The list of state champs from this weekend in Glens Falls:

Class AA: Newburgh Free Academy (Section 9) def. Niagara Falls (6), 62-42
Class A: Jamesville-DeWitt (Section 3) def. Peekskill, 77-75 OT
Class B: Bishop Kearney (Section 5) def. Seton Catholic (4), 65-48
Class C: Avon (Section 5) def. Maple Hill (2), 61-55
Class D: South Kortright (Section 4) def. Greenport (11), 47-43

Here’s the full Federation tournament schedule:

Friday
Class B
Brooklyn College Academy (PSAL) vs. Collegiate (Indep.), 3:15 p.m.
St. Mary’s (Catholic) vs. Bishop Kearny (public), 5 p.m.
Class A
Curtis (PSAL) vs. Long Island Lutheran (Indep.), 6:45 p.m.
Iona Prep vs. Jamesville-DeWitt, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday
Class AA
Rice vs. Lincoln (Brooklyn), 3:45 p.m.
Class B
Championship, 5:45 p.m.
Class A
Championship, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday
Class AA championship
Newburgh Free Academy vs. Rice-Lincoln winner, 2 p.m.

In case you’re interested, the Nanuet girls play on Friday morning at 11:45 in Glens Falls against Mount Mercy Academy (Catholic) in the Class B semifinals. The Class B girls final is on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

Plenty of coverage from yesterday’s Class A state championship game in today’s paper.

As you know, Peekskill let its chances of beating Jamesville-DeWitt slip in the fourth quarter and overtime and were beaten, 77-75, in Glens Falls.

There was a front-page story on the emotional scene, both on the court and in the stands, for Peekskill.

Rick Carpiniello captured this Peekskill team so well in his column, which highlighted a valiant effort by the Red Devils in the biggest game of the season.

Click here to see Peekskill’s shot chart from the game, which was compiled by the Glens Falls Post Star.

Also, check out the Varsity845 site and read about Newburgh’s Class AA state final win over Niagara Falls. NFA was in control throughout, leading by as many as 24 and winning 62-42.

You can read about the entire state tournament on the great Glens Falls Post Star site. The paper does a great job covering the event.

And it wasn’t even that close.

Newburgh Free Academy stomped Niagara Falls, 62-42, in today’s Class AA state final. The game was never in doubt as NFA dominated from the start.

This has got to hurt Mount Vernon. A one-in-a-million shot pretty much cost it a state championship.

2:47 p.m. JAMESVILLE WINS 77-75 IN OT. CLASSIC GAME

2:45 p.m.: Crazy final minute. Watts stole the inbounds, ran the clock down and had two shots at the basket. His fade-away jumper missed but he got the rebound and his 5-footer rolled off the front of the rim. Coleman got the rebound for JD but missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 8.9 seconds to go. Brickhouse then pushed it up the floor but his layup through traffic missed. JD rebound with .5 seconds left.

2:42 p.m.: Watts calmly hits two free throws with 45.3 seconds left. He’s been incredible today. He’s 6 for 6 from the line in the fourth quarter and OT. Jamesville leads 77-75 with the ball, inbounding under the Peekskill basket. Timeout.

2:39 p.m.: Following a Watts jumper that cut it to two, Thompson hits a 15-footer from the wing. Jamesville leads 77-73 with 51.1 seconds left. Jamesville has scored on all five possessions in OT, starting with a four-point trip to open the period.

2:38 p.m.: Coleman hits two free throws. Jamesville leads 75-71 with 1:41 left. Feels a little desperate right now for Peekskill

2:35 p.m.: After a Thompson basket, Brickhouse is fouled. He makes both. Jamesville leads 73-71 with 2:10 left in OT.

2:34 p.m.: Jamesville up 4 with 3:10 left

2:31 p.m.: For Peekskill, Watts has 17 points. Brickhouse has 18 points and 12 assists. Triche has 12 for Jamesville. Hymes has 21. Kearse has 14, nine of which came in the fourth

2:30 p.m.: GOING TO OT

Jamesville had two shots at the basket in the final four seconds. The first was a 3-pointer by Steve Thompson. Triche tracked down the loose ball but his heave from the bench was short at the buzzer.

