Leading off today: In case you completely surrendered to the whole "spring ahead, fall back" thing with the clocks and opted to sleep away the weekend, here are the essentials you missed in New York high school basketball.
The big surprise: The last time a Section 4 team had so much as won a boys Class AA game in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association tournament was in 2000, when Horseheads won a first-rounder against Pine Bush. You had to go back yet another eight years for a victory in the quarterfinals -- Ithaca over Scarsdale in 1992.
The wait ended Saturday when unranked Union-Endicott shocked No. 2 Mount Vernon 69-66 in overtime at Binghamton University as C.J. Krowiak and Osama Barwari led the Tigers with 25 and 23 points, respectively.
"These are guys who have championships in other sports. They know what it's like to have their backs against the wall," U-E coach Joe Alger told The Press & Sun-Bulletin. "We have tremendous senior leadership."
Mount Vernon led 64-61 with 3:00 to go in OT on Tyger Hackett's 3-pointer, but the Tigers cut the margin to 64-63 on a basket by Matt Bowman. After Hackett was called for an offensive foul, Krowiak drew another foul and made two free throws to give the Tigers a 65-64 lead. U-E led the rest of the way as Krowiak added a basket and two free throws. Mount Vernon's Ernie Monroe missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
2,000 times two: Jordan Beers (Franklin), Emily Durr (Utica Notre Dame, Mckenna Maycock (Randolph), Cierra Dillard (Gates Chili) and Bianca Cuevas (Nazareth) all reached 2,000 career points earlier this season.
This weekend, two more players joined them at that milestone level, making it the busiest year ever for inductions into the 2,000 club.
Woodlands senior Imani Tilford hit the 2,000 mark while piling up 25 points, 14 rebounds, eight steals and four assists in a 57-42 win over Hampton Bays in the NYSPHSAA Class B quarterfinals.
In the CHSAA playoff finals, Buffalo's Cardinal O'Hara beat Kellenberg 62-59 for the Federation Class A berth with the help of two Jontay Walton free throws with :50.7 left. Walton finished with 15 points, including the 2,000th of her career.
Coach missing: Peekskill's girls played their season-ending loss in the Class A quarterfinals without head coach Rodney Headley Jr., who was suspended from the game by school administrators for an unspecified reason, The Journal News reported.
Maine-Endwell won 62-47 as Headley's father and assistant coach, Rodney Headley Sr., ran the team.
"You lose your coach, it's not easy -- especially in a playoff game," Headley Sr. told the paper. "It was emasculating to the team -- devastating to them."
AD Lou Panzanaro said he did not impose the suspension and that the coach would have been back on the bench next weekend had Peekskill reaches the state semifinals.
NYC boys finals: Christ the King captured a second straight CHSAA Class AA title and fourth in five years by beating Bishop Loughlin 72-61 on Sunday.
The Royals had dropped two of three meetings this season to Loughlin, including a 90-71 setback in the Brooklyn/Queens Diocesan final two weeks ago. This time, the Royals outscored Loughlin 17-3 down the stretch.
Sophomore Rawle Akins, who finished with 24 points, made a 3-pointer in transition to give Christ the King up 64-60 with 2:32 to go after Khadeen Carrington had missed a 3-pointer at the other end.
