Boys basketball: Hamilton finds dominant form to earn rematch with Haldane

ELMSFORD - Ever since Hamilton lost to Haldane by three points in early December, there's been an inevitability that they'd meet again when it mattered most. And, for the last month of two, Hamilton has proven itself to be a more seasoned team, one that went undefeated in league play and even upset Class B's No. 1 seed, Bronxville, in late January.

But the Red Raiders now appear to have found their best selves just in time. The No. 2 seed left no doubt of that Tuesday night, dominating No. 3 Tuckahoe 79-57 in the Class C semifinals.

Sophomore Christian Davis led four players in double figures, while seniors Chris Ward Jr. and Jaylen Savage contributed in every phase.

"We've definitely had some bright moments, even in losses. Hastings, Briarcliff in the second half, against Haldane here we played well," Hamilton coach Keith Wright said. "But if we can do that? It's going to be tough, and that's if we play against anybody."

The Raiders, who will meet Haldane for the Section 1 title Saturday morning, scored 32 of the game's first 35 points. Ward's scoring and creating got them started, then Davis got hotter than ever before. He hit four 3-pointers in the second quarter alone, and emphasized one of them by immediately stealing the ball and darting in for a dunk.

"We talked about it in the beginning of the game that I needed to get warm and get more touches," Davis said. "Once I got more touches, I was on fire."

Ward and Savage, who were both named all-section this week by the Section 1 coaches, were comfortable scoring or facilitating. They combined for 18 assists, finding open men in both halfcourt sets and in transition.

"From a player's perspective, having three offensive threats, you have to pick up one of us," Ward said.

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The defense also held the Tigers without a field goal until the 5:01 mark of the second quarter. They forced more mistakes and created more offense from there, but the damage was already done.

Hamilton's penchant for slow starts certainly didn't plague it, not on a night where the team built a 32-3 lead.

"We've struggled with that throughout the year, not getting off to a quick enough start and having to come back," Ward said. "Tonight we came out and it showed. We got a little sloppy at the end, but we found a way to get out early and run. That's how we play."

The Raiders will now attempt to assert themselves similarly against Haldane, which beat them 67-64 on Dec. 2 in the teams' only meeting this season.

"We just want our revenge," Davis said. "They caught us at a bad time. We weren't really together as a team. Now we are."

Player of the game

Christian Davis, Hamilton. Although the Raiders had multiple stars Tuesday night, Davis scored 18 of his career-best 31 points in the second quarter alone. He added eight rebounds and four steals and even sank five 3-pointers.

By the numbers

Hamilton (16-5) — Ward finished with 13 points and 11 assists and Savage had 11 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Freshman Joel Dalmasi came off the bench and contributed 12 points and five rebounds.

Tuckahoe (9-12) — Kyle Blackman had 15 points and four steals and John Benke added 13 points. Matthew Angello had a strong all-around game, finishing with six points, five rebounds, six assists and five steals.

Up next

Hamilton will play top-seeded Haldane at 11 a.m. Saturday at Yorktown High School for the gold ball. Haldane rallied to stave off an upset bid from No. 4 Leffell, winning its semifinal 67-59.

Josh Thomson is the Sports Editor for The Journal News and Poughkeepsie Journal. He can be reached by e-mail at jthomson@lohud.com, on Twitter at @lohudinsider, and on Instagram at @lohudinsider.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Hamilton basketball beats Tuckahoe, reaches Section 1 Class C final