2:27 p.m.: Brickhouse makes the second. Tied at 67-67 with 20.2 seconds left. Timeout JD

2:25 p.m.: Brickhouse drives to the basket and is fouled with 20.2 seconds left. He misses the first. Timeout Jamesville.

2:23 p.m.: Hymes hits a pull-up 10 footer. Jamesville leads 67-66. Peekskill ball in a timeout with 26.7 seconds left. Wow. There’s a 10-second difference between the shot clock and game clock.

2:22 p.m.: Jayme Gooding nailed a 3-pointer from the wing to give Peekskill a 66-65 lead. Under a minute to play.

2:19 p.m.: Jamesville leads 64-63 with 2:21 left. Peekskill had a chance to take the lead but Watts no-look pass to McDonald inside was mishandled. Tough break. If Peekskill makes a few layups throughout this game, it is up by 6-7.

2:16 p.m.: Tied at 61-61. 4 minutes left

2:10 p.m.: Daggerish sequence just now for Peekskill. It led by a point before a Brandon Triche steal and Lamar Kearse fast break, followed by Kearse stripping the ball from Brickhouse and leading a break, which Triche finished and was fouled.

Jamesville leads 56-53 with 6:13 left in the game. Triche has a free throw.

2:05 p.m.: A terrible quarter overall for Peekskill ends with Watts nailing a 3-pointer from the wing, giving the Red Devils a 51-48 lead into the fourth.

Peekskill missed six layups in the quarter. Brickhouse had five assists in the quarter.

2:01 p.m.: Jamesville leads 47-44 with 2:10 left in the third. Timeout Peekskill, which has blown a few layups this quarter.

Brandon Triche has six points. Hymes has 19.

1:58 p.m.: A technical foul on JD put Brickhouse at the line. He made one, putting Peekskill ahead 42-40 with 4:04 left in the third quarter.

1:53 p.m.: Alshawn Hymes is the best player on the floor today. He just drained another NBA-range 3-pointer to put JD ahead 40-37 with 6:23 left in the third quarter. Sluggish start to the half for the Red Devils. Brickhouse is being tightly guarded by Lamar Kearse and hasn’t touched the ball yet.

1:45 p.m.: Few minutes before the second half starts. I informed the cameraman just now to show the scoreboard more. You can also refresh the page and see my updates on the right side.

1:37 p.m.: HALFTIME: Peekskill 37, Jamesville 35.

Brickhouse has 14 points.

1:35 p.m.: Two Brickhouse 3-pointers put Peekskill up 37-31 with under a minute to play in the first half — until Peekskill made to dumb mistakes.

The first was a foul on Dajuan Coleman, who made the basket but missed the free throw. Then Darien Thomas was given a technical foul for pushing a J-D player. Hymes made both.

Jamesville ball with Peeksill leads 37-35 with 21.2 seconds left in the half.

1:29 p.m.: Noted Peekskill killer Alshawn Hymes has scored seven straights for Jamesville as it has taken a 28-27 lead with 3:24 left in the first half. Timeout Peekskill. Critical stretch coming up here. Peekskill built up so much confidence in the first 13 minutes. They can’t throw it all away here in the final stretch.

1:28 p.m.: This is shaping up to be a great game. Peekskill holds a 27-26 lead with 4:03 left in the first half. Watts is on the bench with his second foul.

1:24 p.m.: Dajuan Coleman, JDs 6-8 freshman, converted a three-point play. Peekskill is up 22-19 with 6:30 left.

1:20 p.m.: END FIRST: Peekskill 18, Jamesville-Dewitt 14.

Ralph Watts and Daquan Brickhouse each had six points in the quarter.

1:18 p.m.: So far, it’s a near flawless first quarter for Peekskill. Daquan Brickhouse made a brilliant steal and falling-down pass that lead to a Darien Thomas basket. Peekskill leads 18-12 with 50.1 seconds left. Couldn’t have asked for more if you’re the Red Devils.

1:14 p.m.: Ralph Watts has hit two long-range jumpers to give Peekskill a 12-10 lead with 2:21 left in the first quarter. Brandon Triche just committed his first foul.

1:08 p.m.: Peekskill is up 6-2 after a Ralph Watts steal and layup

1:05 p.m.: We’ve tipped off.

