Rankings as of Noon, Tuesday

Like previous weeks, I’ve decided to include 11A and 11B. The parity in North County basketball this season is unlike anything I’ve ever seen
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1) Peekskill (10-5) — It just feels weird to type the words “Peekskill” and “five losses.” But that’s reality for the Red Devils, who fell to Poughkeepsie on Saturday, 75-67.
Heck, Peekskill only lost a combined eight games the previous four seasons. Alas, these appear to be different times.
Despite Peekskill’s record being a complete aberration, this year could still follow the same script as the previous five — which has seen the Red Devils hug it out with the gold ball come County Center time.
With a glut of middling teams flooding Class A, Peekskill still possesses a key intangible: pedigree. Yes, that old Peekskill pedigree, which is also synonymous with a program like Yorktown lacrosse.
Realistically, however, it will take more than “pedigree” to get by.
Luckily, 6-7 Kenny “Slink” Bradshaw has sprung into form. Forever a “raw but athletically gifted player,” it appears Bradshaw is putting it all together at the opportune moment. He went for a team-high 23 points in the loss to Poughkeepsie and followed it up with a 27-point effort in a 72-46 blowout win over host Croton on Monday.
If ever there was an x-factor heading toward the sectionals, it’s Bradshaw. There’s no one in Class A that can match a versatile 6-7 center. You heard it here first: Bradshaw will be Peekskill’s post-season MVP.

2) Briarcliff (12-3) — The Bears picked up the pieces from the Panas loss and reeled off three straight wins, the most recent being a 52-37 drubbing of Hamilton on Jan. 27.
But let’s not kid ourselves, folks. The only game that matters is a Feb. 3 rematch against Pleasantville. Don’t be shocked if the Bears walk away with their fourth straight W.
But would that really work in their favor? After all, Lincoln Hall dropped its two regular season games against Pleasantville last year. And we all remember what happened in third matchup, right?
Now, it would be outlandish for a team to try and not win a game. But another hard-fought loss to Pleasantville could actually be just as effective in the long run. (Yes, I admit to completely over thinking things.)

3) Lakeland (8-6) — Well, the real Hornets have finally arrived. The Lakeland team on the court Monday against Mahopac was the one I envisioned in the preseason.
With a runaway-train transition game working, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Lakeland playing deep into the postseason yet again.
If the Hornets eventually run into arch-nemesis Peekskill — which has happened in the Class A finals two out of the last three years — it’s going to get real interesting. Will Lakeland’s fast-break style work against the running Red Devils?
“You would like to run (all the way though the playoffs), but you also have to have a half-court offense to win in the playoffs,” Weltman said. “If we can run, we will. If we can’t, we will run our half-court offense. If you want to go far in the playoffs, it’s the defense, rebounding and pushing the ball. If you can’t do that, you have to be able to run the half-court to win.”

4) Ossining (9-4) — I’ll assume Friday’s 68-51 loss to Lakeland was due to a nine-day layoff and the proverbial “letdown” after the thriller against Peekskill.
With the sectionals on the horizon, Head Coach Khalid Sales’ squad can’t get in the habit of not showing up. It would be a real shame to come up lame in a big spot after such a stellar season.
Ossining snapped back into form with a dominating 74-53 win over Putnam Valley on Monday. Keon Ervin led the way with a game-high 20 points.
Coach Sales and company will have some good tests heading into the Class AA sectionals, as they battle Hen Hud (Feb. 6), Horace Greeley (Feb. 6) and Peekskill (Feb. 9) in their final three games.

5) Hendrick Hudson (9-6) — Make that five straight for Head Coach Steve Purcigliotti’s Sailors. Hen Hud topped Pawling, 59-33, Friday and John Jay, 55-43, on Monday.
“On any given night, someone steps up for us,” Purcigliotti said. “Over this five-game winning streak, we have found a way to get it done.”
Big man Dylan Stewart got it done against John Jay, scoring a career-high 20 points. T.J. Oleszcuk (10 points), Mike Tandy (11 points) and Kyle Altman (nine points) also chipped in.
Against Pawling, Tandy (13 points) and Bennett Zink (12 points, all on 3s) led the way. The Sailors actually scored 26-straight points in this one, extending a 14-10 lead to 40-10.
Quietly, Hen Hud is turning into one of this year’s best stories. After getting punched around the past few years in a league with the likes of Poughkeepsie and Peekskill, the Sailors are finally striking back.
The ultimate knockout punch would be if the Sailors somehow pulled off the upset of the year by snapping Peekskill’s 53-game home winning streak on Feb. 3.
Regardless, this team could end up as Hen Hud’s finest in quite some time.

