Leading off today: Eight Shenendehowa varsity basketball players have been hit with four-game suspensions for school code of conduct violations after attending a party at which alcohol was served, several newspapers reported yesterday.

   Six girls from the state's No. 4 team in Class AA and two boys from the No. 11 squad were affected. The suspensions began Tuesday.

   Shen's girls won Tuesday as sophomore guard Emily Weber scored 20 points. Three sophomores were brought up from the junior varsity to bolster the roster. The boys won their first outing as senior guard Matt Miner scored 26 points.

   AD Chris Culnan said the party took place on New Year's Eve, and "concerned individuals" contacted girls coach Ken Strube to make him aware. School officials began their investigation on Monday.

   “Any time an event like this occurs you’re disappointed,” Culnan told The Saratogian. “We have taken steps to try to enforce the importance of proper behavior expected of a Shenendehowa student-athlete."

   Voorheesville loses in foul-fest: Watervliet survived a rugged battle that included 56 fouls and four technicals to defeat Class C No. 1 Voorheesville 66-60 last night in boys basketball.

   Watervliet junior guard Devote Gleason led the way with 22 points, five steals and three assists as the Cannoneers handed Voorheesville its first loss.

   "Last year, he'd drive and throw up that teardrop and wouldn't make it. This year, he is making it," Voorheesville coach Don Catellier said of Gleason. "He is dangerous. When they needed a basket, he made it for them."

   Watervliet junior guard Ryan Manning suffered a broken nose late in the second quarter following a hard foul.

   Father vs. son: Maryvale, coached by Mark Kensy, beat Amherst, coached by Kensy's son Chris, 66-56 in Section 6 boys action. Bryce Shepard had 27 points and 10 rebounds as Maryvale overcame deficits of 10-0 and 22-10.

   "I wish him all the luck in the world except two nights in the year," Mark Kensy told The Buffalo News. "He's brought a lot of life to that program and he will continue to be successful."

   More boys basketball: Reeling a bit from a loss last week to Rochester East and playing without a standout two-sporter, Class AA No. 17 Rush-Henrietta fought off Irondequoit 61-49.

   Mike Kantartjis, who arrived from Cyprus in September, and guard Clay Harris each scored 14 points to lead the Royal Comets in the absence of Ashton Broyld, who was away at football combine in San Antonio, Texas.

   "Since Ashton went to play with the top 200 (junior football players) I thought, 'I guess we were going to need a big guy,'" Kantartjis told the Democrat and Chronicle. "I wasn't used to the crowd, so I was a bit nervous, but nothing I couldn't handle."

   North Tonawanda went three overtimes to score a 75-70 win vs. Lewiston-Porter. All-Western New York football players Aaron Davis (29 points, 15 rebounds) and Darrik Bloomfield (21 and 16) put up double-doubles.

   Class A No. 8 Newark broke to a 34-23 halftime lead and beat Class D No. 3 Maple Grove 64-48 as Javon McCrea put up 29 points, 26 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Tyrone Hill came off the bench to chip in 17 points.

   Schedule change: It isn't all glamour for the Mount Vernon boys basketball team, one of the most storied athletic programs in modern state scholastic history.

   Last year was filled with uncertainty before the season because voters twice shot down the school budget, in the process causing the athletic budget to be pulled until private fund-raising came through.

   Last week, the Knights had a tournament yanked out from right under their legs when the WB Sports Hall of Fame Classic in Washington, D.C., was scrapped on short notice. Coach Bob Cimmino scrambled to pick up two games in a Reading, Pa., tournament to fill the opening.

   "In the summer, there were red flags about the tournament, but we hoped for the best," Cimmino told The Journal News. "I'd heard that it always came together at the last minute. This year, it never did."

   The Knights, ranked fourth in Class AA by the NYSSWA, earned a split, losing to Reading 79-64 and defeating Central Philadelphia 68-43 in the consy. Standout guard Khalid Samuels skipped the tournament to rest a sore back.

   Extra points: Oceanside gymnastics coach Andy Morris picked up his 200th win in the Sailors' meet against Hicksville. Morris has coached for 28 years. . . . First-team all-state junior linebacker Quentin Gause of Class C Bishop Kearney received a written scholarship offer from Rutgers football coach Greg Schiano this week while he was away in San Antonio for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl junior combine.