Pregame: We’re about 10 minutes from tipoff of today’s game.

Very quiet arena for some reason. The music is very low and all you can hear is soft conversations from the crowd and the bouncing of basketballs on the court. Weird vibe so far. Very un-Peekskill like.

Could this be an indication of what’s to come?

We’re only a few hours away from the start of today’s Class A state championship between Peekskill (24-1) and Jamesville-DeWitt (25-1).

Tipoff is at 1 p.m. and, if you can’t make it up here to sunny Glens Falls, you can watch the game live on our Mogulus broadcast by clicking here.

Predictions? I’ve said before that Jamesville is a clear favorite, maybe by 7-10 points. But there’s one thought that keeps creeping into my head:

Peekskill played by far its biggest game of the season against its best opponent — Iona Prep. This team knows how to get up for the big games. None will ever be bigger than today.

The most anticipated game of the year is only a day away.

Peekskill and Jamesville-Dewitt both snuck by in today’s Class A semifinals; Peekskill beat East Hampton 55-48 and J-D beat Batavia 40-32. Neither team looked all that sharp, although it doesn’t make a difference. All that matters is what happens at 1 p.m. tomorrow, and I can guarantee both teams will raise their play.

Here’s how I see the game shaking out:

Class A state championship
Peekskill (23-1) vs. Jamesville-Dewitt (25-1)
When: Sunday, at 1 p.m.
Where: Glens Falls Civic Center
Watch it live: lohud.com/vcsports1
Who is Jamesville-Dewitt: The school is in the town of Dewitt, which is just East of Syracuse. The Red Rams won last year’s state and Federation titles, beating Peekskill in the state semifinals. J-D has won three state titles in history, including 2004 when it beat Taj Finger’s Fox Lane squad.
Jamesville-Dewitt starting five: Brandon Triche (6-4), Sr., PG; Dajuan Coleman (6-8), Fr., C; Alshawn Hymes (6-2), Sr., F; Lamar Kearse (6-0), Jr., G; Steve Thompson (6-3), Sr., F.
What to know about J-D:
Offense — Everything starts with Triche, the Syracuse-bound star. His ability get in the paint and create through traffic is stunning to watch. There aren’t many players in the state who posses his ability to finish or draw contact, and he’s at his best when he’s out in the open floor. Coleman is big but raw with his footwork. Hymes is the player who really hurt Peekskill in last year’s semifinal, and you can see the numbers he’s capable of putting up.
Defense — With Coleman manning the middle, there Red Rams will likely vary between zones and force the Red Devils to beat them from the outside. I wouldn’t be shocked if they even put a box-and-one on, with Lamar Kearse assigned to Daquan Brickhouse. As poorly as they played against Batavia, the defense disrupted ball movement and forced Batavia to settle for everything out on the perimeter.
Who will win: Jamesville-Dewitt. I sat and watched Jamesville struggled today against a Batavia team that scored only three second-quarter points and went what seemed like forever without scoring in the fourth. There’s no way that happens again. J-D is widely regarded as the top team in the state, regardless of class. I might not totally buy that, but they’re in the conversation and, right now, Peekskill isn’t. The Red Devils have struggled to put points on the board since their 91-point barrage against Pearl River and nobody seems to know why. A question like that can’t be answered overnight, and not against a team as talented as J-D.
Prediction: Jamesville-Dewitt 57, Peekskill 50

For more information on Jamesville-Dewitt:

Syracuse.com has game-by-game results from the entire season.

The site also has a roster, with individual stats if you click on each player.

Here’s a story about Brandon Triche being selected for the Jordan Regional Game (as well as Sherrod Wright of Mount Vernon). Triche will likely be named Mr. Basketball for the state this weekend.

An article in the Post-Standard about J-D playing in Glens Falls this weekend.

Here’s another on J-D’s win over Scotia-Glenville in the regional final.

Some quick notes from today’s games:

• Ralph Watts started despite a rotator cuff injury in his right shoulder that kept him out of practice on Wednesday and Thursday. He had a slow start, scoring one point in the first half and picking up two careless fouls in the first four minutes and sitting til the half.But he scored 10 points in the second and recording five assists. Watts, who had two coaches from Albany there to greet him afterwards, said he felt a lot better after receiving a cortisone shot on Thursday. After not being able to lift his arm over his head for two days, he practiced with the team yesterday.


