BOYS’ BASKETBALL — After recognizing its nine seniors — Ross Esposito, Matt Nachamkin, Ryan Van Tassel, Michael Murray, PJ Ruggiero, Dylan Rucker, Erik Stubblefield, Jordon Hankel and Evan Giachinta — the Blue Devils took care of business on Wednesday (Jan. 17), defeating Pawling, 66-47, for their seventh straight win.
Haldane never trailed, jumping to a 20-6 lead behind Nachamkin, who scored 18 of the Blue Devil points. (He finished with 23.) It was 32-15 at the half. The Tigers began hitting threes and forcing turnovers in the third quarter but only managed to cut the lead to 14.
The Blue Devils (8-1) traveled to Putnam Valley on Thursday (Jan. 18) and will go to Arlington High School to take on Greenburgh-North Castle on Saturday (Jan. 20). On Monday they host the Leffell School at 5 p.m. and on Wednesday they travel to Croton-Harmon.
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL — Haldane celebrated senior night on Jan. 12 — honoring Camilla McDaniel and Ruby Poses — with a 40-38 win over a physical Alexander Hamilton.
It was a back and forth affair. The Blue Devils had a 7-0 run to start the second quarter, giving them a 17-11 lead, but Hamilton had cut the deficit to three, 22-19, by halftime. Haldane had a six-point lead in the third quarter before Hamilton stormed back to tie the game at 30 to start the fourth.
Poses began the quarter with a three-pointer and Elaina Johanson also scored. But Hamilton put in six straight points and held a three-point lead with 2:10 left. A corner three from Poses tied the game at 38.
With 32 seconds left, Marisa Peters went coast to coast for the layup that gave the Blue Devils a 40-38 lead. They held Hamilton without a bucket on the next possession but gave the ball back on the inbound pass with 14 seconds left. With 3.5 seconds remaining, a jump shot by Hamilton rattled off the rim, and Haldane secured the rebound.
With the victory, the team doubled their win total from last year. Kayla Ruggiero led the scoring with 13 points, and Poses had nine points, seven rebounds and four blocks.
On Monday (Jan. 15) Haldane fell at Irvington, 60-35. “We gave up too many fast-break points,” said Coach Charles Martinez. “That’s something that we’re struggling with, but we’re better than we were in the beginning of the season.”
Haldane (6-6) hosted Putnam Valley on Thursday (Jan. 18) and will host Beacon at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 20). On Monday the team travels to North Salem and on Wednesday at 6:15 p.m. will host Croton-Harmon.
WINTER TRACK — Haldane competed in the 55-team Steve Borbet Invitational at The Armory in New York City on Jan. 12. For the girls, Ashley Sousa finished 23rd in the 600 meters (1:50.76), 30th in the 1,500 meters (5:36.78) and 29th in the mile (5:59.87).
For the boys, Milo Pearsall was 20th in the 55 meters in 6.93; James Frommer was 20th in the 600 meters in 1:34.96; and Jack Illian was 23rd in the 800 meters in 2:15.18 and 22nd in the mile in 4:55.72.
The team will return to The Armory on Sunday (Jan. 21) for the Section I league championships.
