11 rebounds.

Brewster was down 30-29 before Greeley went on a 20-5 run to end the third quarter.

“We showed a ton of resilience when we got the lead down to one with 24 seconds left,” Brewster assistant Coach Jay Weltman said.  We had a shot to win but did not connect.”

Lopez added eight points in the loss.

In the consolation game of the Mahopac Tournament Brewster lost to Carmel at the buzzer 49-48. Thompson led Brewster with 18 points and was selected to the all tournament team.

The Cliff Clinton Rye High tourney brought locals HEN HUD and WESTLAKE to the Sound Shore for a visit that saw the Wildcats advance to Thursday’s finals after Wednesday’s 54-41 opening round win over Sleepy Hollow, who had no answers for the dynamic duo of Marcus Jackette (19 points) and Nick Castellano (16 points). Toss in another 10 and six points from CJ Prosperino and Mike Pagan, respectively, and the Headless Horsemen were overmatched from the get-go.

Hen Hud went ahead and threw a monkey wrench in Rye’s plans last that afternoon by taking down the host Garnets, 54-51, in the opening round

After leading 13-4 in the early going, Hen Hud trailed 28-23 at half and 33-25 early in the third before a Jeremy Heady 3 cut it to 33-28. Heady and Gino Wamack went back to back to make it 36-32 with 4:05 left in the third. Jacoby and Wamack went back to back at 3:01 to trim the deficit to one, 37-36. Rye broke full court pressure for an easy two but a Wamack 3 tied it at 39 1:50 3rd. At 1:18, Wamack coolly drained three from the line for a 42-39 lead, end of three.

At 7:04 of the fourth, Wamack hit a deep 3 for a 45-41 lead and Sailor Joey Abboud answered a Rye 3 at the other end for a 47-44 lead with 4:46 left.

A step-back 3 by Rye’s Rockland Boisseau tied it at 47-all with 4:15 to play and Garnet wing McCarthy spotted Rye a 49-47 lead at 3:55. Heady then drilled a 3 for 50-49 Hen Hud lead with 3:00 to play. Rye would not go away, though, and an elbow J from Wilmarth put Rye up 51-50. As he had all game, Wamack answered from distance for a 53-51 just over a minute to go, providing a lead the Sailors would not relinquish. Wamack then had consecutive steals, the second coming off a gross final possession by Rye to clinch it with 2.5 seconds left. A Rye prayer went unanswered as time expired but not before Wamack (23 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks), Heady (15 points, 10 boards, 3 assists, 4 blocks), Conor Prokipiak (7 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists), Abboud (7 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal) and Jack Hiltsley (2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assists) had their say.

“It’s a really big team win for our guys,” Hen Hud Coach Jordan Hirsch stated. “They (Rye) are as good as they come. They make it really tough to rebound, so our guys had to show a lot of toughness on the defensive board. I’m proud of our team. We have a lot of season left, but so far they’ve handled some really strong waves against tough opponents and continue to come to practice every day with energy and intent. They’re a really fun group to coach.”

In the championship round at Rye, Wetlake came out smoking, taking a 20-12 lead after the first quarter before Prosperino hit two at the line for a 22-12 lead. Hen Hud looked outclassed throughout the first quarter, but the Sailors stormed back to take a 31-30 halftime lead, closing out the second quarter strong before finishing with a key fourth-quarter run for 57-53 win.

“I can’t say it enough, this team is so fun to coach,” Hirsch said. “They buy into each other and pride in our program is as strong as any team I’ve ever coached. To have such a tough stretch to start our season and close out December with two really challenging wins on the road against two quality opponents is really inspiring to watch.”

The Wildcats were up 44-40 going into the fourth against the Sailors. Nick Castellano (15 points) hit two at the line to extend to 48-40. A Heady 3-ball cut the Sailor deficit to five, 48-43, with 4:20 to play. Prokipiak drilled another 3 to make it 48-46, but Westlake answered, 50-46. Hitlsely came off the bench to respond, making it 50-49 Westlake at 2:20. Heady went to the line after a Sailor steal. At 1:18, Heady hit one free throw, but a Wamack’s rebound off the second miss, followed by his layup-and-1 provided the Sailors a 53-50 lead with 1:16 left. The Sailors got a stop and then took an ill-advised three with time to milk the clock, leaving the door open for Westlake at 40.2. But the Wildcats could not convert and the Sailors hung on.

Nick Castellano (15 points, All-Tourney), Marcus Jackette (14 points) and CJ Prosperino (10 points) led the ‘Cats.

Heady (23 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists), Wamack (14 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals), Prokopiak (13 points, 5 rebounds 6 assists) led the way with Wamack named MVP and Heady All-Tournament.

In PEEKSILL’s first road win Ramapo, 73-37, in the opening round of the Nyack Tournament  Jaden Chavis (24 points), A.Thames (18 points) and I.Crawford (12 points) led the way.

In the championship win over Nyack, MVP Chavis (20 points) and T. Brown (13) were huge in the Red Devils’ biggest win of the season.

In Class C HALDANE’s 72-42 win over Chester, Matt Nachamkin (34 points), Mike Murray (19) and Fallou Faye (10) all scored in double figures.

