Friday, March 11, 2016: Poughkeepsie standout slain after all-star game

   Leading off today: Poughkeepsie High School senior Caval Haylett Jr., 18, died Thursday hours after being shot once in the head while on his way home following the Dutchess County Basketball Coaches Association Exceptional Seniors Game on Wednesday.

   The honor roll student was remembered as well-liked and a hard worker.

   "He had a bright future," Ralph Coates, president of the board of education told the Poughkeepsie Journal.

   No arrests had been made as of late Friday morning, a police spokesman told the paper. New Mayor Rob Rolison, a former police officer, released a statement saying, "The city is committing every resource to bringing this man's killer to justice."

   Detective Lt. Matt Clark described the area where the incident occurred as "one of the more active areas of the city" for criminal activity. Plans call for increased patrols of the area, and security has been stepped up at the high school.

   According to Hudson Valley Sports Report, Caval had scored 21 points in the all-star contest and was carrying his plaque designating him as an all-county selection.

   CHSAA update: Junior guard Idan Tretout scored a team-high 19 points as Bishop Loughlin ended the three-year CHSAA reign of Christ the King by winning 68-64 in the semifinals at St. Johns University.

   "Idan did a great job and he stepped up," Loughlin coach Ed Gonzalez told MSG Varsity.

   The Lions placed four scorers in double figures. Markquis Nowell had 13 points, Keith Williams 12 and Jordan Thomas 10 as Loughlin, in the hunt for its first crown since 1992, reached Sunday's final against Brooklyn rival Xaverian. The winner advances to the Federation tournament next weekend.

   Christ the King remained close despite foul trouble for junior point guard and league MVP Jose Alvarado (5 points). Senior Jared Rivers scored a team high 21 points.

   Tretout hit a corner 3-pointer and Thomas made a layup to give Loughlin a 62-56 lead with 1:41 left to pull away.

   In the other semi, Nyonty Wisseh clinched the game with four free throws in the final :13 as Xaverian toppled Archbishop Molloy 57-55 Wednesday. The 6-foot-3 senior who scored all 16 of his points in the second half.

   "I just stayed calm and pick it up when my team needs it," Wisseh said. "We were still in a close game but I tried to pick it up much better to help my team win."

   Xaverian will play for its first championship since 2005.

   The annual reminder: A totally forgot to mention it earlier in the week, but The Post-Star is up and running with its NYSPHSAA boys basketball tournament website, a must-see for keeping up with developments in all 15 games this weekend.

2016 NYSPHSAA boys basketball brackets 2016 NYSPHSAA girls basketball brackets 2016 NYSPHSAA boys hockey brackets 2016 N.Y. complete wrestling brackets (PDF) 2016 N.Y. boys swim championships N.Y. indoor track championships: Boys | Girls

   Remember her? The Times Herald-Record had a nice item this week about Tammi Reiss helping out her old school. For the uninitiated, Reiss is Section 9's career scoring leader (2,871 points) and went on to play for the University of Virginia and the WNBA's Utah Starzz, where she also coached.

   Eldred gave players from her old school the VIP treatment at a Syracuse University game not long after Eldred coach Ryan Jasper found Reiss' old jersey and the 1988 New York State Miss Basketball plaque in storage at the school.

   Anyone who saw Reiss play at Eldred will confirm she was as unstoppable as any girls player ever from New York.

   Calling all helpers: The NYSSWA's Steve Grandin has started work on the 2016 boys basketball all-state team.

   As usual, he's trying to collect as many area, section, class and league all-star teams as possible from coaches, media and league officials. If you can help, please forward information to Steve at sgrandin55@aol.com as soon as possible.

   Media members assisting us by supplying their all-area selections are reminded that the deadline is March 28. We're hoping to be able to publish the all-state team online by mid-April.

   Extra points: Rochester Edison still has not named replacements for football and track coach Walter Larkin Jr., who began his new duties as school principal in January.

   "I'll open the positions again as many times as we need to," Larkin told the Democrat and Chronicle. "I know other people want us to move faster, but we want to get it right."

   Also, we hear Raheem Miller has stepped down as boys basketball coach at University Prep in Rochester to focus on obtaining an administrative degree. Assistant coach James Reaves is the likely candidate to replace him.