Leading off today: Reigning state Class A player of the year Brandon Triche poured in 30 points to go with 15 rebounds as Jamesville-DeWitt swamped Weston (Fla.) Cypress Bay, 78-54, to win the STOP-DWI National Division championship in Binghamton last night.
Triche, bound for Syracuse University next fall, scored 88 points in the three-game tournament as the Rams improved to 9-0. Alshwan Hymes hit for 29 points in the final and 69 points over the three games.
When Eric Katz made the sixth Cypress Bay three-pointer of the first half to close within 27-26 just before the half, but Hymes hit for 22 points in the second half. Triche hit three baskets early in the third to help build a 46-31 lead.
"I told Alshwan , 'Man, you've got to hit some 3's to open the game up.' And that's exactly what he did in the second half," Triche told The Press & Sun-Bulletin. "Me penetrating opened him up. The kick-outs were open. All he had to do was knock 'em down, and that's what he did."
Academy loses: Los Alamitos (Calif.) went on a 26-12 run in the second quarter and handed Albany Academy its first basketball loss of the season, 68-49, in the final of the Thomas Jefferson bracket at the KSA Tournament in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Chris Pelcher pumped in 28 points for Academy, ranked ninth in Class AA.
Creighton drops 45: Senior Ryan Creighton scored 45 points to lift Greenport, ranked No. 2 in Class D, to an 82-74 win over West Babylon. Creighton also had 11 assists and 13 rebounds.
Creighton's outburst broke the Greenport record of 44 points, which was held by Al Edwards (1972) and Mark Carllozzi (1985). Edwards is now Greeport's coach.
Mendon girls topple No. 1: Kaelyn Gibson scored 11 points and grabbed 18 rebounds as Pittsford Mendon, ranked seventh in Class A, defeated No. 1 Newark, 58-53, in the Mendon Holiday Tournament final.
Gibson scored 10 points in the third quarter to give the Vikings (6-1) a four-point lead. Jenna Cuddeback scored a career-high 14 points for the Vikings to offset 17 from Virginia Tech recruit Alyssa Fenyn.
More on Paddock: Having won his 236th career match last week to set the school record and then No. 239 on Monday to break the Section 5 mark, Ian Paddock has an eye on the state record but a healthy view about being atop any list.
"It's a pretty good feeling and it's a nice record to hold because there were a bunch of good wrestlers before me who held the mark," the Warsaw senior said this week. "I knew at the end of last year I was close and that if everything went well I'd be able to break both the Section V and state records. But it's going to get broken in the next