Boys Basketball Review: Yorktown

Yorktown's season ended with five straight hard-fought losses after a sizzling 11-3 start. Still an 11-8 record and a berth as the No. 11 seed in the Section 1 Class AA tournament is nothing to sneeze at.

There the Huskers lost the rubber match 56-44 to host No. 6 Mahopac (17-3) in the opening round of the tournament. The two teams had each won on the road against each other during the regular season.

The Huskers were able to get off to the hot start that enabled them to earn a playoff berth because of their ability to play well as a team.

"We played smart basketball," Yorktown senior guard and co-captain Alex Poritzky said. "We played as a team and we did the little things."

The highlight of that stretch for the Huskers was when they came from behind to win a big Jan. 19 contest at Mahopac 55-52 on a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Chris Mosca.

"Winning the first game against Mahopac, that was a big highlight of our season," Poritzky said. "We had played Kennedy, Greeley and Peekskill, three good teams that we played hard against but lost to. So beating a good team like Mahopac gave us the confidence that we could have a good season."

Leading the Huskers to that winning season was McDonald's All-American nominee, senior wing and co-captain Jordan Moody. Moody and Poritzky had great chemistry with one another, something borne from the fact that the two grew up together playing with each another.

"He just plays hard," Poritzky said of Moody. "He doesn't play with a big head, he just goes out there and does what he has to do."

Along with Moody, Poritzky said others also helped the Huskers to their postseason berth, such as Chris Mosca, Aidan Fullerton, Donta Dixon and Chris Schmitz.

"We jelled well, all six of us," Poritzky continued. "Kevin Battista, one of the seniors on the team, he also stepped up. He started against Mahopac at home on senior night and he played really well that game as he had all year."