• Daquan Brickhouse is finally beginning to look like himself again. The ankle injury suffered in the Section 1 final definitely made him uneasy about going to the basket against Norwich in the regional semifinal. I know he played well again Cornwall, but he didn’t have that explosiveness until the third quarter today when he took the game over. He had 15 points and five assists (which would have been more if Peekskill could make a layup).


• Kenny Bradshaw, Peekskill’s 6-foot-7 center, had a solid game. He had 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench and, along with Darien Thomas and Malcolm McDonald, did a solid job keeping East Hampton’s Hayden Ward off the glass. Ward had 17 points and 17 rebounds in the game.


• Jayme Gooding gave the Red Devils a nice spark in the first half while Watts got comfortable. Gooding had seven points, which shouldn’t go unnoticed.


• East Hampton’s Jerome Russell obviously isn’t as good as Brandon Triche of Jamesville-Dewitt. But Russell’s ability to penetrate and create space should be something Peekskill takes a serious look at in planning for tomorrow. Nobody does that better than Triche, and he’s four inches taller and a lot stronger. Russell had 17 points despite shooting 1 for 8 from 3s. Triche will surpass those numbers if Peekskill doesn’t tighten up in the middle.

In one of the uglier games you’ll ever witness, Jamesville-DeWitt of Section 3 escaped today’s second Class A semifinal, beating a pesky Batavia squad, 40-32.

It sets up a Class A state championship game many predicted before the season: Peekskill vs. Jamesville, 1 p.m. at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

The Batavia crowd was screaming “OVERRATED” through the final minutes towards Jamesville, which is 24-1 and top ranked in the state in Class A. Many believe its in the conversation as the state’s best team, regardless of class.

Peekskill didn’t look overwhelming today but certainly neither did Jamesville. Perhaps it was looking ahead to the final? But had it not been for Brandon Triche overpowering the Batavia guards, and Batavia’s long scoreless droughts in the second and third quarters, we could have seen an thinkable upset.

I’ll have more on tomorrow’s game in a bit.

10:56 a.m.: FINAL STATS

Peekskill
Daquan Brickhouse: 15 points, 5 assists
Ralph Watts: 11 points, 5 assists
Darien Thomas: 10 rebounds, 6 points
Kenny Bradshaw: 10 points, 7 rebounds
Jayme Gooding: 7 points
Malcolm McDonald: 7 rebounds, 5 offensive

FG: Peekskill 23 for 57 (40.3 percent)
FT: Peekskill 8 for 10
3pt: Peekskill 1 for 10; East Hampton 1 for 11
Rebounds: Peekskill 37, East Hampton 29
Turnovers: Peekskill 10, East Hampton 13

10:16 a.m.: PEEKSKILL WINS 55-48.

10:15 a.m.: Bradshaw steals the ball for Peekskill with 10.9 seconds left and is fouled. He hits

10:14 a.m.: Brickhouse is intentionally fouled three times in a row to get in the bonus with 16.3 seconds left. He hit both. 52-48 with 16. 3 left.

10:11 a.m.: Brickhouse just came up with a steal with 34 seconds left. Peekskil timeout, with the ball and a 51-48 lead with 27.8 seconds to go. Watts made it a three-point game with an awesome feed inside to Darien Thomas, who has had a tough time hanging on to the ball today for whatever reason. Big basket there with a minute left.

10:10 a.m.: One minute left. Peekskill by 3

10:08 a.m.: Peekskill leads 47-44 with 2:53 to go.

10:04 a.m.: Peekskill can’t put this team away. East Hampton has scored four straight points and trails only 47-42 with 3:47 to go after the Red Devils botched three point-blank lay-ups. If I’m Brickhouse right now, I keep the ball between me and Ralph Watts.

10:02 a.m.: Peekskill leads 45-38 with 6:02 left.

9:56 am.: END THIRD: Peekskill leads 43-36. East Hampton looks exhausted. It’s short on a lot of shots and is settling for jumpers.