6) Panas (8-6) — Head Coach Shawn Sullivan wasn’t able to schedule a game during exam week, so his Panthers have had a solid amount of time off. And the rest will come in handy, as Panas closes out the season with four tough league games against Mahopac (Feb. 3), Yorktown (Feb. 5), Lakeland (Feb. 6) and Carmel (Feb. 8).

7) Kennedy Catholic (8-5) — Losing to a powerhouse like Albany Academy is one thing. Losing to Yorktown is another.
For the Gaels, this has become an unfortunate reality. And it’s going to hurt in the long and short term.
“It’s a tough loss,” Head Coach Frank Kelly said. “It puts us at five losses for the playoffs. If we would have won that, we might have gotten a good seed. Now, we have to see whatever it is.”
Prior to the Yorktown loss, Kennedy had only lost to two Section 1 schools: Class AA powers Poughkeepsie and Gorton.
“The intensity and mental toughness has to improve,” Kelly said. “We have a very fragile group. It has to come from within. The coaches have been prodding and prodding them. We need some leadership to pop up here. And hopefully it does.”

8) Lincoln Hall (8-7) — After seeing glimpses of Cory Blair’s talent in the loss to Kennedy back on Jan. 22, I knew it was only a matter of time before he started taking over.
Well, cue the Chambers Brothers, because his time has come today.
Blair dropped a career-high 34 points in a 62-60 win over Hawthorne Cedar Knolls on Friday. He went off again on Monday, pouring in 21 points in a 74-43 win over Pawling.
With Blair leading the way, the United have won six of their last seven games. They are above .500 for the first time since defeating Hackley in their season-opener. Name a Class B team that would want to face this team come sectionals?
In closing, I’d like to apologize for a few errors in last week’s Lincoln Hall vs. Kennedy story. I mistakenly said Lincoln Hall’s three-tiered bleachers were “folding chairs.” Also, I referred to Lincoln Hall as a “juvenile detention center,” while the correct name is a “residential treatment center.”

9) Carmel (9-6) — The Rams rebounded nicely from Friday’s heartbreaking one-point loss to Saunders, posting a 58-44 league win over Yorktown on Monday.
“We rebounded the ball and ran the floor well,” Head Coach George Coates said.
Alex Grace (14 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks) and Mike Rooney (12 points, three assists, three rebounds and three steals) did a little bit of everything to pace Carmel.

10) Yorktown (6-9) — I challenged The Crop (Yorktown fans) a few weeks back, questioning if they even still existed. On Friday against Kennedy Catholic, they responded.
Packed into every square inch of splintery bleachers, The Crop acted as the Huskers’ sixth-man, willing them to a thrilling victory.
“I mean, look at this place,” Head Coach Steve Veteri said after the game. “It was standing-room only.”
Freshman sensation Chris Schmitz concurred.
“I’ve never had that many people cheering,” he said. “We usually have like 10 kids. It’s a huge difference. You get an adrenaline rush.”
And that’s the power of The Crop.
Moving out of the stands and onto the court, I would be remiss if I didn’t highlight the play of point guard Alex Poritzky. He was masterful in handling Kennedy’s press in the second half, knowing when to push the ball and settle into a half-court offense. For a junior, he showed a tremendous amount of poise.
Veteri said Poritzky was inserted into the starting lineup around the same time as Schmitz.
“We decided to take Moody off the ball and put him on the wing,” Veteri said. “Alex is a real good point guard. He handles the ball, has a good change of speed, can go left or right and I think he can do some good things.”
In what has been a recurring theme this year, the Huskers — fresh off three impressive wins in their last four games — took two steps back on Monday. Carmel knocked off Yorktown for the second time this season, 58-46.

11A) Croton-Harmon (8-7) — The Tigers are mired in a three-game losing streak. They were handily dismissed by visiting Peekskill on Monday, 72-46. Joe Tralli was the lone bright spot in defeat, scoring a season-high 27 points.
While the three consecutive losses surely aren’t welcome, it’s worth noting that two came against Peekskill and the other against Hen Hud.
Still, I can’t imagine Head Coach Bill Thom being pleased with his squad’s defensive effort. The Tigers have given up an average of 73 points in the three defeats.

11B) Mahopac (5-9) — Ryan Wagner’s ankle injury against Lakeland puts a serious damper on the Indians’ hopes of finishing the season strong.

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