Marc My Words!

Marc Maturo’s official sports column

STAC women, Dominican men claim hoop crowns

The St. Thomas Aquinas College women’s basketball team and the Dominican College men’s basketball team each lifted their respective records to 3-0 with tournament victories at the Chargers’ Hennessy Center in Orangeburg.

The Lady Spartans won the championship in the inaugural Regina Rivera Memorial Tournament, topping the host Lady Chargers, 67-52, behind a game-high 14 points from freshman forward Kaitlyn McCue of Bergenfield, N.J.

Dominican had defeated Molloy College in the opening round, 80-69, as senior forward K.C. Jentzen of Pearl River led all scorers with a career high 29 points while adding 15 rebounds, including 12 off the defensive boards.

In the 2nd annual Daniel Sullivan Tip-Off, the Dominican men captured the crown with 85-59 decisiveness over Queens College as junior Nick Smith of Middletown led all scorers with a game high 30 points. The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference player of the week also pulled down a team-leading nine rebounds.

Guard Khaleev Ginyard of Brentwood added 12 points, while sophomore guard Joe Clinton of Pearl River finished with 11 points and a game-high eight assists.

The Chargers next travel to Nyack College on Nov. 23 to meet the Warriors at 3 p.m.

The Lady Spartans return to action Nov. 23 to open the East Coast Conference schedule against the University of the District of Columbia. Action starts at 1 p.m. at Aquinas Hall in Sparkill as the front end of a double-header, with the men’s teams taking the floor at 3 p.m. The men will stay home on Nov. 26 to meet Nyack College at 7 p.m.

In the Lady Chargers’ title-game defeat, Jentzen scored a team-best 13 points, with four rebounds and two assists. Jentzen & Co. challenge another local rival on Nov. 26 with a 6 p.m. contest at Nyack College.

HONORED

Monroe College of New Rochelle head football coach Terry Karg has been named coach of the year in the Northeast Football Conference after guiding the Mustangs to a 7-3 record in just their second varsity season.

“I’m fortunate to have a very good coaching staff and a fine group of men to coach this season.  They were a pleasure to work with,” Karg was quoted as saying.

Helping the Mustangs close the year on a six-game winning streak was sophomore linebacker Ruben Demosthene of New City, an alum of Clarkstown South HS.

QUICK HITTERS: Mike Maye of Pearl River, who was a member of the 2012 New Jersey State championship team at Bergen Catholic HS in Oradell, N.J., is returning for his sophomore season on the wrestling team at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. The Mariners open the season on Nov. 24 at the New York State Collegiate Wrestling Championships at Newman Arena on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca. Action starts at 10 a.m. … Tappan Zee HS alum Stanley Wong of Orangeburg is a junior competing in freestyle and breaststroke on the Columbia University swimming and diving team. Last year, Wong competed on the 200 and 400 medley relay teams that placed fourth at the Ivy League Championships. The Lions host Harvard at Uris Pool on Nov. 22 at 1 p.m., and then participate at the Princeton Invitational on Dec. 6-8. … Senior backstroke specialist Chris Fusco of Tappan, Richard Meany of Stony Point and Lance Neuendorf of Blauvelt are members of the Manhattan College swimming and diving team. Fusco, who was a sectional champ on Tappan Zee’s undefeated team, helped the Jaspers’ 800 freestyle relay team finish fifth last year at the ECAC Championships with a school-record clocking. Meany, a junior and North Rockland HS graduate, swims distance events while Neuendorf, a sophomore, swims the freestyle and distance events. Manhattan visits local rival Fordham University on Dec. 4 at 7 p.m., and then competes as the ECAC Winter Championships in East Meadow on Dec. 6-8. … Tom Bonaro, a sophomore, and freshman Joe Moran, both of Pearl River, are members of the Manhattan College track and field team. Bonaro is a distance runner while Moran competes in jumps for the Jaspers, who will split their squad on Dec. 6 for the Fordham and Manhattan season openers, and then travel to New Haven, Conn., on Dec. 7 to take part in the Yale season opener. … Samantha Pucci of Pearl River is a junior playing defense on the Utica College women’s ice hockey team. The Pioneers host Williams College at 7 p.m. on Nov. 22 at Utica Memorial Auditorium, and then visit SUNY Canton at 7 p.m. on Nov. 26. … Junior tri-captain Greg Torchon of Spring Valley, a guard, had four points and four rebounds as the host SUNY Potsdam men’s basketball team lost to Farmingdale State, 71-63, in the title game of the Casella North Country Invitational at Welsh Gymnasium. … Matt Willows of Congers, a junior forward, is second-best with eight points on the University of New Hampshire hockey team. The Wildcats (5-5-1) visit Providence College on Nov. 22-23 for back-to-back contests at 7 p.m., and host Harvard University in Durham, N.H., at 7 p.m. on Nov. 26. … Junior defensive lineman Gabe Ostrow of Nanuet had eight tackles and one and a half sacks as the SUNY Cortland football team rallied to defeat nationally 20th-ranked Ithaca, 28-24, in the 55th Cortaca Jug game in Ithaca. The Red Dragons (6-4) travel to Alfred University (7-3) on Nov. 23 for a 1 p.m. kickoff in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III North Central bowl game. … Junior guard Luke Houston of Pearl River had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds as the Southern Connecticut State University men’s basketball team rolled to its third straight win, defeating host Concordia, 98-74, in Bronxville. The Owls visit Pace

