Here are the up-to-date seeds in Class A. It goes through tonight’s games. I invite anyone and everyone to check out my work. I used the same chart I did these rankings on last week. So if there was a problem with those, the mistakes were carried over.

Note: Tonight’s Kennedy-Fox Lane was postponed.

1. Peekskill (17-0, 4.333)
2. Pearl River (14-2, 3.563)
3. Lakeland (12-4, 3.375)
4. Tappan Zee (12-5, 3.2)
5. Port Chester (11-5, 3.143)
6. Kennedy (10-5, 3.067)
7. Eastchester (14-4, 3.059)
8. Lourdes (10-4, 2.917)
9. Brewster (9-7, 2.625)
10. Panas (9-7, 2.313)
11. Ardsley (9-8, 2.188)
12. Byram Hills (8-8, 2.188)
13. Rye (8-7, 2.133)
14. Pelham (9-8, 2.00)
15. Spring Valley (8-8, 1.909)
16. Nyack (8-10, 1.733)
17. Yonkers (8-9, 1.429)

On the bubble
Hen Hud (7-8, 1.867)
Sleepy Hollow (6-11, 1.412)

Here are the Class B playoff seeds entering tonight’s games. I’ll update later to include tonight’s games.

I’ll also post Class A seeds late tonight:

1. North Salem (13-1, 4.2857)
2. Briarcliff (13-3, 4.1538)
3. Irvington (11-4, 3.1333)
4. Pleasantville (11-5, 3.0625)
5. Dobbs Ferry (12-4, 2.9333)
6. Albertus Magnus (10-6, 2.815)
7. Lincoln Hall (10-6, 2.6)
8. Hastings (10-7, 2.4375)
9. Bronxville (8-7, 2.2857)

On the bubble
Pawling (6-5, 2.5)
Croton-Harmon (7-8, 1.9333)
Nanuet (7-10, 1.7647)
Edgemont (5-11, 1.375)
Rye Neck (5-11, 1.333)
Westlake (5-11, 1.25)
Woodlands (3-11, 0.6154)

As you might know, Croton beat Leake & Watts today so they’ll be moved up to the top level. I’ll repost when all the games are accounted for.

The Varsity Central Extra show will be on tonight on RNN at 6:30 p.m.

Please, we urge you to call in with questions or comments. The number is 1-888-RNN-CHAT.

The show is infinitely better when we people on the lines. We’re willing to disuss anything in the world of high schools hoops.

• We had a wide-ranging conversation this week that hits on a lot of different teams.Take and a listen and let us know what you think.Download:

Terrence Michalik scored only four points tonight. He came into the game in with 64 for the season.

Yet Michalik, an Albertus Magnus junior, will likely be remembered for making the shot of the season. Tonight, he drained a halfcourt shot at the buzzer to lift the Falcons to an incredible 50-48 win over Hastings.

The “Michalik Miracle” highlighted a great night of games. Lincoln Hall, obviously shocked Briarcliff; Eastchester’s Mickey Abbatiello set the school’s scoring record; and Croton picked up a huge victory.

Here’s a rundown of those games and more:

