Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018: Douglas-Stanley sets Mount Vernon scoring mark

   Leading off today: Senior Jason Douglas-Stanley scored 50 points in Saturday's 97-82 home win over Wadleigh, setting a school single-game record for Mount Vernon's storied boys basketball program.

   He broke the record owned by Sam Williams, the younger brother of Gus and Ray Williams.

   "It was a great feeling to finally beat the record," said Douglas-Stanley, who also had seven rebounds, five assists and four steals for the state's top-ranked Class AA team. "I was close to beating it before, but no one knew until after the game."

   Douglas-Stanley understood the magnitude of the moment.

   "I'm happy to hold the record for the most points in a game when there have been so many great players to play at Mount Vernon," he said. "To be known as one of the top scorers in Mount Vernon is a great honor."

   Glens Falls junior Joe Girard III reached the 3,000-point mark during an 86-60 win over Scotia-Glenville. His 50-point night left the state's career scoring leader at 3,002 points.

   More boys basketball: Iona Prep earned revenge for a two-overtime loss a month earlier by collecting a 76-67 victory over Archbishop Stepinac.

   Stanford-bound senior Bryce Wills scored 10 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter for the Gaels. Souleymane Koureissi finished with 21 points, six rebounds and three blocks after being held to just three points in a first half during which Stepinac rolled up a 42-30 lead.

   Stepinac's Alan Griffin had 24 points and nine rebounds despite missing the previous three games with a back injury, and Stepinac led 56-48 entering the fourth quarter. Wills converted a three-point play to tie the score and added a dunk in transition to take the lead at 64-62 with just over three minutes to go.

   "I was not interested in any overtime," Iona Prep coach Steve Alvarado said.

   Stepinac entered the game ranked 14th and Iona Prep 16th in Class AA according to the New York State Sportswriters Association.

    • Leadership Academy edged Pittsford Sutherland 97-89 as Rondell Watson scored 31 points, Davon Brown scored 19 and Dezmere Ellis put up a double-double (11 points, 10 assists).

   Leadership Academy is ranked 17th and Sutherland 21st in Class A.

   Track and field: A Tennessee teen came thisclose to going sub-four in the mile against a slew of professional runners at the 111th Millrose Games at The Armory.

   Brodey Hasty of Brentwood Academy clocked 4:00.05, the third-fastest indoor high school mile in U.S. history.

   Hasty came through the three-quarters mark at 3:00.44.

   "With one lap to go I thought, 'Oh crap, this is going to be close,'" Hasty said after crossing the finish line in fifth place.

   In the boys high school division, Josh Hoey of Pennsylvania won in 4:07.42 with a :57.9 closing quarter. Former Carthage standout Sam Affolder, now attending school in Virginia, was third in 4:10.97.

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   The girls mile resulted in a rare disappointment for North Rockland sophomore Katelyn Tuohy. After appearing in command with two laps to go, she faded to fourth place in 4:47.10. Gabrielle Wilkinson of Pennsylvania won in 4:42.94 and Saratoga's Kelsey Chmiel was second in a personal-best 4:44.55.

   Following up: The Times Herald-Record had a thorough story Friday hours after the NYSPHSAA Executive

Committee approved implementation of a mercy rule in state baseball tournament games for 2018-19. The state's 11 sections now have the ability to adopt the rule for their postseason tournaments and also grant leagues permission to use the rule during the regular season.

   The story correctly notes it potentially saves pitchers' arms now that we are entering the second season with mandatory pitch counts. It's particularly important in Classes B, C and D, where rosters tend to be smaller.

   "Baseball is a game played without a clock so I guess a comeback is always possible," Cornwall coach Tom Fanning said. "But other than getting extra at-bats for kids that don't play as often, nothing good can be learned from two more innings of a lopsided game that both teams recognize as a non-competitive situation."

   But former Pine Bush coach Tom Walraven said the new rule potentially takes away innings that help develop both skills and character.

   "You can learn a lot about a player when things aren't going so well," he said.

   More on rules: The National Federation has approved a rules change that likely will speed up the pace of play in field hockey.

   Free hits within five yards of the circle now will be taken at the spot of the foul beginning this fall. Previously, the attack's free hit within five yards was taken on the broken line circle.

   "Taking a free hit within five yards of the circle at the spot of the foul was one area that was identified in the NFHS annual questionnaire that coaches, officials and state association members were all in favor of changing," Julie Cochran, NFHS director of sports and liaison to the field hockey rules committee said in a statement announcing the change. "The committee felt this change would increase the pace of play by allowing for faster restarts in the game."

   Extra points: Two-time first-team, all-state running back Joe Benedict of Sandy Creek will play his college football at SUNY Brockport beginning next fall, he said on social media.

   Benedict, also a two-time state Division II runner-up in wrestling, rushed for more than 2,000 yards in each of the past two seasons and set a state single-game mark in 2016 with 584 yards on 38 carries against Watertown IHC.