Varsity Insider

OK, we’re about 15 minutes away from tip-off of the consolation game between Peekskill and Burke Catholic. I’ll have all the live updates for you throughout the day.

Here are my specific picks:
Burke Catholic 70, Peekskill 66
Stepinac 55, Horace Greeley 47
Mount St. Michael 71, Kennedy 56

What are yours?

4:38 p.m.: It’s 12-11 Burke Catholic with 2:43 left in the first quarter. Lou Panzanaro going with a little bit of a different lineup today.

4:43 p.m.: Burke Catholic leads Peekskill 21-17 at the end of the first quarter. Jermaine Hughley has six to lead Peekskill. He’s developing into a force inside. He’s 6-5, but a very strong, aggressive 6-5.

4:47 p.m.: Timeout Peekskill. Burke just banked in a 3-ball from the left wing to beat the shot clock. It gave the Eagles a 26-17 edge with 6:07 to play in the first half.

5:01 p.m.: It was all Shaine Carter in the second quarter for Peekskill and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. The Red Devils were outscored 17-11 in the period and trail 38-28 at the break. Carter actually just hit a runner to end the first half or else it’d be worse.

Despite an apparent size advantage, Peekskill is getting worked inside by Burke Catholic. Brendan Miller has done the majority of the damage with 14 points and five rebounds. Dante Cowart has added nine points. Carter leads Peekskill with 13 on 5 of 9. He also has six rebounds.

5:05 p.m.: New Rochelle finished seventh in the Stop DWI Holiday Classic in Binghamton. The Huguenots beat Davidson Day 63-59 behind 24 from P.J. Torres. Thanks to the NY Post’s Zach Braziller for the heads up.

5:18 p.m.: Timeout Peekskill, which simply can’t handle Burke. It’s 45-31 Burke with 4:43 left in the third quarter.

5:40 p.m.: Well, Peekskill’s tough stretch is almost over and it hasn’t gone well. The Red Devils are going to drop below .500 here in a few minutes. They trail Burke 62-43. Just like last night, Peekskill has been unable to respond here in the second half. It’s a very inexperienced team right now trying to find its way.

6:07 p.m.: Sorry, I was busy there for a bit. Burke beat Peekskill 70-44 behind 22 points and 11 rebounds from Miller. Burke shot 50.9 percent for the game.

Carter had 21 points and seven rebounds for Peekskill. Mykelle Nevins had 11 rebounds.

Horace Greeley and Stepinac are being introduced and will start here in a bit.

6:11 p.m.: The game is underway. Austin Taps will start out on Matt Townsend full court to try and keep Conroy Baltimore out of trouble. Stepinac leads 4-0 on hoops by Julian Wright and Baltimore. Townsend is on Baltimore.

6:20 p.m.: Stepinac was up 12-5 but Greeley has scored the last five points. Also, in a big development, Taps, who was doing a good job on Townsend, picked up a touch foul that was his second. He’s on the bench and it’s 12-10 late first.

6:22 p.m.: Stepinac leads 12-10 after one quarter of play. Townsend has four points. Five different players scored baskets for Stepinac. Baltimore has two blocks, one on Townsend. Greeley spent the latter part of the quarter in a zone and Stepinac struggled to find gaps in it.

6:26 p.m.: 18-10 Stepinac after hoops by Baltimore, Josh James and Tyler Iacuone. Timeout Greeley with 6:03 to go in the half.

6:34 p.m.: Two fouls now on Baltimore, who is on the bench. His second foul drew a little fist pump from Dave Fernandez. Who can blame him?

Taps is back on the floor now and getting help from Wright on Townsend. But the senior just scored a bucket, right after finding Matt Xie for a hoop. But it’s still 26-16 Stepinac, which looks too deep and athletic so far for Greeley.

6:39 p.m.: Stepinac leads 30-26 at the break, but Greeley’s on a 10-4 run. Townsend finished the first half with 12 points. Not surprisingly, he had eight of them in the last three minutes — after Baltimore left the floor.

Stepinac was at a major disadvantage in the foul column. The Crusaders have been whistled for nine; Greeley one.

Townsend has six rebounds to go along with his 12 points on 5 of 9. He also has two assists. Xie has six points and three boards and Harrison Brown has four points and five rebounds. The Quakers have done a solid job protecting the ball so far; they have nine turnovers.