Edgemont 50, Yonkers 46: Nice comeback win for the Panthers, who trailed in the fourth quarter, to get their record to 5-11. You think their out of the playoff race, right? Not quite. Edgemont is a Class B team in a Class A-dominated league.  You need to either win 40-percent of overall games or 50-percent of games against your conference. Well, the Panthers are 2-3 vs. Class B with one game — against Woodlands on Tuesday. A win and they’re in the playoffs. Yonkers are already in the field in Class A.
Pelham 42, Ardsley 41: This is the third time this season the Pelicans have won without a player scoring in double figures. Only twice all season has anybody scored more than 13 (both Greg Bratone, who had 15 and 18 in those contests). The Pelicans have held a team under 50 points now 10 times. It was the third loss in four games for Ardsley.
Croton-Harmon 64, Byram HIlls 59: I give this Croton team a ton of credit. It got pushed around in the fourth quarter two days ago against Pleasantville but, with its playoff window closing, comes back and beats a quality Class A team. The Tigers are almost certain to make the Class B playoffs now, which is an accomplishment after starting 3-7. When you have wins over Pleasantville, Lincoln Hall and now Byram, you aren’t a team anyone wants to face in the playoffs. Brandon Sileck had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and scored 14 of his points in the fourth quarter.
Eastchester 69, Rye 55: Mickey Abbatiello played about as good a 10 minutes to start a game as I’ve seen all season and quickly broke the school’s career scoring record. Needing 15 points, he hit 6 of his first 7 shots, including his third 3-pointer, a step-back long ball that passed his brother, Allie, on the all-time list. Abbatiello had 33 points as Eastchester opened up a 42-18 lead midway through the second quarter. The Eagles were flawless. James Bonsall scored 30 in the loss.
Hamilton 48, Solomon Schechter 45: The defending champs kept their playoff hopes alive thanks to a fourth-quarter comeback. Jonathan Schofield scored 17 points for Hamilton, which needs one win with Leake & Watts, Dobbs Ferry, Tuckahoe and Pawling left. Let’s see what this team’s got. Schechter also needs one more with Dobbs Ferry and Tuckahoe left.
Blind Brook 56, Keio 26: It doesn’t get much better than this from a defensive-standpoint. The Trojans have been doing all season and they actually shut Keio out in the fourth quarter. To do that against another top Class C team proves just how much ahead of the pack Blind Brook really is.
Leake & Watts 80, Children’s Village 52: Statistically, a marvelous game for the Lions. Eric Ferguson had 24 points and nine rebounds; Jeris Dupree had 23 points, 11 rebounds; Dayvon Felder had 22 points, six steals, five rebounds and five assists; and Matthew Solomon grabbed 18 rebounds.

Random thoughts: David Williams scored 23 points and Jean Valuer added 22 as Clark  Academy beat Bronxville. … Pearl River beat rival Nanuet behind 20 points from Eddie McGuinness and 18 from Matt Grossbard. … Fordham Prep lost to Nazareth, 34-30. … Mount St. Michael dominated Farrell. … Marc Miller scored 18 points to lead North Salem in a rout of Haldane. … Brittain Purcelle scored 23 points to lead Irvington past Sleepy Hollow in its first game in 12 days.

Go ahead, if you’d like, jump all over Briarcliff for losing tonight.

Most of you already have and you’re entitled to do so. The unbeatable Bears were beaten at home by Lincoln Hall in the biggest upset of the season. The reigning Class B champs blew a 12 point lead and lost, 70-64, to a United team that could have, and probably should have, beaten them three weeks ago.

Section 1 was supposed to have its champions penciled in since December with Mount Vernon and Peekskill destined for Glens Falls, and with Briarcliff a heavy favorite to make the trip with them.

Hold the buses. Class B just got interesting.

Lincoln Hall did it by having its key players avoiding foul trouble, rebounding and defending about as well as it probably could, and simply outhustling and outplaying a Briarcliff team that looked like it was just waiting for the switch to be flipped and would find a way to win. It never happened.

With the entire Pleasantville team there watching (and rooting), Lincoln Hall exposed a few things about this Briarcliff team that we didn’t really know. The United proved they can rebound with the Bears. They proved they run on them. They proved they could force turnovers, draws fouls and rip through.

They proved that, under the ideal circumstances, Briarcliff can be beat.

Sir Aaron Taylor had 18 points and 19 rebounds and Darren Brown added 16 points, eight of which came in the fourth quarter. The lead changed hands seven times over a six-minute span from the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth, before Lincoln Hall scored 13 of the games 18 points.

