Boys basketball: Mount Vernon starts slow, then dominates in semifinal win over Arlington

Nancy Haggerty, Rockland/Westchester Journal News

March 2, 2022 at 9:54 PM·4 min read

MOUNT VERNON — The sleeping giant didn't take long to awaken itself.

It seemed inevitable.

The Mount Vernon boys basketball team has made every section final since 1999, so there was no reason to think Wednesday night would be different.

The top-seeded Knights broke out of the gate slowly in their Section 1 Class AA semifinal game against visiting fifth-seed Arlington.

But before the first quarter was over, it was clear which team would be in Sunday's final against North Rockland.

Arlington's John Zelker (r) fouls Mount Vernon's Jasaiir Barnes, who still managed to get his shot away, during their Section 1 Class AA semifinal game March 2, 2022 at Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon won 71-57.

Out-sizing and out-muscling the Admirals under the boards and burying nine 3-pointers, Mount Vernon pulled away for a 71-57 win.

Turning point

Arlington brought a loud, enthusiastic crowd south with it and early on it had plenty of reason to cheer.

Arlington took a 5-0 lead and the Knights didn't score until four minutes and 30 seconds remained in the first quarter.

But a lot happened between that time and when the the end-of-quarter horn sounded.

Mount Vernon reeled off 11 straight points, while beginning to assert its dominance under the the boards, and, by the end of the quarter, it led 18-9.

Player of the game

Mount Vernon's Dylan Colon shoots over Arlington's Blaise Farese during Mount Vernon's 71-57 Section 1 Class AA semifinal win at home March 2, 2022. Colon had a game-high 21 points, 15 of them coming off 3-pointers.

Dylan Colon had five points in the opening frame, including his first of five 3-pointers.

He finished with 21 points and recorded three of Mount Vernon's nine steals in taking top player honors.

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By the numbers

But Colon had a lot of help.

Manny Barkor had a big first half and played a major role in turning things around in the first quarter. He recorded all nine of his points in the first half. He also finished with five rebounds, some of them offensive-board put-backs.

Mount Vernon's DeMarley Taylor is pressured by Ian Griffin (l) and Blaise Farese (r) of Arlington but manages to hang on to the ball during the Knights' 71-56 win in the Section 1 Class AA semifinals at Mount Vernon March 2, 2022. Taylor finished with 12 points.

DeMarley Taylor was also a big presence. He did a great job boxing out under the boards and finished with 12 points and two steals.

Elijah Morris also had 12 points, half coming off two 3's.

And Jasaiir Barnes hit for10 points, including two 3's in the second quarter, when the Knights went ahead 36-27.

While kept off the scoreboard, Brandon Sinclair had eight rebounds and three assists.

It wasn't that Arlington, which lost by only a surprising four points to Mount Vernon in December, was run out of the gym.

But it never ran off a bunch of consecutive baskets to make things interesting.

Still, it had its moments.

Before fouling out late in the fourth quarter, senior Ian Griffin, who was all over the court on both defense and offense and hit for 21 points, scored two of those points on a circus-like, alley-oop shot that got a loud reaction out of both sets of fans.

The problem was that still left a 17-point deficit with four minutes and change to go.

Blaise Farese also got the Admiral faithful excited. He had 16 points, 12 coming off 3's, including two back-to-back in the fourth quarter. One was a long 3 from well beyond the top of the key and the other followed his athletic interception of a Mount Vernon pass.

Delano Knox also played well for Arlington, scoring in every quarter and finishing with 17 points.

Quotables

"It was their big men. They were able to overpower us," said Griffin, who added Colon's and Morris's 3-pointers "killed us."

Barkor said Arlington, which finished the season 15-8, was "definitely here to play."

He said Mount Vernon was able to get physical and get boards, which was key to its winning.

Bob Cimmino, who has coached Mount Vernon in every one of those 1999-to-present- day section finals, wasn't fazed by his team's slow start.

"We put ourselves in a little hole, which is something we've been doing (lately) but I was kind of confident early. We just had to stop shooting ourself in the foot," he said.

"We knew at the start of the game we'd get back in the rhythm," Colon said.

Barkor indicated any celebration would be brief.

"We're going to come to practice every day with the mindset to get better," he said. ... "Moving forward, we want to take things a step at a time and focus."

Next up

Mount Vernon's Justin Robinson tries to drive the lane as Arlington's Ian Griffin defends during Mount Vernon's 71-57 Section 1 Class AA semifinal win at home March 2, 2022.

Mount Vernon, now 19-0, will take on unbeaten North Rockland Sunday at 11 a.m. at Yorktown High School.

Nancy Haggerty covers cross-country, track & field, field hockey, skiing, ice hockey, girls lacrosse and other sporting events for The Journal News/lohud. Follow her on Twitter at both @HaggertyNancy and at @LoHudHockey.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Boys basketball: After slow start, Mount Vernon dominates Arlington

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