Iacuone leads Stepinac with seven points. He has provided a lift off the bench. James and Wright each have five points. Baltimore has four points, five boards, three blocks and two steals.

6:55 p.m.: With its bigs on the floor, Stepinac is too much for Greeley. The Crusaders are on a 10-0 run after two hoops by Wright.

7:05 p.m.: It’s 44-32 after three quarters, Stepinac on top. Greeley managed just six points that quarter. I had Baltimore for seven blocks, giving him 10 for the game. He is quite an impact player on defense.

Townsend leads Greeley with 14 points. But he has six in 20 minutes with Baltimore on the floor and eight in the four minutes Baltimore was on the bench.

7:11 p.m.: Iacuone just hit a pullup jumper to make it 51-34 Stepinac with 5:35 to play. Baltimore needs five more points for a triple-double.

7:15 p.m.: Stepinac just called a timeout leading 54-36 with 4:47 left in the game. Julian Wright, who is a very athletic 6-2, has 18 points tonight. He’s scored 11 in the second half.

7:19 p.m.: Stepinac leads 56-39 with 3:28 left. Harrison Brown just picked up his fifth foul.

7:25 p.m.: It’s 61-42. Baltimore went out with about three minutes to play. He’s one point shy of a triple-double. Townsend has 19 points.

7:28 p.m.: It’s a 61-42 final. Stepinac wins. Baltimore will be MVP or else someone doesn’t know anything about basketball.

Stats later.

7:55 p.m.: Mount St. Michael vs. Kennedy Catholic underway. Clarence White opened with a pair of three-pointers for a quick 6-0 Mount lead.

8:00 p.m.: White now has three threes and MSM is up 11-5. Dan Healy has all five of Kennedy’s points. 3:52 left in the first quarter.

8:07 p.m.: Healy had 14 of Kennedy’s first 18 points, and White had 11 for the Mountaineers, who lead 19-18 after the first quarter.

8:12 p.m.: White hit another three, and Peter Aguilar had five points to open the second quarter. Mount up 27-18 with 5:00 left.

8:16 p.m.: Jordan Hardy hit two free throws and a three-pointer to cut it to 27-23, but Anthony Maestre answered with a long jumper, and Mount leads 29-23 with three minutes left in the half.

8:30 p.m.: Halftime: Mount is up 39-31, though it was incorrect and argued for a while. Frankie Kelly hit his second three of the quarter to make it 39-31, but it was originally credited to the Mountaineers. Then it was correctly added to Kennedy’s side of the scoreboard, but not subtracted from Mount’s side. So the board read 42-31 for a long time before statisticians fixed it. White had five three-pointers and 17 points in the half. Healy, who had 14 points in the first quarter, was shut out in the second.

8:44 p.m.: Aguilar hit a three, and had six points to open the third, and White hit his sixth three, and Mount is up 48-35 with 4:40 left in the third.

8:59 p.m.: Mount closed the third on a 20-5 run, and leads 62-40 heading into the fourth.

9:09 p.m.: With 5:34 left, Kennedy is on an 11-2 run, but still trails 64-51.

9:22 p.m.: Final score: Mount St. Michael 73, Kennedy 59.

9:33 p.m.: Josh here again. Here are the final stats from the last two games…

Julian Wright led Stepinac with 10 points on 7 of 10. Josh James added 10 points and three steals. James Chillemi, Tyler Iacuone and Conroy Baltimore each had nine, and Baltimore had 10 rebounds and seven blocks. To say those last two total were modest is…being modest. Baltimore had at least 11 or 12 blocks.

The Crusaders also forced 22 turnovers against just 10 assists. Matt Townsend led Greeley with 19 points and 10 rebounds. He also had three assists. Matt Xie added 10 points and five boards. Harrison Brown had six points and five rebounds. Only two others players scored.

Baltimore was the MVP of the first final. Peter Aguilar earned the award in the nightcap after scoring 31 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Aguilar went just 9 for 26 but he missed 13 of those shots in the first half.

Clarence White was a key contributor for the Mount. He had 27 points on 10 of 16 shooting and had four assists and four steals. Malik Gill of New Ro misfired from the field but had eight assists and three steals.

Kennedy was led, again, by Frankie Kelly, who had 20 points and four assists but committed 10 of the Gaels’ 23 turnovers. Dan Healy added 16 points and 10 boards. Jordan Hardy had eight and nine.

Afterward, coach Frank Kelly said “we’re not going to face another team like that in our division.”