I detail the game pretty extensively in my podcast tonight. I go over why Briarcliff lost the game, the X-factor for Lincoln Hall, and why Lincoln Hall is a bad matchup for Briarcliff — and a team the Bears should fear playing in the postseason.

View video highlights of the game here. You can listen to my podcast below. I was pretty tough on the Bears. But when expectations are as high as they are with team, you have to expect that. I called out their character and effort. As I note, last year’s team wins this game:

Download:

If you’d like, my interview with Lincoln Hall coach Henry Taylor after the game was interesting. Taylor was great in the interview, crediting a scrimmage on Saturday against Peekskill for the team’s win over Briarcliff. You can listen here:

Download:

What struck me most about Lincoln Hall after this game was the players and coaches attitude. When Lincoln Hall shocked Kennedy two years ago, becoming the first Class B team in Section 1 to beat it in three years, the United players talked about two things:

1. Winning the section.
2. Going to Glens Falls

They were beaten in the first round of sectionals. As I discuss in the podcast, this team is far more level-headed and have better perspective. There wasn’t the crazy celebration after this win as there was two years ago. I think the teams two years ago was too cognizant of Kennedy and thought beating them would guarantee their place in the County Center. This team doesn’t look at Briarcliff any differently from any other team.

Some interesting stats from the game:

— Joe Lombardi had three fouls in the game. All three were offensive.
— Lincoln Hall outrebounded Briarcliff 20-14 in the second half
— Lincoln Hall only attempted six free throws in the game, five of which were in the final 30 seconds.
— Four players scored in double figures for Lincoln Hall.
— Briarcliff only got four points from its bench.
— Briarcliff had only 27 second-half points. It had 52 in the second half on Monday versus Byram Hills.
— Kyle Beechum had 23 points and 11 rebounds. He’s played so well of late.
— Garth Muratori had all nine of his points in the first quarter for Briarcliff.

Every week I put a new poll question on the blog, which appears down the right side of the page. Normally, I let everyone vote, look at the responses but, for some reason, don’t publicize the results.

This week’s poll question is something that’s been debated here all season: Who is the best pure point guard in the area?

Notice that I used the word “pure” in the question. Tony Taylor, Alex Gulotta, and Brittain Purcelle are point guards and are fantastic players. But they’re really more like combo guards, guys who play a lot off the ball. Therefore, I didn’t include them among the choices.

I’m looking for the best at that one position; Steve Nash or Deron Williams, not Allen Iverson or Gilbert Arenas.

I’ll be interested to see who gets the most responses.

As we get closer to the postseason and teams are vying for seeds, or for earning a playoff berth altogether, I love following how teams react. You learn a lot about players and teams based on how they perform in the two weeks before the playoffs.

Several teams picked up critical victories on Tuesday. Here’s a look at those, as well as some other games of interest:

