Monday, Dec. 29, 2014: Westhill's 31-game winning streak snapped

   Leading off today: Philadelphia Roman Catholic broke to a 20-point halftime lead en route to a 75-61 final score and snapped Westhill's 31-game winning streak in boys basketball Sunday in the Mirabito STOP-DWI Holiday Classic in Binghamton.

   Roman Catholic shot 57 percent in the first half, including 6-for-10 on 3-pointers, to build a 46-26 lead. Westhill could pull no closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

   Rider recruit Gemil Holbrook had 23 points and eight rebounds for Roman Catholic (6-0), which advanced to Monday's semifinals vs. Wings Academy from New York City.

   Westhill, which went unbeaten a season ago en route to NYSPHSAA and Federation Class B championships, got 24 points and eight rebounds from Jordan Roland.

   Milestone alert: Bishop Ludden boys basketball coach Pat Donnelly registered his 500th career win Saturday with a 54-53 victory vs. Utica Notre Dame, ending the Jugglers; seven-game winning streak.

   Numerous players from past Ludden teams were on hand to witness the milestone.

   Donnelly said that, more than his own work, "it was the guys that got these 500 wins that matter the most."

   Senseless tragedy: Carthage freshman wrestler Derek Holton died Sunday after ingesting prescription and over-the-counter medicine, according to a state police report. Area resident Brenda Roth, 47, was charged with second-degree manslaughter and other counts in connection with the incident, The Daily Times reported.

   State Police in Lewis County told Time Warner Cable News that Holton, 15, was attending a sleepover in the Town of Denmark with several others at a friend's home when he ingested OxyContin. The manslaughter charge stems from Roth's failure to call the authorities for several hours after the teen became unresponsive, police said.

   Roth is also charged with five counts of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of tampering with evidence, police said. Roth was being held at the Lewis County Jail on $20,000 cash bail, and a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday in the Town of Denmark.

   "He was an excellent young man who had a big heart and big smile," Carthage wrestling coach Don Dorchester said of Holton, who played JV football in the fall and was in his first season of wrestling.

   "He was well-liked among his peers and the staff in both the middle school and high school. He had the potential to do great things at Carthage by the time he graduated," Dorchester said.

   Carthage Superintendent Peter J. Turner said school counselors would be available to students to provide

support upon returning from the holiday break next Monday.

   MRSA scare on Long Island: Two Rocky Point athletes have been diagnosed with the bacterial infection known as MRSA, prompting an alert to parents about the infection, Newsday reported Monday.

   The "two cases appear to be isolated and are sports-related involving two players on one team who regularly practice together," said a letter on the district's site from Superintendent Michael F. Ring. Citing privacy laws, a school spokeswoman said the district would not release further information about the status of the students.

   MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is a staph infection that is resistant to some common antibiotics. It can be spread through direct skin-to-skin contact or through contact with wound drainage, making wrestlers among the most susceptible athletes.

   Ring said "supplemental and extensive disinfecting measures" are in place in addition to regular cleaning.