Basketball State Champions Earn Crowns

The Top Spot:

The high school basketball season wrapped up over the weekend as the boys and girls claimed state champions in each class. 

State Championship Results:

Class AA Boys Basketball:

Mount Vernon added another state championship trophy as they beat Aquinas 61-57 Sunday afternoon.

Class A Boys Basketball:

Tappan Zee pulled off a shocker as the Dutchmen defeated the much bigger Jamesville-Dewitt team on Friday 55-46, but the quest for a state title came up short as the team fell in the Class A Championship on Sunday to Harborfields 77-66.

In the defeat Pat Peterson led the team with 20 points and Joe Leitzia added 14 as the Dutchmen end the year 25-1.

Class C Boys Basketball:

Tuckahoe finished the season perfect, defeating OTC Middle College of Buffalo Saturday, 77-66. At 25-0 the Tigers were one of the most dominant teams in the state all season long.

Senior Sky Williams led the team in scoring with 37 points and was named the tournament’s most valuable player this year. Justin Nolan and Shyheim Nixon each scored 15 points and Mark Raymond scored 10 and had 10 rebounds in the victory.

Class AA Girls Basketball:

Ossining took their first loss of the year as the team fell 79-51 to Cicero-North Syracuse in the final four 79-51.

Class A Girls Basketball:

Pearl River fell to in the state semifinals on Friday night. The Pirates held a slim lead in the final minutes, but Averill Park finished the game on a 9-1 run and advanced to the state title with the victory.

The Pirates finished the year 22-3 and Chirsta and Marisa Scognamiglio led the way, scoring 13 points.

Class B Girls Basketball:

Irvington won the state title after beating South Jefferson 69-42. Brittni Lai led the team with 25 points.

College Sports Notebook:

Henriquez, Kansas State Fall to Top Seeded Syracuse

Junior forward Jordan Henriquez of Port Chester came up big in the third round of the East Regional in the NCAA Tournament, but top-seeded Syracuse (33-2) proved too tough to conquer.

Henriquez, a 6-foot-11 forward out of The Winchendon (MA) School, collected a game-high 17 rebounds, helping the Wildcats enjoy a 41-32 advantage off the boards.

Henriquez also scored 14 points and dished out three assists in a valiant effort.

However, Scoop Jardine had 16 points and eight assists to lead top-seeded Syracuse to a 75-59 victory over the eighth-seeded Wildcats in the third round of the East Regional.

Dion Waiters added 18 points for the Orange (33-2), who will meet Wisconsin in Boston on Thursday night in the regional semifinals.

Rodney McGruder of Washington, DC, added 15 points for the Wildcats (22-11), who struggled from the field against Syracuse's 2-3 zone defense.

Among those in the crowd at Consol Energy Center was Vice President Joe Biden, who went to law school at Syracuse.

This is Syracuse’s 17th appearance overall and third straight in the round of 16.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, whose 889 wins rank third on the Division I list behind Mike Krzyzewski and Bob Knight, earned his 47th NCAA tournament victory, tied with John Wooden for fifth place. 

Big Win For Purchase Baseball

A day after losing two games to SUNY Cortland, the Purchase College baseball team swept St. Joseph’s College-Brooklyn, 3-1, 7-3 at Silver Lake Park in West Harrison. Ken McQuade of Mamaroneck went 1-for-2 with an RBI in the opener, while Leo Francisco of Bedford Hills went 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter, and Mike Marrone of Pleasantville went 0-for-2 as a designated hitter.

McQuade had another RBI in the second game, going 2-for-3, and Frank Fiamura of Port Chester went 1-for-3 with an RBI. The Panthers visit Lehman College in the Bronx on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Weekly Sports Poll:

This week, the Daily Sports Digest Weekly Poll looks at the New York Knicks and the . Tell us if you would like to see John Calipari, Phil Jackson, Jerry Sloan, Mike Woodson or someone else on the bench next year and feel free to add your comments to an already lively debate.