University in Pleasantville on Nov. 26 at 7:30 p.m., in the back end of a doubleheader that opens at 5:30 with the respective women’s teams. The Owls also feature another guard from Pearl River, senior Nicole Grossbard. … Ryan Brooksbank of New City, who was a two-time sectional champion at Albertus Magnus HS, is a freshman forward on the Elmira College basketball team. The Soaring Eagles are home on Nov. 23-24 to face Hilbert College and Fredonia State at 3 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively. … Junior guard Felicia DaCruz of Chestnut Ridge is the assists leader on the Fairfield University women’s basketball team. The Albertus Magnus alumna has 19 assists and is averaging five points for the Stags, who are home for the next two games, meeting Lehigh on Nov. 21 and LaSalle on Nov. 25. Both games start at 7 p.m. …. The Army men’s hockey team returns to West Point on Nov. 22 to host Sacred Heart at 7:05 p.m. … … The Purchase College men’s soccer team, including reserve junior forward Greg Remedor of Spring Valley, closed the season at 9-7-3 following a 2-0 loss to No. 3 FDU-Florham in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Metro Championship quarterfinals.

THIS & THAT

The 22nd annual 5-Mile Turkey Trot is Thanksgiving Day, 8:30 a.m., at Rockland Lake. The primary beneficiary of the race is the Marisa Fund, which raises funds to combat pediatric cancer. Runners may pre-register at Modell’s at the Palisades Center Mall on Nov. 25-27, from noon to 8 p.m. For more information call 914-522-3890 or e-mail [email protected].

The Albertus Magnus HS Sports Hall of Fame ceremony, set for Nov. 23 at the school in Bardonia, will recognize, among others, the only boys cross country team in the county to repeat as state champions, winning in 1974 and 1975. The 1975 contingent, coached by Dick Weis and Ralph Coleman, won the Section 9 Class B crown for the fourth straight year, the Rockland County title for the third straight year, the St. John’s Invitational, the Bear Mountain Invitational, the Albertus Magnus Invitational and the JFK Invitational. The Falcons’ only losses were a second-place finish at the Manhattan Invitational (missing their No. 2 man due to illness), and third place at the season-ending Federation Championship, just 12 points behind the winner and four behind the runner-up. The team’s top seven at the state meet were Pat Chambers, Kevin Leonard, Jamie Kempton, Keith Heigman, Tom Festa, Steve Root and Jim Moran. Others who ran varsity that season were Frank Cotter, Tom Moran, Kevin Kiernan and Ed Corrigan. For information contact Marty Moran at 845-62308842, ext-229.

Legendary North Rockland HS coach Ralph Cordisco celebrated his 95th birthday with family and friends. Joining the group were Red Raiders coaches Pat Amendola, Joe Casarella, Gene Dall, Duffy Dwyer, Billy Martin, John Sottile and Tony Toronto. Others from the Haverstraw/North Rockland crew on hand included Fred Adler, Lee Barnes, Gerry Kap, Danny Keeley, Rich Lutkewich, Pete Margiotta, Pete Matone, Chuck Maze, Vince Monte, Ed O’Connell and John Torino.