Friday, Feb. 9, 2018: Some Section 1 teams heading to County Center after all

   Leading off today: Section 1 ADs have pieced together a plan that will allow schools to host boys and girls basketball tournament semifinals at the Westchester County Center, resolving for now a three-month controversy set off by the section's leadership.

   Reporter Kevin Devaney Jr. said the formal announcement is expected to come Friday. The Section 1 championship games for all classes will remain at Pace University.

   Unable to assure smooth scheduling of semifinals at neutral sites, Section 1 relented last week and told members the highest seeds could host semifinals at their preferred venue. With Westchester County Center being the choice of numerous ADs, coaches and players, work began on planning.

   Higher seeds are responsible for all costs involved, but Devaney reported organizers are informing schools "there will be no cost to the individual school districts if the receipts fall short of the expenses."

   Boys basketball: Rallying from a 15-point deficit, embattled Scarsdale stunned top-ranked Mount Vernon 84-74 in Class AA action.

   Scarsdale had not beaten the Knights since the 1997 Section 1 semifinals.

   It's been a tumultuous week for Scarsdale, where coach Bill Murphy was forced out.

   "We miss coach Murphy," senior Nash Goldman said. "It's a really complicated situation, but we're past that right now. We're playing for him, but we have to move on."

   Goldman scored a game-high 34 points and hit made 3-pointers for Scarsdale, being coached now by Justin Washington.

   "It actually makes what we're currently going through a little bit more worth it," said Washington, a former football coach at Mamaroneck. "It makes me coming back and being with the kids a little bit more special. For us to come out and make a statement of this magnitude, I think it speaks volumes to the kids' strength and their heart."

    • Park School, ranked third in Class A, scored a 65-52 win over Buffalo Health Sciences, rated fourth in Class B. Junior point guard Noah Hutchins finished with a game-high 24 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists.

   Boys hockey: Tyler Calkins had a hat trick, including the winning goal, as Brighton/Honeoye Falls-Lima/East Rochester defeated Pittsford 4-3.

   Jon Roth figured in all the scoring with a goal and three assists against the state's 11th-ranked Division I school.

    • Greece scored a 5-3 win over Batavia Notre Dame, ranked 11th in Division II. Antonio Lombardo scored twice for the Storm.

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   Game cut short: Referees ended a boys basketball game between Southampton and Wyandanch in the final minute on Tuesday after a Wyandanch player and assistant coach were ejected.

   Officials said a fight broke out among spectators soon after, with Southampton police being called according to the school district.

   The referees stopped the game because "they felt the situation was getting ugly," Tom Combs, executive director of Section 11, told Newsday.

   Southampton won the game, 80-74.

   Football rules changes: Players found with missing or improperly worn equipment while on the football field will be removed from the games for at least one down beginning next season, unless the improper equipment is attributed to a foul by the opponent.

   The National Federation of State High School Associations announced the rule Thursday following a meeting late last month by its football rules committee.

   If legal equipment has become improperly worn through use during the game, and prompt repair does not delay the ready-for-play signal for more than 25 seconds, the repair can be made without subbing out the player.

   Seven in seven: Following up on a recent blog, East Hampton teacher and coach Cara Nelson succeeded in her quest to complete seven marathons in seven days on seven continents. The World Marathon Challenge began Jan. 30 in Novo, Antarctica and concluded Monday in Miami.

   Nelson's times ranged from 4:37:23 to 4:50:16.

   She returned to her East Hampton Middle School seventh-graders on Wednesday.

   Nelson, 31, was one of 55 people from around the world to take part in the event. She was on a team of 16 people who had trained for about 18 months for the event.