Boys Basketball: Somers Ends Sleepy Hollow's Season In Class A Playoffs

Somers received a crash-course on Sleepy Hollow after the Class A seeds were ironed out at BOCES in Elmsford Wednesday and it paid off Thursday night with a 51-32 upset at Sleepy Hollow High School. 

Coach Mark Tanzi knew pushing a frenetic attack, staying in front of Sleepy Hollow’s guards, negating the Headless Horsemen’s post players  and pounding the ball into their bigs--6-foot-7 behemoth Austin Brown and crafty forward Kevin Cousin-- would ultimately be a recipe for success.

The guests seized control of the game in a scalding third quarter, when Somers reeled off a 15-6 spurt and extended their lead to 15. The run was crucial because Somers got several of Sleepy’s players mired in foul trouble.

 Although the Tuskers are a Class A squad, they've  had their mettle tested against a slew of bigger, Class AA teams this season. They took Mahopac into overtime twice and pushed Yorktown in hard-fought loss.

That toughness was evident as Somers played their best defensive  game of the season and limited the Horsemen inside. The Tuskers doubled up on Sleepy’s guards and provided a good share of defensive harassment.

Somers came out ready in the  second half and ripped off an explosive run. Cousin, an elite defender, kick-started the power surge. The 6-foot-3 junior finished a coast-to-coast layup and executeda  nifty post move, supplying the Tuskers  witha 27-18 lead with a thread over five minutes remaining in the quarter. The lead ballooned to 30-18 on another interior basket, this time coming from Somers’ 6-4 junior forward Eddie Schurr.

Sleepy Hollow senior point guard Jorge Berenguer thwarted the run, ripping off a dazzling spin move on the fast break, cutting the lead to 30-20.

Somers continued to play hounding defense. They capitalize on a spate of turnovers, with sophomore guard John Decker’s traditional three-point play with just over six minutes remaining swelling the spread to 42-22.

Somers padded their lead throughout the fourth quarter, when the incensed Horsemen found themselves over the foul limit.

Somers’ lead fattened to 50-24, but one silver lining to the first round playoff exit was the play of Sleepy Hollow’s bench. Junior guard Christian Berenguer, who will be flushed into a significant role next season, took a pair of charges and drilled a deep three-pointer. Senior forward Richie Doyle got free for a layin.

Somers (7-12) will move on to play No.4 Pelham in a Section I/Class A quarterfinal game. The Pelicans (14-4) are riding a smoking hot seven-game win streak and suddenly seem County Center-bound.

Following the season-ending loss, Baxter gave his seniors the floor and had them address the team. The seniors spoke of the way this team has been molded into a surrogate family this season, a collective unit where everyone looks out for each other. Baxter was particularly pleased about that.

The Horsemen will bid adieu to a senior class that will be hard to replace. Led by the inside-outside tandem of three-year starter Jorge Berenguer and man-child 6-foot-3 forward Jonathon Martin, who ascended the scale of the section’s best scorers and erupted for 38 points in a thrashing of Alexander Hamilton this season. They helped overcome a lackluster start to finish 10-9.

Baxter is confident that both Jorge Berenguer and Martin could prolong their careers at the collegiate level.

“I think there’s a place for them to play, we just have to find the right place,” said Baxter.