Leading off today: Syracuse CBA snapped Jamesville-DeWitt's 38-game winning streak in boys basketball with a 67-66 victory last night.
A three-pointer by senior guard Mike Kitts (19 points) gave CBA a 15-13 lead late in the first quarter, and the Brothers never trailed again. Brandon Triche of J-D led all scorers with 36 points.
J-D (19-1), ranked No. 1 in Class A by the New York State Sportswriters Association, won their first head-to-head battle back on Jan. 9 by a 61-57 margin.
The highly emotional game in a sold-out CBA gym turned heated with 5:40 left and the Brothers up by 53-47. J-D's Alshwan Hymes was ejected for a flagrant foul while chasing a loose ball, agitating the crowd while players milled about on the court.
"This is too good a basketball game to ruin it with something like that," CBA coach Buddy Wleklinski admonished the crowd over the public address system.
First loss for Clarkstown North: Freshman John Redgate scored the tying and winning goals in the second period for No. 6 Suffern in a 4-1 win over No. 5 Clarkstown North in a battle of state-ranked Division 1 hockey teams in Monsey.
"I was nervous before the game," said Redgate, whose only previous goal came Dec. 23 against Oswego. "My captains were picking me up, telling me don't worry, just play your game, and that's what I focused on."
With Clarkstown North (21-1-1) falling for the first time, top-ranked Greece Athena/Odyssey is the last unbeaten NYSPHSAA tournament team.
Redgate broke in on a 2-on-1 break early in the second period and beat goalie Chris McIndoe between the pads. Five minutes later, his slap shot deflected off traffic in front of the net for a 2-1 lead.
Lincoln rally falls short: New Jersey powerhouse St. Patrick's built an 18-point lead late in the third quarter and then held on for a 63-58 victory over Class AA No. 15 Abraham Lincoln in the Nike Super Six Basketball Invitational at Fordham. The game was shown on ESPN2.
Dexter Strickland and Kyrie Irving each scored 16 points for St. Patrick's. Lance Stephenson led Lincoln (16-9) with 21 points and added 10 rebounds. James Padgett compiled 13 points and 12 rebounds.
"They fought hard, they came back, you have to be happy about that,” said Lincoln coach Dwayne "Tiny" Morton, who arrived 10 minutes after tip-off because he was caught in traffic. “They had some pride. They came up big in the fourth quarter. They played together at the end.”