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By
Kevin Devaney Jr. The Journal News • March 3,
2008
 WHITE
PLAINS - Talent-wise, Mount Vernon was good enough to win the Section 1
boys basketball title a month ago.
The Knights were nationally ranked,
unbeaten locally and were as overwhelming a favorite to win the title as
usual this decade.
Mount Vernon, though, had undergone a
drastic transformation in the last 10 games.
Since losing at Linden (N.J.) on Jan.
26, the two-time Class AA champs have shed their passive ways. As
evidenced in yesterday’s sectional final at the County Center, the
Knights have become a team that imposes its will. Finally, they have
some bite.
With Sherrod Wright scoring 12 of his
game-high 29 points in the first quarter, the top seed came out and
buried a streaking Poughkeepsie team in the opening frame with its
defensive pressure. The Knights stormed to a 75-52 victory over the
second seed for their eighth sectional championship in nine seasons.
"It was around the Linden game where
our offense really came to life and became a lot more fluid," Knights
coach Bob Cimmino said. "As a result, it gives our defense more chances.
We didn't have that killer (instinct) before that."
Mount Vernon (21-3) smothered a
Poughkeepsie team missing its top two guards - Taquan Webb because of a
broken arm, and Moquan Dickens due to a broken ankle. Both were injured
in the postseason.
The Knights opened up an 11-point
first-quarter lead. The Pioneers fell behind by 16 in the second quarter
and rallied to within seven near halftime before Mount Vernon put them
away early in the third.
Wright, a 6-foot-4 junior, and Kevin
Jones totaled more points (56) than Poughkeepsie had as a team. The duo
finished with 102 points in the two County Center games and leads Mount
Vernon into tomorrow's state regional final against Section 9 champion
Minisink Valley at SUNY New Paltz.
Jones, a 6-foot-8 senior headed to
West Virginia, recorded 27 points and 16 rebounds to earn MVP honors.
"Mount Vernon is a basketball
machine," Poughkeepsie coach Brian Laffin said. "That's why they're one
of the top basketball teams in the country. When you have that type of
success, it trickles down to the next generation. And I think Kevin
Jones is the best forward that they've had since I started here."
It was almost as if Jones and Wright
took turns breaking Poughkeepsie's spirit.
Wright hit four of his first five
shots and had 11 straight Mount Vernon points in the game's opening
three minutes.
Jones followed with six points in the
second quarter and nine in the third, before they practically alternated
Mount Vernon baskets and totaled 14 points in the fourth.
"Sherrod started hot, so I didn't want
to disrupt his flow," Jones said. "We complement each other really well.
We know each others' spots and know how to get each other the ball."
Mount Vernon's defense throughout was
overwhelming. Jabarie Hinds, a freshman guard, had six steals, and
junior Jordan Lessane added four. Ketema Brooks, the Knights' senior
point guard, had six assists and five rebounds as Mount Vernon dominated
the boards, 46-29.
Poughkeepsie, which beat White Plains
and New Rochelle to reach the final, were simply overmatched, especially
once the Knights began shuffling in their bench in the first quarter.
"They did a great job of applying the
pressure, which we knew was coming," Laffin said. "There were spurts
where we handled it. And there were times that we didn't. ... We tried
to prepare for it. But you can't simulate that type of pressure in
practice."
Mount Vernon will spend today doing
what it normally does the day after winning a gold ball - carry it
around school. Each of the team's four seniors will have their chance to
show off the coveted trophy.
The state title defense won't
officially begin until the afternoon.
"This is a testament to how hard our
kids work," Cimmino said. "We'll celebrate (yesterday) and enjoy the
gold ball. By 2:45, we'll have practice and start focusing on Tuesday." |
