Yorktown’s Pavella wins 100th at Greeley

If a coach is fortunate enough to reach the 100-win plateau, it is an incredible accomplishment no matter the opponent. 

Doing so on the road against a high-quality program like Horace Greeley made it even more special. 

Yorktown (9-0), the No. 14 Class AA team in the state, won a hard-fought contest 50-44 on Jan. 14 at Greeley, who was voted honorable mention in the state poll, giving Husker coach Mark Pavella his 100th career win.  

The milestone came against an opponent Yorktown is used to facing in high stakes games. The two met in last year’s Section 1 Class AA quarterfinal at Yorktown with a berth to the Westchester County Center on the line, with the second-seeded Huskers overcoming seventh-seeded Greeley 64-61.  

Pavella said reaching 100 wins alongside assistant coach Mike Nardone was a “great feeling.” 

“It’s a shared accomplishment for not only the coaches but players as well. They are the ones who have earned the wins,” he said. “Greeley is a good team. I was happy we were able to get out of there with a win.” 

A few factors helped Pavella reach 100 wins. 

“I’ve been fortunate to have the support at home from my family to continue to coach, as well as to be able to teach and coach at Yorktown,” Pavella said.  

Leading the Huskers in scoring was Connor Morhardt (23 points, 6 rebounds).  

“It was amazing to get a big-time road win vs. a very tough Greeley team and it’s even more special that our team was able to get win number 100 for coach Pavella,” Morhardt said. “He’s an amazing coach and we’re very lucky to have him.” 

Also coming up big for the Huskers was Colin Worden (7 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists). 

“It meant a lot for the team to get both coach Nardone and coach Pavella’s 100th in such incredible fashion, I feel it truly encapsulated the moment,” Worden said. 

Horace Greeley led 23-22 at the end of the first half, one that was highlighted by the shooting prowess of Morhardt and Greeley’s Jake Sheehy, who led the Quakers with 18 points. 

Morhardt led all players in the second quarter with 10 points, including two 3-pointers, while Sheehy paced Greeley with 7 points in the quarter. 

“Jake Sheehy is a great player and it was really electrifying to be in that environment with the crowd,” Morhardt said. “A crowd like that brings out the best in each team.”  

Yorktown took control of the game by starting the second half on a 14-0 run, which enabled the Huskers to lead 38-28 at the end of the third quarter. Leading the Huskers in the third stanza was Sean Davis (10 rebounds, 3 steals), who scored all of his 8 points in that quarter. 

“Sean oftentimes does the dirty work, in this case he found himself in the mix on some offensive-rebounding opportunities and he was able to execute efficiently around the rim and that meant so much heading into the fourth,” Worden said. 

Morhardt helped Yorktown close out the win by scoring 9 points in the fourth quarter. 

“My teammates and coaches helped me be in the position to take and make those shots,” Morhardt said. “They did a great job of setting me up and I’m glad it all worked out and pumped we came out with the win.” 

A win that was helped by a great effort on the glass. 

“Our entire team really does such a great job boxing out and more often than not it’s Franklin, Connor and myself just closest to the rim to just finish the job,” Worden said.  

Franklin Ringel also stood out for the Huskers by scoring 12 points, 8 of them in the first quarter. 

“Our guys tonight stuck together, and we were able to continue to defend each possession,” Pavella said. “That enabled us to get the win. Multiple guys stepped up in big moments to help secure the win.” 

Lucas Schrade, Eamon Coney, Jimmy Goff, Ethan Bantug, Christian Lippoth, Gabe Scavello, Jake Sgobbo, Tommy Carney, Tyler Galante, Ben Silverman, Nate Worden, and Zef Ivezic also made up the Huskers’ game-day roster that helped get Pavella his 100th-win.  

Two days later, the Huskers defeated visiting Walter Panas 49-35, led by Morhardt (18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals) and Ringel (16 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks). 

Yorktown started the week with a 50-41 victory at John Jay-Cross River 41 on Jan. 12, paced by Worden (16 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists), Ringel (12 points, 8 rebounds), and Morhardt (9 points, 6 rebounds).