9:52 a.m.: Lefty, my friend, we’re always on the same page.

9:51 a.m.: Brickhouse is putting on a show here in the third quarter. He’s scored eight points in the quarter on 4 of 4 shooting, including three long jumpers. Peekskill is ahead 41-36 with 2:12 left in the third. Another smart timeout by Petrie.

9:46 a.m.: Peekskill trails 32-31 with 5:21 left in the third quarter. The game has seen 13 lead changes. Watts has four points this quarter for Peekskill.

9:41 a.m.: Very telling sign: The East Hampton starting five barely took any warmups when they came out at halftime. Instead they went and sat on the bench. Conserving energy? The first few minutes could be critical here.

9:38 a.m.: Nobody asked this question but I’ll answer it anyway: What is a Bonac (East Hampton’s nickname)?

Well, according to the always reliable Wikipedia: The name traditionally refers specifically to the working class families who live in an area called Springs (never, in local parlance, “the Springs”) in the north of the Town of East Hampton, New York (although it has also, for several decades, quite commonly been used to refer to the residents of East Hampton in general).

Back with more of the game in a few minutes.

9:31 a.m.: HALF: Peekskill 27, East Hampton 26. Great finish to the second quarter for East Hampton’s Jerome Russell, who scored seven points in the final 1:20 to keep the Bonacs afloat.

All those points came after an East Hampton timeout by Ed Petrie. You don’t win 700 games for nothing.

9:27 a.m.: Watts finally looks to be getting in the flow of the game here. He converted two steals into baskets to give Peekskill a 27-19 lead with 1:41 left in the first half. The pressure defense has been the difference in the second quarter. East Hampton looks to be wearing down and has only six points in the quarter.

9:25 a.m.: Peekskill leads 23-17. It went on a 10-0 run before Ward stopped it with a steal and layup.

9:20 a.m.: Brickhouse just converted a three-point play to give Peekskill a 19-15 lead with 5 minutes left in the first half.

9:15 a.m.: Quick observation: East Hampton hasn’t subbed yet. It’s 9 o’clock in the morning, they’re playing on a full-sized court and Peekskill has barely pressed. The legs will tire soon.

9:13 a.m.: END FIRST: All tied at 13-13. Good finish to the quarter for Peekskill as Brickhouse made a pretty feed to Sean Smythe, who put in a layup at the buzzer. People were screaming “shoot it” when Brickhouse went into the paint but he saw Smythe cutting and knew he had just enough time to dish it.

Jayme Gooding and Kenny Bradshaw each have four points for Peekskill. Hayden Ward has five for East Hampton.

9:11 a.m.: Peekskill leads 11-10 with 1:30 left in the first

9:05 a.m.: Very little life to this game so far. Peekskill is trailing 6-5 with 4:06 left in the first. Watts just picked up his second foul and is on the bench.

9:00 a.m.: Tipping off. Peekskill starters are Brickhouse, Watts, McDonald, Gooding and Thomas. Watts looks to be OK despite missing a few days with a shoulder injury.

Pregame: We’re about 15 minutes from tipoff of today’s Class A state semifinal between Peekskill and East Hampton of Section 11.

To watch the game live, click over to our Mogulus broadcast.

Not a bad crowd considering it’s a 9 a.m. start. The Red Devils are out right now going through layups. Nobody looks sleepy.

If you haven’t done so already, check out our coverage of Peekskill’s quest for a state championship in today’s paper.

First, we have my account of yesterday’s 6 a.m. practice, which was a tune-up for tomorrow’s 9 a.m. tipoff against East Hampton in Glens Falls.

There are scouting reports on all three state semifinal games the local teams are playing in, inlcuding the Albertus Magnus and Nanuet girls. My Peekskill-East Hampton preview on the blog was more extensive.

I also took a few moments yesterday to seek some advice for Peekskill — from Bronxville. If you remember, the Broncos beat Iona Prep B earlier this season in a game that started at 8:30 a.m. The Bronxville kids had some good insight.

We also take you “Inside the Locker Room” with these teams, giving some light-hearted insight on what goes on behind closed doors. I spoke with Daquan Brickhouse about who the funniest player on the team is, and how the best video game player is.

