Carmel Hands Brewster Second Loss of Season

CARMEL—A sizzling hot Mike Rooney poured in a season-high 27 points, and Alex Grace ripped down 14 rebounds, as the Carmel High boys basketball team made a statement Monday by beating a good Brewster team, 59- 57, in a League 1-A game at Carmel.

Left: Carmel’s Victor Satlov rises to fire a jump shot in Monday’s win over Brewster. Above: Mike Rooney delivered a season-high 27 points to spark PEARLMAN the Rams. SKIP PEARLMAN the The win lifted Carmel to 7-3 overall, 2-1 in league play.

Carmel has not had seven wins in the last three seasons – combined. But it appears that the Rams have turned a corner. And they hope to continue.

Carmel coach George Coates believes leadership and teamwork have been the biggest factors in Carmel’s turnaround – at least to this point.

“I think the leadership of Ryan Shilling has been big,” Coates said. “And this is a group of kids who believe in themselves. This was a very big win for us. I can’t say enough about the kids… they feel like they’ve learned how to win these close games. And I hope we can continue.”

SKIP PEARLMAN Monday at Carmel, it was a game of streaks, as Carmel opened with a 20-10 first-period run. Brewster won the second, 16-10, and went on a 17-9 run in the third. Carmel came back to take the fourth, 20-14, and held the Bears off at the end.

Carmel led 59-54, when Brewster’s Jordan Cirocco drained a three with six seconds remaining, making it 59- 57. Brewster then fouled Rooney, and the Rams leading scorer missed the front end of the one-and-one opportunity, and Brewster got the rebound, but missed a potential game-tying shot at the buzzer.

Grace dominated the boards, and also had nine points and a pair of blocked shots for Carmel. Mike Loughran had nine points and six assists, Aaron Smith had eight points and Shilling contributed six assists, five rebounds and two points.

Rams coach George Coates talks strategy during a timeout Monday at Carmel. SKIP PEARLMAN Nick Blumberg led the Bears (7-2, 3-1) with 23 points, four rebounds and three assists, Cirocco added 18 points, Jack Dignan had 13 points and four boards, and Andrew Sniffen added 12 rebounds and three points.

Bears boss John Martino said his team gave up too much height at the windows. “I think we got hurt with second-chance opportunities,” Martino said. “That was huge tonight. And Rooney got incredibly hot and he made shots.”

In other games last week, Brewster topped Panas, 57-44, Friday night at home, and the Bears beat Yorktown, 51-43, two nights earlier, also at Brewster. Both were League 1-A games.

Carmel also dropped a 62-50 decision to Mahopac Saturday at Mahopac High School, and the Rams also posted a victory over Yorktown, winning, 58- 53, on the road one night earlier. Both were League 1-A games.

Brewster’s Jordan Cirocco forces his way through a crowd and to the basket Monday at Carmel. SKIP PEARLMAN In Brewster’s win over Panas (4-3), the Bears came out strong and went up 23-12 after one quarter. Brewster opened the lead to 35-20 by halftime, and held a 49-37 advantage after three.

Sophomore Dignan led the Bears with 20 points (including six threepointers), seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Blumberg added 13 points, seven assists and three boards, and Cirocco came through with five assists, five steals and four points.

The Bears got a boost from their long-range shooting, converting on 12- of-19 attempts from downtown.

“The three’s were a huge factor,” Martino said. “Dignan hit four three’s in the first quarter. Panas changed defenses, and we found the open man… and we made shots. We played an aggressive tempo. In the second half we slowed the tempo and made it more difficult for them to come back.”

Above: Nick Blumberg’s 23-point effort led Brewster Monday at Carmel. Right: Carmel’s Alex Grace (21) ripped down 14 rebounds for the Rams Monday.Here, he goes back up against Brewster’s Andrew Sniffen. SKIP PEARLMAN Martino said Dignan has been providing a nice spark. “He’s been real steady, and he fills the stat sheet,” Martino said. “He’s gonna be a good one for us. He’s worked very hard. And we got great play off the bench from Mike Blank, Alex Goudey and Terell Patterson.”

The Bears also played well in the win over Yorktown, with Blumberg’s 15 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists paving the way. Cirocco added 13 points, six assists and three rebounds, Dignan had nine points and five caroms and Sniffin chipped in with eight points and seven rebounds.

SKIP PEARLMAN Jordan Moody’s 19 led Yorktown.

“We played well,” Martino said. “We had a big third quarter. They made it a two-point game with 3:00 left, but we hit some key free throws down the stretch.”

Cirocco hit three free throws and Blumberg delivered a key three-pointer in the final moments.

Brewster played all three games without its leading scorer, Sean Trainor, who sprained an ankle last week and is hoping to return this weekend.

In Carmel’s loss to Mahopac, the Indians opened a 15-7 lead after one quarter, and led 30-19 by halftime, as Carmel couldn’t find its rhythm.

“They shot very well right off the bat,” Coates said. “They were in synch. For us, everything was a struggle. Nothing came easy. Loughran had another excellent performance for us, he gave us quickness and has the ability to score and set up others. And Smith played well.”

Smith led the Rams with 15 points and two steals, Loughran added 15 points and seven assists, Rooney had eight points and Grace came up with six points, six rebounds and three blocks.

TJ Foley led the ‘Pac with 13 points, Ryan Wagner added 11, Chase Thompson had 10 and Kevin Mallon had eight points.

Against Yorktown (4-4, 0-2), Loughran led Carmel with 19 points, three steals and five assists. Shilling added 12 points, five rebounds and four assists, Rooney had eight points and four assists and Grace added seven points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.

Peter Rallis led Yorktown with 13 points, and Jacob Mercato added 12 points and grabbed 17 rebounds.

Carmel secured the win with a 19-14 run in the fourth quarter. The game was tied at 39-39 at the end of three.

“That was an outstanding win,” Coates said. “We were down five with 1:30 to go, and came up with some big shots. Loughran had a three, Smith had a three and Loughran went 7-of- 9 from the foul line in the fourth, and was 4-of-5 with under a minute to play. Grace had his best overall performance yet, and it was a tremendous game by Loughran.”

Brewster was set to host Mahopac tonight (Thursday) at 6pm , and the Bears host Dover Friday at 7pm

Carmel is at Lakeland today at 4:30pm , and the Rams host Panas next Wednesday at 6pm