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By Jeff Gold • The Journal News •
March 5, 2008
 NEW
PALTZ - That Bob Cimmino was able to go deep into his bench in Mount
Vernon's 75-35 win over Minisink Valley yesterday certainly wasn't
unexpected.
But the Mount Vernon coach did it
earlier than usual in the Class AA boys basketball regional semifinal at
SUNY New Paltz.
Mount Vernon star Sherrod Wright did
not play for the final three-plus quarters in the win.
"It was a team decision," Cimmino
said. "He wasn't feeling up to it."
When asked whether Wright would be
available to play in Saturday's regional final against Section 4
champion Binghamton, Cimmino said with a wide smile, "Why not?"
That game will be played at 2:45 p.m.
at Cortland State and will send the winner to the state final four.
Wright said he didn't want to comment
about his absence. There didn't seem to be any acrimony between the
coach and star after the game. They made small talk in the lobby and
appeared to be fine.
As sensational a player as Wright is -
and he opened up yesterday's game with an impressive alley-oop slam -
Mount Vernon (22-3) was fine without him. It was an absolutely
overwhelming performance.
The Knights opened the game on a 12-3
run and were up 25-13 after the first quarter. Kevin Jones was
tremendous from the outset, hitting four 3-pointers from the corner.
"I was open so I just kept shooting.
They were leaving me there, so I'll take it every time," said Jones, who
finished with a game-high 29 points. "I was feeling good and we were
able to take it to them right away. We handled business from the
beginning to the end."
"It seemed like Kevin had something to
show them," Cimmino said.
The rest of the game was more of the
same. Mount Vernon's pressure defense was suffocating, and Minisink
Valley (19-3) had difficulty at times simply advancing the ball past
midcourt.
"Our defense was swarming today,"
Cimmino said. "I don't know if they had seen that type of pressure
defense before."
Mount Vernon took a 42-21 lead into
the half and opened the third quarter on a 13-3 run to go up 55-24 with
3:45 left in the third. By that point, Cimmino was giving just about
everyone on his roster playing time, and there was no letup. Other than
Jones, Jabarie Hinds (11 points) was the only other player to score in
double figures. Eleven players scored, Ketema Brooks had nine assists,
and the defensive intensity remained high until the final buzzer.
"It's gaining new experiences for some
of them and it's a learning process," Cimmino said. "Sometimes you don't
have a choice, so it's good to get all those guys in and they did a good
job."
Mount Vernon, the two-time defending
state champion, is one win away from heading back to Glens Falls to
defend its title. The Knights have won 11 straight, and 17 of their last
18 games.
"Everybody played real hard today,"
Jones said. "We didn't let up. Now we have to focus on Saturday." |
