Brewster Rolls to Tourney Crown

BREWSTER—Sean Trainor dropped 26 points on the Hornets of Lakeland Saturday afternoon, leading the Brewster High boys basketball team to a 63- 51 victory in the championship game of the Panas tournament.

BASKETBALL
BREWSTER 63
Lakeland 51
BREWSTER 51
Panas 50
BREWSTER 59
Arlington 56

At Lakeland High School, the Bears (4-1) fell behind 17-14 after one quarter, but cranked up the defense in the second, and—thanks to a 17-8 run— went into the half with a 31-25 lead.

Trainor’s performance earned him the tournament’s MVP trophy. Jordan Cirocco and Andrew Sniffen each added 10 points for the Bears, Nick Blumberg had nine points and Mike Blank chipped in with eight. Cirocco and Blumberg were named to the All- Tournament team.

“We did a good job,” Brewster interim coach Tom Nelligan said. “We kept Lakeland out of the transition game. We did well defending, and we rebounded well. We only gave them one shot at the basket.

“Trainor got us out of the gate strong,” Nelligan added. “He made shots and got us going. Sniffen was solid on the glass, and Blank had some important baskets. It was a real team effort.”

One night earlier, Blumberg sunk the game-winning basket with nine seconds remaining in overtime to give Brewster a 51-50 victory over Panas in the tournament opener.

Cirocco led Brewster with 18 points, Trainor had 10, Blumberg finished with nine and Blank had eight.

Brian Daniels led Panas (3-3) with 18 points.

“Nick stuck a big shot late in the game,” Nelligan said. “That was a big play… he picked a good time. It was clutch. Both teams had chances to win, and we were fortunate to get the win. Trainor was solid, Cirocco had a good floor game and some big shots late to stop runs. It was nice to have balanced scoring, it was a good win.”

Brewster opened the week with a 59- 56 non-league win over Arlington the prior Tuesday at Brewster.

Blumberg had 15 for the Bears, Trainor added 14 and Ciroco had 13.

“It was a real defensive effort,” Nelligan said. “We got down, then we clawed our way back. Our three seniors are stepping up when we need them.”

Brewster was scheduled to host North Salem January 2.