North Rockland 68, Suffern 56: Rockland County gets flipped upside down on a weekly basis. North Rockland deals the Mounties a stunner here, a game it controlled from the start. John Perez scored 25 in the win. Before the season I “boldly predicted” North Rockland would win this league, an idea I got from a coach who scrimmaged the Raiders in the preseason. It’s actually still possible. They’re 3-2 in the league, behind South at 4-1 with the Vikings on the slate tomorrow. North Rockland should be more focused on qualifying for the playoffs. It needs two more wins.
Ramapo 51, Clarkstown South 49: Who would have thought that Ramapo would not only beat Suffer, but also South in the span of a week. The Gryphons need to split their final four games (Valley Central, North Rockland, Clarkstown North and Suffern) to get into the playoffs.
Lincoln 71, Gorton 68: The Lancers are a team showing fight. They rallied from seven points down at the half and got 32 points from Eric Slater for the win. Mount Vernon should be thrilled. Lincoln is 7-10, needing one more to qualify as the 16th team in the playoffs, thus filling the bracket and avoiding byes. After Roosevelt, the Lancers have Saunders in the season finale, a team they beat by 25 last week.
Tuckahoe 61, Dobbs Ferry 59: This was a win Tuckahoe desperately needed and a loss that will stick with Dobbs Ferry. The Tigers had a miserable weekend, getting run off the floor at Blind Brook in a showdown of Class C contenders; and then got outplayed in the fourth quarter by rival Bronxville less than 24 hours later. Beating Dobbs should right this team as it gears for the playoffs. Four players scored in double figures for Tuckahoe, including Joe Melendez’s 10 points. Melendez, mind you, is playing on what coach Al Visconti believes is a fractured ankle. The kid is a great athlete. If you watched him the other night, you would think it’s broke, too. Dobbs Ferry had its nine-game winning streak stopped in a loss that kicks it out of the conversation in Class B for a while.
Hen Hud 70, Beacon 49: There might not be a more interesting team to watch down the stretch in Class A than the Sailors. The win here gives them seven on the season, obviously one shy of clinching. They’re also 6-4 against Class A competition (a .500 record in that would get them in). The remaining schedule includes Lourdes, Poughkeepsie, Peekskill, Panas and Croton. Hen Hud has already lost handily to Lourdes, Poughkeepsie and Peekskill. So there’s a chance they could go into the final two games against Panas (which they beat) and Croton needing a victory in either one. Stay tuned.
Yorktown 69, Brewster 58: Tom Kelly and Brendan Kupris each scored 18 points for Yorktown, which is back on the upswing at 8-8. It’s been a weird season for the Huskers. They started 0-4, won five in a row, then lost four straight, and have now won three in a row. Who knows what’s around the next turn for this team, which has played seven straight games decided by less than 10 points.
Iona Prep 75, Cardinal Hayes 55: It’s gotten to the point where the Gaels are almost making this look too easy. I understand they’re the best team in the league. But is it by this large a margin? They’ve won 12 in a row, highlighted by wins over league rivals Mount, Stepinac and Hayes by an average of 19.3 points. Another huge first quarter. Another big game out of Andre Pope (22 points). Another big game from Brian Voelkel (17). And another Iona Prep victory.
Hamilton 61, Rye Neck 36: If Hamilton, the reigning Class C champions, don’t reach the playoffs, I think the qualification system needs to be looked at for the small school levels. Here’s a team coming off a championship with very few leftovers. Only a handful of players have varsity experience. Coach Ural Hogans wants to challenge the team, develop his players and get them ready for the postseason. Instead of scheduling cupcake teams to pad his record, he gets Mamaroneck and North Salem. Now, it might be what costs his team a playoff berth. The Raiders need two wins with Schechter, Leake & Watts, Dobbs Ferry and Tuckahoe remaining. That’s brutal. And with the way Class C is this season, I’d give Hamilton a chance to play two games at the County Center. Why not? But there’s a pretty decent chance they’ll be left out. The system should be tinkered for Class C since there just aren’t many teams. Most small schools don’t have deep rosters and those coaches spend the first month of the season laying the groundwork and teaching fundamentals. I’m sure Hamilton would love to have the last few minutes of the Children’s Village or Leake & Watts games back. But it shouldn’t cost them this bad.
Kennedy 64, Greeley 48: Eddie O’Connell scored 28 points as the Gaels won on back to back days. They’re 11-5 and 9-1 in League II-Central with Fox Lane and Lakeland coming up.
Lakeland 70, John Jay 56: Five straight wins for the Hornets, who’ve gotten contributions from just about everywhere of late. Justin Domingo and Jason Omboni each had 15 in this one. Anthony Iacomini scored 28 in defeat.
Arlington 72, Mahopac 68: Arlington holds off a fourth-quarter run by the Indians to improved to 10-4 with its sixth straight win (according to MaxPreps). Arlington has three Section 1 games left — Carmel, John Jay-EF and two with Ketcham, teams it has already beaten. Another sweep and it’s potentially looking at a Top 5 seed. Arlington has lost to Gorton and Roosevelt, and was beaten by White Plains by 30. White Plains is likely an 8 or 9 seed.
Scarsdale 55, Mamaroneck 49: Not quite the dramatics of the first meeting but definitely some intrigue. Scarsdale was only ahead by two entering the fourth quarter. David Zaitz, who missed the last game because he was sick, had 24 in his return. This Mamaroneck team is going to be so dangerous in the playoffs. Given the right seed, it’s going to be an ‘upset special’ for somebody.

