Mount Vernon secured a record ninth New York state title in boys basketball Sunday with a 62-51 victory over Jamestown at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
Mount Vernon Wins State Record 9th Championship In AA As Hinds Scores 26
Jabarie Hinds, the co-Mr. New York Basketball and tournament MVP, scored 26 points and added five rebounds, five assists and four steals
Mount Vernon trailed Jamestown 11-3 in the first quarter of this Class AA title game; then slowly its senior leadership took over. Khalid Samuels, Hinds’ senior backcourt mate, scored 17 points to go with three rebounds, two assists and three steals.
It was the fifth state championship victory for Mount Vernon coach Bob Cimmino, tying him with Peekskill’s Lou Panzanaro and Jamesville-DeWitt’s Bob McKenney for the most state titles won by a head coach.
Initially it looked like Mount Vernon (21-5) might not be able to break the record as Jamestown got off to a hot start, but seniors Hinds and Samuels were able to slowly bring their team out of the hole. Hinds’ 3-pointer gave Mount Vernon its first lead, 18-16, with just over a minute left in the first quarter. Mount Vernon would never trail again and slowly increased its lead to 33-30 at halftime and then 47-38 at the end of the third quarter.
For Jamestown (21-3), 6-foot-1 junior guard Jaysean Paige led the way with 21 points, six rebounds and three steals before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Joey Campion added 10 points and seven rebounds while Darin Butts had six points and eight assists.
Mount Vernon has played in 11 finals, winning nine of them. Jamestown was playing in its first final.
Mount Vernon is a historic school just north of New York City. Jamestown is a western New York town near Lake Erie and the Pennsylvania border.
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