If you’re going to Glens Falls (or Troy) this weekend, here’s the ticket information and driving directions you’ll need.

And, if you can’t go, don’t forget that you can watch Peekskill live this weekend on Lohud.com/vcsports1. I won’t be able to do play-by-play but will check in with news and stats throughout the game. I’ll also be updating live on the blog.

It’s weird to think that this is the only game in town this weekend. The last time only one team from the area was up in Glens Falls for the state tournament was six years ago when there were only four classes.

Mount Vernon went undefeated until losing in the state final to Rochester McQuaid. Beacon beat Peekskill for the sectional title that season and was also there but I didn’t cover it.

I still have wrapped my brain around the possibility of watching maybe one game this weekend. It’s a possibility. Peekskill hasn’t played well of late, has an injury concern with Ralph Watts, and faces a very good East Hampton squad. Personally, I think Peekskill will win. But it’s no lock.

From what I could gather on East Hampton, here’s how I see the game playing out:

Class A state semifinal
Peekskill (23-1) vs. Section 11’s East Hampton (23-2)
When: Saturday, 9 a.m.
Where: Glens Falls Civic Center
How’d they get here: Peekskill beat Norwich (Section 4) in the regional semifinals before knocking off Cornwall (Section 9) to get back to Glens Falls for the fifth straight year. East Hampton defeated North Babylon, 72-58, for the Suffolk County (Section 11) title, and beat Roslyn of Section 8 in the regional final, 57-48.
Who is East Hampton: Located on the East end of Long Island, East Hampton is one of the state’s most accomplished programs. Coach Ed Petrie, a Rye native and standout athlete at Rye Neck in the 1950s, is in his 50th season. He’s won 746 career games, which is the most of any public school coach in state history, and guided Bonacks to the state final last season.
East Hampton’s starting five: Hayden Ward (6-5), Sr., F; Jerome Russell (6-1), Sr., G/F: Jarred Bowe (6-0), Sr., G; Tyler Brennemen (6-0), Jr., F; Sam Hyman (6-2), Sr., F.
What to know about East Hampton:
Offense — Everything goes through Ward and Russell, a pair of 1,000-point scorers. Ward is one of the best big men on Long Island, averaging 22.2 points and 14 rebounds per game. Russell is an explosive wing who can beat his man off the dribble and finish around the basket. Both started on last year’s state final squad. Bowe runs the point and is excellent defender, and Hyman and Brennemen are capable scorers.
Defense — From what I’ve gathered, Petrie isn’t afraid to do anything. Bowe will likely be matched up with Daquan Brickhouse, but the Bonacks will throw a lot of “junk defenses” at the Red Devils and try to get out in transition. They do a lot of 1-3-1 and 1-2-2, which Peekskill will likely see a lot of. I don’t know how many games East Hampton has scouted, but based on the last three games, they can’t think they’re a very good shooting team and will play zone.
Who will win: Peekskill. As long as Ralph Watts (shoulder) is healthy and ready, the Red Devils should advance. They put up two uninspiring efforts in wins over Norwich and Cornwall and, now that Brickhouse is pretty much 100-percent, is due for a breakout game. Ward is a great inside player but Peekskill has more depth and size inside. Plus, the motivation of having another shot at Jamesville-DeWitt will be motivation enough.
Prediction: Peekskill 65, East Hampton 59

What East Hampton is saying about Peekskill:

“If we handle the pressure and keep them reasonably off the boards, we can be competitive. I don’t know if we win the game, but maybe we stay in the game and have a chance. If we break down against the pressure and they kill us on the boards, our chance is very, very slim.”—Coach Ed Petrie (Source: Hamptons.com)

“We have to be able to handle their pressure in order to have a chance to stay in the game. I don’t think we can go up there and dictate the tempo. We’re going to do as much as we can to handle their pressure. They’re also extremely strong on offensive boards. Those are the two biggest factors.”—Petrie (source: Hamptons.com)

“They’re athletic, they press, and they’re good. It’s going to be a tough, tough matchup . . . but we’ve been counted out before.”—Bill McKee, East Hampton assistant (source: East Hampton Star)

