Varsity Insider

Would there be a better day this season for there to be two, three or seven of me? I think not. With midterm exams ending, just about every team on both sides of the river return to action tonight, providing us with the meatiest night of the season yet. I’ll get to that in a bit.

Here are a few items of note first:

— Here’s a piece of last night’s interview with Dan Healy and Frankie Kelly on VI Chat:

For the full show, log on to LoHud.com/VCLive and check it out “On Demand.”

— The most prestigious scholarship at last night’s Golden Dozen Awards Banquet went to the football postseason’s big winner, Bronxville’s Stephen Shoemaker, who was the recipient of the Chris Mello Award and Scholarship.

— You saw the news yesterday on the blog. Here’s the full story on Phil Carbone taking over the Nanuet football program.

Now, on to tonight…

You know Mount Vernon takes on USA Today’s No. 2 team, St. Anthony of Jersey City, tonight at 8 in the SNY Invitational. I will be down at LIU for the game and will post live updates on the blog as long as there is adequate internet service. If not, I’ll post updates live on Twitter at Twitter.com/LoHudInsider.

Unfortunately for me (but fortunately if you’re a basketball fan), there are a number of other games/events worthy of your attention tonight. Including…

• Stepinac hosts Mount St. Michael tonight in a rematch of their Jan. 4 game, which Mount won 66-60. Mount enters at 18-0, while Stepinac has won seven straight.

• Eastchester and Tuckahoe have had terrific seasons, racing to the top of their league with just one loss apiece. Now, they meet for the first of two times in a week with the winner earning the edge in pursuit of the league title. It is also the annual Augie Nardone Game, named in honor of the former Eastchester resident and proponent of local youth sports who passed away at a young age. The faculty and staff from the two schools will play an exhibition after the game, which is scheduled for 5 p.m.

• Over in Rockland, two of the counties top teams — both strong contenders for a county championship — meet in North Rockland and Pearl River. I believe it’s an important game for both. First, North Rockland has to prove it remains on the ascension. Second, Pearl River needs to prove it can beat a team with more size and athleticism if it hopes to compete for a gold ball. North Rockland presents different challenges than TZ or Albertus, the two best wins on Pearl River’s schedule.

• Byram Hills has a major test tonight when it hosts Peekskill. The young Bobcats have had an excellent season. Even though Peekskill is down, it would be a major step forward for the program if Byram Hills can win. I think it would really stamp the team as a County Center contender in Class A.

• Brewster hosts another great event tonight: The Coaches vs. Cancer Week Tip-Off Classic. There are three games on the slate, which I’ll highlight in a bit on the schedule/scores post. The proceeds for the event will go to Coaches vs. Cancer, a major initiative for the Basketball Coaches Association of New York (BCANY).