Yorktown three-peats

It was exactly what a league championship should come down to: the two best teams facing off on the final day of the regular season in a packed gymnasium. That was the case Feb. 16, when Yorktown hosted Poughkeepsie for the Conference I League E title, with both teams entering at 6-1 in league play.

Yorktown, the No. 12 Class AA team in the state, trailed 52-50 entering the fourth quarter but outscored the Pioneers 27-18 to earn a 77-70 victory and capture its third straight league title under coach Mark Pavella. 

“We’ve had players that are talented that have come through this program the past few years but have also bought all in, one through 17, and that’s the most important part,” Pavella said.

With the win, Yorktown clinched the No. 2 seed in the Section 1 Class AA Tournament, and would host the winner of Thursday’s No. 18 Yonkers at No. 15 Clarkstown South out-bracket game in a first-round contest on Saturday, Feb. 21, according to Kevin Devaney Jr.’s bracketology.

Official seeds were scheduled to be released Tuesday.

Leading the Huskers to their 33rd straight home win and helping them avenge a 71-67 loss at Poughkeepsie on Feb. 2 was Connor Morhardt (21 points, 4 rebounds) and Colin Worden (17 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists).

“This is a great feeling. This is amazing,” Morhardt said. “It’s kind of like cliché, but it’s like a we did it thing. One of our goals at the start of the season was to win the league and to accomplish it is just like again, just amazing. Everyone in our locker room feels great, players and coaches.”

Morhardt thrilled the crowd when, while falling down and getting fouled, connected on a 3-pointer from the top of the key, then making the foul shot, to put Yorktown up 32-24 with 2:01 to go in the second quarter.

“My teammates did a great job of setting me up with great screens,” Morhardt said. “I was just able to come off that screen, hit the shot, I got fouled and was able to knock down the free throw after. It’s always great to do something like that, because it gives us momentum and it’s a big energizer.”

Yorktown continued that momentum with a corner trey by Jake Sgobbo, putting the Huskers up 35-27 with 1:11 to go before halftime. Poughkeepsie followed with two field goals but a 3-pointer by Lucas Shrade (8 points) at the buzzer gave Yorktown a 38-31 halftime lead.

Poughkeepsie outscored Yorktown 21-12 in the third quarter to go up 52-50 and increased its lead to 56-52 early in the fourth quarter. Yorktown, though, responded with a 3-pointer by Eamon Coney (4 points) that started a 25-14 Husker run that closed out the game and clinched the league title.

“Our team does a great job of getting great production from all sides of our offense,” Worden said. “Getting stops was the most important thing, we were able to slow them down and we were finally able to make shots on the other end.”

One of the highlights in that run was a 3-pointer by Mohardt, putting Yorktown up 61-56.

“We were moving the ball, we were really connected out there, and I just ended up catching the ball at the top of the key and I was able to hit the shot and keep our momentum going in the game,” Morhardt said.

Helping seal the win was Worden, when he took a pass from the corner by Franklin Ringel (11 points, 12 rebounds) and took it straight to the hoop for the layup, putting Yorktown up 70-61 with 1:10 to go in the game.

“Our play was designed so we could have multiple options on the play, the gravity Connor creates, like I said before is so significant, thankfully I was able to get open and Franklin hit me in the right spot, it was a huge play,” Worden said.

Sean Davis (13 points, 13 rebounds, 4 steals) also had a big game.

For Poughkeepsie, it was its final regular-season game as members of Section 1, as the school announced in early January that all of its athletic teams will be returning, mostly for geography reasons, to Section 9 and competing in the Mid-Hudson Athletic League (MHAL) for the 2026-27 school year. Poughkeepsie also competed in Section 9 for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

Before playing Poughkeepsie, the Huskers had three other games.

Yorktown won its senior-night contest with a 44-37 triumph against visiting Harrison on Feb. 11, led by Worden (15 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists), Ringel (13 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists) and Schrade (7 points).

Worden, Ringel, Schrade, Morhardt, Davis, Jimmy Goff, Tommy Carney, Gabe Scavello, Ethan Bantug and Tyler Galante were the Husker seniors honored before the game.

The Huskers also won at Carmel 67-61 on Feb. 9, paced by Morhardt (20 points, 4 rebounds), Ringel (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Worden (15 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists).

Yorktown (18-2) fell at Class A championship contender Byram Hills 51-33 on Feb. 13, with Ben Silverman (10 points), Worden (8 points, 5 rebounds) and Morhardt (7 points, 5 rebounds) leading the Huskers against the Bobcats.

Shane Goff, Christian Lippoth, Nate Worden and Zef Ivezic are also key members of the Huskers’ league-championship squad.