BOYS’ BASKETBALL
Haldane overwhelmed Pawling, 69-31, at home on Feb. 11 to claim its fifth consecutive league title, then defeated Briarcliff, 66-51, Tuesday (Feb. 14) on the road for the team’s 10th straight victory.
In Tuesday’s win over the Bears, Matteo Cervone had a big night, scoring 32 points. Ben Bozsik added 10 and Will Bradley and Matt Nachamkin each had seven.
“We played a little sloppy, but any win on the road is a beautiful win,” said Coach Joe Virgadamo. “Our half-court defense was very strong in the fourth, and Matteo had a beast of a game. It’s a nice win-streak we have going.”
At Pawling, Michael Murray led Haldane with 12 points, followed by Ryan Van Tassel (11), Bradley (11), Nachamkin (9), Bozsik (7), Jesse Hagan (6), Evan Giachinta (6) and Thomas Rockett (4).
Haldane (15-4) is scheduled to finish its regular season today (Feb. 17) at Franklin Roosevelt in Hyde Park. The Blue Devils then advance to the Section I, Class C semifinal on Feb. 28 at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, where they will be the No. 2 seed and face No. 3 Alexander Hamilton (14-5). In the other semifinal, No. 1 Tuckahoe (13-6) will play No. 4 Leffell (8-12). The seedings are based on wins and strength of schedule.
Beacon, meanwhile, ended its regular season on a sour note with a 58-52 loss on Feb. 10 at Monticello. For three quarters, the Bulldogs were in charge, with a 28-18 halftime lead and a 40-34 lead going into the fourth quarter.
But Beacon got sloppy, giving up 24 points in the fourth.
The Bulldogs (14-6) are expecting the No. 4 seed in the Section IX, Class A playoffs, which begin Feb. 25 with a home game against a lower-seeded team.
“We were up for the entire game, until about three minutes left,” said Coach Patrick Schetter. “Turnovers cost us. That left a bitter taste, but I think it put some fire in their bellies going into the playoffs. We had won four in a row, so losing that last one hurt.“
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
Beacon recorded a 48-23 victory over host Cornwall on Tuesday (Feb. 14) behind Reilly Landisi’s 18 points. Daveya Rodriguez added 10 and Devyn Kelly had eight.
“We started off timid offensively, but made adjustments in the second half,” said Coach Christina Dahl. “We went on a 20-2 run in the third and never looked back.”
With the win, Beacon (13-5) clinched the league championship, its first since 2014.
Beacon also defeated Monticello at home, 55-22, on Feb. 9. Landisi led the Bulldogs with 19 points, followed by Shadaya Fryer (11), Kelly (11) and Rodriguez (8).
Beacon is scheduled to open the Section IX, Class A tournament on Feb. 25.
For Haldane, however, wins have come at a premium this season, and the Blue Devils had one in sight on Tuesday, holding a 26-23 lead over visiting O’Neill at halftime.
But the Raiders went to work in the third and took a four-point lead midway through the period. O’Neill led 38-31 at the end of three and never trailed again en route to a 51-39 victory.
O’Neill’s defensive intensity after halftime led to many turnovers for the Blue Devils that the Raiders converted into points at the other end. O’Neill held Haldane to five points in the third quarter and eight in the fourth.
Marisa Peters had 10 points for Haldane, Betsy Cates had nine, Mairead O’Hara finished with eight and Kayla Ruggiero delivered a pair of second-half 3-pointers.
“We’re playing better defense,” Coach Ed Crowe said. “And we’ve been working on our shooting — that’s one of our big pieces.
“We’ve come a long way from the start of the season,” he said. “At times it’s been a struggle, but we played a very tough schedule — the 10th-toughest in the section. I think we’re ready to make a run and compete for a sectional championship.”
Haldane, which finished 3-17 (1-5 league), will face No. 1 Tuckahoe (12-8) in the Section I, Class C semifinal on Feb. 28 at the Westchester County Center. No. 2 Hamilton (11-9) and No. 3 Leffell (6-12) will compete in the other semifinal.
WINTER TRACK
Damani Deloatch was Beacon’s lone winner at the Section IX, Class A championship on Feb. 11 at West Point, winning the triple jump with a total of 43-9. He also placed fourth in the long jump.
Henry Reinke was fifth in the 1,000 in a personal-record time of 2:38, which was also the fourth-best time in school history. Thomas Rapp pushed his shotput personal record to 34-5.
Beacon heads to The Armory in Manhattan today (Feb. 17) for the North Shore Pre-National Invitational. Deloatch will compete in long jump and triple jump, and Reinke in the 200- and 400-meter races. The team will be at state qualifiers on Feb. 25.
Haldane competed Feb. 8 at The Armory in the Section I, Class C championships. For the boys, John Kisslinger finished seventh in the 600-meters in 1:29.62; Merrick Williams was seventh in the 55-meter hurdles in 9.47 seconds; and the 4×200 relay team finished fourth in 1:39.47.
For the girls, Samantha Thomas was seventh in the 55 meters in 8.01 seconds and Andreia Vasconcelos finished fourth in the triple jump with 28-03.75.
HALL OF FAME
Through March 1, Haldane is accepting nominations for athletes, teams, coaches and administrators to be inducted into its Athletic Hall of Fame.
Nominees must have graduated before 2019. Inductees are selected by a committee that includes three Haldane coaches, an administrator other than the athletic director, a community member, the president of the booster club, two alumni and a retired district employee. See haldaneschool.org.