“We don’t feel that we have to play a perfect game, but we have to make fewer mistakes than we’ve made in the other games we’ve played.”—senior wing Jerome Russell (source: Hamptons.com)

“They’re a very athletic, excellent team, with rangy kids. . . . We’ve seen what they can do defensively and who their main players are. . . . Can we play with them? I have no idea.”—Petrie (source: East Hampton Star)

Read up on East Hampton:
Article in the Hamptons.com on how East Hampton is preparing for this weekend (pub. 3/19)

Another article previewing the state tournament appeared in the East Hampton Star (pub 3/19)

Newsday has East Hampton’s game-by-game results, as well as the team roster and leading scorers (other stat categories are no up to date)

Here’s the story in Newsday on East Hampton’s win over Roslyn for the Long Island championship (pub. 3/14)

Newsday reported on East Hampton’s victory over North Babylon for the Suffolk County title (pub. 3/9)

There are plenty of other articles archived on Hamptons.com and the East Hampton Star site.

I drove up to Peekskill’s this morning for its 6 a.m. practice. The Red Devils are going early a few days this week to prepare for Saturday’s 9 a.m. tipoff in the Class A state semifinals in Glens Falls.  Here’s how the day went (from what I remember):

4:43 a.m.: My alarm clock is going off and my cell phone timer is ringing. But what wakes me up is the greatest wake-up call on Earth — my dog licking my face. Yes, yuck to some of you. But without her, I might not have made it.

5:02 a.m.: After aimlessly walking around my house looking for an escaped sneaker, I finally get into my car. I’m staggering at this point. Odd of making it to Peekskill: 3-1

5:06 a.m.: Dunkin Donuts cup of coffee No. 1 is purchased.

5:42 a.m.: Suddenly I wake up and my car is in the Peekskill parking lot. Not quite sure how I got there. I check the back of my Jeep to make sure I’m not dragging any small animals or lawn furniture. Then I realize there are no cars in the lot. Imagine practice is canceled?

5:48 a.m.: After six nervous minutes, I feel at ease. Peekskill manager “Porky” walks up. He has a big smile on his face and yells out to me (no clue what he said).

5:50 a.m.: The first Peekskill player arrives. It’s Darien Thomas. Darien’s nickname is “Pooh Bear” and suddenly I feel the irony of a stuffed-animal nicknamed being the first one there at this unthinkably early hour.

6:00 a.m.: The players slowly trickle in, none looking like they had more than five hours sleep. Peekskill coach Lou Panzanaro and I are talking when Daquan Brickhouse wanders over. He doesn’t have his braids in, instead a poofy pony tail is sticking up in the air. He stops with his eyes half-opened to shake my hand and Panzanaro’s.

“Hey Daquan!” Panzanaro says. “Aren’t you at least going to say ‘Hello coach, Hello Mr. Devaney?’”

Daquan circles back, shakes our hands again and gives a half-smile and mumbles hello. Then stumbles away. It was good to know I wasn’t the most tired person there.

6:04 a.m.: Now we get down to business. While the players are warming up and shooting around, Panzanaro tells me Ralph Watts isn’t coming to practice today. He apparently injured his right shoulder pretty bad at Tuesday’s 6 a.m. practice and was going for treatment before school… and then after school, then at night, then tomorrow morning. Panzanaro and Brickhouse both insist he’s going to play. But they said he was in discomfort the last two days.

6:12 a.m.: Kenny Bradshaw comes running into the gym as the last player to arrive. It’s hard to sneak in when you’re 6-foot-7. Kenny apologizes and Panzanaro can’t really be upset. “He was the first one here on Tuesday.”

6:15 a.m.: Practice gets into full swing. They run one of my favorite drills — it’s a 3-on-2 into 2-on-1 drill. They do some transition offense and defense drills and, shockingly, things are pretty crisp considering it’s this early.

6:30 a.m.: Maybe I spoke too soon. Fatigue and lethargy begin to settle in and the ball is being thrown all over the place. Panzanaro is getting pretty heated, although he’s clearly restraining himself because of the circumstances. The kids just aren’t supposed to be sharp this early in the morning.

6:42 a.m.: Brickhouse yawns for the 53rd time.

7:05 a.m.: Practice is winding down. The tempo and focus had picked up a little but was lagging again. It occurred to me just how difficult playing in the early morning is going to be.

