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Poughkeepsie boys basketball coach Brian Laffin could be forgiven if it felt like a case of déjà vu.
With the Pioneers’ Section I, Class AA semifinal coming down to the wire, Poughkeepsie fans might have thought back to the last two such semifinals, in which the Pioneers had lost to Suffern and White Plains on last-second shots. Laffin, thankfully did not have the luxury to reminisce about past heartaches.
“I wasn’t thinking about anything, just the focus of the game. I wasn’t thinking about anything in the past, we were just so wrapped up in the up-and-down of the game that you couldn’t ponder the past,” he said.
History did not repeat itself on Feb. 27 in White Plains at the Westchester County Center, as Poughkeepsie overcame a 13-point second quarter deficit to hang on and defeat New Rochelle 78-75 to advance to the sectional finals on Sunday. They will take on the winner of the other semifinal between top-ranked Mount Vernon and Scarsdale.
The Pioneers started the game short-handed after starting point guard Taquan Webb broke his wrist in the quarterfinal matchup with White Plains last week. Forward Moquan Dickens left the game with three minutes to go with a sprained ankle. His status is uncertain for the final.
“It doesn’t look very good,” said Laffin.
In addition, center Antonio Williams took an elbow that swelled his eye shut and guards Dayvone Whitaker and Duane Clark each suffered from severe muscle cramps.
“We were like an M.A.S.H. unit out there. It was crazy. I’ve never seen so many injuries,” said Laffin.
After a first quarter in which New Rochelle’s perimeter game was firing on all cylinders, the Pioneers fought back to make it a five-point game at the half. Strong defense led to an explosive 16-0 run at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarters.
“We came out with some good energy in the second half. I thought we started to get the ball inside and extend our defense and play a little bit better full-court pressure. We were able to go on that big run and then we were able to hold on in the end,” said Laffin. “They seemed to hit every three point shot in the first half and we made some adjustments to cut down on penetration and forced their wing guys to put it on the floor and not catch-and-shoot.”
Darryl Charles and freshman Tyquan Skinner hit important free throws in the last 30 seconds and when desperation three-point attempt by New Rochelle clanged off the rim, the Pioneers sealed the victory.
Laffin praised his sophomore backcourt of Clark and Whitaker for their superb ball-handling. Williams and Charles led Poughkeepsie with 21 points and 20 points, respectively.