Random thoughts: A balanced scoring effort leads Fox Lane past Somers for its seventh win in eight games. … John Jay-EF beat Carmel. … Nyack came back from seven points down to start the fourth quarter and beat Harrison, 69-67. Brian Jones scored 19. The win clinches a playoff berth for the Indians. … David Williams had his second 30-point game in as many days, tallying 32 in Clark Academy’s 91-70 win over Our Savior Lutheran. … Peekskill went to 16-0 with an easy win over Ossining. … Regis beat Mount St. Michael. … Poughkeepsie routed Lourdes, 77-52. … Westlake beat Pawling by 32.

I was at the Mount Vernon-White Plains game today. However, had I closed my eyes during any point, I wouldn’t have known known I was at a Mount Vernon-White Plains game.

The game lacked its usual emotion. No juice. No buzz. And plenty of empty seats.

Normally going to a Mount Vernon-White Plains feels like an event. Today, it was just another game which Mount Vernon won handily, beating the Tigers 80-66. It was a lot like the first meeting, which the Knights won by 20. A bunch of nice dunks and decent shooting. But not much of a contest.

WVU-bound Kevin Jones had 30 points, 11 rebounds and nine blocks in another incredible performance against White Plains. This season he’s combined for 57 points, 26 rebounds, 12 blocks and five assists. Those were a lot like the numbers Jonathan Mitchell posted against the Tigers two years ago. White Plains had no answers for Mitchell. And they’ve got nothing for Jones, either.

Sherrod Wright had 14 points, Jordan Lessane added 13 points and four assists, and Jabarie Hinds had 11 points, eight of which came during the second quarter. Hinds stole the show in the period, highlighted by a play where he caught an airball and flicked it up for a reverse lay-up in one motion.

Sean Kilpatrick scored 27 points, and Rashad James had 20. Both played well in spurts. But it was clear they were mentally defeated knowing they were overmatched against a deeper, more talented Mount Vernon team.

I’ve said this before: White Plains is a very good team. I hate to make it seem like I’m dumping on them. They just don’t match up with Mount Vernon. I like the way White Plains matches up against Scarsdale and New Rochelle. And if the Tigers could be on the opposite side of the bracket as Mount Vernon, I could totally see them running the table and getting to the title game. I just don’t know how they’d beat the Knights. The height difference is just the beginning of their problems.

After the game, I discussed a few different things with White Plains coach Spencer Mayfield, who was really up front about how the team played and what he expects the rest of the way. He held a fairly long postgame meeting where he challenged his team, especially the veterans.

I posted the audio from the interview with Mayfield below. Take a minute to listen. It’s pretty interesting. I ask him about the rigorous schedule they’ve played recently — OT with Canarsie at Baruch two Fridays ago and then up in Albany the next day; triple OT against New Rochelle on Friday and then Williamsport, PA the following day; and now facing the best team in the area today. I saw a very tired team on the court today.

Listen below:

Download:

Busy day with Mount Vernon-White Plains tipping off in a couple of hours. Let’s quickly look back on last night:

Pleasantville 60, Croton-Harmon 42: As I watched this game last night, I realized I had been wrong about Pleasantville all season. It’s not simply the best defensive team of the season. The reason why it’s holding teams to a nearly 40 points a game is because it’s the hardest working one.