Class AA Final 4 Capabilities

JURY IN:

Yorktown (6-1), opponents (27-23); with wins over Mount Vernon, Hamilton and Eastchester, the state-ranked (No.17) Huskers aren’t quite as prepped as say maybe reigning NYS champ Scarsdale for a run for the roses, but we’d be shocked if they aren’t at the County Center in March with a versatile starting five (Gonzo, Feeks, Price, Montero, Duffy) and a top sixth man (Tommy Costello).

JURY OUT:

Somers (3-3), opponents (18-15); the most athletic backcourt in Class AA will eventually pose major problems for all when the frontcourt gets back to full health. Would hate to be the team to see the Tuskers in the quarters with a Final 4 berth on the line. That said, Somers was no match for Mamaroneck in Wednesday’s 72-43 beatdown in the opening round of the Pelham tourney, despite a 20-point scoring effort from Brady Letiner.

Peekskill (7-1), opponents (16-26); Red Devils made statement win over Nyack and took Class A heavyweight Byram Hills to OT after barely surviving Class A Putnam Valley, which wasn’t a good look for a team with Final 4 aspirations, but they are in the mix.

Mahopac (7-0), opponents (18-34); the state-ranked (No.26) and super athletic Wolf Pac will grind out a slew of low-scoring wins this season, but as far as being in the same ilk of Scarsdale and Yorktown, that remains to be seen.

Fox Lane (2-2), opponents (12-15); stretch against Tuckahoe, Ossining and White Plains will let us know if the Foxes have a prayer of a hung jury or not.

Horace Greeley (6-2), opponents (20-33); solid showing at Mahopac tourney.

Brewster (3-5), opponents (25-29); Somers, Byram and Yorktown due up next, so we’ll know within a week if the Bears have what it takes.

Carmel (2-3), opponents (20-19); Rams gave Mahopac fits before settling for third in tourney, but they do have some talent and playmakers. Luv me some King Mercer!

Class A Final 4 Capabilities

JURY IN:

Byram Hills (5-0), opponents (11-15); still need to see more quality wins in the days ahead, starting with a road trip to Yorktown Wednesday afternoon, but it’s a Final-4-or-bust season for them Repa boys and company. Beyond the state-ranked (No.10) Bobcats, Class A isn’t particularly pretty at this point in time for the locals, though No.6 Pearl River and No.18 Nyack are looking tough on the other side of the Hudson.

JURY OUT:

Lakeland (3-5), opponents (32-19); Hornets have already defeated 2023 semifinalists Yorktown and 2023 champ Tappan Zee, so despite losses to three straight setbacks to Somers, Mahopac and Roosevelt nobody will want to see Lakeland in the early and/or later rounds of the tourney. That said, they did look like an out-of-synch unit in search of cohesion in blowout vs. Somers.

Hen Hud (4-4), opponents (38-19); Did the Sailors catch Rye napping Wednesday afternoon or is that win a turning point? Wamack and Heady are a legit 1-2 punch and the forthcoming schedule reveals a litany of potential W’s should the Sailors reach their potential.

Panas (3-4), opponents (34-13); Wins over Hastings and Pelham supply hope for the days ahead, but Lakeland, Pleasantville, Hen Hud and Peekskill provide ample testing for a unit in search of a third consistent scoring threat – behind seniors Tyler Greene and C/F Logan Tolbert – and a defensive identity.

Pleasantville (1-2), opponents (14-7); no team in Class A has the jury still out on them like the Panthers do. Still working into basketball shape after an elongated football run, P’Ville’s season could be defined within the next 10 days with games against Nanuet, Westlake and Panas, which should put the Panthers in an unenviable 1-5 spot should they drop all three. Waaaay too much athleticism on this team to ever quit on, though.

Putnam Valley (2-6), opponents (24-15); finishing has been an issue for the youthful Tigers. Don’t quite see a path to County Center at this point in time. Case could be dismissed in days ahead with Croton on deck, plus Haldane, Carmel and Brewster.

Briarcliff (1-3), opponents (14-12); the alarming thing that might immediately dismiss the jury is the three blowout losses to Byram, Haldane and Leffell .Could be a rare year when the Bears are on the outside looking in unless they turn the corner in the new year.

Class AAA Final 4 Capabilities

JURY OUT:

White Plains (6-1), opponents (20-27); despite piling up wins, the state-ranked (No.22) Tigers are yet to post that most-impressive triumph against a AAA/AA opponent, though, with Suffern, Scarsdale and Greeley – all on deck –  that could change quickly. With just 11 teams in AAA, White Plains had better find a way downtown to County Center.

Ossining (4-1), opponents (12-25); Pride looked out of sorts against Class AA state-ranked (No.5) Scarsdale and are no sure bet to find their way to County Center for the first time in eons, but the unit is skillful and blessed with potential so it’s still a strong possibility at this point.

Class B Final 4 Capabilities

JURY OUT:

Westlake (4-2), opponents (17-28); It currently looks like a six-horse race for win, place, show at the County Center with state-ranked (No.10) Woodlands, No.14 Dobbs Ferry and unranked but super athletic Westlake, Blind Brook and Croton-Harmon vying for the top four spots as we speak but the jury reconvened after the Wildcats lost to Hen Hud in Rye tourney final.

Croton (4-3), opponents (21-26); certainly expected a better showing against Dobbs, but once this unit gets healthy we could see a dark horse emerge.

Valhalla (3-4), opponents (25-21); reigning Section 1 champs are still champs until beaten in the postseason, but when the Vikings lose they lose bigly.