Harvey basketball captures HVAL championship

KATONAH, N.Y. - The Harvey School Cavaliers are once again the boys basketball champions of the Housatonic Valley Athletic League (HVAL). 

The Cavs won their second league title in three years with an 86-52 victory over the Watkinson Rams in the HVAL championship game Saturday, March 1 at Harvey’s Fenstermacher Athletic Center. When the sound of the final buzzer blared, a mighty cheer resounded from the Harvey fans who came to root on the Cavs in their season-long quest to win a league championship.

As the players took the court at the start of the game, a feeling of anticipation wafted among the fans gathered in the Athletic Center as the two rivals, Harvey the No.1 seed and Watkinson the No.2, readied themselves for the tip-off of the match-up that would decide which team would be crowned HVAL champion by game’s end. The Cavs had beaten the 2024 reigning champion Rams the two times they faced each other in the regular season.

The game went Harvey’s way from the start as senior guard Daniel Bussey won the tip-off and the team worked it back his way to see him go in for a layup and put the Cavs up 2-0. When senior captain Jonah Kass of Katonah got the ball on Harvey’s next possession, he took a shot from beyond the 3-point line to make it 5-0. The Rams would get two points back on free throws, but the Harvey defense shut them down for a three-minute stretch as the offense went on an 8-0 run capped off by a booming 3-pointer from junior guard Cam Powell-Spruils. The Cavs also dominated under the boards with senior Jackson Saccomanno leading the way. Meanwhile, Watkinson continued to struggle to get anything going on offense. The Cavs had a 46-17 lead at halftime. Spruils scored all of his 12 points in the first half to pace Harvey’s attack. Kass also hit double-digits in the first half with his 10 points.

The second half saw freshman guard Derek Lugo break out in a big way. After hitting a 3-pointer to close out Harvey’s first half scoring barrage, he went on to sink four more 3-pointers in the second half and go on to tally 20 more points after halftime. He would finish the game with a team-high 23 points.

As the second half rolled on, Watkinson finally started hitting on some of their shots, but each time a Ram scored, a Cavalier would answer. Watkinson could not cut down the 30-point deficit as Lugo hit his 3-pointers and Bussey sank two of his own from long distance. Kass also had a hot hand in scoring 10 in the second half. He finished with 20 points while Bussey totaled 15 for the game.

With two minutes left and Harvey leading 86-40, the Cavs starters were pulled to give the final minutes to the bench. With the subs on the floor at the final buzzer, the entire team then came together on the sideline near the Harvey bench to congratulate each other for the team victory that earned the Cavs the commemorative glass trophy as 2025 champions of the HVAL.

Harvey head coach Denis Arnautovic was very happy to see the championship return to the Cavs. "I’m very proud of the team for bringing the championship home,” Coach Arnautovic said, adding, “All season we emphasize teamwork and working for each other, and the championship game was a perfect example of just that.”

By finishing first in the HVAL in the regular season and capturing the league title in the playoffs, the Harvey boys have earned a bid to compete next week in the New England Prep School Council championship tournament. The seedings and schedule are not set yet.

Article courtesy of The Harvey School.