Knights Cruise to Sectional Finals
The Class AA Sectional semi-final, on Thursday at the Westchester County Center was an easy victory for the Mount Vernon Knights and the newly crowned Sectional Player of Year, Kevin Jones.
The Knights came ready to play and their archrivals the Scarsdale Raiders suffered a painful defeat to the Knights 78-49.
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The intensity of the first quarter began, with the Raiders double-teaming Jones and tying up the score. The Knights led 10-6 after a jump shot by junior forward Sherrod Wright, giving them the early momentum; and ending the quarter up 14-6.
In the second quarter, the Knights still controlled the lead with Wright scoring the last six points. The youngest Knight, Jabarie Hinds missed a shot but senior teammate Jones banked in a basket plus the foul and goes to the line for an additional point which advance Mt. Vernon's lead even more. David Zaitz made a difficult shot under the basket for the Raiders but West Virginia-bound Kevin Jones answered back with two. Zaitz, however, seemed to be the only scorer for the Raiders as the clock ran down ending a miserable second quarter for them with the Knights ahead 32-22.
Wright kicked the third off with a jumper. This quarter again belonged to Wright who scored a nice fade away shot and a soft lay-up into the basket..
With only six minutes in the game, the Knights exchanged back-to-back points with the Raiders. Mt. Vernon again dominated the quarter with Jones adding a 3-pointer holding down the lead.
The crowd started up with Mount Vernon chants, as the Raiders crumbled with the ever increasing Knights lead. Zaitz would drive into the paint to make a tough lay-up, but the play was a little too late for the Raiders. Scarsdale continued to foul, sending Jones to the line to make baskets. The game was completely over for the Raiders as Brandon White would steal the ball, closing the book on the Raiders chances.
The leading scorers of the night were Kevin Jones with 23 points, 16 rebounds, and 2 blocks. The second leading scorer is Sherrod Wright with 23 points. Jordan Lessane added 10 points and Ketema Brooks had nine assists in the win. Scarsdale's top scorer David Zaitz had 21 points and six rebounds.
With this win, the Knights have earned a ticket into the Sectional Championship Final and will face the Poughkeepsie Pioneers on Sunday at noon.
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