It sounds cliche, but it’s true. The Panthers don’t have that “lockdown defender” on their roster. They just have five guys on the floor every minute of the game that plays disciplined, knows where to be and would dive into pile or leap over a table if needed.

You don’t realize how many times during a game the average player takes a defensive play off. Or how often even the best players overcommit, fail to box out or carelessly let somebody through the defense for an easy basket.

Pleasantville, being one of the bigger teams in Section 1 with about seven regulars 6-foot or bigger, don’t let any of that happen during a game. We’ve been saying they “make teams play ugly.” That’s incorrect. There’s nothing ugly about playing hard.

Croton got out in transition and used the quickness of its guards in the first half, scored 22 points and trailed by 5 early in the fourth. The Panthers blew the doors off in the fourth quarter, holding Croton without a field goal for nearly six minutes and rolled to their fifth straight win and 11th overall.

It wasn’t because of a lack of effort by Croton, either. Pleasantville just makes opponents work for every shot and doesn’t make mistakes, especially on the boards. The Bramswigs — senior Danny and sophomore Jack — combined for 19 rebounds, and Nolan Robinson added nine boards and 12 points. James Dondero, a 6-foot-1 point guard, had 19 points.

By the way, after watching Pleasantville last night, I’m sure I did the right thing by moving it into the Top 3 in Class B.

Stepinac 86, LaSalle 64: Tony Taylor scored 33 points and tallied 10 assists, and Aaron Pegues added 17. Taylor will have to sit out the Cardinal Hayes game on Friday as part of his suspension. The CHSAA suspends players who get ejected in a game for two league contests. This game wasn’t a league game.
Blind Brook 67, Clark 60: It’s rare that the Trojans give up 60 points in a game, but Clark is a team that can got hot. Alex Piperis and Brett Paterno each had 17 points in the win. Paterno also grabbed 13 rebounds. David Williams, despite presumably a box-and-one with double teams, scored 32 points.
Briarcliff 80, Byram Hills 62: Joe Lombardi scored 23 of his 32 points in the second half as the Bears scored 52 points in the third and fourth quarters combined. I saw Byram Hills last week and thought its defense was fanastic, so that’s impressive. Alex Gulotta had 17 points and Kyle Beechum added 16.
Kennedy 52, John Jay 38: The Gaels bounced back after two tough losses and wins another league game. Steve Feeney had 18 points for Kennedy, which has Fox Lane and Lakeland coming up, games that will decide the league title.
Eastchester 48, Pelham 40: Mickey Abbatiello scored 29 points and nobody else on the Eagles had more than four. Pelham opened up a nine point lead in the first but had only seven points in the second and third quarters combined.
Rye 73, Edgemont 50: Something is brewing in Rye now that it’s at full strength. David Mintz had 16 and James Bonsall added 15 as the Garnets won their fourth straight. They’ll travel to Eastchester tomorrow in a big test.
Ardsley 84, Woodlands 63: Good show of resiliency by the Panthers to win this game after two tough defeats. Mike Zee had 30 points and sophomore brother Nicky Zee added 21.

Random thoughts: Brandon Brailsford led Dobbs Ferry to its ninth straight game, beating Children’s Village by 22. … Joe Missale had 20 points as Tappan Zee topped Clarkstown North. … Hastings defeated Harrison by 17. … Four players scored in double figures, including Josh O’Neill’s 20 points, as North Salem rolled past Hawthorne-CK. … Ossining held Hen Hud to just eight first-half points and won by 15. … The area’s best rebounder, Sir Aaron Taylor, had 22 points and 16 rebounds to lead Lincoln Hall past Putnam Valley. … Keio beat Rye Neck by 13. … Jeris Dupree scored the game-winning basket with 12 seconds left as Leake & Watts survived a scare from Solomon Schechter. … Valhalla’s two overtime points was enough to beat Bronxville, 65-63. … John Hickey hit eight 3-pointers as Iona Prep B defeated Xaverian B.