NYSPHSAA Class "AA" Regional Semifinal
WHITE PLAINS, NY- After holding on to win the Section 1 Class "AA" Championship on Sunday afternoon, Mt. Vernon was back at it on Tuesday evening, playing in the NYSPHSAA Class "AA" Regional Semifinal at White Plains H.S. against the Section 9 champions in Pine Bush.
Both teams were able to get off to a solid start with the Knights leaning on the play of Noah Morgan '17, and the Bushmen relying on the play inside of Mason Memmelaar '18, but a big second quarter pushed Mt. Vernon to a 37-21 lead, a lead they would hold on to the rest of the way in what proved to be a 68-59 victory.
It's never easy to come back 48 hours after winning a Gold Ball, but it's something that Mount Vernon and their head coach Bob Cimmino have become used to. Being the kings of Section 1 for so long they have become used to having to playing again on short notice to keep their dreams of a NYSPHSAA Class "AA" State Championship alive, something the senior Morgan says is never easy.
"We didn't really have time to celebrate our Section 1 championship but it's fine," Morgan said. "We prepared yesterday in practice and we felt good about that."
While Mt. Vernon may be used to it, it's something new for Pine Bush who haven't won Section 9 in 16 years. Both though had the same goal coming in, and both played with a lot of intensity and fire out of the gate.
Morgan was able to score 6 points in the first 3:44 of the game for Mt. Vernon to help them to a quick lead, but credit to Pine Bush for staying close, using the size inside of Memmelaar and D'Alton Dixon '17 to score their first 12 points as a team inside, allowing them to take a 14-13 lead after one.
The second quarter though was all Knights as the shots that weren't falling from the perimeter in the early going for Mt. Vernon began to find the bottom of the nets, with Jason Douglas-Stanley '18 canning a pair of three's in the final two minutes, and when Demetre Roberts '18 hit his first of the game at the halftime buzzer, Mt. Vernon took a 38-21 lead into the break.
A strong opening 16 minutes for the Knights for sure, but after getting up by 22 at the half against Scarsdale in the Section 1 Championship Game on Sunday, Morgan said he wasn't about to take anything for granted.
"We talked about that at halftime and said that we have to keep it going and not let them back," Morgan said. "Having just been in a game like that recently you know basketball is a game of runs, and we just wanted to deny them chances at runs."
They did their best to deny the Bushmen their chances, but slowly but surely once again Pine Bush was creeping back into the game as both Brandon Powell '18 and Bryan Powell '18 were getting on track after a sluggish start that saw both in foul trouble, and with Marquis Johnson '17 punctuating a 12-2 run with a thunderous transition dunk, Pine Bush was again within single digits after trailing by as many as 21 in the 3rd.
It seemed like a carbon copy of what happened on Sunday against Scarsdale, and to make sure the same result didn't happen, Cimmino said that he stressed to his team that defense, and maintaining defensive responsibilities was going to be key.
"We had to talk on defense because that's what we didn't do against Scarsdale," Cimmino admitted. "I said that if you can't hear us fellas you got to do it among yourselves because you are a good enough team and very capable of doing it and staying together."
Even though they were struggling to score, all the Mt. Vernon players said that the Scarsdale game never was a thought in their minds, with Morgan saying this had nothing to do with Scarsdale, or even Pine Bush, it had to do with the fight and want among themselves.
The lead for the Knights were chopped all the way down to 63-59 with just under 2 minutes to play, but that's when big man Jayquan Smith '17 would take an enormous charge down low, while also connecting on two big FT's down on the other end.
If it was about will and desire, the Knights showed that and more as they didn't want their season to end here, and off a Roberts steal, he would find Smith up the court for a two-handed slam to put an end to this one as this rough and tough group of Mt. Vernon players made sure they had more games to play but closing the game strong, keeping Pine Bush scoreless in the final 2:05 to take the 68-59 win.
Certainly, a performance to remember, Morgan had a game high 25 points for Mt. Vernon, saying he knew he had to come up big, noting that as a senior he had no interest of having this be their last game together.
"I don't want to stop playing with these guys so I'm going to do whatever to make sure I don't," Morgan said.
It was loss #1 on the season for Pine Bush who were unbeaten on the year until this point, and while they got 19 points from Powell, and 14 points and 10 rebounds from Memmalaar, it wasn't enough to dethrone Section 1's best.
Now it's onto the Elite 8 of Class "AA" in New York State as they will take on Corning on Sunday up in Binghamton, with the focus right after the game going to what is ahead in 5 days’ time, with Cimmino adding that he is just excited to have more games with a team that he says holds a very special place in his heart.
"All this means today is that we are still alive and still a team. We get to play and practice together still all week and that is what I am excited about because I really love this group."