7:15 a.m.: The session is over after about an hour and 10 minutes, which is all Panzanaro had planned. By this point of the season, practice doesn’t need to be much longer than that, especially ones this early. I spend time talking to Brickhouse and Malcolm McDonald, who clued me into some interesting things about last year’s trip to Glens Falls:

1. Nobody on the team went to sleep before 3 a.m. (some later) in the hotel the night before the Jamesville-DeWitt disaster. That game started at 10:45 a.m. Most of the players were up playing video games in their rooms.

2. Brickhouse isn’t going to let that happen again. Either is Panzanaro, who is banning video games from the trip. Brickhouse, though, regretted his decision to stay up that he’s taking it upon himself to make sure his teammates are asleep before the 11 p.m. “lights out” that’s been set up.

3. McDonald might not wait that long. He learned this week with the 6 a.m. practices how much sleep he needs to prepare for a game. He’s actually started going to bed by 10 p.m. this week.

7:55 a.m.: After speaking with the players and Panzanaro for a while, I finally get in my car to return home.

8:26 a.m.: I pull into my driveway.

8:27 a.m.: I’m back asleep.

It was an interesting morning, to say the least. After a nice long nap, I’ve parked myself in front of the television and plan to watch 8-10 hours of the NCAA tournament. If you’re home watching, please feel free to check in with your thoughts.

I’m going with UNC over Memphis for the title. The first game on now is LSU-Butler. I picked Butler. LSU is up 9-0. Got me.

I’m sure this blog headline really caught your attention. Maybe a little? Probably not.

Anyway, we’re holding a NCAA tournament pool on Lohud.com. Step right up and try to beat me — the guy who routinely misfires on predicting high school games but suddently thinks he’s an expert in forecasting the NCAAs.

There’s no fee to enter, and first prize in our little Varsity Insider pool is the opportunity to be a guest blogger here. So fill out the brackets now. We’re only a few hours away from the first game.

On the site, there’s also a chance to win $100 million (or is it $100 gibilllion?) if you fill out a perfect bracket. What’s the harm in trying, right?

My goal is for all of you to come on by Thursday afternoon and start talking smack about the fact I predicted several No. 11 and 12 seeds to advance, or that I picked a particular No. 4 seed to get to the Final Four. Trash talking is welcome.

Of all the assignments I’ve ever come up with for myself, this one might be the most ambitious:

To prepare for Saturday’s 9 a.m. tip-off against East Hampton in the Class A state semifinals, Peekskill is holding a 6 a.m. practice tomorrow. And, for some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to be there.

So I’ll be awake and in the car headed to Peekskill (theoretically) just after 5. I’m setting my alarm clock, scheduling a few wake-up calls and have paid some of the neighbor kids to knock on my door to make sure I’m awake. Living in Southern Westchester, it should take me about 35 minutes to get up to Peekskill. Hopefully I actually wake up sometime during the drive.

I’ll try to blog right afterwards to give you a glimpse of what went on. Surely, there will be plenty of yawning.

Thankfully, I don’t have a real job that would requires me to be awake at that ungodly hour like 5 a.m. on a daily basis. From what I’ve been told, there will be other people on the road. I’ll believe it when I see it.

The season is almost finished and I’ve started the process of selecting the Journal News all-star basketball teams for Westchester/Putnam and Rockland.

Obviously, we do seperate teams for both sides of the river, with two Player of the Year and Coach of the Year honorees. The Westchester/Putnam team include the CHSAA, and excludes the Section 1 teams outside of our coverage area (Poughkeepsie, etc.).

Most of the selections have fallen into place with one exception — the Westchester/Putnam Coach of the Year award. I’ve spoken to so many people and have heard a variety of answers. Now I’d like yours.

I posted a new poll on the right side of the page and included the five most mentioned names: Vic Quirolo of Iona Prep, Dave Greiner of Valhalla, Henry Taylor of Lincoln Hall, Lou Panzanaro of Peekskill and Rob Rizzo of Gorton. Are there any others to seriously consider? Please take a moment and vote.

Also, please be sure to click over to our Gameday Centra blog and vote for the Gameface of the Week.