Leading off today: With many of New York's boys basketball powers traditionally going out of state around the holidays to play tournaments, yesterday's Upstate / Downstate Challenge at Uniondale was a nice bonus for nearby fans.
A couple of noteworthy results included Uniondale topping White Plains, 57-44, and New Rochelle edging Long Island Lutheran in OT, 71-65.
Uniondale, ranked eighth in Class AA by the New York State Sportswriters Association, broke open a close game with a 33-19 scoring margin in the second half. Devon McMillon finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven steals. Dane Dixon added 10 blocks and eight rebounds.
White Plains, ranked 14th, got 17 points and 13 rebounds from Darell Ward.
The LIL-New Ro storyline went well beyond Antoine Mason's 17 points and six rebounds for 12th-ranked New Rochelle. Lutheran had to play without one of the most talked about jiniors in the East.
Tobias Harris, the 6-foot-8 forward who transferred to Lutheran after averaging 29 points and nine rebounds as a Half Hollow Hills West sophomore, will miss six to eight weeks after tearing ligaments in his ankle Thursday at practice, Newsday reported.
Harris, who is wearing a cast, told the paper he was running the floor during a practice scrimmage when he turned his right ankle - the same ankle he severely sprained over the summer, forcing him to miss the Reebok All-American Camp All-Star Game.
"It's a big blow for Tobias because he works very hard at what he does. He's very dedicated," said Brian Carey, coach of the state's No. 2 Class A team. "He was looking forward to this level of competition. It's a disappointment."
Harris had 31 points and 12 rebounds in his Lutheran debut against Longwood Dec. 9.
Lincoln routed: Abraham Lincoln, top-ranked in Class AA, dropped a 101-84 game to Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler in the quarterfinals of the City of Palms Tournament in Fort Myers, Fla.
Wheeler went on a 30-15 run in the second quarter as all-state guard Lance Stephenson sat with two fouls. Ari Stewart, a Wake Forest recuit, chewed up the Railsplitters with 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting (perfect on three three-pointers) and eight rebounds in just 24 minutes. North Carolina State recruit Richard Howell posted
16 points and 12 rebounds, and Brooklyn-born point guard Phil Taylor dropped 26 on Lincoln.
Stephenson scored nine points in the first six minutes before running into foul trouble. He finished with 26 points on 9-for-19 shooting.
Irish win '500 club' game: Senior point guard Kevin Francis produced 18 points and 10 assists for Batavia Notre Dame, No. 4 in Class D, as the host Fighting Irish topped Prattsburgh, 60-53, in the first matchup of 500-win coaches in Section 5 history.
Notre Dame coach Mike Rapone won his 513th career game and Prattsburgh's Jim Burke remained at 502. Retired Cardinal Mooney and Bishop Kearney coach Ed Nietopski holds the sectional mark with 545 wins, 18 ahead of former Scio coach Roger Rigby.
Prior to the game, Notre Dame dedicated the court to Rapone and girls volleyball coach Rhonda DiCasolo, each of whom reached the 500-win mark last season. The school also presented Burke with a plaque to acknowledge his 500th win in the season opener.
Multiple mismatches: Ian Begley wrote an interesting story in The Daily News on Tuesday examining the no-win
