Given Mamaroneck’s history in Section 1 semifinal games, it wouldn’t have been out-of-place if the Tigers’ start on Wednesday night gave some cause for concern.
For a team that has thrived in the regular season over the last several years—only to to see that spark sputter under the bright lights of the County Center—opening their semifinal showdown by going 1-for-9 from the field—might have seemed a bad sign.
But this time, the Tigers didn’t buckle.
Instead, they remained calm and tenacious as ever, proving why they are the top-seeded team in Class AAA, battling back and burying No. 4-seeded Arlington 54-38 to advance to the first Section 1 title game in the program’s history.
Senior standout Brandon Burrell, who acknowledged the Tigers’ recent struggles at the Westchester County Center, said that the slow start did little to dampen the confidence of the Tigers.
“We’ve been hearing a lot about the last few years, so that’s always in the back of our minds,”said Burrell. “They threw a punch early, but we knew they were going to do that; we stayed in the moment, we stayed collected.”
Burrell was splendid, finishing with 27 points to pace all scorers. Fellow senior Will Plunkett, another mainstay on the Tigers County Center teams, had a big second half and finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds. But the true difference-maker may well have been the spark Mamaroneck got from its bench.
“We have a lot of guys that stepped up, said Burrell. “Especially Sam McGill and Jonny Smath, those guys really helped us, they had really big contributions today.”
With the win, Mamaroneck now finds itself in uncharted waters; the Section 1 title game. But if championship games are still unfamiliar to this group, their opponent in the finals won’t be, as the Tigers will take on league rival Mount Vernon, a team with which Mamaroneck has much history.
Tip-off for the Class AAA Championship Game is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
The two teams split the season series, with the Knights handing the Tigers their first—and only—loss to a Section 1 team back on Jan. 21 and Mamaroneck returning the favor two weeks later. Mount Vernon topped North Rockland 48-32 in the semifinals and should provide a stiff test, admits Burrell.
“Mount Vernon is likely the greatest program in Section 1, we’ve seen them twice and they’re one of our biggest rivals,” said Burrell. “We know they’re going to throw a lot at us, so we just need to be focused the next three days of practice to get ready.”
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